ᤕᤠᤁᤰᤂᤠ याक्खा | |
|---|---|
 Yakkha women in traditional dress | |
| Total population | |
 Nepal 17,460 (2021)[1] | |
 India | |
| Sikkim | 193 (2006)[2] |
| Languages | |
| Yakkha language,Nepali | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: •Kiratism 81%Others: •Hinduism 11.50%[3] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
Yakkha or Dewan (Nepali याक्खा, Yākkhā) is an indigenous ethnic group from theIndian subcontinent, mainly in modern-dayNepal and present-day India (related to otherKirat groups, like theLimbu,Sunuwar,Rai, and more distantly all otherSino-Tibetan peoples). It is one of the descendants of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat dynasty. The Yakkha people aresubsistence farmers who inhabit the lowerArun valley in easternNepal. They number only a few thousand and their language is nearly extinct.[4][5]
Scholars have different opinions regarding the origin of the wordYakkha. One school of thought claims that the ethnonymYakkha as per the AryanSanskrit grammar had been spelled in the Aryan-Hindu mythologies asYaksa-sh (like Bhisu-shu for an asceticBhikchu of the Buddhist holy scripts). Although the legendary Yaksa-sh, by the corrupt name of Yakkha, is mentioned in religious Hindu texts, the Vedas and ancient Sanskrit literature, Yakkha has historically been consistent in the use of its own endonyms.Yakkhawa orYakkhaba is used to denote the male person andYakkhama to denote the female person.[6]
The Yakkhas are also known by the exonymsDewan, Jimi andRai titles they accepted after the conquest of the Kirat land by the Gorkhas underPrithvi Narayan Shah. The Yakkhas were not only given ownership of the land but were also given the responsibility of collecting taxes from the lands utilised by Yakkhas as well as non-Yakkhas living in the area. InDarjeeling district,Kalimpong district andSikkim ofIndia, Dewan is commonly used as a synonym of Yakkha, and as Dewans they are placed in theOther Backward Class category.[7]
Today, theYakkha Motherland is considered a patch among the historic Kirat region (i.e., east of theKathmandu valley). During the National Unification of Nepal byPrithvi Narayan Shah, the traditional bases of the Kirat Lands were merged. The Far Kirat (Pallo Kirat) of theLimbuwan area to the east of theArun River was divided into seventeen Thums. Among these Seventeen Thums, the Panch (5) Khapan, Panch (5) Majhiya and Das (10) Majhiya; Tin Thum Yakkhalen are regarded as the traditional area of the Yakkhas. This Yakkha area is the Southern part ofSankhuwasabha district bordering theTerhathum District andTaplejung District in the East;Dhankuta District in the South; andBhojpur District in the West; of the Eastern Nepal.Sibhuwa, Syabun, Wana, Dadagau, Swachi, Yangsijong, Wabun, Maidane, Chitlang are the names of Panch-Khapan;Madi Mulkharka, Tamafok, Tellok, Mamgling, Ankhibhuin, Hombong, Marrek, Chanuwa, Dandagaun, etc. are the names of the Dash-Majhiyas andHattisudhe, Kingring, Chapabhuin, Aambote, Chainpur etc. are the name of Panch-Majhiyas.[8]
The Yakkha’s have a distinct language, culture and tradition. TheYakkha language is aTibeto-Burman language. The onset of modernism and influence from external factors have caused a rapid disappearance of the Yakkha language.[9] The Yakkhas practice the Kirati religion of nature worship. There are 32 family names (Thar) in the Yakkhas. Each Thar also has a sub-group called the Sameychong. Marriages do not occur between families sharing the same Sameychong.
As per theNational Population and Housing Census 2021 of Nepal, the population of Yakkhas in Nepal was 17,460 (0.06% of the total population of Nepal).[1] As per the 2011 Nepal census of Nepal, the population of Yakkhas in Nepal was 24,336 (0.1% of the total population of Nepal).[10] As per the population census of Nepal 2001, there were 17,003 Yakkhas in Nepal. A few thousand Yakkhas live in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, Sikkim, North-Eastern states and other parts of India.
As per the 2021 Nepal census, the population of Yakkha people by province is as follows:[1]
As per the 2021 Nepal census, the population of Yakkha people by district is as follows:[1]
| Sino-Tibetan (Trans-Himalayan) |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indo-Aryan |
| ||||||||
| Indo-Aryan of adistinct origin | |||||||||
| Other peoples (M,D,i) ofIndus-Ganga |
| ||||||||
| Immigrants and expatriates |
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| Other basis |
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