The Magars

The general summarization of Magar, being Magar myself, is limited to my family only. I had slim to no chance of having any Magar friends outside my family. But when my brother got married to his long term girl friend, I had chance to see more Magars as my extended family and learn about my clan and culture further. She is from Gorkha and my family is also originally from Gorkha. Been there once in my life when I was in 7th grade, which is like dog's years ago.

My grandfather was an Indian Army, he left his hometown when he was teenager. When he retired he married and settled in Darjeeling. On the birth of a second child his wife died. He then came to Nepal, bought lands in Kathmandu behind Nirmal Niwas at Maharjgunj, married my grandmother, reproduced more children. His children reproduced more children, I am one of the product, and my grandfather never went back to his hometown and consequently we are all disconnected from our roots. That is how I know nothing about Magars. We all became modern day Kathmandunians forgetting our Magar roots everyday.
So back to when my brother married, I learnt about my left behind Gorkha family from my sister-in-law's relatives. Apparantly both our families shared common Padhero (Well or Tap).

Book Cover of "Nepal" by Toni Hagen.

I am reading Toni Hagen's book "Nepal" , probably written in 1960s. I love reading books written by Foreign writers who has lived in Nepal, with locals and texts are from the first hand experince. Like Toni Hagen, who came to Nepal in early 1950s when gates of Nepal were not yet opened to outsiders and one could come into Nepal only with a special invitations by Shah or Rana Maharajas. He first visited Nepal with a first Swiss development assistance mission. In 1952 he was employed by the Government of Nepal and also worked for the United Nations.
Below is excerpt from his book.



The MAGAR

The Magars are the westermost of the Tibeto-Nepali groups of the midlands and are the largest of these ethnic. Neighbours of the Gurungs, the Magars live on the westen and southern flanks of the Dhulagiri massif. Scattered colonies are found as far afield as eastern, Nepal, however and down in the Tarai of eastern Nepal and there is a large compact settlement area situated in the wide sweep of the Karnali river, between Dhundras and Chhapre. The Magars have not developed a type of house peculiar to themseles, but adopted their neighbours' type of dwelling. At the western end of the Dhualgiri massif and on the upper course of the Uttar Ganga river they live in massive houses with flat roofs, whose form looks similar to the houses in neighbouring Tibetan settlements to the north. On the southern flank of the Dhaulagiri massif, on the other hand, they build their houses, as do the Gurungs, of drystone walls roofed with slate.
Like the Gurungs, the Magars have gained fame as gallant soldiers in British Service. Besides this, however, back home they are known to possess considereable skill as craftsmen in carpentary, masonry, stonecutting etc. They are the bridge-builders among the Nepalis, and the little primitive mining that goes on in Central Nepal is largely in thier hands. From the more southernly regions, that is to say on the lower courses of the Bheri and the Karnali rivers, a great number of Magars annually migrate to the Terai and there manufacture bamboo panniers, baskets, and mats for sale in the Bazaars along the borders. In their for sale in the Bazaars along the borders. In their most norhterly settlement, on the other hands, the important trading center of tarakot on the Barbung river. they have largely adapted their way of life, their clothes, and their religion to that of the Tibetans, like the latter they also live by the salt trade. Here are found numbers lamaseries with Magar lamas; in the lower zones, however, Hinduism of the Tantrist tendency prevails.

Okay, they were the Magars of 1960, probably that is what my grandfather would  do had he not migrated to India to become an Indian Army. I was two when he passed away, I remember him from my parents and cousins only, he certainly was great farmer and grew ample food to feed his family. Imagine Maharjgunj area immediately behind Nirmal Niwas, as vast cultivable field that he owned, 40 years ago, exactly like present day Khokana.

Anyway, in nutshell, we are not the Magars from Toni Hagen's book anymore, we do not live in houses like our Neighbour Gurungs, nor we are skilled craftsmen in carpentary, masonary or stonecutting, although I would love it if I encounter Magars from those times and their offsprings keeping the legacy on and yet prospering from that.

Jhorley!!

P.S: The only Magar word I know, and I am not proud about it.