Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain (in Nepal),
Kumaoni is also used as a term for people who have their origin in Kumaon. The word Kumain is a direct derivative of Kumaoni.
History
Worshipping
Vishnu and
Shiva is predominant in this region. According to
Skanda Purana. Kumaon is believed to be the birth place of Kurma avatar of Hindu god Vishnu.
Kurmanchal Kingdom
The
Kumaon Kingdom was a medieval kingdom of Kumaon. it was established by Vasudeo Katyuri. Its capital was Baijnath. It was one of the oldest Himalayan kingdoms, unified most of the Himalayas, and extended from
Sikkim in the east to
Kumaon division in the west at its peak. After the fall of the kingdom, it was divided into eight princely states. The next ruling clan of Kumaon were the
Chand kingdom. The dynasty at its peak controlled the
Tons River to the
Ghaghara river. Kumaon was one of the few countries of
South Asia that were never ruled or conquered by any Muslim dynasties.
British Raj
There was widespread opposition to British rule in various parts of Kumaon. The Kumaoni people, especially from the
Champawat District, rose in rebellion against the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Under the leadership of Kalu Singh Mahara, many Kumaonis also joined the Indian National Army led by Subash Chandra Bose during the Second World War.
[ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Dehradun Edition . Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved on 27 September 2011.]
In other countries
In Nepal there are castes of
who migrated from Kumaon to Nepal during the medieval period. They are now characterized as 'Kumain Bahun' or 'Kumai Bahuns'.
Language
UNESCO designated Kumaoni as language in the
endangered and unsafe category which requires consistent conservation efforts.
Culture
Traditional attire
Various attires are worn in Kumaon.
Pichhaura is a traditional attire of Kumaoni women, generally worn for religious occasions, marriage, and other rituals. Traditionally handmade using vegetable dyes, pichhauras are available in red and saffron. Local designs made in Almora, Haldwani and other parts of Kumaon use
silk and accessories made of
pearl. It is now made using machines.
Kumaoni men wear the black Kumaoni cap. White Kumaoni caps are worn during festivals, especially, during Kumaoni Holi.
Festivals
After harvesting season people mostly relax, rejoice, dance and sing, and thus a festival is generated. At the transition of the sun from one constellation to another
Sankranti is observed. Each Sankranti has a fair or festival connected to it somewhere in Kumaon. Fooldeyi, Bikhauti,
Harela, Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Ghughutiya are the most-observed Sankranties throughout the region. Other festivals have the bearings in the moon and thus the dates change frequently in the Gregorian Calendar.
Basant Panchami, Shiv Ratri,
Gaura Festival,
Kumauni Holi, Uttarayani,
Samvatsar Parwa,
Ram Navami, Dashra, Batsavitri,
Rakshabandhan, Janmastmi, Nandastmi, and
Deepawali are some of the auspicious occasions.
[ Uttaranchal Fairs and Festivals of Uttarakhand – Kumbh mela, Uttarayani, Nandadevi Raj Jat Yatra . Euttaranchal.com. Retrieved on 27 September 2011.]
Dashain or Vijaydashmi
Dasshera festival starts in Kumaon with the performance of
Ramlila, which is itself unique as it is based on the musical rendering of the
katha or story of
Rama based on the theatrical traditions set by
Uday Shankar while on his stay in
Almora. These traditions were further enriched by
Mohan Upreti and Brijendra Lal Sah. Known as the Almora or Kumaon style, Ramlila has been recognised by
UNESCO as one of the representative styles of Ramlila in India.
[ Ramlila – the Traditional Performance of the Ramayana UNESCO.] The 150-year-old
Kumaoni Ramlila was declared as the longest running opera in the world by UNESCO.
Folk dances
Chholiya is popular dance in Kumaon region. It is the oldest folk-dance of Uttarakhand.
Jhoda and Chanchari are other folk dances of Kumaon.
Theatre
Kumaoni theatre, which developed through its 'Ramleela' plays,
[ Indian Traditions Theatre at iloveindia.] later evolved into a modern theatre form through the efforts of theatre stalwarts like
Mohan Upreti and Dinesh Pandey and groups like 'Parvatiya Kala Kendra' (started by Mohan Upreti) and 'Parvatiya Lok Kala Manch'. Besides this the famous Hindi poet, Sumitranandan Pant also hailed from Kausani, district Bageshwar.
Radio
Cuisine
Kumaoni food is simple and comprises largely of vegetables and pulses. Vegetables like
potato (
aaloo),
radish (
mooli), colocacia leaves (
arbi ke patte,
papad),
pumpkin (
kaddoo),
spinach (
palak) and many others are grown locally by the largely agrarian populace and consumed in various forms.
Population
In 2011, the census reported a total of 2,081,057 Kumaoni speaker in India, constituting 0.17% of the country's population.
In Kumaon
As per 2011 Indian census, there were 1,981,062 (95.19%) Kumaoni speakers in the
Kumaon division.
Kumaoni diaspora
There is a large Kumaoni diaspora in other states as well as outside India. However, due to the usage and acceptance of Hindi as their mother tongue, many Kumaonis do not list the Kumaoni language as their mother tongue. Hence there is an absence of data number of ethnic Kumaonis living outside Kumaon.
Kumaoni speakers in other Indian states
Source:|
|
| 1.57% |
| 1.4% |
| 0.53% |
| 0.21% |
| 0.17% |
| 0.15% |
| 0.09% |
| 0.1% |
| 0.08% |
| 0.061% |
| 0.054% |
| 0.0541% |
| 0.0517% |
International diaspora
There is a large Kumaoni diaspora in neighbouring
Nepal, because of Katyuri and Kumaon Kingdom. The actual speakers of Kumaoni in other countries, however, are not known. Though there is a presence of Kumaoni speakers outside India and Nepal, especially in Western countries. The Kumaoni NRIs are again returning to their culture with more awareness and concern about its importance and survival.
Notable people
See also
