Sociology || Fall 2016 || Pokhara University

Very Short Answer Questions

Attempt all the questions.

10×2

Descriptive Answer Questions

Attempt any six questions

6×10

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Case Analysis

Read the following case and answer the questions.

Chepangs are one of the semi-tribal groups of Nepal. The population of Chepang people in Nepal is 52, 237, which represents only 0.23% of the total population of Nepal. The literacy rate of Chepang people is only 13.9 percent. They have their own language, which belongs to one of the Tibeto-Burman strains.

They are generally considered to be shy and easily dominated by other ethnic groups, who have been migrating from the mountains to the lowlands for the last 40-50 years.

Chepang people are well known for shifting cultivation practice which is the main source of livelihood for almost all of them. Shifting cultivation practice is known as khoriyakheti in Nepali. There is a common saying that if you find a Chepang household, there must bekhoriya nearby. Farming alone is not enough to sustain their family food requirements for the whole months in a year. Other traditional occupations are hunting, fishing, and collecting edible shoots and roots. Nowadays, they do wage labor and earn some money. These occupations are especially important during the periods of food scarcity, which they face every year.

Being hunter-gatherers until about 80 years ago, the Chepang are considered among the semi-nomadic and most primitive indigenous peoples of Nepal. Evidence suggests that they are highly forest-dependent as well as among the poorest and marginalized in Nepal. Chepang people heavily depend on wild foods for their subsistence living. They collected root crops, herbs, and fruits from their nearby forest and streambank. Wild foods like Dioscoreadeltoidea and Urticadiocaare linked with their traditions and cultural identity. They have generated enormous knowledge on a large number of plant species on which they have depended for centuries. Due to this, forests were the most important resources for them in terms of food, fiber, medicine, housing materials, fodder, and various other needs.
They observe all the Hindu festivals of Dashain, Tihar, and Sakrantis besides their own tribal festival Nwagi, which is performed on a Tuesday during the third week of Bhadra (someday in August and September). Chepangs do not possess other artistic skills of any kind except weaving baskets and leaf umbrellas which they use for protection against rain. Very few Chepangs are literate. There still persists a tendency among the Chepangs to avoid schooling even if the government and other organizations are trying to uplift their living standard.

a)       What is the status of Chepang in Nepal? How they are different from other ethnic group?

b)      Evaluate the social life of Chepang. What type of primitive knowledge do they have?

c)       How Chepangs are maintaining their livelihood? Do they have the good economic condition?

d)      If you are selected as a manager of an INGO to work for the Chepang community; what programs do you make to uplift their socio-economic status?

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