An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
Concerning the colony from Chitaur I received another account, from the
Mahanta, or prior of the convent of Janmasthan, at Ayodhya. He alleges,
that Chaturbhuja, a prince of the Sisaudhiya tribe, having left Chitaur,
conquered Kumau and Yumila, where he established his throne, from whence
his family spread to Palpa Tanahung and the Kirats. The supremacy very
lately admitted by all the eastern mountain chiefs to the Rajas of
Yumila, is a strong presumption in favour of this opinion. Many chiefs,
and especially the Palpa Tanahung and Makwanpur families, pretend to be
descended of the Chitaur princes; but it is very doubtful whether they
have any claim to a descent so illustrious, for the Mahanta said, that,
after some generations, all the hill chiefs rebelled, and paid only a
nominal obedience to the Raja of Yumila, nor does Samar Bahadur, uncle of
the Palpa Raja, claim kindred with that chief, while one of the branches
of his family still remains impure. But, if this tradition be
well-founded, the Yumila, or Kumau principality, or at least its
possession by the Rajputs, must have been subsequent to 1306, which will
not admit of above twenty-five generations, instead of the fifty or sixty
which the Brahmans of that country allot for the arrival of Asanti. This
difference may, however, be explained. Chaturbhuja, as well as a
fortunate Brahman, who obtained Malebum, as will be afterwards mentioned,
may have married the daughter of the former chief of Yumila, and thus
succeeded to the power; and the fifty or sixty generations, in both
cases, may include both the original family, and those who succeeded by
marriage. But, if the Mahanta is right, the Yumila or Karuvir family, in
place of being descended of Shalivahana, was descended of the princes of
Ajmir and Chitaur.
In giving an account of the tribes now occupying the dominions of Nepal,
I shall first commence with these Hindu colonists, as having acquired the
predominance; but I must premise, that very considerable differences
prevail in their customs in different parts, and especially that those in
the countries east from the Kali differ much from those who live west
from that river. I shall commence with the former, with whom I am best
acquainted.
The language spoken by the mountain Hindus in the vicinity of Kathmandu,
is usually called the Parbatiya basha, or mountain dialect; but west from
the capital, it is more commonly known by the name of Khas basha, or
dialect of the Khas country, because it seems to have been first
introduced into the territory of that name. I have lodged in the
Company’s library a copious vocabulary of this dialect, from whence the
learned may judge how far it is probable that it came from Chitor; for
there can be no doubt, that it is a dialect of the Hindwi language, and
it is making rapid progress in extinguishing the aboriginal dialects of
the mountains.
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