years until they were driven out by the ancestors of the Licchavi Gaenszle 2000:5. The Lohorung people fall under the label Kirati Rai.
The historical narrative of the Rai people coming to be many different groups is told as three brothers who journeyed up the Barahkshetra Gorge from the Terai. One brother followed the Sun Koshi,
one brother followed the Dudh Koshi, and the third brother followed the Arun Koshi. The descendents of these three brothers make up the various present-day Rai groups McDougal 1973:3. The people
described in this report are said to be descendents of the brother who traveled up the Arun Koshi.
2.3 People
While there are linguistic differences between Lohorung and Yamphu discussed in 0, there are also material indicators of distinct identities. For instance, the construction of their kitchen fireplaces is
different between the Lohorung and Yamphu. Lohorung cooking fires are round and open with a metal stand on which to place pots over the burning wood. Yamphu people use raised fireplaces in their
kitchens similar to a mud oven. Their fireplaces have a hole in the side for inserting the wood and a hole on top where the pot is placed.
Like the Yamphu and Mewahang, their neighbors to the north, the day-to-day lives of Lohorung people are lived in relation to their ancestors. A notable fact about Lohorung villages is that they are
structured quite differently from those of other Rai groups around them. Their houses are raised on stilts and built next to each other with their gardens nearby. Raising their homes allows them to take greater
advantage of ground space by keeping animals under their houses. The main motivation, however, is a sense of security. As one Lohorung explained to Hardman, “We live close together so as not to fear: to
live in the fields alone away from the village is frightening” Hardman 2000:16.
Significant political changes over the last 20 years have created a new space for the expression of ethnic identity. Many cultural organizations have been founded by Rai clans to strengthen their cultures,
languages, and ethnicity as Rai. Gaenszle notes the increase in publications on specific Rai communities as evidence of “the great interest and pride of contemporary Rai in their cultural traditions, but also to
the concern that something has to be done to preserve them” Gaenszle 2000:xix. This trend has continued to increase over the past decade.
The Lohorung Yakkhaba Society was formed in 1999. Committees of the Lohorung Yakkhaba Society are located in Pangma, Diding, Heluwa, and Bardeo, Sankhuwasabha district. The desire is for
this society to be active in cultural, linguistic, and educational activities.
2.4 Languages
Among the Rai, a well-known saying is jati rai uti kura, i.e. ‘There are as many languages as there are Rai.’ The exact number and names of all the groups included under Rai is unclear. Bista’s The People of
Nepal lists 18 different Rai “segments” while the Linguistic Survey of Nepal suggests there are more than 50 Rai dialects or languages Gaenszle 2000:3. ISO 639-2 lists designations for 33 Rai languages Lewis
2009.
2.4.1 Genetic relationships
Lohorung, Yamphu, and Southern Yamphu are classified as Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Western Tibeto-Burman Bodic, Himalayan, Kiranti languages Bradley 2002:19. In Lohorung-Nepali-English: A
Basic Dictionary, the Lohorung, Yamphu, and Mewahang occupy their own branch under Sino-Tibetan, Tibetan, Bodic, Himalayish, East Himalayish Yadava 2004.
2.4.2 Language contact and multilingualism
A factor with potential to effect language shift is language contact, when speakers of two different languages meet. Through language contact, multilingualism increases and the use of certain languages
increases over the use of others, sometimes leading to language shift or even death. Considering the modes and extent of language contact and multilingualism helps paint a clearer picture of the
sociolinguistic condition of a language. A common opportunity for language contact is through access to a population center where people
from the targeted community are exposed to and possibly required to use another language Landweer 2000. In this case, the primary contact language is Nepali. All Lohorung villages in Sankhuwasabha are
within a day’s walk of Khandbari, the district headquarters. Gairi Pangma, the largest Lohorung village, is only a two-hour walk away. Many other ethnic groups also take advantage of the markets, hospital,
and schools that Khandbari offers, making Nepali language use a necessity.
Another significant contributor to language contact and multilingualism is education. Lohorung children attend Nepali-medium schools. Most villages have an ethnically diverse population, which
encourages the use of Nepali among children both inside and outside of school. Because of its largely homogeneous population, Pangma is an exception to this rule. There, we observed children speaking
Lohorung to each other in the home and while playing.
While the two factors of language contact discussed above involve action by members of the targeted community, some factors act upon the target community instead. As infrastructure for the Arun
III Hydroelectric Project is being built, Pangma stands to be heavily impacted. The road from Khandbari north to Num cuts through Lohorung land and even at this early stage has been the point of some
conflict, as plans call for it to pass through a sacred place. Most of the construction workers are from other castes and speak other languages. Construction of the road will bring increased contact with
outsiders, and the road will bring an influx of workers in need of lodging and food on their way north. This project will have significant impact on the entire district, but the most affected Lohorung village
will certainly be Pangma.
Emigration for work also affects language use in Lohorung villages. Young men often travel to Khandbari, Kathmandu, or beyond for work. Thirty percent of male respondents had spent more than
one year working in either India, Malaysia, or Qatar. Patterns of contact between Lohorung and Yamphu communities vary greatly, but the highest
contact is between Pangma and Hedangna, the largest villages of each language group. Fifty-six percent of Lohorung respondents had travelled north to Hedangna while 60 percent of Yamphu respondents had
travelled south through Pangma.
2.4.3 Terms of reference
