Thakali - Orientation

Identification. Thakali territory is called Thakhola or Thak-Satsae, in Jomson District in central Nepal. Thakola is sandwiched between the pastoral highlands in the north and the agricultural lowlands in the south. It is also the transitional zone between Tibetan Buddhist culture and Hindu culture.

Demography. According to the 1961 census there were 4,130 Thakali-speaking people. Accurate population figures are not available. Some Thakalis claim that their population is close to ten thousand. The majority of the Thakalis used to live in Thakhola until the end of the 1950s, but most of them migrated to cities and towns in the southern lowlands of Nepal after the events of 1959 in Tibet.

Linguistic Affiliation. The Thakalis are Himalayan Mongoloids whose mother tongue is of the Tibeto-Burman Family. It is called Thakali and belongs to the Tamang Group (Including Tamang, Gurung, and Magar).