Sunuwar people
Ethnic group in South Asia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sunuwar or Koinch are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group (Nepali:सुनुवार जाति|Sunuwār Jāti), a Kirati tribe native to Nepal, parts of India (West Bengal and Sikkim) and southern Bhutan. They speak the Sunuwar language. According to the 2001 census of Nepal, 17% of the tribe follow the Kirant religion and adopt the Mundhum (Kiranti) culture.[4]
The Kõinchs (Sunuwar) number 82,705 in total.[5][6] The term ‘Kõinchs’ is also the name of the mother tongue. Other terms like Mukhiya or Mukhia are exonyms of the tribe. Sunuwar have a distinct language, religion, culture and social customs.[7]
Demographics
The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Sunuwar as a subgroup within the broader social group of Mountain/Hill Janajati.[8] At the time of the Nepal census of 2011, 55,712 people (0.2% of the population of Nepal) were Sunuwar. The frequency of Sunuwar by province was as follows:
- Bagmati Province (0.5%)
- Koshi Province (0.5%)
- Madhesh Province (0.1%)
- Gandaki Province (0.0%)
- Lumbini Province (0.0%)
- Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%)
- Karnali Province (0.0%)
The frequency of Sunuwar was higher than the national average (0.2%) in the following districts:[9]
Photos
Udhuali
Sunuwar girl
Sunuwar culture
Sunuwar Udhuali Sadhar
Sunuwar people
Sunuwar Koich Puki at Tudikhel
Sunuwar Koich Puki and Nakhipot
