Jirel people
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2008) |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Nepal India Bhutan China (Tibet Autonomous Region) | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Buddhism and minorities of Bön , Christianity, Animism, Jainism, predominantly Kiratism, Muslim, Sikhism (by gurudwaras in Nepal) |
The Jirels (Template:Lang-ne) is an ethnic Nepali group. Jirel are one of the 59 indigenous peoples in Nepal. Jirel people are closely related to Tibetans. They like to be called Jirpa, which means "leopard-like people." Sherpa (Shyar-pa), are the "people of the east, easterners". Jirpa believe that they migrated to Nepal, Jiri, and Dolakha from the western part of Nepal. Jiri, the name of the place, came from Jirpa. They are the original inhabitants of Jiri and its adjoining villages in Dolkha district, the central region of Nepal. They have their own distinct language, culture, customs, rituals and lifestyles. They are mostly Buddhist but many of the Jirel adhere to other religions, like Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. They also worship Jhakri (shamans). Their main occupation is agriculture. In recent years they have also been involved in business, government, and teaching jobs. Many of the Jirel are in the British Gurkha Army, Indian Army, Nepalese Army, and the police. They are primarily settled in Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk Chitwan, and Ilam districts, next to Likhu, Khimti, the Jiri and Jiri Shikri rivers. Jirels have their own mother tongue which is called Jirpa Taam, and belongs to the Tibetan language family.
Footnotes
References
- Maibaum, Anita and Esther Strahm. 2005. Jirel-Nepali-English. Kathmandu: Central Department of Linguistics. Tribhuvan University.