Festival · Nepal Bhasa
Indra Jatra
Eight days of chariots, masked dance and the Kumari's blessing.
Province
Bagmati Province
बागमती प्रदेश
The Kathmandu Valley's Newar civilisation of courtyards and chariot festivals, ringed by Tamang settlements of the mid-hills.
- Languages
- 6
- Districts
- 13
- Capital
- Hetauda
Districts of Bagmati — click one for its languages
Languages spoken here
6 languages, each with its own archive
Bantawa Rai
Vulnerableबान्तावा
Bantawa is the most widely spoken of some two dozen Kiranti Rai languages, each valley holding its own tongue. It is a language of…
Sino-Tibetan › Kiranti · Devanagari, Kirat Rai (Khambu)
AI preparedness index: 0.15%
Open profileNepal Bhasa (Newar)
Vulnerable𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮𑐨𑐵𑐲𑐵 / नेपालभाषा
Nepal Bhasa is the classical language of the Kathmandu Valley, with a manuscript tradition running from the 12th century: chronicl…
Sino-Tibetan › Newaric · Ranjana, Prachalit, Devanagari
AI preparedness index: 0.75%
Open profileTamang
Vulnerableतामाङ / ཏའ་མང་
Tamang is spoken in a ring of hills around the Kathmandu Valley. Its ritual life is kept by three specialists — the Buddhist lama,…
Sino-Tibetan › Tamangic · Devanagari, Tibetan (Sambhota)
AI preparedness index: 0.36%
Open profileSherpa
Vulnerableཤར་པ་སྐད། / शेर्पा
Sherpa is a Tibetic language of the high valleys below Everest, carried from Kham some five centuries ago. Its speech is layered w…
Sino-Tibetan › Tibetic · Tibetan (Uchen)
AI preparedness index: 0.23%
Open profileNepali
Vitalनेपाली / खस कुरा
Nepali grew out of the Khas speech of the Karnali basin, spread with the Gorkha state, and is now the lingua franca linking every …
Indo-European › Indo-Aryan · Devanagari
AI preparedness index: 1.70%
Open profileSunuwar
Endangeredकोँइच / Koids
Sunuwar, self-named Koinch, has its own script — Jenticha, devised in 1942 by Karna Bahadur Jenticha — and a Mundhum tradition tie…
Sino-Tibetan › Kiranti · Jenticha (Koinch Brese), Devanagari
AI preparedness index: 0.33%
Open profileDistrict by district
Open a district for the languages spoken there
Bhaktapur4 languagesChitwan5 languagesDhading3 languagesDolakha4 languagesKathmandu4 languagesKavre0 languagesLalitpur4 languagesMakwanpur6 languagesNuwakot1 languageRamechhap3 languagesRasuwa1 languageSindhuli3 languagesSindhupalchok2 languages
Where each language sits
| Language | Districts in this province |
|---|---|
| Bantawa Rai | Bhojpur, Khotang, Dhankuta, Udayapur, Sunsari |
| Nepal Bhasa (Newar) | Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kavrepalanchok, Dolakha, Makwanpur |
| Tamang | Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchok, Makwanpur, Dhading, Kavrepalanchok |
| Sherpa | Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Taplejung |
| Nepali | Nationwide |
| Sunuwar | Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhuli |
Cultural highlights
Living heritage of Bagmati
Newar Jatra cycleTamang SeloRanjana calligraphy
Script · Nepal Bhasa
Ranjana calligraphy
Ornamental script used from Kathmandu to Lhasa.
Song · Tamang
Tamang Selo
Damphu frame-drum songs of the mid-hills.
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