Customary Self-Government Systems of The Tamhang (THAKALI) Nation

THE TAMHANG (THAKALI) are one of the 59 Indigenous Peoples formally recognized by the government of Nepal.Their ancestral land, Thasang, is in the trans-Himalayan region of Nepal. Although TaMhang have been practicing their customary self-government system since time immemorial, the past and present ongoing processes of colonization, Hinduization and globalization have gradually been weakening it. Even though traditional ownership of and control over their ancestral lands, territories and resources have been lost, their collective way of life, and customary self-government system are still functioning well. What has been lost? What are still functioning? What remains? What is so distinct about the TaMhang? This book tries to answer these questions. KRISHNA B. BHATTACHAN is a retired faculty member and former Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is currently an advisor and indigenous expert at the Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP).

Click here to download the Customary Self-Government Systems of Tamhang Nation