Volume 34
Fall-Winter
2008 |
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As a public sector folklorist and research
professor in anthropology at Syracuse University,
my fieldwork frequently brings me
in contact with newly arrived immigrants to
central New York. The newest ethnic group
to arrive in Syracuse are the Nepali people of
Bhutan who arrived in our city this past May.
A phone call from one of the caseworkers
at Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement
Services alerted me to their arrival.
I did not know it at the time, but the
Nepali Bhutanese comprise one-third of
Bhutan’s population and have a distinctive
culture. They are descendants of Nepalese
agriculturalists who migrated to Bhutan in
the nineteenth century. In 1958 Bhutan finally
granted citizenship to this Hindu group, but
in 1998 the Bhutanese government revoked
the citizenship, making the “Llotsampas” illegal
immigrants in the land they considered their
home. (Nepalese of Bhutan reject the use of
the word, which means “southerners,” because
it categorizes them as a regional group,
when they are actually of several different
ethnicities.)
Members of Syracuse’s Nepali Bhutanese community pose in Rosemont Cemetery Park, July 2008. Photo: Felicia Faye McMahon |
Bhutan expelled 100,000 Nepali people, who were
forced to flee to refugee camps in eastern Nepal.
Because the governments of Nepal and
Bhutan cannot come to an agreement about
the status of the Nepali Bhutanese, they have
lived in limbo for more than seventeen years.
In 2008, 60,000 members of this community
will be granted refugee status and allowed
to immigrate to the United States and other
countries.
In Syracuse there is a growing community
of about ninety newcomers whose traditions
are a unique blending from Nepal and Bhutan.
They speak khas-kura or Nepali, a Pahari language
closely related to but more conservative
than Hindu. The women wear the traditional
sari of Nepal and common attire for men is
the topi (hat) worn with the daura suruwal, a
two-piece suit that consists of pants and a long
tunic. Traditional foods include daal, bhaat,
and tarkaari (lentils, rice, and vegetables) and
chiura, a snack of beaten rice eaten with tea.
Because they are Hindu, they do not eat beef.
Momos, meat- or vegetable-filled dumplings,
are common but are often filled with goat
cheese. Other traditional ingredients include
dhai (yogurt) and pharsi (pumpkin curry).
Throughout the summer I’ve met with this
new community under the shade of large
trees on the lawn of Rosemont Cemetery to
plan their introduction to city residents during
Syracuse University’s “Folk Arts: Soul of
Syracuse” series on October 4. The event will
be held in October because it is the month
when Deusi is celebrated. Among the Nepali
Bhutanese, Deusi is an important festival that
extends for three days. Festivals in the homeland,
however, are more than holidays. They
are occasions when devotion to the deities is
expressed. Deusi is the most important festival
because it is celebrates Goddess Bhagabatis’s
victory over evil Mashisaher. Traditional
dances and songs are integral to this festival.
On October 4, our city’s residents will hear
for the first time the sounds of the madal, a
two-sided drum, and witness a performance
of damphu, a traditional dance performed by
girls. These and other traditions of the Nepali
Bhutanese are enriching central New York’s
cultural landscape.
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Felicia Faye McMahon is a research professor in anthropology at Syracuse University,
where she teaches public folklore
courses in the Renée Crown University
Honors and Soling programs.
Because the governments of Nepal and
Bhutan cannot come to an agreement about
the status of the Nepali Bhutanese, they have
lived in limbo for more than seventeen years.
In 2008, 60,000 members of this community
will be granted refugee status and allowed
to immigrate to the United States and other
countries.
This column appeared in Voices Vol. 34, Fall-Winter 2008. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society today.
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