Chepang leaders seek help from Bagmati CM

By Rammani Dahal,Hetauda, Sep. 3: The Chepang community, a marginalised tribe that worships nature, has started preparation to celebrate one of their most prominent festivals Chonam (Nwangi). 

Each year, the Chepang community celebrates the Nwangi festival on September 7 by exchanging greetings with each other, worshipping nature, and celebrating harvest season by consuming local produce and staying awake throughout the night. 

This year, they are celebrating the Nwangi festival together at Tomandanda of Gandaki Rural Municipality-6 in Gorkha district. The central President of the Nepal Chepang Association and constituent assembly members have decided to celebrate the festival together in Gorkha district this year.

They are celebrating the festival to preserve the identity of the Chepang community and help them integrate into the mainstream of development. Last year, the Chepang community celebrated the festival collectively at Changli in Gajuri Rural Municipality-5 of Dhading district.

The Association has met with Bahadur Singh Lama, Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, and demanded support for the celebration of the festival along with the development of the Chepang community. 

The Chepangs have their unique language, religion, culture, history, customs and traditions. The association stressed that the indigenous culture, customs and identity of the Chepang community are gradually disappearing, and these festivals work for the revival of their culture. 

The state needs to take special initiatives to protect the identity of the Chepang community and bring them into the mainstream by empowering the community in economic, social, political and educational arenas. President of the Association, said preparations have been made to celebrate the festival by exchanging greetings and performing rituals and cultural programmes. 

The festival is being celebrated collectively for the protection of the Chepang community as the language, religion, culture and tradition are gradually disappearing and the community is at risk of losing its identity.

On this festival, the priest of the Chepang community, Pandey Jhakri chants mantras throughout the night and offers new harvests to the gods and ancestors. 

The Chepangs are living  in 26 districts including Gorkha, Dhading, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Tanahun and Lamjung. According to the 2011 census, the population of Chepang community is 84,364.