Who are the Tamang People?

Tamangs are one of the ancient inhabitants of the Himalayas and valleys of Nepal.   They are listed as one of the 59 Indigenous Nationalities officially recorded by the government of Nepal.  Indigenous Nationalities consist of 35.7% population of Nepal.  Census 2021 enumerated the population of Tamang in Nepal to be 1,639,866, which is around 6% of the total population of the country. 

The traditional territory of Tamang in Nepal is referred to as Tamsaling, where the majority of them live.  In addition to Nepal, Tamangs are spread as far as northeastern Indian states, particularly in Darjeeling and Sikkim regions.  Although there is no accurate population data available for all Tamangs, a rough estimate suggests that there are about 3 to 4 million Tamangs in the central and eastern Himalayan region extending as far as Myanmar. 

They follow Himalayan Vajrayana Buddhism as their religion and speak the Tamang language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family. Tamangs have preserved a rich cultural tradition with vibrant folk music, arts and oral tradition.

They, nevertheless, suffer marginalization in education, socio-economic development and political representation in contemporary Nepal.