Sunuwar peopleThe Sunuwar or Koinch are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group. (Nepali:सुनुवार जाति|Sunuwār Jāti) a Kirati tribe native to Nepal, parts of India (West Bengal and Sikkim) and southern Bhutan. They speak the Sunuwar language. According to the 2001 census of Nepal, 17% of the tribe follow the Kirant religion and adopt the Mundhum (Kiranti) culture. The Kõinch's (Sunuwar) number 55,752. The term ‘Kõinchs’ is also the name of the mother tongue. Other terms like Mukhiya or Mukhia are exonyms of the tribe.
Rai peopleThe Rai are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity. They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal (predominantly Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills) and in south western Bhutan. The Rais are a set of groups one of the oldest tribes of Nepal . They inhabited the area between the Dudh Koshi and Tamur River in Nepal. They claim that their country alone called (Kiratdesh) in modern times, they have spread over Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal.
DamaiDamai (दमाइँ) is an occupational caste found among Khas people. They comprise 45 subgroups. Their surnames take after the subgroup they belong to. People belonging to this caste are traditionally tailors and musicians. They are adept at using the naumati baja- an ensemble of nine traditional musical instruments. Damai is coined from musical instrument Damaha. The 1854 Nepalese Muluki Ain (Legal Code) categorized Damai as "Lower caste” category. Thus, the tribal designation of Khas is given only in few context to Kami, Damai and Sarki due to traditional status.
Gurung peopleGurung (exonym; गुरुङ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ཏམུ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha, Parbat and Syangja districts of Nepal and parts of India. They are one of the main Gurkha tribes. They are also scattered across India in Sikkim, Assam, Delhi, West Bengal (Darjeeling area) and other regions with a predominant Nepali diaspora population.
Buddhism in NepalBuddhism in Nepal started spreading since the reign of Ashoka through Indian and Tibetan missionaries. The Kiratas were the first people in Nepal who embraced Gautama Buddha’s teachings, followed by the Licchavis and Newar people. Buddha was born in Lumbini in the Shakya Kingdom. Lumbini is considered to lie in present-day Rupandehi District, Lumbini zone of Nepal. Buddhism is the second-largest religion in Nepal. According to 2001 census, 10.74% of Nepal's population practiced Buddhism, consisting mainly of Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnicities, the Newar.
