Nepali Corpus

 

Nepali: a brief note

 

Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language of the Eastern Pahari subgroup. It is the official language of Nepal, and the lingua franca of the Indian state of Sikkim and of Darjiling district in the state of West Bengal.

 

Resources :

All available resources here

 

1. Epics, or heroic sung narratives

This epic genre (bhārat) is declaimed and sung by bards and musicians of the tailor caste. It is also known as huḍkelī, after the hourglass-shaped drum, the huḍ ko, played by the performers.

The recordings presented were made in 1969 in Dandeldhura District, Nepal, by Marc Gaborieau and Mireille Helffer of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). The language is not standard Nepali, but Dotyal, spoken in far western Nepal. The recordings were transcribed by Man Bahadur Kathayat in 1969, and more recently by Jaya Raj Pant and Man Bahadur Shahi, and translated by Jaya Raj Pant (into standard Nepali) and Boyd Michailovsky and Marie Lecomte-Tilouine.

Invocation
Népal, Mahakali Zone, Dadeldhura District, Amargadhi VDC, 1969, bard Camalek Bahadur Dholi, B. Michailovsky
Traditional invocation of deities and introduction to a performance.

Chiya Bhiya Kathayat
Népal, Mahakali Zone, Dadeldhura District, Amargadhi VDC, 1969, bard Camalek Bahadur Dholi, B. Michailovsky
This is the first of 4 epics recorded.

Rani Maula
Népal, Mahakali Zone, Dadeldhura District, Amargadhi VDC, 1969, bard Camalek Bahadur Dholi, B. Michailovsky
This is the 3rd of 4 epics recorded.

Rani Raut
Népal, Mahakali Zone, Dadeldhura District, Amargadhi VDC, 1969, bard Camalek Bahadur Dholi, B. Michailovsky
This is the last of 4 epics recorded.

 

2. Folktales from far Western Nepal

"The old woodcutter" was recorded and transcribed by Prem Bahadur Shahi, of Gaighat, Surkhet, and translated with further help from Rajesh Khatiwada. The remaining texts were transcribed and translated by Bharat Kumar Saud of Chalsa, Achham, who helped Boyd Michailovsky with the linguistic analysis, and by Prem Bahadur Shahi.

The local language of Achham is not normally written. These stories are transcribed in Devanagari, in the absence of a full phonological analysis. A provisional phonological transcription, using the IPA, is used for the two stories told by Mrs Lal Shobha Tamatar.

The Old Woodcutter
Nepal, Surkhet, Ghatgaun, 2002, Dholi Laphe, Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
How it came about that man does not see Death, although Death sees her victims.

Tiger and Jackal / [nep] Bag ra syal
Nepal, Seti Zone, Achham District, Dhanku VDC, Dungala, 2007, "DB" (anonyme), Marie Lecomte-Tilouine

Traditional story. The speaker is an elderly Brahman woman. The story is told in some haste.

The Cretin Brother (1) / [nep] Lato Bhai
Nepal, Seti Zone, Achham District, Dhanku VDC, Dungala, 2007, conteur anonyme, Marie Lecomte-Tilouine

Traditional story, also known as "The long-haired girl" (nep. "Lamcultheni"), told by an elderly brahman woman.

The Cretin Brother (2) / [nep] Lato Bhai
Nepal, Seti Zone, Achham District, Bayala VDC, Bajuda, 2007, Lal Shobha Tamata, Marie Lecomte-Tilouine

Humorous story, told by a woman aged about 50, of the artisan caste. Roman (IPA) transcription.

The Hare and the Jackal / [nep] Saso ra syal
Nepal, Seti Zone, Achham District, Bayala VDC, Bajuda, 2007, Lal Shobha Tamata, Marie Lecomte-Tilouine

Humorous story, told by a woman aged about 50, of the artisan caste. Roman (IPA) transcription.

 

Boyd Michailovsky