Title: The Rising Nepal article(28th March 2008 by linguist Dr Tumbahang)

Dumi Rai: People And Language [ 2008-3-28 ]
Dr. Govinda Bahadur Tumbahang
The Dumi belong to Rai group of Kiranti race. The term 'Rai' is a collective ethnonym for several groups of ethnic communities such as Sangpang, Chamling, Bantawa, Kulung, Yakkha, Puma etc. The immediate neighbors of the Dumi are Thulung, Nacchering and Kohi to the north and Tilung, Chamling and Sangpang to the south. They live in Baksila, Sapteswar, Sasarka, Kharmi and Makpa villages around Rawa and Tap rivers in Khotang district of eastern Nepal. Now, they are scarcely available in Sunsari, Udayapur, Jhapa and Morang. Their total population is 5,271.They call themselves Dumi ro?di, or simply Ro?di, which means 'Rai'. They are referred to in Nepali variously as Jimi, Jimdar, Kiranti and Dumi Rai. Currently, the first three terms have fallen into disuse as they have acquired a pejorative connotation.

The Dumi are pantheists. They have two sets of deities: the simnim-mil and tsi:mo-mil. simnim-mil is the plural form of simnim, the Primal God. He is supposed to bring about natural disaster such as earthquakes, droughts, floods or famines if he is angry with mankind and if he is content, he brings good weather. The tsi:mo-mil is the plural form of tsi:mo. They are lesser deities and they include both household and outdoor god and goddesses. They inflict people with illness and calamity if they are discontent with them. Therefore, people keep these deities appeased.

The language spoken by the Dumi is also called Dumi Rai. It belongs to Kiranti group of Tibeto-Burman corresponding to Benedict's Bahing- Vayu nucleus. It includes Limbu, Yakkha and Rai group of languages. Within Kiranti, Dumi's closest relatives appear to be Kohi and Khaling. It has four major dialects. They are : Sapteswar dialect, Sasarka and Kharmi dialect, Baksila dialect and Makpa dialect. Lamdija is believed to be the ancestral Dumi homeland and it lies within the area of the Baksila ridge. Dumi has 13 vowels. It has five long vowels: /i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/ and /a:/ and eight short vowels: / i/, / /u/, /e/, /o/, /œ/, /YƯ and /a / . It also has the diphthongs /e:y/, /Yƹ/, /oy/, /o:YƯ and /ai /. Similarly, it has 27 consonants. They are /k/, /kh/, /g/, /gh/, /ng/, /T/, /TH/, /D/, /DH/, /t/, /th/, /d/, /dh/, /n/, /p/, /ph/, /b/, /bh/, /m/, /y/, /r/, /l/, /w/, /s/, /h/ and /?/ .

On the basis of tongue height, it has high, mid-high, mid-low and low vowels. Similarly, on the basis of tongue position, it has front, central and back vowels. Likewise on the basis of lip position, it has rounded and unrounded vowels. On the basis of duration of pronunciation, it has long and short vowels. /i/, /i:/, / /u/, /u:/ are high vowels. /e/, /e:/, /o/, /o:/ are high-mid, /œ/ is low-mid and /a/ and /a:/ are low vowels. Similarly, /i/, /i:/, /e/, /e:/, /œ/ are front vowels, / /YƯ, /a/, /a: / are central vowels and /u/, /u:/, /o/, /o: / are back vowels. The front vowels are unrounded where as the back vowels are rounded.

On the basis of manner of articulation, it has plosive, fricative, affricate, nasal, liquids, and glides. /k/, /kh/, /g/, /gh/, /ng/, /T/, /TH/, /D/, /DH/, /t/, /th/, /d/, /dh/, /p/, /ph/, /b/ and /bh/ are plosives. /s/, /h/, and /? / fricatives. /j/ is affricate. /m/, /n/ and /ng / are nasal.

l/ and /r/ are liquids. /w/ and /y / are glides. On the basis of phonation, it has unaspirated voiceless, aspirated voiceless, voiced and breathy stops. /p/, /t/, /k/, /T/ and /? / are unaspirated voiceless stops. /ph/, /th/, /kh/ and /TH / are aspirated voiceless stops. /b/, /d/, /g/ and /D/ are voiced stops and /j/ is a voiced affricate. /bh/, /dh/, /gh/, and /DH/ are breathy stops. /s/ and /h/ are voiceless fricatives. /m/, /n/, /ng / are voiced nasals. . /l/ and /r/ are voiced liquids and /w/ and /y/ are voiced glides. On the basis of point of articulation, consonants are divided into labial, dental, retroflex, velar and glottal phonemes. /p/, /ph/, /b/, /bh/, /m/ and /w/ are labials. /t/, /th/, /d/, /dh/, /n/ are dental. /T/, TH/, /D/, /DH/, /s/, /j/ , /l/ and /r / are retroflex. /k/, /kh/, /g/, /gh/ and /ng/ are velar. /?/ and /h/ are glottal.

Nouns inflect for number and case. Singular number is unmarked, dual number is marked by the suffix –ni and plural number is indicated by the suffix –mil. For example, cu|?u ' a child', cu?u-ni 'two children', cu?u-mil 'many children'. Ergative case is marked by the suffix -?a, instrumental case is marked by the suffix -?a, genitive case is marked by the suffix –po, the locative case is marked by the suffix –bi, commutative case is marked by the suffix –key, ornative case is marked by the suffix –mi, ablative case is marked by the suffix -lYƫYƠand comparative case is marked by -yikYƠ. The absolutive and vocative cases are unmarked. The personal pronouns differentiate three persons, three numbers and, in the non-singular first person, inclusive and exclusive. Verbs may have one or more different stems. They have ante-vocalic and ante-consonantal forms. They are intransitively and transitively conjugated. Reflexive verbs are intransitively conjugated. The flexional affixes of intransitive, transitive and reflexive paradigms are constant throughout all conjugations. The verbs inflect for number, person, case and tense. The affixes mark both subject and object on the verbs. In a noun phrase adjective precedes the noun and the adjective in turn is preceded by numerals, adverbs and demonstratives. The sentences are formed in SOV pattern.

The Dumi are in minority even in their indigenous area. The great influx of non-Rai such as Chhetri, Bahun, Newar, Gurung and Tamang has outnumbered them in their own homeland. Retention of the language is low among them and surviving speakers are scarce. The middle aged Dumi have retained some of their language but they are gradually losing interest in their language. They have been and are under pressure to learn Nepali language as it is the official language of the country. They have developed Nepali as a second language and they are fluent in it. They are gradually abandoning their mother tongue in favor of Nepali language. George Van Driem, professor of linguistics at the Netherlands, visited the Dumi in their homeland, studied the language, culture and sociology and prepared a A Grammar of Dumi Rai in 1993. This book introduces phonology, morphology, syntax and discourse of Dumi in addition to their culture and belief system. This is a great endeavor made after B. Hodgson to bring this language to the centre of attention of the linguists. It has inspired Dumi language lovers to make contribution for the preservation, promotion and development of the language. Certainly, Driem deserves high respect and loud appreciation for his contribution to the Dumi language. ...