Rai people

Rāi
राई
	Nakchhong Rai tribal priest
Total population
	Nepal • India • Bhutan
Regions with significant populations
	• Nepal:640,674(2021); ; •Koshi:506,422; •Bagmati:112,364; •Madhesh:10,210; •Gandaki:7,599; •Lumbuni:2,628; •Sudurpashchim:917; •Karnali:534 ; ; ; • India:360,819 ; ; •West Bengal:216,043 ; •Sikkim:80,879 ; •Assam:43,646 ; •Arunachal Pradesh:9,046 ; •Uttarakhand:3,649; •Meghalaya:3,705; •Nagaland:1,813; •Himachal Pradesh:1,593; •Mizoram:445 ; ; • Bhutan:37,311[citation needed]; •Mostly found Southern Bhutan
Languages
	•Native Languages:; Rai languages; •Other; Nepali; Dzongkha;
Religion
	Predominantly:; 65% Kiratism or Animism; Other Religions:; 30% Hinduism, 5% Christianity (2011)
Related ethnic groups
	Sunuwar; Yakkha; Limbu; Hayu; Jirel; Dhimal; Other Sino-Tibetan people;

The Rai (Kirati: also known as Jimee or Khambu, Rāi; Devanagari: राई) are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity.^[7] They are indigenous to the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal (predominantly Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills) and in southwestern Bhutan.^[8]^[9]

The Rai, as a set of groups, are 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 called Kiratdesh in modern times, has spread over Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal.^[10] The name Rai is a derivative of a Nepali word meaning "commander." This title is said to have been conferred on the Khambu by Prithvinarayan Shah after the Gorkha conquest of Khambuan.^[11] Rai are also known as "Khambu" in some places. They are known for worshipping nature and ancestral spirits. Rai are one of the tribes of the Kirati group. They are popularly believed to have offered a stiff resistance to the invasion of the Gorkhas.^[12] Kiranti Rai are hill tribes who once possessed considerable power and territory but were reduced to submission by Prithvi Narayan Shah after his conquest of Nepal.^[13] Kirati rule in the eastern hills of Nepal ended after the conquest of the Gorkha Kingdom in 1772–1773.^[14]

^ "Census Nepal caste-ethnicity results".
^ "Central Bureau of Statistics National Population and Housing Census 2021 PDF".
^ "Sikkim University: Ethnographic Report of the Kirat Khambu Rai Community of Sikkim".
^ "An Anthropological Venture into the Rai Community of Darjeeling Hills West Bengal India". Retrieved 24 June 2020.
^ "Linguistic and Religious Minorities Under SSP Led Government" (PDF).
^ "Caste ethnicity and religion of Nepal Ministry of Health page 56" (PDF). Retrieved 3 May 2024.
^ "The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Nepal A General Survey" (PDF).
^ "Kirat Khambu Rais of Sikkim and Eastern Himalayas". 23 March 2005 – via Internet Archive.
^ "Rai Culture LandNepal". 12 June 2021.www.landnepal.com
^ "Census Of India Sikkim 2011 Rai" (PDF).
^ Pradhan, Kumar (1991). Kumar Pradhan, The Gurkha Conquests, Oxford University Press, 1991. Calcutta. p. 52.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "Village survey monograph on upper Pedong" (PDF). Census of India 1961 West Bengal & Sikkim Volume XV1, Part VI (10)
^ "Gurkhas (1915) by Vansittart Eden". 6 September 2023.archive.org
^ "New Past for the Sake of a Better Future: Re-inventing the history of the Kirant in East Nepal" (PDF).himalaya.socanth.cam

[1] "Census Nepal caste-ethnicity results".

[2] "Central Bureau of Statistics National Population and Housing Census 2021 PDF".

[3] "Sikkim University: Ethnographic Report of the Kirat Khambu Rai Community of Sikkim".

[4] "An Anthropological Venture into the Rai Community of Darjeeling Hills West Bengal India". Retrieved 24 June 2020.

[5] "Linguistic and Religious Minorities Under SSP Led Government" (PDF).

[6] "Caste ethnicity and religion of Nepal Ministry of Health page 56" (PDF). Retrieved 3 May 2024.

[7] "The Tibeto-Burman Languages of Nepal A General Survey" (PDF).

[8] "Kirat Khambu Rais of Sikkim and Eastern Himalayas". 23 March 2005 – via Internet Archive.

[9] "Rai Culture LandNepal". 12 June 2021.www.landnepal.com

[10] "Census Of India Sikkim 2011 Rai" (PDF).

[11] Pradhan, Kumar (1991). Kumar Pradhan, The Gurkha Conquests, Oxford University Press, 1991. Calcutta. p. 52.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[12] "Village survey monograph on upper Pedong" (PDF). Census of India 1961 West Bengal & Sikkim Volume XV1, Part VI (10)

[13] "Gurkhas (1915) by Vansittart Eden". 6 September 2023.archive.org

[14] "New Past for the Sake of a Better Future: Re-inventing the history of the Kirant in East Nepal" (PDF).himalaya.socanth.cam

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