Changes in Ecological Relationships of Argali Magars Man Bahadur Khattri* 1. Introduction Nepali society and culture is identified as diversity of various caste, ethnic and indigenous people, and their colorful cultural practices. The Magars of Argal are one of them. The ethnographic description and various studies show that the Magars of Nepal are the most diverse ethnic group themselves. This diversity is associated with only on regional cultural practices. However, they are also recognized themselves with different local lineal clans. Ecologists seek to establish relationship between population and their natural environment. Cultural ecologists focus their study on human populations and their adaptation to their immediate environment primarily through socio-cultural means (Kottak 1974:19). Human beings like all other animals must maintain adaptive relationships with their ecosystems in order to survive, although they achieve this adaptation principally through the medium of culture (Keesing and Strathern 1998:105). Cultural ecology as a concept and method coined by Julian Steward (1955) means the study of the processes by which a society adapts to its environments. Cultural ecology suggests what aspect of a society we should focus on the study. It also looks local variation of culture in order to adapt environment locally. In this article I have looked the relationships of inter-ethnic and inter-ecological gradients, which mediated by social-cultural mechanism i.e. ista mitra (fictive kin relationship). Ista has played role to with local production and different socio-cultural of two different ecological setting. It tries to demonstrate how socio-cultural processes transform when rice gets closer market access. The ethnographic data suggest to argue that fictive kin relationship is caused by the multiple uses of rice began in Argal. Similarly, social and geographical relationships are developed on the basis of cultural institution like kinship; but its limitation varies according to culture of an ethnic group. I argue that not only the state rules and regulations, market system but also with the internal changes brought the present social cultural system in Argal. In the past, rice cultivation was limited due to technology and knowledge of the variety of rice, which possibly grown in up-land regions. Rice cultivation has become one of the important social and cultural transformations in most of the hill region of Nepal. I have also focused on social, economic and cultural aspect of rice. The major focus is given on the complex interaction of environment, technology, population, settlement pattern, work group composition, food production and consumption. The Magars and their neighbor caste people especially Bahun, Chetris and various groups of Dalits differ with certain cultural practices but all people of Argal practice similar economic activities. Different caste and ethnic people of different ecological gradients use fictive kinship to incorporate the lacking social network for better survival in a subsistence economy of the rural area. Fictive kinship, dajubhai system, matri-cross cousin marriage, and the labor exchange system, hudda are tied closely as the cultural patterns of the Magars. Communal sharing of Magar is one of the main features of all these social organizations. 2. People According to census 2001 the total population of Magars in Nepal is 1622421, which consists 7.1 % (CBS 2003:97). Total population of Argal is 2490 where as male are 1,158 and female are * Teaching Assistant in Anthropology at Mahendra Multiple Campus Baglung 1332 (CBS 2002:45). Magars are seen earliest Sanscritized ethnic group among other Tibeto- Burman language family (Sharma 1977), but a contradiction exist when we look at the total population they share and their human development index. If we observe in the Khuwa1of Galkot area of Baglung district, Argal, Hila, Tara and Majkharka are the most densely settled areas by the Magars. The Magars of these areas are slightly different in their religious cultural practices. However, they are very close neighboring group, they have slightly different dialects and practice different rituals in different seasons, but they follow similar subsistence patterns. The caste groups include Bahun, Chettri, Sanyasi and the Dalits2. The people in Argal have diversity in cultural practices and their identity, which desire to occupy a specific niche (Barth 1981:3). The Magars are the dominant ethnic group from time immemorial. They are exploiting the land and forest resources along Puwadhune Khola and Tara Khola valley. According to Bista (1967) as mother language some Magars speak Tibeto-Burman dilect, some speaks Nepali and few speak Tibetan, some speak all three, but all speak Nepali at least as second language. According to the elderly people, the village name Argal is related to their original homeland from where they migrated. According to them, they migrated from a place called Argali, which lies, in Palpa district. However, they are not clear why and when they left Argal, and again it is also possible that they migrated from Argali of Pyuthan to Palpa and at last to Argal at present. Because a place called Argeli lies in Pyuthan district, where no Magars household was found at present. The distance from Pyuthan and Argal is not far. Pyuthan area can also be another possible area where Argali Magars might have migrated, however, it is difficult to verify. Spoken language, myths, rituals, and cultural affinities are the main sources for tracing the ethno- history and place of origin of an ethnic group. Argali Magars have lost their mother tongue at present and adopted Nepali language as their lingua franca. It is true that there has not been serious and systematic study conducted in Argali of Palpa and Pyuthan. There are some Tibeto- Burman origin name of places, which probably the sign of the remains of Magar language3 in Argal. This means when they migrated to the present Argal they were speaking Magar language. There are some assumptions that the lost of Magar language must be because of the rules or conditions laid by the government. In order to support this assumption there is no oral or written history in Argal. These areas were mostly occupied by Magars until 1900 A.D. and other caste and ethnic group migrated in Argal not long ago, who could influence their language. Similarly it is difficult to justify that these Magars were migrated from Argeli of Pyuthan district, because no Magar household was found there. I tried to raise questions on their origin, language and cultural affinities, which will help indicate the geo-socio-political constraints they had in the past, which ultimately indicates the adaptation process. Argal VDC is composed of many other groups with different culture co-reside in the same areas in symbiotic relations of variable intimacy. Beside Magars Blacksmiths, Tailors, Cobblers, Chhetris, Bahuns, Chhantyals, Shiris, Sanyasis reside in Argal. Blacksmiths were the much earlier settlers of Argal, probably along with the char-thare Magars4. Besides char-thare Magars there are other Magars who migrated Argal later are termed as pasuwa5. The purpose of the study was not to disintegrate their population on the basis of their successive migration to Argal, therefore all the Magars of Argal are in a single category for the research purpose conducted by 1 Regmi (1978:860) defines khuwa as a homestead assigned to a civil or military officer as his jagir or salary. But there is no evidence that the civil or military settled permanently after his retirement in Argal. But became a resource for many types of goods and services for local political elites and moneylenders. 2 Blacksmiths, Tailors, Cobblers and Woodcarver. 3 Wasdi, Himdar, Simthar, Wava, Doldi 4 The most earlier setters among the Magars, they includes Osasa (Gharti), Nausa (Gharti), Pulisa (Gharti) and Pun 5 Roka (Sinjali, Ramjali), Naisa (Gharti), and Thapa Khattri (1995). One of the reasons is the later comer Magars are assimilated to the char-thare Magars. These sub-groups are also further divided into jethi-pare and kanchhi-pare, on the basis of polygamous marriage. Before 1990 A. D., they were writing their surname as Gharti, Roka, Pun, and Thapa as the influence of Nepalization, but later with their consciousness on ethnic identity they begin to write their surname like, Osasa, Nausa, Pulisa, Pun, Sinjali, Ramjali Magar. In this regards many of the people also change their citizenship certificate to change their surname. The ethnic identity became much more important for them to be organized in a single ethnic group with their own biological distinctiveness. The population of the Argal VDC shows the majority of the Magars in totality which constitute 49.23%, Chhetris 18.34%, Bahuns 11.67%, Blacksmith 7.88%, Chhantyal 3.96%, Tailor 3.39%, Cobblers 2.70%, Thakalis 0.43%, Shrishes 0.43%, Goldsmith 0.6%, Woodcarver 0.95%, Sanyasies 0.34% (Khattri 1995:33). Bahun and Chhetris, who migrated mostly from Bihun and lower parts of Galkot of Baglung district confine in Sile and lower region of Argal, however few settlements or households of Bahuns and Chhetris have settled in upper slop of Argal. They, “high caste”, play crucial role in Argal, however their population is less compare to the Magars. The Magars and Dalits or “low caste” people have been settled down in the middle and upper range and occupy diverse ecological gradients. These settlement patterns suggest the socio- economic life condition of the people of that area. Some cultural institutions are also related with these types of social setting. The geographical pattern of residence is socially and culturally distinct features of Argal VDC. 3. The Area Argal Village Development Committee (VDC) lies in the mid-north-west of Baglung district. The geographical feature of Argal lies in a hill area with the altitude of, the bottom 1420 meter above sea level (masl) which is a border area with Harichaur VDC, of Baglung district, and on the top the Thami 3000 masl, which borders to Baranja VDC of Myagdi district.