Many of you might be wondering, who is Sherpa and where do they come from? The word Sherpa comes from two words “Sher” means east while “pa” means people. So the people who belong to the east are Sherpa. The people of Sherpa are devoted to offering guided summits and tasked with the arduous porting of essential supplies up ahead from the base camp of Mount Everest, but this couldn’t be any more misguided.
Since more than 500 years ago, it is believed that the Sherpa descending from Tibet have been indigenous to this region. They mainly live in the southern footholds of Everest in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. Sherpas also reside in the valleys and villages surrounding the area and also constitute a substantial portion of the urban population in Kathmandu. Honesty, hard work, and responsibility are the virtues of this community that dwell in the mountains. The travelers who come to the Everest region by Helicopter also can see a glimpse of these honest Sherpas at Lukla Airport at first.
Let us learn more about “who are Sherpas” and their culture in detail. It’s important to know; who are the Sherpas of Mount Everest, the Sherpa people of Nepal & what the Sherpa does on Mount Everest for living, and what are their culture & lifestyle at once.
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Who are the Sherpas of the Khumbu Region?
Sherpas are a Nepalese ethnic group who are famous for their outstanding climbing skills, rich culture and their endurance, and strength. Moreover, they are wild and famous for being brave climbers. According to some beliefs, initially, Sherpas came to Nepal from the Kham region of Tibet some thousand years ago. Thus, the culture of Sherpa practice is similar to that of Tibet. However, in some portals, Historians believe that Sherpas were nomads; they were driven from their homeland (Tibet) during some 12th centuries AD.
Similarly, the Sherpa people lives at the country’s high altitudes for generations and have long served as guides and porters. Speaking of the population of Sherpa, they are around 50,000 in Nepal and most of the inhabitants are in the Khumbu region of the country, in the southern part of Mount Everest. Sherpas speak Sherpa, a Tibetan Dialect.
Language of Sherpa People Nepal
Generally, most of the people of Nepal speak Nepalese language however, the Sherpa of the Khumbu region speaks their own language called “Sherpa language”. This language is a mixture of Eastern Tibet languages called Khamba and Lhasa dialogue similar to the Tibetan Language. Don’t worry, many of them can speak English and Nepali as well. So it will be easier to communicate.
The Religion of the Sherpa People
Speaking of the religion of the Sherpa people, most of these people practice Buddhism and they worship Lord Buddha and various other honorable Buddhist divinities. The Sherpa also have faith in deities who have resided in mountains, caves, and forests.
Each year thousands of people just come here to explore the culture of the Khumbu region. Similarly, they celebrate festivals like Mani Rimdu and Loshar.
Mani Rimdu
Mani Rimdu festival is one of the most celebrated and important festivals in the Khumbu region. Each year thousands of Sherpas travel a long journey to witness this event. Generally, it falls during the tenth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, corresponding to the autumn season (October–November) of the Gregorian calendar. And it lasts for nineteen days, thus you can witness the whole festival and even participate in the events. The festivities also include meditation and ceremonies.
Mani means “part of the chant of Chenrezig” and Rimdu means small red pills that are blessed during the festival. Similarly, the red pills are blessed repeatedly and then distributed to all those who attend. Similarly, the festival is traditionally passed by its mother monastery, the Rongbuk. The festival began with an elaborate depiction of the mandala diagram finished with colored sand. According to the locals, the sand is extracted from a specified location of the hills. Drawing a mandala takes around four days and is considered to be a religious festival that lasts for 10 days.
In total, there are 16 dance programs with interludes for a comical effect. Following the devotees, the monk starts to perform a fire rite to dispel all harm to the world. Later, the sand mandala specially shaped for the festival is then formally detached with prayers for the profit of all sentient beings. At the end of the Mani Rimdu, Tengboche Rinpoche of the monastery blesses the public and an interesting thing about the festival is the masked man’s dance by the monks. They believe that the dance also displays the defeat of demons and the initiation of Buddhism. Hence, Mani Rimdu is said to be one of the major attractions for tourists in Nepal.
Lhosar
Lhosar is another major festival of Buddhists that marks the New Year on the lunar calendar, which falls in the month of February. During this festival, people return to their hometown with the older family members who have stayed back. The festival is celebrated with much revelry, feasting, and merrymaking. If you travel during this time, you will get to see Sherpa people celebrating this festival and be able to taste the Sherpa cuisine.
Traditional Clothing
Coming to the traditional attire, the Sherpa people wear resembles Tibetan clothing. Some of the ancient Sherpa people in Nepal used to wear homespun silk and wool fabrics but with the passing of time and advancement, people have started wearing readymade material. The common clothing of Sherpa men is long-sleeved robes that reach slightly below their knees whereas the traditional clothing of Sherpa women is long-sleeved dresses touching the floor. These dresses are made up of wool. While visiting the Everest base camp try once these clothes.
Overall, the Sherpa people belong to one of the ethnic groups of Nepal, who are similar to the people of Tibet in China. Their rich culture, traditional attire, and festival are wild famous among travelers. Hope this article helps you to know more about the Sherpa people and their culture.