Before there were newspapers and magazines to tell about events, the wandering minstrel or bard went from place to place singing about battles and acts of bravery. Almost every culture has had these singing newscasters from earliest times until the newspapers and radio slowly replaced them.

Tradition tells us that in the period of the 24 Kingdoms of ancient Nepal, each ruler had his own bards attached to his court. In this way events were remembered in song, and brave men given credit. The bards, although untouchable Gaines, were nevertheless greatly valued and honored. Occasionally a Brahmin or a Chhetri who had been cast into the untouchable group became a bard or troubadour. In Pokhara, they followed the court when the Kaski ruler moved from his summer residence on Kaski Ridge at Sarangkot to his winter residence in Batulechaur. The Gaines were given enough land for a house and kitchen garden near the king’s winter residence in exchange for their songs, which often praised the ruler, immortalizing him and his deeds.

The Rajput family which came from north India to rule from Kaski Ridge later moved to Gorkha Hill where Prithwi Narayan Shah was born. When this leader set out from Gorkha to conquer the independent kingdoms to form a united Nepal, he was probably followed by the best of his Game troubadours.

A bride being carried to groom's house.

Descendants of the Gaines who had settled in Batulechaur are still living there today near the ruins of the winter palace. Here they have stayed, where they had built their picturesque red houses with thatched roofs. They make a living by singing ballads and fishing, and when they cannot earn enough to support their families, begging is too often their lot. Even today we find them making and selling their little violins, and singing “Frere Jacques” or “Tenzing Conquers Mt. Everest” to tourists for whatever they can get.

Composing songs and singing extemporaneous verses have long been a tradition among Nepalese in general. Those who are working together in the rice paddies amuse themselves by singing as they work, making joking remarks or rude comments about each other in song. Singing songs makes many kinds of work go faster, and not seem so hard. Many a laugh can also be had at the expense of some passer-by or member of the work crew.

Among (Gurungs and Tamangs especially, there is a tradition of boy-girl flirtation songs. Usually one group helps the boy sing a verse praising the girl, while another helps the girl reply. Sometimes this leads to marriage when the girl’s group is unable to, or decides not to, continue verses to refuse the boy’s suit.

Damai (tailors) lead the wedding processions with a flourish of trumpets.

But these singers do not try to earn their livings from music. Other musicians earn their livings as tailors, when there is a wedding or special event they bring out their horns and drums to lead the processions with haunting flourishes and commanding marches. How can people who play such haunting tunes and sing such clever songs be called untouchable?

Others who are classed with the untouchables are sweepers, butchers, shoemakers, or anyone who works with leather. That the dirty jobs have been assigned to a certain group of people, who are told that this is hereditary and that they must do the work they were born to do, is one of the unfair tricks of history. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the eldest son often had to follow his father’s trade, but most countries have grown away from this, as education has become available to all and job mobility has become possible.

Slavery kept people in disagreeable jobs, with little or nothing to call their own. in many parts of the world. It was abolished by law in Nepal in the 1930s. I, as an American am distressed with the idea that any human being is considered untouchable. We tend to forget that our country, founded on the noble ideal, “all men are created equal,” had slavery for almost a hundred years after its beginning. It took a bloody civil war which almost destroyed our country to abolish slavery. Today we are still fighting to end discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and sex.

The many changes I have seen in over thirty years in Pokhara include government legislation to outlaw class distinctions. The Nepalese have achieved this without a war. Traditions are hard to change, but the first step has been taken.

Journal of Late Dorothy Mierow