Day 30 - The Dhimal Nationality 

Located in far eastern Nepal, in the Morang and Jhapa districts 

The Dhimals are believed to be the first people to inhabit the far eastern terai of Nepal.  They burn all the belongings and documents of a person from their tribe after he or she dies, so their original origin is unknown.  They look similar to Tibetans, with slanted eyes and straight black hair, but have darker skin.

The Dhimal people are very poor.  Most of them do not own their own land, but work for rich landowners from another caste.  Their main occupation is farming, and they grow mostly rice and corn.  Their staple foods consist of dalbhat (rice with lentils) and tarkari (curry), which they often mix with the meat from goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and rats.  They are very easy-going and enjoy dancing and playing their own specially made musical instruments.

Dhimal women dress differently than most other Nepali women.  They wear only a bona, which is a long piece of cloth wrapped around them, covering from their breasts to their knees.  The men traditionally wore a loin-cloth, vest and cap, but many have begun to wear more typical Nepali dress, such as a double-breasted shirt with pants.

The Dhimal are Animists and worship nature as their supreme god.  They worship their ancestors and believe that by doing so they can get rid of all the evil that they encounter in life.

Many Dhimals have heard aboutu Jesus or have received Christian literature.  However, most Dhimals cannot read Nepali and there is no script for their language, so there are relatively few Dhimals who have really understood the gospel message through the literature distribution.  The Dhimals have not shown an openness towards Christianity and as of now there is only one small fellowship with about 20 Dhimal believers.

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