Who Are the Tharu?
The Tharu are an indigenous ethnic group of the Terai region, the low-lying plains and jungle belt stretching across southern Nepal and northern India along the Himalayan foothills. Numbering over 2 million, they are among the oldest inhabitants of this region, having developed genetic resistance to malaria that allowed them to thrive in areas deadly to others.
For centuries, the malarial Terai jungles served as a natural buffer protecting the Tharu from outside interference. Their immunity allowed them to cultivate the rich alluvial soils and hunt in forests that highland peoples avoided. This isolation preserved unique cultural traditions, though malaria eradication in the 1950s brought massive demographic changes to their homeland.
Genetic Malaria Resistance
Scientific research has confirmed that the Tharu possess genetic variants providing resistance to Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Studies show significantly lower malaria parasite rates among Tharu compared to neighboring populations in the same endemic areas. This genetic adaptation, likely developing over thousands of years, allowed the Tharu to occupy and cultivate the Terai when others could not.
The malaria resistance gene variants appear similar to those found in some African populations and South Asian coastal communities, representing parallel evolutionary responses to endemic malaria. This biological adaptation proved both blessing and curse—protecting the Tharu from disease but also making their lands attractive once malaria control became possible.
Traditional Lifestyle
Traditional Tharu life centered on wet rice cultivation in the fertile Terai lowlands, supplemented by fishing, gathering forest products, and raising buffalo. Their longhouse architecture—elongated mud-and-thatch structures housing extended families—adapted to both the hot, humid climate and social organization around joint families.
Tharu forest knowledge encompasses extensive understanding of medicinal plants, with traditional healers (guruwa) treating both physical and spiritual ailments. Their connection to the forest included reverence for tigers, elephants, and rhinoceroses that shared their homeland—animals now protected in reserves like Chitwan National Park, which was created on traditional Tharu lands.
Cultural Traditions
Tharu culture features distinctive dances, particularly the stick dance (dhadiya nach) performed during festivals. The Maghi festival marking the new year in January includes communal feasting, dance performances, and the settling of debts. Women's traditions include elaborate tattoo patterns (godna) and distinctive jewelry and dress that vary between Tharu subgroups.
The Tharu practice a blend of animism, ancestor worship, and Hinduism. Village deities (bhuiyar) protect communities, while household spirits require regular propitiation. Shamanic practices address illness and misfortune through spirit communication. While many Tharu have adopted mainstream Hindu practices, traditional beliefs persist especially in rural areas.
Displacement and Marginalization
The eradication of malaria in the 1950s-60s opened the Terai to massive migration from the hills. Tharu found themselves increasingly marginalized as newcomers claimed land—often through legal manipulations that exploited Tharu unfamiliarity with written documents. Many Tharu became bonded laborers (kamaiyas) on land their families had farmed for generations.
The kamaiya system, officially abolished in 2000, trapped thousands of Tharu families in debt bondage. Freed kamaiyas often received inadequate land compensation and continue to struggle economically. Conservation areas created to protect wildlife displaced additional Tharu communities. Despite these challenges, Tharu activism has grown, demanding land rights, cultural recognition, and autonomy.
References
- Guneratne, A. (2002). "Many Tongues, One People: The Making of Tharu Identity in Nepal"
- Meyer, K.W. & Pamela Deuel (1998). "The Tharu of Nepal"
- Modiano, D. et al. (1991). "Malaria and Sickle Cell Gene in Tharu"
- Krauskopff, G. (1995). "The Anthropology of the Tharu"