Wambule language
| Wambule | |
|---|---|
| Chourase | |
| Region | Nepal |
|
Native speakers
|
14,000 (2011 census) |
|
Sino-Tibetan
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | wamb1257 |
Wambule (/ˈwɑːmbuːleɪ/; Nepali: वाम्बुले, translit. Vāmbule) is the language of the Wambule Rai, one of the Kiranti (किरान्ती) tribes of eastern Nepal. Wambule is spoken by more than 5000 people living around the confluence of the Sunkosi (सुनकोसी) and Dudhkosi (दूधकोसी) rivers near Kui-Bhir Hill. The Wambule-speaking area comprises the southernmost part of Okhaldhunga district, the westernmost part of Khotang district, the northernmost part of Udayapur district, and the northeasternmost part of Sindhuli district.
Ethnologue records numerous other names that are used for this language. They include Ambule, Caurasia, Chaurasia, Chaurasya, Chourase, Chourasia, Ombule, Radu Yor, Tsaurasya, Umbule, Vambucauras Raduyor, Vambule, Vambule Radu Yor, and Vambule Yor. The Wambule use several native and Nepali names to designate their language, such as 'Vāmbucaurās Rāḍuyor', 'Caurāsiā', 'Ombule', 'Umbule' and 'Vāmbule'. The language most closely related to Wambule is the western neighbour Jero.
Wambule is spoken in the following villages of Nepal (Ethnologue).
Gaṇeś Rāī (VS 2055: 8-9) claims that four different Wambule dialects can be distinguished:
Ethnologue lists the dialects Bonu, Wamdyal, Udaipure, Hilepane, and Jhappali, and notes that they appear to be mutually intelligible.
According to legend, there was no earth at the beginning of time. There was only a single aqueous orb. The gods called in the help of seven suns to dry up the aqueous orb. After stones had become visible, termites made a mound of mud. Then insects, seedlings and birds were created. After the creation of the earth, the gods thought of creating the primordial living being. They created a human made of gold. When they tried to make it say things, the human could not utter a single sentence. The gods made many attempts and used different kinds of golden metals, but all these creatures failed to speak. In the end, the gods created a human made of a mixture of bird’s dung and ashes. This human was able to speak, but it spoke so badly that the gods became angry and cursed it by inflicting mortality upon it and its kind. The Wambule say that the proof that a human is made of dung and ashes is given by the bad odour emitted by rubbing one’s body.
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Wikipedia