“My name is Maya Lama/Hyolmo/Syuba”: Negotiating identity in Hyolmo diaspora communities

Gawne, Lauren

Abstract

Hyolmo communities have been residing in the Lamjung and Ramechhap districts of Nepal for at least a century, and are part of a historical trend of group migration away from the Hyolmo homelands. These communities have taken different approaches to constructing their identities as belonging to the Hyolmo diaspora; in Lamjung, people readily identify as Hyolmo, while in Ramechhap people accept their Hyolmo history, but also have developed an identity as Kagate (and now Syuba). In this paper I trace the history of migration for these groups. I then look at the variety of names used in reference to these communities, which helps us understand their historical and contemporary relationship with Hyolmo. Finally, I examine contemporary cultural and linguistic practices in Ramechhap and Lamjung, to see how they perform their identity as Kagate or Hyolmo, and as modern Buddhists of Tibetan origin in Nepal.

Citation

Gawne, L. (2016). “My name is Maya Lama/Hyolmo/Syuba”: Negotiating identity in Hyolmo diaspora communities. European bulletin of Himalayan research, 47, 40-68

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 21, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 17, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 2, 2116
• Journal: European Bulletin of Himalayan research
• Print ISSN: 0943-8254
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Pages: 40-68
• Publisher URL: http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ebhr/pdf/EBHR_47.pdf