Thangmi Archive

The Thangmi Archive is a collection of photographs, films, linguistic data, field notes, newspaper clippings, audio files, and other data about the Thangmi ethnic group of northeastern Nepal. Long overlooked by scholars, politicians, and development workers alike, the Thangmi remain one of the least known ethnic groups of Nepal. The Thangmi speak their own Tibeto-Burman language, and maintain unique shamanistic religious practices that are neither Hindu nor Buddhist. Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman have been conducting linguistic and ethnographic research in the Thangmi communities of Dolakha and Sindhupalcok districts in eastern Nepal since 1997. The Thangmi archive strives to demonstrate how multimedia strategies can enhance in-depth ethnographic studies of ethnicity, linguistics, social history and related topics.

Click here to download a PDF version (1 MB) of the NepaliThami-English dictionary.

Click on the image above to view five film clips of Thangmi shamans.