The Thakali ethnolinguistic group originated from the Thak Khola region of Mustang district in the Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. Thak-sat-se is the traditional area of the Thakali community, which lies in the salt trading zone on the south of Tukuche mountain, the valley of the Kali Gandaki river in western Nepal. Their population of around 13,000 constitute only 0.06% of Nepal's population.

The Thakalis are one of Nepal's most successful businessmen. They traded in places like Tukuche and Thaksatse. Furthermore, many are owners of Nepal's hotels and motels. Their business skills can be compared to the Chinese businessmen who came to Malacca to trade during the pre-Colonial period.

However, due to extensive trade all over Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet, many Thakalis have resettled in Kathmandu or in southern Nepal, and there has been some intermarriage with members of the Tharu ethnolinguistic. Due to this, the Thakalis outside their homeland follow a syncretic form of Lamaism heavily influenced by Hinduism, particularly the Thakali in southern Nepal. Those in Mustang remain much more traditionally Buddhist.

The Thakalis are a strictly endogamous group, distinctly divided into four exogamous clans. Thus, a member of the Thakal community is expected to marry another Thakali but the marriage must be outside his or her own particular clan group. Marriages between cousins are allowed.

The four clans are equal in status socially and ritually. However, on the basis of precedence in worship, the Gauchan clan usually comes first, followed by Tulachan, Sherchan, and Bhattachan. Each clan group has a distinct clan god represented by an animal totem, such as dragon, elephant, lion, and yak for Gauchan, Tulachan, Sherchan and Bhattachan, respectively.

The Thakalis are very organized people. They have neat kitchens and keep tidy houses. Lhafewa (Bar Barse Kumbha Mela), Tornala (ancestral worship) and Falo (Kumar Yatra) are the major festivals of the Thakali. Dhnom is the title of the Thakali priest who works as the local shaman. Madal, Khaprang, and Thamken are their main musical instruments.

References

• Thakali culture note (http://www.manang.com/People23.htm)
• Thakali research (http://home.t-online.de/home/lincom.europa/0980.htm)