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- Jun 16, 2003
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There was a thread on this, but it cannot be added to since it's archived.
The HI FAQ referrs to a "Lohar of the Kami caste." That caught my attention/curiousity.
The Brigade of Gurkhas site and the Nepali site WWW.MSNEPAL.ORG consistently refer to the Kami "caste" and to kamis as the "blacksmith caste" of Nepal. The MSNEPAL site refers to the Kamis as one of the "DUM" or "serving castes of Nepal. They also, pretty consistently, refer to smiths as "Lohars" and to a "Lohar" as a "smith" or "blacksmith." So Parimal Lohar, whose son is Dalsingh Kami, is identified as a "smith."
Perhaps the willingness of Nepalis to agree to use of either "Kami" or "Lohar" is to avoid long explanations to outsiders who are deemed to lack the interest or ability to understand the distinction.
Or perhaps this is all due to regional variations. "Lohar" is the universal term for blacksmith in India. Did "Lohar" for blacksmith simply spread to areas of Nepal nearer to India?
The HI FAQ referrs to a "Lohar of the Kami caste." That caught my attention/curiousity.
The Brigade of Gurkhas site and the Nepali site WWW.MSNEPAL.ORG consistently refer to the Kami "caste" and to kamis as the "blacksmith caste" of Nepal. The MSNEPAL site refers to the Kamis as one of the "DUM" or "serving castes of Nepal. They also, pretty consistently, refer to smiths as "Lohars" and to a "Lohar" as a "smith" or "blacksmith." So Parimal Lohar, whose son is Dalsingh Kami, is identified as a "smith."
Perhaps the willingness of Nepalis to agree to use of either "Kami" or "Lohar" is to avoid long explanations to outsiders who are deemed to lack the interest or ability to understand the distinction.
Or perhaps this is all due to regional variations. "Lohar" is the universal term for blacksmith in India. Did "Lohar" for blacksmith simply spread to areas of Nepal nearer to India?
