Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal

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A letter from Jīta Jaṅga appointing Chima Dorjye as jimmāvāla of 14 villages of Syāra (VS 1937)

ID: L_1200_0009C

Edited and translated by Rajendra Shakya in collaboration with Yogesh Budathoki
Created: 2019-06-27; Last modified: 2023-01-24
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Published by Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal, Heidelberg, Germany, 2020. Published by the courtesy of the National Archives, Kathmandu. The copyright of the facsimile remains with the Nepal Rashtriya Abhilekhalaya (National Archives, Government of Nepal). All use of the digital facsimiles requires prior written permission by the copyright holder. See Terms of Use.
The accompanying edition, translation/synopsis and/or commentary are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Abstract

This letter from Jīta Jaṅga appoints Chima Dorjye [Khunu] as jimmāvāla of 14 villages of Syāra after local residents had declined to accept Chāṃvā and Kaisāṃ Khunu in the post. The sender also authorizes Chima Dorjye to collect lokābhāraṭheka and empowers him to punish anyone who does not follow the arrangements that were long being practised in the area.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्रीकम्यांडरइनचीफजनरल
2१

[Seal of Jīt Jaṅga]

[Seal with inscription 'Śrī Viśṇu']

1स्वस्तिश्रीमद्राजकुमारकुमारात्मजश्रीपुर्वतर्फकाकम्यांडीङ्‌जन
2रलजीतजङ्गवहादुरराणाकस्यपत्रम्‌ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯
3आगेअठारसैषोलामध्येस्यारकागाउ१४कोमुषीयाजे
4ठावुढाघ्यापोरैतीगैह्रकेयथोचीत्‌उप्रान्तअठारसै
5षोलामध्येस्यारगाउ१४कोलोकाभारठेकनगदजीनी
6स्‌वुझाउदारयहाकवुलीयेतफेरफारगर्नुपर्दाअरुजोकाम्‌परिआयापनीजी
7म्माव़ालछिमदोर्ज्येसंगसल्लाहगरिकाम्‌काजगर्नुकाम्‌काजपरिआउदाम
8दत्‌माग्‌योभन्यातीमीसवैसामेलभैमदतदिनुभन्या¯ ¯१¯कासाहेववाट
9दस्षतगरिवक्स्याकोथीयोसोवमोजीम्‌सनदगरिपाउभनीजीम्माव़ा
10लछिमदोर्ज्येलेहाम्राहजुरमावीन्तीपार्दाजाहेरभयोतसर्थ¯ ¯१¯वाट
11गरिवक्स्याकासनदवमोजीमअफ्नाआफ्नागाउलोकाभारठेकवुझाउदार
12पट्टाकवुलीयेतफेरफारगर्नुपर्दानीजजीम्माव़ालमार्फतगर्नुकेहिकाम्‌
13परिआउदाजीम्माव़ालकासलाहालेगर्नुजीम्माव़ाललेकामवीसेस्‌मु
14गलानियाकोहिआइहुलहुजतगर्‍योसाधसिवानामिच्योझैझगडा
15हुनलाग्यामदत्‌माग्योभन्यातीमीहरुसवैसामेलभैमदतदिसावीक
16चलीआयावमोजीम्‌गर्नुतेस्‌गाउमाथीतीवन्दोवस्तनरहदारअघीका
17जीम्माव़ालछांवाकैसांषुनुहरुलाइजीम्माव़ालमादौनभन्दाछिमदोर्ज्येला
18इजीम्माव़ालगरिपठायाकोछअघीचलीआयाकाथीतीरितीवमोजीम्‌ती
19मिहरुसवैजीम्माव़ालसंगसामेलभैकाजकामगर्नु⟪जो⟫योथीतीवन्देजमान
20रहिजथाभावीगर्लामदतमाग्दासामेलनहोलातेस्‌लाइअैनवमोजीम्‌
21नीजजिम्माव़ाललेसजायगर्न्याछन्‌भनीदस्षतगरीवक्स्यौंइतीसम्वत
22१९३७सालमितीमाघसुदि५रोज६शुभ्म् ¯¯ ¯¯ ¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī Commander-in-Chief General – 1

Hail! A letter from the venerable Eastern Commanding General Jīta Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, a prince born of a prince

Āge: To the mukhiyās, jeṭhā-buḍhās, ghyāpos 1 , ryots and the like of 14 villages2 of Syāra within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region

Yathocita Uprānta: “¯¯1¯ [The Commander-in-Chief General]3 sāheba signed [a sanada] stating: 'When submitting cash or goods [as payment] under the lokābhāra lease contracts for the 14 villages of Syāra within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region [or] when needing to amend these agreements—whatever the matter at hand—do so in consultation with Jimmāvāla Chima Dorjye. If [the jimmāvāla] asks for help when there is work to be done, all of you shall come together to help him.'”

This came to our notice after Jimmāvāla Chima Dorjye made petition to us, requesting us to issue a sanada [in his name] with the above-mentioned details. Therefore, we have signed [a sanada] with the following details:

“When submitting [payments] under the lokābhāra lease contract of each of your own villages and amending lease contracts, do so through the said jimmāvāla in accordance with the sanada issued by ¯¯1¯ [the Commander-in-Chief General]. When there is any work to be done, do so in consultation with the jimmāvāla. In the case where anyone from mugalāna 4 comes [to our country] on some business and creates disorder, oversteps bounds, [so that] a conflict is likely to ensue, and if the jimmāvāla asks for help, then help him by everyone becoming involved and acting in line with what has been practised before.

“As there was no [proper] order and administration in those villages and [you all] declined to accept the previous jimmāvālas Chāṃvā and Kaisāṃ Khunu as jimmāvālas, we appointed and sent Chima Dorjye as jimmāvāla. All of you come together with the jimmāvāla and attend to matters in line with the customs practised in the past. Anyone who does not follow this thiti bandeja and acts arbitrarily or does not contribute when asked for help, that person shall be punished in accordance with the Ain by the jimmāvāla.”

Friday, the 5th of the bright fortnight of Māgha in the [Vikrama] era year 1937 (1881 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

This document was issued by Jīta Jaṅga, the third son of Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, during the reign of Prime Minister Raṇa Uddīpa Siṃha Rāṇā. In Vaiśākha of VS 1936 (1879 CE), Jagat Jaṅga, the second son of Jaṅga Bahādura, had appointed Chāṅvā Chiriṅ Khunu and Kaisāṅ Khunu as jimmāvālas of 14 villages of Syāra (see L_1200_0009B). Within the next two years, however, both appear to have become unpopular among the residents of these villages, the present document mentioning that the latter eventually declined to accept the two, which prompted the appointment of Chima Dorjye to the post.

From another document, L_1200_0009G, dating from 1874 CE, we know that a person named Chimi Dorjye Khunu was appointed as jimmāvāla that year. Chima Dorjye and Chimi Dorjye are likely to be the same person. If they are, then the Chima Dorjye of this document was also from the Khunu family. The Khunus identify themselves as ṭhakurīs. During the Gorkha expansion one or more members of the Khunu family had been dispatched to Khunu, the local name for Kinnaur along the upper stretches of India’s Sutlej River. Henceforth, the family became known as Khunu Ṭhakurī (Childs and Choedup 2019: 34). The Khunu family had moved into the Tsum area after the 1855 war, and the family controlled the post of subbā for six generations until the introduction of the pañcāyata system.

Notes

1. The term ghyāpo is unclear, but it appears to derive from a Tibetan term referring to some village official. The Tibetan word rgyal po (king, chieftain) is similar to ghyāpo, but if this is the source of the present form, the referent in this case is unlikely to have been even a village chieftain, since at the beginning of such documents persons are addressed in the order of their rank. [⇑]

2. For the names of these 14 villages, see L_1200_0009B. [⇑]

3. Dhīra Śamśera was the commander-in-chief general at the time. He died on 14 October 1884 (Sever 2014: 195). [⇑]

4. The term mugalāna literally refers to territories of the Mughal empire in India, but in the above context it is a general term for a foreign land, in this case Tibet. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
āge	[fr. S. agre] adv. lit. "henceforeward" (Riccardi 1976: 150 n. 6), especially used in administrative and legal documents to mark the beginning of a text or paragraph. In its function it is similar to uprānta.
ain	var. āin, aina; n. 1) laws, statutes, rules, regulations enacted by authority 2) law-code of Nepal, first promulgated in 1854 during the rule of Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā and amended several times before it was completely revised in VS 2022. The revised law-code was renamed as Mulukī Ain.
jeṭhā-buḍhā	n. lit. "knowledge elder"; 1) a village headman responsible for local affairs such as the maintenance of law and order (M.R. Pant 2002: 133; Shaha 1982: 29). 2) an official at the royal palace, royal messenger and investigator (Whelpton 1991: 283). At an earlier time the jeṭhā-buḍhās, "elder statesmen, held intermittent positions as emissaries to district officials or to the courts of foreign states". By 1843 only one remained, described by Hodgson as the "personal attendant of (the) Rajah". A few years later, we find the jetha-budha under the Kadel Chowk with three sipahis under him; his name also is linked with the "chaya kotha" or tea room. By then his days of glory obviously were over“ (Edwards 1975: 107 ).
jimmāvāla	var. jimavāla, jimmavāla, jimvāla; n. a chief contractor (ṭhekedāra) who, before the introduction of the land administration, collected revenues from the lands in the hill region and submitted them to the government (Parājulī et al. 1995: s.v. jimmāvāla).
lokābhāra	[S.] n. "a system under which the local community undertook liability for payment of the stipulated revenue through a representative designated for that purpose" (M.C. Regmi 1978: 162)
mugalāna	var. mogalānā, mogalāna; muglāna; n. lit. territories of the Mughal empire. The MA-54 follows the hill usage of the term which especially refers to the Indo-Gangetic plains of North India (See Adhikari 1984: 353 and Michael 2012: 132).
mukhiyā	var. mukhīyā, muṣiyā, muṣīyā; n. a designation for an administrative post used at the local, district and central level. At the local level mukhiyās functioned as village headmen and revenue functionaries (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93; M.R. Pant 2002: 134; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 269). District headmen were also called mukhiyās. In the central administration, mukhiyās were writers who kept accounts or supervised officials of lower ranks (Edwards 1975: 107 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 228 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 862 ; Kumar 1967: 16).
sāheba / sāhaba	[fr. A. sāhib] n. 1) word to respectfully address a high-ranking person, sir. 2) master.
sanada	var. sanad; n. a regulation, order, decree or certificate of appointment, esp. from the prime minister (prāimaminisṭara yaṇḍa kamyāṇḍara ina cipha) or the commander-in-chief general (kamyāṇḍara ina cipha janarala); "government orders" (Karmacharya 2001: 327).
śrī	[S.] n. word of blessing, can be used as apprecatio, in which case it means 'good fortune' (Pant and Pierce 1989: 12), can be used as a prefix to names of persons and gods, in which case it means 'venerable' or 'glorious' respectively. The number of śrīs used varies, depending on context.
subbā	var. subā; n. 1) governor or chief administrative officer of a province or district (cf. Kumar 1967: 168; Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 185; M.R. Pant 2002: 135; M.C. Regmi 1999: 137; M.C. Regmi 2002: 303). 2) civil officer ranking higher than a mukhiyā, but lower than a sardāra (Stiller 1981: 382). According to Edwards subbās were stationed at Gorkha (cf. also Michael 2012: 134) and Chitwan, “with five others being administrators in the Terai” (Edwards 1975: 106). Edwards further mentions that “men of subba rank were also assigned in the capital to the Kumari Chowk, and Kat Bhandar offices, where they were the deputies of the kaji and kapardar in charge” (ibid.). 3) headmen of the Limbu community in the far-eastern hill regions (M.C. Regmi 1978: 229; cf. also 1978: 865).
thiti bandeja	[thiti + bandeja]; var. sthiti bandej; n. sanctioning of customs and traditions; according to Höfer 2004: 151 (who writes ° bāndeja) the term refers to both, "to codification as a whole and to singular decrees bearing the royal seal". A thiti bandeja can also give legal sanction to a revenue settlement (ibid.: 152 n. 1). Besides lālamoharas often copper plate were issued.
uprānta	var. uprāṃta, ūprāṃnta, ūprā̃nta, prāṃta; also yathocita uprānta; conj. after that, besides, in addition to, hereafter. In earlier prose and official documents, this word marked the beginning of a text or paragraph. It has no equivalent in English (Clark 1989: 231). In some (mostly Rāṇā period?) documents, it takes the form of yathocita uprānta.

Bibliography

Childs, G. H. & Choedup, N.. CE 2019. From a Trickle to a Torrent : Education, Migration, and Social Change in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal. California: University of California Press.
Sever, Adrian. CE 2014. Nepal Under the Ranas (Vol. 1 and 2). Revised and Enlarged Edition ed. Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation.