The Social World of the Gurungs

Alan Macfarlane first went to work with the Gurungs of central Nepal in December 1968. Since then he has re-visited the village of Thak north of Pokhara some twenty times. His wife Sarah Harrison went with him for all of his visits from his second visit of 1986 onwards. Alan has taken some 120 hours of film and Sarah has taken many photographs and made extensive field diaries and field notes. The films, with accompanying notes in this book, describe the social world of the Gurungs. They cover children and education, feasts and sports, music and ritual, economy and power in the village. The second part describes the life of Gurungs in towns and cities around the world.