Rai people

The Rai (Kirati: also known as Jimee or Khambu, Rāi; Devanagari: राई) are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Sino-Tibetan linguistic ethnicity. They are indigenous to the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal (predominantly Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills) and in southwestern Bhutan.

The Rai, as a set of groups, are one of the oldest tribes of Nepal. They inhabited the area between the Dudh Koshi and Tamur River in Nepal. They claim that their country called Kiratdesh in modern times, has spread over Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal. The name Rai is a derivative of a Nepali word meaning "commander." This title is said to have been conferred on the Khambu by Prithvinarayan Shah after the Gorkha conquest of Khambuan. Rai are also known as "Khambu" in some places. They are known for worshipping nature and ancestral spirits. Rai are one of the tribes of the Kirati group. They are popularly believed to have offered a stiff resistance to the invasion of the Gorkhas. Kiranti Rai are hill tribes who once possessed considerable power and territory but were reduced to submission by Prithvi Narayan Shah after his conquest of Nepal. Kirati rule in the eastern hills of Nepal ended after the conquest of the Gorkha Kingdom in 1772–1773.