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E. Vansittart— Tribes , Clans , and Castes of Nepal. [No. 4, 
The Charjat Gurung is very much looked up to by the Solahjat. 
A Solahjat Gurung cannot marry a Charjat, nor can he ever by any 
means become a Oharjat. 
Questioning a Charjat Gurung would be much as follows :— 
“ What is your name ? ” 
“ What Gurung are you ? ” 
“Which of the Charjat ? ” 
“ Which Lamchania clan ? ” 
“ What Plohnian ? ” 
“ Jasbir Gurung.” 
“ Charjat.” 
“ Lamchania.” 
“ Plohnian.” 
“ Atbai,” 
Of the Charjat Guruugs the Ghallea is by far the most difficult to 
obtain. The Plohnian and Chenwari clans of the Lamchania are both 
subdivided into families ; the best Plohnian family is the Atbai, and the 
best of the Chenwari is the Charghari. It will be noticed that nearly 
all Ghotani clans end with “ron.” 
Some excellent recruits are also obtained from the Solahjat. 
In older days the Ghalleas ruled the country about Lamzung and 
had their own king, a Ghallea according to Gurung traditions. Their 
kingdom nominally exists to this day. 
The following tradition regarding the birth of Charjat exists :— 
A Thakur king asked the king of Lamzung for his daughter’s hand 
in marriage. The Ghallea king accepted the proposal favourably, and 
sent a young and beautiful maiden as his daughter to the Thakur 
king, who duly married her, and by her begot several children. Some 
years afterwards it transpired that his young maiden was no king’s 
daughter, but merely one of her slave attendants; whereupon the 
Thakur king was very angry, and sent a message threatening war, 
unless the Ghallea king sent him his real daughter. The king of 
Lamzung thereupon complied, and this time sent his real daughter, 
whom the Thakur king married, and by whom he begot three sons. 
(Prom these three sons are descended the Ghotani, Lama, and Lam¬ 
chania clans.) It was then ruled that these three sons and their 
descendants should rank equal to the Ghallea clan, and that they should 
be called the Charjat Gurungs, whilst the descendants of the children 
of the slavemother should be called Solahjats, and should for ever be 
servants to the Charjat. From this it would appear that the Ghallea 
Gurung is the oldest and the purest of all Gurung clans. They certainly 
are splendid men of the purest Gurkha type. 
The Gurungs have for centuries kept up their history, which is 
called in Khaskura “ Gurung ko Baqgsaoll.” 
When the famous case of Colonel Lachman Gurung took place, Sir 
Jang Bahadur, being anxious to elucidate, if possible, the difference 
between Charjat and Solahjat Gurungs, had the history of the Gurungs 
