The Rai in Nepal.

The Rai, also known as the Khambu(people of Khumbu region). They are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. The Rai(Khambu) belong to the Kirati group or the Kirat confederation that includes the Limbu, the Sunuwar, Yakkha Dhimal, Koche, Meche,Hayu ethnic groups.According to Professor Dor Bahadur Bista(anthropologist,Tribhuvan University) and late Professor Suniti Kumar Chatterji(linguist and Kiratologist,Calcutta university)Kirats migrated from east via north Burma and Assam along the mid-hills(lower mountains) along with their pigs in ancient times.(ref.30,31).According to Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterji(linguist and kiratologist) and other prominent linguists,Rai,Limbu,and Dhimal languages are Pronominalised(Austric/Kol influence)strongly indicating earliest migratory wave of these peoples compared to other Tibeto-Burmans whose languages are non-pronominalised.(ref.31)The traditional homeland of the Rai(Khambu) extends across Solukhumbu,Okhaldhunga (Wallo Kirat or Near Kirat), home of the Bahing,Wambule subgroups), Khotang, Bhojpur and the Udayapur districts (Majh Kirat or Central Kirat),home of Bantawa,Chamling etc. in the northeastern hilly/mountainous region of Nepal, west of the Arun River in the Sun Koshi River watershed. Rais are also found in significant numbers in the Indian state of Sikkim and in the northern West Bengal towns of Kalimpong and Darjeeling.