कठरिया थारु — Kathariya Tharu Scripture Portions (Nepal)
Overview
कठरिया थारु (Kathariya Tharu) is 7-book scripture portions in the Kathariya Tharu language of the Nepal Terai, published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4407). The Tharu are the indigenous people of Nepal's Terai (Madhesh) — the lowland jungle belt along the Indian border — and represent one of Nepal's largest indigenous groups with over 1.5 million people across multiple dialect groups. "Kathariya Tharu" identifies the specific dialect variety spoken in the Kathariya area of the Terai, distinct from other Tharu varieties (Chitaunia, Dangaura, Rana, Saptari, etc.) which are covered by separate ISO codes and translation projects. Tharu language varieties are Indo-Aryan — not Tibeto-Burman — despite the Tharu's indigenous, pre-migration status in the Nepal lowlands.
Language and People
Kathariya Tharu (ISO 639-3: tkt; autonym: Tharu) is an Indo-Aryan language: Indo-European → Indo-Iranian → Indo-Aryan → Eastern or Central Pahari / Bihari group. The Tharu languages are classified within the Indo-Aryan family despite their speakers' indigenous pre-Aryan heritage in the Terai, suggesting either early Aryan language shift or a complex linguistic history. The Tharu dialect cluster has significant internal variation; Kathariya Tharu is the variety associated with the Kathariya area (likely in Bardiya or Banke District of western Nepal Terai).
The Kathariya Tharu community inhabits:
- Bardiya District or adjacent areas of the western Terai (Madhesh), Nepal — in the lowland belt between the Siwalik Hills and the Indian (Uttar Pradesh) border
- Subtropical lowland forest and agricultural terrain at 100–300 m elevation
Estimated speakers: the broader Kathariya Tharu variety has approximately 100,000–200,000 speakers; total Tharu population in Nepal is ~1.7 million across all varieties (2011 Nepal census: 1,737,470).
Cultural Context
The Tharu are Nepal's most widely distributed indigenous (janajati) community, inhabiting the entire Terai belt. They are renowned for their genetic resistance to malaria — a biological adaptation developed over centuries of living in the malarial lowland jungles that historically discouraged permanent settlement by other groups. This genetic advantage allowed the Tharu to maintain the Terai as their homeland while others were deterred. Following malaria eradication campaigns in the 1950s–1960s, massive in-migration from the hills transformed Tharu communities into minorities in their own territory, leading to significant land dispossession and marginalization. The Tharu rights movement has been a significant force in Nepal's political transformation since the 1990s. Wycliffe's 7-book Kathariya Tharu portions provide an initial scripture foundation for this community's distinct dialect.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. (wycliffe.org), founded 1942 by Cameron Townsend.