In this collection we have made the original recodings (both in archival and presentation version) and their annotations available. An Android application of the Magar Dictionary derived from our efforts can be accessed from the Language Technology Tools collection.

Magar is an ethnic community of Sikkim. Magar (ISO 639-3: mgp) is spoken in India and Nepal. The Magars community is settled in various places of India viz. Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Assam, Dehradun and other North-Eastern states of India. The Magars population is spread across all the districts of Sikkim.

The Magar were hunters and gradually cleaned up the forest areas to settle down permanently. There are many historical Magar Jongs ‘forts’ in Sikkim like Mangsari Magarjong in Soreng, Suldug Gadi, Berthang-Berfok Magarjong in West Sikkim, and Kamrang Magarjong, Rateypani-Kateng Magarjong in South Sikkim etc. As time progressed the Magar multiplied and divided furthur into Barah Magar i.e. twelve groups who were the heads or leaders from twelve different thums or places belonging to different thars or upa-thars (clans or sub-clans).

In Sikkim, the Magar speakers reside in Kamling, Suldung, Khanisirbung, Karjee, etc in West Sikkim; Assangthang, Salghari, Mamley, Kamrang, Kateng, Ruchung, etc in South Sikkim; Kadamtam, Assam-Linzey, Sirwani, Khamdong, Lagamtham, etc in East Sikkim; and Rangrang in North Sikkim.

The centre conducted field consultations in Magar villages on the dates below

The language of the Magars is called Loho dhut or Magar kura ‘magar language’. Magar belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family and it has three major dialects: Kham, Kaike and Mangrati. Baraha Magaratis speak Dhut. There are two varieties of Mangrati, Eastern and Western . The Magar in Sikkim speak the Eastern variety of Magar called Magar Dhut or Magar Kura. The language is popularly known as Eastern Magar language. Ethnologue: Languages of the world, has coded Magar under ISO 639-3: mgp and given alternative names Eastern magar, magari, manggar. It classifies Magar as a 6b (Threatened) language and UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger classifies Magar as Definitely endangered. Magar has its own script called Akkharika. Sikkim state government in the year 1995 recognised Magar as one of the official languages of Sikkim and introduced it in schools as one of the subjects.