Magar, also spelled Mangar, are one of Nepal’s most numerous ethnic groups who live along the north side of the Mahabharat Range from Palpa to Gorkha. The Kham speaking Magar live in Rukum and Rolpa districts, on the western and southern flanks of the Dhaulagiri mountain massif. The Magar speak a language of the Tibeto-Burman family. According to the 2001 census of Nepal, there are 1,622,421 ethnic Magar who account for 7.14 percent of Nepal’s total population, of whom 770,116 speak one the various Magar languages as a mother tongue. The northern Magar are Lamaist Buddhists in religion, while those farther south have come under strong Hindu influence. While most Magar still draw their subsistence from agriculture, others are pastoralists, craftsmen or day labourers. Along with the Gurung, Rai, and other ethnic groups of Nepal, the Magar have won fame as the Gurkha soldiers of the British and Indian armies.