Miyapma: Traditional Narratives of the Thulung Rai

This Book Is An Edited Version Of A D.Phil. Thesis Submitted To The University Of Oxford In 1976. The Thesis Was Completed While I Was A Lecturer In Anthropology At The University Of Durham, Just Before I Moved Back To Oxford To Teach. My Original Plan Was To Undertake A ThoroughGoing Revision Of The Thesis Before Trying To Publish It, And With This In View I Began A Series Of Articles. The First (Allen 1980) Was An Overview, While Three Others (1981, 1997A, 1997B) Elaborated On Particular Narratives That Were Included In The Thesis. One (1986) Incorporated Thulung Material But Focused On A Newar Narrative. However, With The Passing Years, It Became Ever Clearer That The Project Of FullScale Revision Was Unrealistic. Firstly, My Rate Of Progress Was Totally Inadequate In The First Twenty Years The Articles Had Covered Only A Minute Proportion Of The Material Included In The Thesis. Secondly, My Research And Teaching Interests Gradually Changed (In Directions Foreshadowed By The Thesis See Allen 2000, 2003; Onta 2004), So That I Was No Longer Able To Keep Up With The Rapidly Growing Literature On The Himalayas.