they align with Chetri in social customs and structure, but do not follow all of the practices of the Chetri caste. The Humla region in which the Bura are found is inhabited by three ethnic groups: the Bura, the Nepali Parbatiyas, and the Tibetan speakers, which are all distinct in altitude at which they live, economic activities, and social customs. However, these ethnic boundaries are not rigid, unlike in surrounding areas; ethnic accommodation occurs in which individuals, groups, or even whole villages will change their ethnic affiliation as needed by economic and lifestyle changes. The Bura reside midway along the mountains and make their living by farming the hillsides and recently cleared forest land. The Chetri caste to which the Bura belong is a high caste within the Humla region, though the peoples there are generally very poor. The Matwali Chetri are the result of acculturation of traditional tribal practices to Nepalese society in order to fit a caste model, the Chetri; they share marital, family, and inheritance customs; a ritual calendar; and life crisis rituals with the Chetri, though they, like the rest of the mountain peoples, use cheaper spiritual mediums for their rituals. Within the Bura ethnic group, the people divide themselves into two classes: jharra ("true") and Tibetan Bura. These classes are divided in that the jharra claim themselves to be descended much more from the Darchula Byansi and high-caste Parbatiya than Tibetan origin and say that they ceased intermarriage with Tibetans long ago, while the Tibetan Bura do allow intermarriage with Tibetans and speak the Tibetan language. There is a low degree of intermarriage between speakers of the different Tibeto-Burman languages of the region. Dialects The variations of Pangjungkho Boli, Kuti, and Yerjungkho Boli are mutually intelligible, with minute differences. Even the languages of Chaudangsi and Darmiya that share a small geographic region are mutually intelligible with Byangsi, as these languages are very closely related and developed in an area where speakers have communicated with each other's villages for years. In fact, all the Tibeto-Burman languages of this region collectively call themselves "Ranglo" and the speakers are called "Rang," and they may be called by outsiders "Shauka" and "Jaba." Sociolinguistic Patterns There is a high degree of bilingualism in Uttarakhand. Hindi is the official language of the state, so all written communication in addition to mainstream media and formal discussions are in Hindi, while Tibeto-Burman languages