Echoes of the Forest/Van: Uncovering Pre-Sanskritic Layers of the Word "Van" (/ʋʌn/)

The word 'Van' (/ʋʌn/) is also popularly known as the Sanskrit word meaning 'van or 'woodland (ne: वन). But Bantawa, Banjhankri, and Bon, words used by the Kirat community language, culture, and religious tales, especially of Rai and Limbus, mean that the word van/ban could have originated through a more ancient indigenous level of language than Sanskrit. This article revisits the origin and use of the term "Van" based on comparative linguistics), anthropology (ethnography), and oral history (oral tradition). The analysis suggests that Sanskrit may not have adopted the word "Vanam" primarily but rather assimilated it (linguistic borrowing) from indigenous languages such as Kirat-Bon. It not only calls into question the etymology of a single word but also points to serious issues such as linguistic colonialism and the grinding and usurpation of indigenous cultural knowledge. Finally, reinterpreting the word "Van" is the restoration of indigenous knowledge traditions.