VARIATION AND CHANGE IN FERTILITY IN WEST-CENTRAL-NEPAL

This article employs temporal and intracultural frames of reference to examine patterns of variation in fertility among the caste-Hindus of West Central NepaL Before the onset of major socioeconomic development in the region, three groups, the large-farm high castes, the small-fa rm high castes, and the low castes, exhibited distinct patterns of rep roductive behavior which have been traced over the course of 25 years. Analysis of age-specific fertility rates suggests that one group, the small farm high-caste, maintained relatively low fertility before maj or development of the region occurred, and, over time, began using mod em contraception in order to keep fertility low. Evidence from the low castes suggests that they are beginning deliberately to reduce fertil ity, but the large-farm high castes continue to have high fertility.