Haddock, full points there!  The whole frontier region was and is still (in some parts) an agrarian society where poverty had its shadow on every household.  Strangely, though this practice was never praticed in Manang, the Mustangeys did follow it mainly due to the influx of Tibetans after the Chinese occupation of Tibet.  BTW, I still recall those stories I head from my family and cousins about the hardships in the Manang region.  Its no wonder that the Mananges were the first ethnic community in Nepal to be awarded passports by the govt under Mahendra since the entire landscape there was unfit for farming (especially to cater to the entire population of the 7 villages).  To this day, this gesture is not forgotton which is why many Mananges are still sypathetic towards the Royals as it is because of them that these rustic, destitute, uneducated villagers made it to being among the most savvy business-peeps in Nepal. 

Nothing related to the topic at hand but I just strayed off from the point of povery in the frontier areas unlike the well to do terai, low-lands and the valley peeps whose land was fertile enough to support its population.  BTW, good to see you and read your posts as always.