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Lepcha
The Lepchas (Rongs or Mon-pas) are the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim, they call themselves mutunci rongkup rumkup the children of god.
It is said that Lepchas migrated from various parts of Tibet and Mongolia, because a certain similarities have been found between the Lepcha Language and some dialect spoken in Indo-China. However Lepcha claim that Sikkim is their origin and home of their ancestors, as they reer their homeland as "ne mayel lyang" meaning hidden paradise, or ne mayel maluk lyang meaning land of eternal purity.
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Origin
According to some opinion Lepchas emigrated directly from holy mountain Kailasa (Ti se) way up in Tibet. Lepcha call Sikkim "Ney-Meyel-Renjyong-Lyang", which means the sacred place inhabited by honest and peace loving people. The Limboos call it Yuksom (one of the fortified place), the Bhutia call it "Denzong", the land of paddy. According to Wikipedia.org they emigrated directly from Tibet to the north, while others suggest a more complex migration that started in southeast Tibet, migrated to either Thailand or Burma, then navigated the Ayeyarwady River and Chindwin rivers, crossed the mighty Patkoi range coming back west, and finally entered into ancient India. While migrating westward through India they are surmised to have passed through southern Bhutan before reaching their final destination near Kanchenjunga.
History
The History of Lepchas are obscure and it is said that they have no written document as they were not having their own script and writing system developed or the records and menuscripts were destroyed during the Tibetan invasion (Foning, 1987). But it is said that lepcha king Tarvey Panu ruled around 1400 A.D. According to Halfden Sieger (1967) the Lepcha chieftain ship of Sikkim were :
- Thekong Adek (7th-8th Century)
- Thup Athank (9th-10th Century)
- Thekong Tek (13th Century)
- Rujo Panu/Athing (1353-1410 AD)
- Tarvey Panu (1425-1454 AD)
- Tarsong Panu (1454-1481 AD)
- Tar-eng Panu (1481-1520 AD)
- Tarjyi Panu (1520-1564 AD)
- Tar-eak Panu(1564-1595 AD)
- Thekong Mun Solong Panu (1595-1642AD)
Tribe
Centuries ago, 12 other clans of Lepchas known to have existed in Sikkim, they lived as barbarians in places called Lunghem near Dallam, but now they no longer exist in Sikkim. The clans among Lepchas:
- The Sengdeng-mo
- Lingsim-mo
- Hee-mo
- Karthok-mo
- The descendants of Thekong Salung.
Rest are named after the places they inhabit.
- Tug-Nyee-mo : Living towards Chumthang
- Sampa Putso mo : Liing towards Namthang and Tsidam
- Targok mo : Living towards Rinchenpong.
There are said to have 36 such different clans listed in the list of Maharaja.
Clothings
Lepchas living in the towns may have adopted the clean western style in their dress, but if we move to the village areas of Sikkim, we could still come across people wearing their original tribal dress. Lepchas of village areas still do weave cloths of different colors & patterns in their hand looms.
- Lepcha men wear dress called Gada, patterned with "Tagaap" Style, (The oldest design) or "Khemchu" (Scissors like pattern)
- Lepcha women wear Dum Bun or Dumdyan (dress made of silk), Jyoordong Tago (Gown of Chinese silk), tago (Blouse) and Taroa (White Scarf).
Musical Instruments
- Palitkeng : Flute with four holes.
- Pentong : Flute.
- Pentong Palit : Bigger flute with four holes.
- Nibryok Palit : Double barrel flute.
- Satsang : Sarangi.
- Tanbuk : A kind of Sarangi or Vina.
- Tang Dar : Small round drum.
- Chakpurjang : Longish drum.
- Tangue : Small musical instrument made of bamboo and played by tongue.
Population
According to 1891 census the total population of Lepchas in Sikkim was 5,762 (2362 males, 2399 females and 1001 children) 18.92% of the total population and highest amongst other communities of Sikkim. According to 2004 voter lists, the Lepcha population of Sikkim was 48811, that is only 8.46% of total population of Sikkim. And there are only about 29,854 Lepchas who can speaks Lepcha as their Mother tongue in India.
Related
References
- Wikipedia : Wikipedia.
- Lepcha.info : Lepcha information site.
- ISBN: 81-212-0964-1