The Lepchas: heritage and culture of the native people of Sikkim

The Lepchas - a tiny Himalayan community spread across Sikkim, the Darjeeling Hills, the south-western parts of Bhutan, and the Ilam District of Nepal have succinct stories illustrating moral values and tales about their inhabitancy of these regions since time immemorial.

The beauty in the culture of the Lepcha people lies in its simplicity. Known as ‘born botanists’ and ‘pure naturalists’ they are intensely aware of the surroundings they live in.

In Sikkim, they can be found across all four districts, from the north to south, and from the east to the west. But, they are mostly confined to Dzongu- a Lepcha reserve in North Sikkim where only a Dzongu-born Lepcha is entitled to own land. A four-hour drive from Gangtok – Sikkim’s capital, a large part of Dzongu is the core part of Khangchengdzonga National Park. The park was also included in the Unesco World Heritage Site’s list in 2016 and has been declared a ‘mixed heritage’ site, the only one of its kind in India.

The Lepchas in Dzongu have retained their traditional lifestyle to its utmost. They boast of a rich tangible, intangible, and natural heritage. The most striking features of Lepcha culture, when examined closely, are its simple architecture, wood and bamboo craft, their blend of Shamanism and Buddhism, reverence for rivers and mountains, and unrivalled biodiversity with a unique variety of insects, butterflies, birds, stream fishes and flora.

The area is home to a total of 41 villages with a dispersed settlement pattern comprising a maximum of 20-30 houses per village. The main components used in building a traditional house are bamboos and wood. Lepcha houses comprise breezy courtyards with breathtaking vistas of mountains and rivers, well-maintained kitchen gardens from where the daily produce is procured, pigsties, chicken coops where their poultry needs are met, cowsheds, rooms and a kitchen.

The kitchen in a Lepcha household is always a separate entity and it houses a huge dining space with hierarchical seating arrangements wherein the head of the family is seated in a corner with a special seat. Some houses that are located along the terraced rice paddy fields have threshing floors while the others use community threshing areas that are located amidst the fields. Another remarkable feature of a traditional Lepcha house is the boulders that are placed beneath the posts (mostly tree trunks) making the house seismic resistant. The posts are also used to tie domestic animals at night.

Making sustainable choices in real practice is the Lepcha way of living. The day-to-day utility items used and made by them are eco-friendly and are made of bamboo, wood, corn silks, stone among others. From bamboo jars and pipes through which their local grog- Chi is consumed to the humble hat, everything is made of bamboo.

Lepcha cuisine mostly comprises of meat, fresh greens, yams, tubers, gruels, broths, and grains such as rice, buckwheat, and maize. Boiled yams and tubers are consumed on a seasonal basis mainly as an evening snack. Pancakes made of buckwheat with a filling of wild spinach or meat is highly celebrated. However, rice, broths made from nettle and a portion of meat is a staple among them. Besides, they are well-versed in making a variety of tipples using different methods. These include brews made of peach, pear, jackfruit, gooseberries among others.

The most iconic drink, however, is chi which is made by fermenting finger millet and is consumed by adding warm water to it from time to time and is enjoyed by both men and women.

The most ideal way to explore Dzongu and its rich culture is by taking short hikes from one village to the other and greeting the locals, on encountering them, with a Khamree – a traditional Lepcha greeting. A hike would mean coming across natives carrying huge loads of grass, clear-flowing streams rushing out of huge boulders descending through the lush green mountainside, chortens or stupas adding to the beauty of the landscape, colourful flags with prayers winging their way to heaven and monasteries among others.

Lepchas mostly practice Buddhism with a blend of their indigenous practices. Mount Kanchenjunga is highly revered by the community and every important task is initiated by offering prayers to the mountain. Rivers, lakes, and hot springs are of equal religious significance to them. Rongyong Chu- a river that flows through Dzongu- is to the Lepchas what the Ganges is to the Hindus. As per them, when a Lepcha dies his soul follows the path of the meandering river. The Lepcha priests and priestesses are known as muns and bongthings that are shamans with supernatural powers.

The monasteries in Dzongu belong to the Nyingmapa Sect of Buddhism. Among them the most significant is Tholung Monastery which is a day’s hike along River Rongyong from Bey village, a rough motorable road leads to Bey from where the trail starts. The monastery possesses sacred manuscripts and artefacts that are showcased once in three years. The monastery at Lingthem village is famous for its Cham Dance, an annual mask dance performed during Losoong (a Sikkimese festival) at the end of December.

The Lepcha women wear dumvum which is an ankle-length dress paired with a blouse and is held by a belt known as nyamreek ma around the waist. The men wear knee-length clothing which is tied to the shoulder and is termed dumpra.in the past, dumpra was made of nettle and fern, however, it is woven today. While one could still see women wearing their dumvum, it has become entirely occasional for men to wear dumpra. The woven men’s wear today are made in handlooms. The clothing piece comprises motifs inspired by their natural surroundings. Women tie a sickle around their waist while the men carry Bamfok- a flattened knife. The women, around their neck, carry the canine of an animal found in the high altitudes.in case of poisoning occurred by the ingestion of mushrooms, the canine is rubbed against a stone and the powder is consumed to heal the effects caused by poisoning.

The material culture of the Lepchas is a quintessential of sustainable living considering how they have beautifully adapted the environment they live in and the traditional knowledge that has been passed down to them for generations. From stories related to the origin of the ethnic community to the death of an individual and everything in between - revolves around the mountains, rivers, and lakes that they are surrounded with. The Lepchas have been hosting national and international guests in their pristine abode, Dzongu, since 2008.

India Homepage: www.lonelyplanet.com/en-in