Dr. D. C. Roy.
The original inhabitants of the Eastern Himalayas call themselves ‘Mutanchi Rong Kup Rum Kup’ or in short ‘Rong’. But they are popularly known as ‘Lepcha’ in the outside world. Mayel Lyang was their original homeland. At present they spread and are the citizens of three countries: India, Nepal and Bhutan. Most of the Lepchas now are concentrated in Darjeeling District of West Bengal and in the North district of Sikkim.
The article aims at examining, in short, the changes which occurred and affected the Lepchas of Darjeeling District over the last four hundred years or so.
Name: The endoethnonym of the tribe is ‘Mutanchi Rong Kup Rum Kup’ which literally means ‘the son of the snowy peak or the son of God’. The name has been derived as per the source of the origin of the tribe. It is believed that God has created Fudong Thing and Nazaong Nyoo, the first Lepcha male and female out of the virgin snow of Mt. Kanchanjunga. As the primogenitors of the tribe have been created out of snow of the mountain, the tribe rightly named themselves as ‘son of snowy peak’ and as God created them, they correctly identified themselves as ‘son of God’. Their short name ‘Rong’ means ‘the divine folk’ or ‘peak’ is also associated with their source of origin.
But in course of time the beautiful tribe name has been corrupted and spelled differently before it takes the present form, ‘Lepcha’. Some say that it is derived from the Nepali word “Lapche’ means ‘vile speaker’ or ‘Lapcha’ means ‘mild and submissive people’. It might have also been derived from their own word ‘Lap-cho’ means ‘place of worship’ or ‘place to take rest’. During the British rule the word ‘Lap-cho’ or ‘Lap-che’ has been anglicized as ‘Lepcha’.
The beautiful and divinely ordained name of the tribe has been corrupted at different stages before it takes the present form ‘Lepcha’. The outsiders have snatched their original name and now they are forced to accept the name given by others.
Land: Lepchas called their land ‘Nye Mayel Renjyaong Lyang’ or in short ‘Mayel Lyang’ which means the ‘Land of Hidden Paradise’ or ‘Delightful Region or Abode’. Their land was spread over a vast area in the Eastern Himalayan region where they used to move and lived as free sons of the soil. Although the boundary was not fixed like today but from the existing literature it can be said that in the north the Lepchas lost Chumbi Valley to Tibet and Thang La to Bhutan. In the east they lost the entire boundary to Bhutan. In the west Lepcha land was spread up to Tamor river, Arun river and Koshi river which they lost to Nepal. The southern vast area had been shared by Nepal, Bangladesh, West Bengal and Bihar. In a word, all neighbouring countries and states have expanded their territories at the cost of Lepchas Mayel Lyang.
At present the Lepchas are residing in the State of Sikkim and in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal. Due to the rearrangement of their land some Lepchas are still found in the eastern part of Nepal and in the western part of Bhutan. The spread of Lepchas over the three countries is not due to their migratory character but due to the political shuffling of the old Lepcha kingdom by the respective countries. The important Treaties, Agreements, which are responsible for the loss of Lepcha land are : Blood Brotherhood Treaty of 13th Century; Bhutan War of 1700; Gorkha War of 1791; Segauli Treaty of 1815; Treaty of Titalia of 1817; Darjeeling Grant of 1835; Treaty of Tumlong of 1861; Treaty of Sinchula of 1865; British – China Convention of 1890. But except Blood Brotherhood Treaty Lepchas were either involved or ever been made a party to any of the agreements by which their land was handed over to the third party.
Lepchas not only lost their old land but ironically they now became citizens of three different countries; India, Nepal and Bhutan. Now, they are treated differently in different countries; even within India, they are not all equally treated in Darjeeling and Sikkim.
Rule: History witnesses a number of rulers in Mayel Lyang whom the Lepchas call ‘Pano’ or king. Among them Tarvey Pano reigned during 1420 AD followed by his successors Tur-Sang Pano, Tur- Ageng Pano, and Tur- Ayek Pano. In Sikkim Namgyal dynasty was started through a Blood Brotherhood Treaty agreed by Khye-Bumsa, the Tibetan leader with The-Kung Tek, the Lepcha leader. Bhutan occupied the Damsang area (present day Kalimpong) by killing the last Lepcha king Gaeboo Achyok Pano. During Tibetan rule, Lepchas could hold some palace based aristocratic leaderships like Dzongpen and Kazi. In fact, Lepchas were the facilitators of Tibetan rule in the old day Sikkim. Beside some strong Lepcha personalities like Tasso Bidur, Chagzot or Satrajeet, Bolek, Gaebo Achyok and others who occasionally attempted some unsuccessful revolt and tried to re-establish the Lepcha rule in Mayel Lyang, the common Lepchas were found to remain as the simple subject and are ruled by others.
Democracy is the rule of majority. Under Indian democratic system neither in Darjeeling nor in Sikkim, Lepchas, now, are in such majority to enjoy the power in policy making and executing. In Nepal and Bhutan their existence has never been recognized.
Population: In the early days before the Tibetans came and settled in these places, Lepchas were the only inhabitants in these areas. They not only enjoyed the vast land which spread all over the southern part of the Eastern Himalayas but themselves were the rulers of their land and people. There were absolutely no other communities other than the Lepchas in this mountainous part of the world.
It is true that Lepcha population is very low from the very beginning. When British came in Darjeeling area they found the land was absolutely inhabited by the Lepchas. On 1st February 1835 when Darjeeling was handed over to East India Company by the Sikkim Puttee Rajah “there was a collection of 20 huts with a population of 100 souls” (Dozey, 1916: P – 48). When Kalimpong was annexed by the British from Bhutanese in 1865, it had a population of 1200 souls. Although there was no specification of Lepchas but it can be inferred that population was composed of aboriginal Lepchas who were in majority and some Bhutias from Bhutan who were engaged in administration or business.
Now the area has become multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan where large numbers of immigrants are from the neighbouring countries of Nepal and Tibet and many others from the plains of India. The story of out numbering the Lepchas in their own homeland has started with the immigration of Tibetans from Tibet in the 13th Century and which continued until the mid twentieth century when China occupied Tibet. The situation was aggravated with the merging of Darjeeling with East India Company in 1835 where large number of Nepalese also came to settle, and Sikkim with independent India in 1975. In the process slowly the Lepchas have become minority and comprise very negligible proportion of the total population of the area. Now, the Lepchas comprise around 2.00 per cent of total population in Darjeeling District and around 7.00 per cent in the State of Sikkim.
Religion: Lepcha religion is known as Mun-Boongthimism. Lepchas are very religious minded. From cradle to grave they call Boongthing and Mun, priest and priestess, to perform their rituals and beliefs. There is no restriction on becoming a priest and anybody can act as mediator between the common Lepchas and the God but the person should have perfect knowledge about Lepcha religion and should have full command on their language. Daily Lepcha life is full of rituals. At birth of a baby, the family and the society celebrate with rituals. Thereafter during naming ceremony, marriage ceremony, death and all other occasions, the Lepchas have their typical rituals. It is only the Mun who can place the soul of the dead person in the lap of Kanchanjunga to meet their ancestors for eternal rest. The Lepchas believe in spirits whom they need to satisfy during house construction, farming, plucking of first fruit, hunting etc. Lepchas believe that diseases are due to sinister eye of the evil spirits and whom they need to praise with proper presents and prayers. Beside the individual rituals, the society also performs some rituals which are mainly organized by the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong. All the Lepcha rituals are specific, typical and nature friendly.
The role and position of Mun and Boongthing make the Lepcha religion distinct and unique. Within its broad spectrum of nature worshipper, the role and prestige of Mun, the priestess, kept the Lepcha society high even in the modern world of gender inequality. Some religious beliefs and practices, like Muk-Zek-Ding Rum Faat , Tendong Lho Rum Faat, Lyang Rum Faat,Chyoo Rum Faat, Sakyoo Ram Faat aim at balancing ecology and in true sense Lepchas become the real worshippers of nature. Folk-tale and folk-lore identify and associate Lepchas with the region and the locality. Boongthing and Mun with their vast knowledge about the herbal medicine of the locality are the bare footed medicine man and woman of the Lepchas and they serve the society without expecting any direct return. This simple nature lover, over the period of time, has converted either into Buddhism or into Christianity. Recent census documents show that none of the Lepchas, at present, are nature worshipers. Conversion into Buddhism started with the advent of Tibetan rulers in greater Sikkim in the Seventeenth Century. For the smooth functioning of their rule, the first thing which the rulers did was to bring all the subjects under the same religious faith. Conversion into Christianity started after the British occupied the Darjeeling tract from Sikkim Raja during mid nineteenth century. Taking the advantage of mass poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and poor health condition, the Christian Missionaries converted large number of Lepchas into Christianity. As per 1981 census 57.11 per cent Lepchas of West Bengal are Buddhists while 35.70 per cent are Christians and the rest are Hindus. Loss of Lepcha religion in their own homeland and conversion into alien religious faith is a matter of great concern for the Lepchas. The institution of Mun-Boongthimism which the Lepchas cherished and preserved for long has been broken into pieces and the relics of them can be found only among the Buddhist Lepchas who along with the Buddhist Lama call Mon or Boongthing for performing their traditional rituals.
Education: During the pre-British period as such there was no system of formal education in this area for any community in general and for the Lepchas in particular. But they were the master of the land and the nature. They were botanists and zoologists par excellence and acquired knowledge of the nature by experience and practice. What the Lepchas used to learn was either to enrich themselves with the knowledge of their surroundings or to acquire religious knowledge from the monasteries. The Gazetteer of Darjeeling states: “The earliest attempt to reach modern secular education to the Hill people was made around A.D. 1850 by Rev. W.Start, a private missionary, who added to his record of good work in Darjeeling by opening a school for Lepchas. After him came a band of German missionaries, one of whom, Mr Neibel, devoted himself specially to school work, prepared some Lepcha primers and gathered some boys together into schools” (1980: P- 479).
But within two decades, all the Lepchas medium schools have converted either into English or Nepali medium schools and the Lepcha language lost all its existence in the school curriculum. In Sikkim, Lepcha language has been introducced as a medium of instruction up to the Degree Level. But the Lepchas on the other part of the hill are debarred from getting any scope of learning their mother tongue. It may be noted that a good number of alien languages like English, Nepali, Hindi, Bengali, Tibetan, Dzonkha, Chinese, Khasi, Mizo etc are being taught in the different ICSE, CBSE, State Board Schools. At present under the guidance and initiative of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong,about forty Night Schools have undertaken a massive task of extending education to the Lepchas in their mother tongue. But this can not continue for long without direct support from the state.
Language and Literature: Language is the distinct identity of any community. Lepchas have their own language, literature and script. Finding the richness of Lepcha language, Mainwaring commented “in the structure of the Lepcha language, I have discovered the system on which, I consider, all language is based” (P-xx). Without entering into the controversy about the origin of the Lepcha script, it can be said that “it is the most comprehensive and beautiful one, it is the oldest language extent and is unquestionably far anterior to the Hebrew or Sanskrit (Mainwaring, 1876: P – xx). Lepcha language falls under Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan speech family. The Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India (1909) placed Lepcha in the category of non-pronominalised group of Himalayan language. Be whatever it may, Lepcha language is a distinct and rich language of the Eastern Himalayan region. Without entering into the controversial views of its invention, we can just say that it was the Buddhist Missionaries led by Namgyal Kings who took initiative in spreading the Lepcha script for the purpose of writing the Namthar. The Christian missionaries were the first to print the Lepcha script in 1845 and devised the Lepcha fount for printing Bible. Lepcha language was the official and Court language of Darjeeling during the early phase of British rule. The gift of Darjeeling Grant, 1835 was written in Lepcha language with the official Royal Seal of Maharaja of Sikkim at the top of the document. It is reported that during Tibetan rule all the Lepcha manuscripts and documents were burnt to ashes near Gazing in East Sikkim. The heat of the fire was so much so that it created a crack on the stoneSuch a rich and prestigious language without enriching the Indian language treasure is, now, going to vanish due to absolute negligence of the government. During the British rule, the Lepcha language was taught in the schools and also used in administrative purposes. But slowly other foreign languages have taken the place of the Lepcha language and the Lepchas have lost their fundamental right to educate themselves in their mother tongue. The Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong, has taken the trouble of compiling, collecting, editing and writing the study materials up to 12th standard for the students of Darjeeling district. In Sikkim under the government patronage, Lepcha language is being taught up to graduation level. But the students of Darjeeling are debarred from availing such facilities. At present under the guidance and initiative of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headdquarters Kalimpong about forty Night Schools have undertaken a massive task of extending education to the Lepchas in their mother tongue. But this can not continue for long without direct support from the State.
Marriage: Lepcha marriage is race endogamous and ‘moo’ exogamous. Lepcha society is casteless but clan based. There is no restriction on marriage within the tribe but not within the same moo. Strictly, a Lepcha boy cannot marry a Lepcha girl of his father’s and mother’s moo and the girl cannot marry the boy of her father’s and mother’s moo. Lepchas generally follow five generation gap in case of identical moo. The Pee-boo and the Byeakboo, the go between, on girl’s side and boy’s side respectively, play typical and crucial role in the Lepcha marriage. The existence of bride price and other marriage customs place the girls in comparatively higher position in the Lepcha society. Boys should approach first for girls’ hand and should satisfy the parents of the bride with customary Myaok Panol, the different official presents. Customarily it takes seven long years to complete the seven different stages in Lepcha marriage. Marriage among the Lepchas is considered not only as binding the two opposite sexes together but it binds two different families, clans and villages. There are no specific mantras for marriage but the representatives of both the parties should know the traditional Lepcha customs, oath-taking rituals including the origin of Lepcha marriage, the story of Tarbongthing and Naripnom, the love story of Teesta and Rangit etc. It is an occasion where the traditional customs and culture are practised and reminds the Lepchas that they are the distinct race of the region.
The race endogamous marriage started during the Tibetan rule when a good number of Tibetan elites including some kings preferred to marry Lepcha girls and established matrimonial relations with the original tribes which facilitated their rule in the region. The process still continues where all the communities settled here including the Europeans either attracted by the beauty of the Lepcha girls or motivated and guided by their self interest married the Lepcha girls. A good number of Lepcha boys also got married with the non-Lepcha girls. This inter-community marriage damaged the very essence of Lepcha culture and customs and a small community like the Lepchas can not withstand such damage. The loss of a girl from the community is a permanent loss of female moo which is very scarce and rare among the Lepchas. The incoming of non-Lepcha girl in Lepcha family not only obstructs the transfer of moo from mother to daughter but creates complications in preserving language traditional culture and customs. Through inter community marriage Lepchas lost their land. Inter community marriage can be identified as one of the single most damaging factor of the Lepcha society.
Moo: Lepcha society is casteless but it is clan based. They call their clan as Moo which is very touchy and important in their day to day life. Lepcha moo is an extensive form of lineage constituted of blood relations. In Lepcha society, male moo differs from female moo which is very special for the Lepchas. Girls carry their mothers’ moo while son inherits his father’s moo. Moo can only be acquired through birth and under no circumstances it can either be obtained or lost. Existence of sex-based moo makes the Lepcha society a peculiar blending of patrilineal and matrilineal type. Lepcha moo is sex linked and unilineal in character. Lepcha moo is very significant and useful in their day to day life. In any offerings Lepchas are linked with the spirit world through moo. Lepcha marriage is moo exogamous. A boy can not marry a girl belonging to his mother’s or father’s moo while a girl cannot marry a boy of her father’s or mother’s moo. Marriage within the blood relations is strictly forbidden and any violation may cause the birth of deformed child. Moo is useful in case of land transfer. Lepchas now-a-days are very sensitive and like to preserve the land within their same moo. Lepcha land is moo linked and is uni-directional. Recently, there is a trend of using moo as surname.
Two things are responsible in causing damage to Lepcha moo: religious conversion and inter-community marriage. Lepchas have converted either into Buddhism or Christianity. The gap between Buddhism and the Mun-Boongthimism is much narrower where in most cases the Lama and the Boongthing co-exist in performing rituals. There is a unique synthesis between the two flexible religions: Mahayana Buddhism and Mun-Boongthimsm. The Christianity, on the other hand, is very rigid and there is absolutely no place for the Boongthing or Mun and everything is church based where the Pastor or the Church Father do all rituals. Moo is absolutely of no use to the Christian Lepchas while the Buddhist Lepchas are the preservers of their moo. The inter-community marriage is another damaging force in using and preserving Lepcha moo. Some female moos have lost permanently due to the marriage of Lepcha girls out side the community. It creates confusion in transmitting moo to the girl child where the mother is non-Lepcha and in most cases the girls are found to use their father’s moo which violates Lepcha tradition.
Dress: Lepchas have their unique, colourful dresses of their own. From bygone days Lepchas have separate dress for the males and females. Lepchas used to weave their dress at home with the help of locally available cotton.
Lepcha male dress is known as ‘Dumpraa’ which can be used as garment during day time and as blanket at night. Their shirt is loose with high neck at back and slightly open part in the front. The Lepcha trousers is three quarter and it can reach between knee and ankle. Lepchas never used shoes in olden days but now-a-days they put on shoes of any type after purchasing it from the market. A bag hanging from the shoulder is a typical marker of Lepcha identity. The Lepcha hat is another distinct identity. The round hat is decorated with bird’s feather or tail. Banpok, a short knife, is kept at the waist hanging in wood or bamboo sheathe is another typical dress ornament of the Lepchas.
Lepcha female dress, known as ‘Dum-dem’, is worn by covering the body criss-crossing just below neck. It is a long dress which covers the whole body up to the feet. Females use long sleeve loose blouse inside the Dum-dem. Both Dum-dem and Tago, the blouse, are plain in colour. Dum-dem is normally light coloured while Tago is red. Females do not use multi-coloured dress like the males. Normally a small white coloured scarf is used to cover the head. Baan-hoor, small sickle, is kept at the back to protect them from animals and enemies. Lepcha women are fond of ornaments including necklace, rings, bangles etc.
In the contemporary period, Lepcha dress has become very ornamental and they use it only occasionally. Lepchas could not protect themselves from the wave of modernization where media and the neighbouring community influence them in replacing their traditional dress. The fashion and the wave of western culture have swept the Lepchas so much so that it is hard to get a complete Lepcha dress in many villages. Even Banpok, a very essential day to day article, is hardly found with them. Some Buddhist Lepchas posses their typical dress and wear them during rituals and ceremonies. The Mun and Boongthing are the preservers of Lepcha culture and in all occasions wear their colourful dress. They also encourage and entertain others to wear their traditional dress.
Architecture: Lepchas are good architects. Lepcha architecture is reflected in the construction of their house, cane bridge and fort.
Lepcha house, known as Rong-Lee, is the symbol of their identity. It is an example of high class Lepcha engineering skill and ability. Rong-Lee is both earthquake proof and flood proof. All the pillars of the house stand on big flat stones and no iron nails are used for the gigantic construction. The wooden beams are inserted through one another in a criss-cross way. The thatched roof is air conditioned and protects the dwellers from severe cold. All locally available materials like wood, thatch, bamboo, cane are used for the construction of Rong-Lee. The house is environmental friendly and is an example of rich traditional culture of the Lepchas.
Cane bridge, Ru-saom, is another finest documents of Lepcha art. The Eastern Himalayan region is full of small and large sized rivers, streams and only the bridge can connect the people of both sides. In early days when there was no iron suspension or concrete bridge like today, Lepchas constructed cane bridge with cane and bamboo which were available locally. Such bridge was very light but one could carry around 50 kg of load. Two trees on opposite banks of river were used as pillars on which the bridge used to hang. Expert, knowledgeable person in association with the archers and able bodied Lepchas gather on the auspicious day to construct the bridge.
Examples of Lepcha fine art can be available from their folk-lore of Earthen Tower whose relics are demanded to be found even today in Tallaom Purtam in Western Sikkim. Forts constructed by Lepcha kings in different parts of Mayel Lyang are evidences of their high quality architectural skill. Lepchas possess the skill of weaving and making their dress articles like Daam-praa, Dum-dem, bag, hat, cap, Ban-pok, Ban-hoor etc with the locally available materials. They were craftsmen par excellence and possessed environmental friendly high quality engineering and architectural skill. Their knowledge was indigenous and acquired by experience.
Now-a-days it is difficult to differentiate Lepcha houses from those of other houses. The well to do families construct the concrete houses using cement, brick,, iron etc while the poor families use wood, corrugated tin, thatch, bamboo for house construction. It is true that Ronglee needs huge wood and thatch which are costly and unavailable but in the process the Lepchas lost their days old architectural skill. Thirty five Lepcha traditional houses only are found in the Kalimpong Sub-Division. Modern iron suspension and concrete or wooden bridge have replaced most of traditional Lepcha cane bridge. Cane bridge is an example of Lepcha fine art and their indigenous knowledge of engineering.
Songs and Music: Another area of Lepcha identity is their distinct music and songs where they use indigenous musical instruments - Tungbuk, Satsung, Palit-Kent and Puntaong Palit. Tunes of the Lepcha songs are mostly derived from the hymn or chanting of the Mun and Boongthing. ‘Apryaa-Vom’, the spontaneous, impromptu, natural and on the spot song of the Lepchas is very special. To recognize their special character and to encourage the community the Government of India has awarded Lapon S.T.Lepcha and Renue Hildamit Lepcha with Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1996 and 2008. Lapon S.T.Lepcha was the first Lepcha to receive the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2006 for his untiring effort in preserving, spreading and protecting traditional Lepcha culture and custom. Anyway, the themes of most of the Lepcha songs are mainly based on their culture, tradition and nature which include birth of the child, marriage, death, returning soul to the Lap of Kanchanjunga and other natural surroundings.
In modern days the Lepchas could not keep themselves free from the influence of the electronic media and the western musical culture. Now, it is very hard to differentiate Lepcha songs from those of the others. The musical part of most songs is the total imitation of either mainland Indian style or European style. Songs are music based where themes although are brought from Lepcha tradition but are neglected. The music and tune misguided and puzzled the listeners.
Epilogue: The Lepchas, once the sons of the soil, have lost all their influence over the land and community. The lords of soil become landless and daily wage earners. They not only lost Mayel Lyang but in course of time become citizens of three countries: India, Nepal and Bhutan. They are now the negligible minority in all three countries. Lepchas have completely converted from their nature worshipper to either Buddhism or Christianity. Religious conversion is responsible in creating all round change in Lepcha society. Christianity has created a wider gap between the past and the present than the Buddhism. The role and importance of Mun, Boongthing, Peeboo and other traditional Lepcha personalities are getting some respect and are used by the Buddhists. Lepchas now got some formal education but in the process they forget their own language, literature and script. They lost their old skill of weaving their own dress; constructing house, Cane Bridge; making ban-pok, ornaments and all they need in their life.
The Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong, is trying hard in preserving and protecting their culture, custom, tradition, religion, moo, language and literature. It has taken some extraordinary steps in opening and guiding forty Lepcha Night Schools to disseminate their language, literature, culture, custom, values to young generations. The Association organizes and celebrates a number of Lepcha festivals like Muk Zek Ding Rum Faat, Tendong Lho Rum Faat , Chyoo Rum Faat, Sakyoo Rum Faat and Birth Anniversary of Pano Gaeboo Achyok. Different Seminars, Conferences, Workshops organized by the Association help in inculcating the sense of awareness among the common Lepchas. The Lepcha Language Board not only educates the common Lepchas about their language and literature but also conducts examination and issues Certificate to the successful candidates.
The revival trend initiated by the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong, is praiseworthy and is revolutionary in the Lepcha history. It is a challanging and demanding task and its success depends upon the involvement of all the Lepchas: young and old, man and woman, rich and poor, literate and illiterate, rural and urban and ultimately Buddhists and Christians. The loss of Lepcha land, religion, culture, custom, language, literature can be regained and preserved by the Lepchas themselves. It absolutely rests on the Lepchas whether they are going to maintain their distinct identity for themselves and for posterity or prefer to merge with other dominant culture. Now, the revival process is on; the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Headquarters Kalimpong, is trying hard to its best; the government should get involved with due share; but it is ultimately the common Lepchas who through their active involvement and sense of belonging can only pull the community and remove their day’s old blame of ‘Dying Race’ and prove that they should no more be identified as ‘Vanishing Tribe’ but as the most ‘Flourishing Tribe’ of the region.