Lepcha 'Rong' People "beloved children of the Rong and of God"

Lepcha People Introduction

The Lepcha also called Rongkup , "beloved children of the Rong and of God" and Rongpa (Sikkimese)) are among the indigenous peoples of Sikkim, India and Nepal, and number around 80,000. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, Tibet, Darjeeling, the Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal, and in the hills of West Bengal. The Lepcha people are composed of four main distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Dámsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of Samtse and Chukha in southwestern Bhutan.

Origins

The word Lepcha is considered to be the anglicised version of the Nepalese word lepche meaning "vile speakers" or "inarticulate speech". This was at first a derogatory nickname but is no longer seen as negative.The Lepchas call themselves Rong.

The origin of the Lepcha is unknown. They may have originated in Myanmar, Tibet or Mongolia but the Lepcha people themselves firmly believe that they did not migrate to the current location from anywhere and are indigenous to the region. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which some classify as Himalayish.

The Lepchas are of Mongoloid stock, and some anthropologists trace their origins to Mongolia or Tibet. However, the people themselves have no traditions of past migrations and place the home of their ancestors (Mayel) near Mt. Kanchenjunga. The early history of the Lepchas is obscure, their isolation no doubt limiting contacts with the outside world. The Bhutias began moving into the region from Tibet in the 14th century ad. Sometime before the beginning of the 17th century, Sikkim became subject to Tibet. Internal upheavals in Tibet early in the 17th century led to three "Red Hat" lamas (monks) fleeing to Sikkim, where they converted the population to Buddhism and created a Sikkimese Tibetan king. For the next three centuries, the Lepchas of Sikkim were dominated by the Bhutias, the Nepalese, and later the British. In 1950, although it remained independent under its ruling chogyal (king), Sikkim became a protectorate of India. Following a plebiscite in which Hindu immigrants from India made the difference in the voting, Sikkim became the twenty-second state of the Indian union in 1975.

Language

The Lepcha have their own language, also called Lepcha. It belongs to the Bodish–Himalayish group of Tibeto-Burman languages. The Lepcha write their language in their own script, called Róng or Lepcha script, which is derived from the Tibetan script.

The Lepcha language is spoken in Sikkim and Darjeeling district in West Bengal of India.  Lepcha is considered to be one of the indigenous languages of the area in which it is spoken. Unlike most other languages of the Himalayas, the Lepcha people have their own indigenous script (the world's largest collection of old Lepcha manuscripts is kept in Leiden, with over 180 Lepcha books).

Lepcha is the language of instruction in some schools in Sikkim. In comparison to other Tibeto-Burman languages, it has been given considerable attention in the literature. Nevertheless, many important aspects of the Lepcha language and culture still remain undescribed.

Lepcha Clothing

The original dress of both Lepcha men and women consists of knee-length drawers and an undershirt or bodice, over which a long piece of striped material is worn like a cloak. This coarse, homewoven outer garment is fastened at the shoulder by a brooch and is belted at the waist by a sash. The sash of ordinary people is usually red or purple, while that of lamas is yellow. The Lepcha hat (thaktop) is loaf-shaped and made of leaves attached to a bamboo frame and decorated with a feather. Men traditionally always carried a long knife slung from the belt in a bamboo scabbard.

Lepcha Male dress - Dumpra

Dumpra (also dumprá; Lepcha for "male dress") is the traditional dress of Lepcha men. It consists of a multicolored, hand-woven cloth pinned at one shoulder and held in place by a waistband called a gyatomu, usually worn over a white shirt and trousers. With it, men wear a flat round cap called a thyáktuk, with stiff black velvet sides and a multicolored top topped by a knot. Rarely, the traditional cone-shaped bamboo and rattan hats are worn.

A man’s dress ‘Dum – praa’, however, it is also known by three other names by its materials, make, and design:

1) Koojoo Vaadoah : This is the oldest kind of Lepcha dress for men. It is made from Koojoo, as the name implies, nettle plants. It is light and soft, but always in a plain colour without any pattern or design. No dyeing or any pattern, embroidery is applied and used in Koojoo Vaadoah. It is of dark cream colour, its natural colour. Today Koojoo Vaadoah dress is not made and available or used for two reasons; firstly, nettle plants are not available in plenty, and secondly, cheap cotton fibres are easily available in the market.

2) Thokroah: This dress is made from thin, soft fibres. ‘Thokroah’ can be easily distinguised or recognised by the absence of embroidery. Although it is multicoloured with typical Lepcha patterns and designs and some ‘Thokroah’ are in stripes, normally it is black and white; embroidery is markedly absence at the topend of the ‘Thokroah’ dress.

3)Menchhyo dress: It is recognised by its beautiful embroidery at the top end of Menshhyo dress.

Lepcha Female dress - Dumden

Lepcha womens dress is basically called “Dum – Bun” or sometimes “Dumdem”, in the old days thick black clothes or “ Tamaan – Dam”, a course silk dress, spun from the cocoon of a large caterpillar that is found in the Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills, were worn by the women.

“Tamaan – dam” is normally of cream colour.Today dambun or dam-dem or Tamaan- dam dress materials are readily available in tha market. it is good that the Lepcha women have retain their basic, simple,natural taste,sense of colour,and style;they very loyally put on their Dam-bun at home and outside. 

Women adorn themselves with a variety of ornaments—silver hoops or rings in the ears; necklaces made from gold, silver, semiprecious stones, or even silver coins; and charm boxes and small idols.

Lepcha Religion

Most Lepchas are Buddhist, a religion brought by the Bhutias from the north, although a large number of Lepchas have today adopted Christianity. Some Lepchas have not given up their shamanistic religion, which is known as Mun.

Animism survives today side-by-side with Buddhism in Lepcha society. The older Mun religion, named after the mun or male priest, focuses on appeasing or warding off evil spirits (moong) who bring sickness and misfortune upon people. The spirits are appeased by the sacrifice of animals, or by the direct intervention of the priest or one of the lesser religious practitioners among the Lepchas. The Lepchas acknowledge the existence of various deities and benevolent spirits, but rarely make regular offerings to them.

Overlying the beliefs and practices of Mun are the formal structures of lamaistic Buddhism. It is said that Buddhism was introduced to the region from Tibet around 1641, with the first monasteries founded towards the end of the 17th century. While the Lepchas have accepted certain aspects of Tibetan Buddhism (e.g., the ritual, the mythology, and the hierarchy of lamas), concepts such as asceticism and individual responsibility for one's spiritual welfare are totally alien to them. For the common person, the mun is of far greater importance in daily religious life than is the lama. (Lama is a Tibetan word; the Lepcha term for a lama is yook-mun, literally, "honored Mun.") However, the ceremonies of the two religions are usually performed simultaneously. Some writers have gone so far as to describe the Lepcha religion as "animistic Buddhism."