Indigenous Peoples of Sikkim - Indigenous Cultures

Indigenous Cultures

The indigenous Sikkimese show wide cultural variation. Limbu society is traditionally defined by norms, rituals, rites, and chumlung, social groups that convene to express views. During rituals, dancing is a common element, and Limbu priests, called phedangma, recite oral narratives called mundhum. Traditionally, the Limbu practice chastity before marriage, and do not cohabitate before marrying. They tend to live in extended family groups, remaining at home after marriage; marriages are strictly exogamous, meaning intra-clan marriage is prohibited. They therefore frequently adopt members of entirely different groups, encouraging religious marital conversion in the process. The Limbu use the Limbu script to write their language, which is related to that of the Lepcha.

The Lepcha speak Lepcha and use Lepcha script. Both the Lepcha and Limbu scripts are descended from the Tibetan script. Traditionally, Lepcha men wear gadas and tie a patang, a kind of weapon, on their waist and don a bamboo cap; women wear distinctive dresses and ornaments. Among Lepchas, there is a tradition of nuclear family structure and of monogamous marriage; though divorce is relatively rare, widowed persons customarily remarry.

Traditionally, the Lepcha practice a religion centered around shamans called mun, who officiate ceremonies and festivals, and bóngthíng, who are healers and are often female. The Lepcha converted to Buddhism in the eighteenth century, though their beliefs are largely syncretic.

Bhutias speak Sikkimese, which is also referred to as Dranjongke, written in the Tibetan script, proper. Men and women wear bakhus, while for women only this is accompanied by a hongu (blouse) around which they tie a woolen cloth around their waist called pangden if they are married. On special occasions they wear a scarf called a khada, which has become common feature in the Sikkimese society and culture even among the Nepalese of Sikkim. Historically, the Bhutia practiced polyandry before the nineteenth century; during the nineteenth century, wife-sharing among male siblings was also practiced, however neither tradition survives today. Marriage rituals are traditionally elaborate and festive, officiated by a village chief as opposed to a Buddhist lamas; late marriage and divorce are not uncommon practices among the Bhutia.

Most Limbu, Lepcha, and Bhutia today practice local forms of Buddhism, incorporating aspects of Bön religion and animism, in contrast to the Hindu Nepalese majority. Followers of Buddhism in Sikkim are largely either Karmapa or Nyingma, though a small section of Bhutias claim to adhere to Bön in particular. Since the arrival of the Nepalese and Western missionaries, many Limbu have adopted Hinduism, and a few Lepchas have converted to Christianity.