The Lepcha (population: 50,000) are the aboriginal inhabitants of present day Sikkim. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, the Ilam district of eastern Nepal and even the hills of West Bengal. They are also known as the Rong, Rongke, or Rongpa. Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. ... West Bengal (পশà§à¦šà¦¿à¦® বঙà§à¦—, PosÌcim Bôngo) is a state in the eastern region of India. ...
The origin of the Lepcha is obscure. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which some classify as Himalayish. Based on this some anthropologists suggest 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 Irrawady and Chindwin rivers, crossed the mighty Patkoi range coming back west, and finally entered into ancient India. While migrating westward through India the are surmised to have passed through southern Bhutan before reaching their final destination near Kanchenjunga. Sino-Tibetan languages form a language family of about 250 languages of East Asia, in number of speakers worldwide second only to Indo-European. ... Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西è—, pinyin: XÄ«zà ng; older spelling Thibet) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西è—, pinyin: XÄ«zà ng; older spelling Thibet) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... The Irrawaddy (newer spelling Ayeyarwaddy) is a river that flows through the centre of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is Myanmars most important commercial waterway. ... Kanchenjunga (also called Kangchenjunga, Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, or Kangchanfanga) is the third highest mountain in the world and the second highest in Nepal, located in the Taplejung district straddling the frontier between Nepal and India. ...
Script
The Lepcha have their own script, called Róng, which is derived from the Tibetan script. It was developed between the 17th and 18th century by a Lepcha scholar named Thikúng Men Salóng. The world's largest collection of old Lepcha manuscripts is found in Leiden, The Netherlands with over 180 Lepcha books. The Tibetan language is typically classified as member of the Tibeto-Burman which in turn is thought by some to be a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. ... Leiden (in English also, but now rarely, Leyden) is a city and municipality in South Holland, The Netherlands. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ...
Religion
Most Lepchas are Tibetan Buddhist by religion, which was brought by the Bhutias from the north, although a few have also adopted Christianity. However, the Lepcha have not give up their shamanistic religion which is known as Mun. In actual practice, Mun ritual and Buddhist ritual are mixed together. Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... The Bhutias are people of Tibetan origin, who migrated to Sikkim, India after the 15th century through Bhutan, where they are also known as Ngalop and constitute half of the countrys population. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices that involve the ability to diagnose, cure, and sometimes cause human suffering by traversing the axis mundi and forming a special relationship with, or gaining control over, spirits. ... The Mun River (Thai แม่น้ำมูล) is a tributary of the Mekong river. ...
Customs
The Lepcha trace their descent patrilineally. Their marriage customs, due to strong Tibetan influence, is quite similar to the Bhutia. The marriage is negotiated between the families of the bride and the groom. If the marriage deal is settled, the lama will look through the Tibetan almanac to check the horoscopes of the boy and girl and to schedule a favourable date for the wedding. Then the boy's maternal uncle, along with other relatives, approaches the girl's maternal uncle with a khada, a ceremonial scarf and one rupee, and gains the maternal uncles formal consent. Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to ones fathers lineage; it generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well. ... Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西è—, pinyin: XÄ«zà ng; older spelling Thibet) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... The Bhutias are people of Tibetan origin, who migrated to Sikkim, India after the 15th century through Bhutan, where they are also known as Ngalop and constitute half of the countrys population. ... Lama can refer to: the Tibetan word for religious teacher (like the Sanskrit term guru) see Tibetan Buddhism. ... The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. ...
The wedding takes place at noon on the auspicious day. The groom and his entire family leave for the girl's house with some money and other gifts that are handed over to the bride's maternal uncle. Upon reaching the destintion, the traditional Nyomchok ceremony takes place, and the bride's father arranges a feast for relatives and friends. This seals the wedding between the couple.
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