Young author Yishey Doma in the acknowledgements section of her recently released book “Legends of The Lepchas: Folk Tales from Sikkim” (Westland and Tranquebar Press) writes “finally my mother and my late father — storehouse of folktales; if it weren't for you I wouldn't have grown up listening to stories.”
Listening to folk tales is an inevitable part of growing up in a Lepcha child's life. And for a tribe that shares such a deep bond with mother earth, it is only inevitable that nature stands at the core of every Lepcha lore. Soaked in nature, weaving various legends, myths, values and beliefs of the tribe are the stories told by Yishey in this book. The compact book adorning an image of Lepcha textile on its cover carries 22 stories, each accompanied by an illustration by Pankaj Thapa.
Remarkably, the stories chosen in this collection hold their own as individual tales but together they appear to be a set of tales, all connected with each other, leading one to another, collectively painting a picture of the history and the subsequent growth of the Lepchas. Yishey begins with “Children of the Snowy Peaks” which reveals how Itbu-moo, mother creator, gave birth to mountains, lakes and rivers and finally the first human being, ‘Fudonthing'. The next lore “The Death of Lasso Mung Puno” is about how the human race saved itself from the demon king.
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In the process, a number of rituals and customs being practised by the tribe become known to the reader giving sense of their culture as it exists today. The reader finds out how various festivals celebrated by them trace their roots in the legends narrated by Yishey.
Just a few minutes before the New Year begins, Lepchas, to date, burn the effigy of Laso Mung Puno at midnight. This is recorded in the tale, “The Crown of Music” where she gives an account of the community's seven day celebrations that follow after the demon king is killed. Narok Rum, the God of Music, impressed by their fondness for dance and music blesses them, “From today onwards, all of you present here will excel in singing and dancing….may you become masters of Lepcha folk songs, dances, music and musical instruments….”
The names of Kongchen Kongchlo or Mount Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world, regarded by Lepchas as their guardian deity, Mayel Lyang — a mythical paradise, which, Lepchas still believe to be somewhere hidden in the valley — appear frequently.
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Yishey is not a Lepcha herself, she belongs to the Bhutia tribe, second of the main three ethnic tribes of Sikkim. “But various tribes know each other's stories, especially Bhutias and Lepchas for the two happen to be the blood brothers. Around 14th or 15th Century, the two tribes pledged brotherhood and the story ‘Khye Bumsa, the Wandering Prince' is about that,” says Yishey describing this as an effort to document a heritage which is on the verge of getting lost. “With the government's proposal to bring hydroelectric power projects in the last of the Lepcha Reserve in Dzongu Valley, the tribe is under threat,” adds Yishey to emphasise her point.