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Yele Dong and Maghe Sankranti

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  Yele Dong and Maghe Sankranti  Written by Pradip Khambu Rai Every great civilization has experienced an intrinsic need to own a calendar. Sometimes this necessity isn’t just to document solar or lunar cycles, seasonal changes, and find appropriate dates. It is also because a calendar’s presence helps define the glorious history of a civilization and exhibit that history to the world. For the Kiratis, who have ruled the Nepal valley (Kathmandu) for over 1903 years and have found mention in countless manuscripts and chronicles across the world, a calendar commemorating their reign and history had become an important, albeit an exaggerated need. Hence, Yele Samvat (Yele Neri) was introduced a decade ago. Yele Samvat is the name of the Kirati calendar and Yele Dong, the New Year, means the year of Yalambar. It is named after the first Kirati King Yalam, who initiated the Kirati dynasty that lasted for almost two millennia. About a decade ago, Kirati Khambu Rai organizations from...
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The Sakela Conundrum

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  Written by Vishal Chamling Khambu, a tribe so vast and once so mighty, dispersed in clans (tharrs), languages, now spread across the globe but united with the spirit of Sakela.  Albeit not without its own share of the now legendary curse of dissent amongst the multitude of us, to some it is also known as Sakewa, Sakenwa and so on. Khambus of the Himalayan belt have been celebrating Sakela since the legends of Sumnima & Paruhang have been chronicled. Somewhere along the line, we have deviated from receiving the blessings of our ancestors who had worshipped mother nature and the father universe. Since then we have blamed the regime that was, the faith conversions that have followed and in the name of new found Gods, have conveniently forgotten to worship our mother, who has selflessly nurtured us for ages and for generations ever so unfailingly. Every Khambu must be inquisitive enough to seek an answer for any question that pertains to the very foundation of being Khambu i...
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Thang’kuh: An ancestral home

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  Written by Vishal Chamling “You live in houses now, we lived in caves then. This was our home”, spoke a deep masculine voice out of a female body which sat in a calm meditative trance. It was like your grandfather telling you stories where you listened, attentive and in awe. This was the experience that I had when I first visited the caves of Thang’kuh in the year exactly ten years before. Pic: Anil Rai Located in an idyllic roadside village below  Pubong Fatak, enroute Sukhiapokhari, it is about 15 km south west of Darjeeling. It also goes famously by the name ‘Galdang-Guldung’ meaning ‘tumbling or to tumble’ , chiefly because of how the caves are formed, as if the big rocks have tumbled and formed them by landing on top of each other. The Ancestors, however, have a different tale to tell. Yaboh Sam Sum Chu, the Supreme Ancestor of the five primordial ancestors, explains in an ancient oral discourse, Mundhum, that Yaboh Chendum carried the big rocks with his big bare hands ...
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The Kirat Khambo Rai of Sikkim, Their Lifestyle and Custom at a Glance

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ancestors. Mangpa A priest ( mangpa ) of the Rai Community Aritar Sikkim                                                                                    H.H. Risley in his book, “The Gazetteer of Sikkim (1884) while reflecting the total population of Sikkim, mentioned ‘Rai’ , ‘Khambu’ and ‘Jimdar’ as different communities but in reality these terms denotes for a single community which is now, popularly known as Rai community. Rai is and was also known as Kirata, Khambu and Jimdar . The term Kirata has a wider connotation and the term is also found in Puran, Upadnishad or the old vedhas and it covers Rai, Limbu, Sunwar, Gurung, Manger, Tamang and other but presently only Rai community uses this term. As per the census of Sikkim in 1884 , the total strength of Rai community was i...
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The Native Himalayan Ethinic People

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 The Native Himalayans and Ethnic Nationalities Reflections on the Eastern Himalayan and the Indo-Myanmar landscapes- Identifying and Interpreting Natural and Cultural Heritage  of the two ‘Global Biocultural Diversity Hotspots’ Volume – I J. R. Subba (Pondhak) Volume – I Content Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………     (iii) page Timeline……………………………………………………………………………………         (xiii) page Chapter 1. Limboo or Limbu Native Himalayan Reflections on the Eastern Himalayan Landscape  - Identifying and Interpreting Cultural Heritage ……………………………..     1 page Chapter 2. Lepcha Native Himalayan Reflections on the Eastern Himalayan Landscape  - Identifying and Interpreting Cultural Heritage ……………………………     205 page Chapter 3. Khambu-Rai Native Himalayan Reflections on the Eastern Himalayan Landscape  - Identifying and Interpreting Natural and Cultural Heritage …………………271 page Chapter 4. Yakha Native Himalayan Reflec...
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Mangpas (Shamans) of the Khambu Community

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    Written by Pradeep Khambu Rai                          The Kirat Mundhum religion has its own rules, laws, bylaws, code of conduct and discipline. It is up to the following priests (Mangpas) to facilitate them. A Mangpa is a medium between the physical and the divine. Mangdowa Nakchhong Saarimangpa Mangpa Bungwa Mangpa a. Mangdowa/Woptongmi Mangdowa performs worship rituals of one particular family lineage. Other than this, he helps pray for peace and harmony and strength from the ancestors. A Mangdowa has no teacher and are self learned. b. Nakchhong During the lack of a crop harvest, Nakchhongs perform worship rituals during Rawa Udhauli and Ubhauli. They are self learned, self realized and do not have a teacher. During the unavailability of Nakchhongs, others can be chosen to perform the ritual worship at the Sakenwa altar. They do not have to worship the Hutlung (Sanctum Stones) after that. c. Saarimangpa...
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