Last modified: 2010-12-03 by ian macdonald
Keywords: lepchas | bhutia | sikkim | aspirant peoples |
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image by Chrystian Kretowicz and Eugene Ipavec, 13 February 2010
Lepcha
Róngkup (children of the Róng) or Mútuncí Róngkup Rumkup (beloved
children of the Róng and of God)
Aboriginal people of Sikkim, also found
in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, the Ilam District of Nepal,
southwestern Bhutan and Tibet. Numbering @ 50 000 and speaking a Tibeto-Butman
language (Bodish-Himalayish)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepcha_people
http://sikkim.nic.in/north/html/lepcha.htm
http://home.messiah.edu/~rl1204/
http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=LEP
The flag of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, an organization of the
Lepchas in the Indian State of West Bengal with the headquarters in Kalimpong
(Darjeeling District), can be seen at:
http://my.slideroll.com/galleries/members/ilta/gallery/ilta/?g=0rxmx3q4. The
logo of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association is presented at:
http://indigenouslepcha-tribalassociation.com/home/?q=node/3, together with
its constitution.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 6 February 2010
image by Chrystian Kretowicz and Eugene Ipavec, 13 February 2010
(In Sikkim: Denzongpa; In Bhutan: Dukpa)
"The Bhutia are ethnic
Tibetans who speak a Tibetan Dialect fairly mutually intelligible to standard
Tibetan. Their ancestors migrated to Sikkim, other parts of India and Bhutan
some time after the 15th century. They migrated through the different passes
("La" in Tibetan) in the Himalayas. Geographical denotations in the name of
Bhutias' last names is common. In Northern Sikkim for example, where the Bhutias
are the majority inhabitants, they are known as the Lachenpas or Lachungpas,
meaning inhabitants of Lachen or Lachung respectively. Similarly, the Bhutias of
Sikkim as a whole can be denoted as Denzongpa, or inhabitants of Denzong, the
Tibetan name for Sikkim.
The language spoken by the Bhutias in Sikkim is
Sikkimese, which is 65% intelligible with either Tibetan or Dzongkha, the
language of Bhutan, although in recent times Nepali is more widely spoken. Most
Bhutias practice the Nyingmapa school, followed by the Kagyupa school of Tibetan
Buddhism. The Bhutias are spread out over Nepal, Bhutan, and in the northern
West Bengal, especially in the towns of Kalimpong and Darjeeling. Bhotey is also
often used as a derogatory term, used by people of Nepali heritage to describe
people of Tibetan heritage, although most Bhutias are better off economically
and educationally among the various Himalayan communities including the
Nepalese.
The ruling dynasty in Sikkim before the mid 1970s annexation by
India, was a Bhutia and was from the Namgyal dynasty."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhotiya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkimese_Tibetan_language
Both,
Lepchas and Bhutias, lost their country (Sikkim) when the Indian-instigated,
tremendous influx of the Nepalese illegal settlers overrun it, and, in 1975, the
Nepalese voted to abolish the monarchy and incorporate Sikkim into India.
The flag of the Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), an organization
dedicated to safeguard the rights of the indigenous population of Sikkim
according to the 1973 agreements and the Article 371F of the Indian
Constitution, is described as:
"The Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee has
its own official flag with Saffron and golden colours diagonally intersected at
45 degree with the dharma chakra at the centre. The upper part has saffron
colour representing Lhadui, the spiritual Assembly of the Bhutia Lepchas while
the yellow, at the lower half symbolizes Medui, the Assembly of the laities. The
golden coloured dharma chakra at the centre reminds one about the virtues act of
all the sentient being that fulfills peace and prosperity to all in the six
realms."
http://siblac.com
Chrystian
Kretowicz, 6 February 2010