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Sikkim
History
The
modern history of Sikkim
begins from 1642 A.D.
with the coronation
of Phuntsog Namgyal
as the first Chogyal
or king of Sikkim in
a tranquil pine covered
hill in Yuksom Norbugang
in West Sikkim.
The Namgyals were scions
of the Mi-nyak House
in Kham in Eastern Tibet.
It is said that there
were three brothers,
chiefs of Kham Mi-nyak.
A letter dropped from
heaven directed the
middle brother to go
south towards Sikkim
where his descendents
were fated to rule.
It was in Sakya that
his eldest son single-handedly
raised the pillars of
the Sakya monastery
and earned himself the
sobriquet of 'Khye Bumsa'(
the strength of a lakh
of men)
Khye
Bumsa also earned himself
the hand of the daughter
of the Sakya hierarch
and settled in Chumbi
Valley, which remained,
for a long time, the
epicenter of the later
kingdom of Sikkim.
Long
troubled by the fact
that he and his wife
were issueless, Khye
Bumsa sought the blessings
of the Lepcha chieftain
Thekongtek who was reputed
to be able to grant
the boon of progeny.
Khye Bumsa's wife subsequently
bore him three sons.
Later Khye Bumsa and
Thekong Tek swore the
historic pact of eternal
friendship at Kabi Longtsok
in North Sikkim.
Khye Bumsa's third son
Mipon Rab succeeded
his father. He, in turn,
was succeeded by his
fourth son Guru Tashi
who moved to Gangtok.
Meanwhile Thekongtek
passed away and the
Lepchas who started
fragmenting into small
tribes turned to Guru
Tashi for leadership
and protection.
The
Sikkim Coronation book
describes Guru Tashi
as the 'first ruler
of Sikkim who paved
way for a regular monarchy'.
Five generations later,
it was Phuntsog Namgyal
who was consecrated
as the first Denjong
Gyalpo or the king of
Sikkim by the three
great Lamas who came
from the North, West
and South to Yuksom
Norbugang in West Sikkim
in 1642 A.D. The event,
predicted as it was
by Guru Rinpoche, was
the 'Naljor Chezhi'
or the meeting of the
four yogic brothers
or the four saints or
four sages.
It was preordained that
three saints of great
repute from different
parts of Tibet make
their way to Bayul Demajong
(Sikkim) to discharge
their responsibility
of upholding and propogating
the essence of Dharma
in the hidden land of
Demajong. Thus it was
that Lhatsun Namkha
Jigme, Kathog Kuntu
Zangpo and Gnadak Sempa
Phuntsog Rigzin made
their way to Sikkim
separately, and through
impenetrable routes.
This historical congregation
of the three holy Lamas
is called Yuksom, which
in Lepcha means the
'Three Superior Ones'.
Lhatsun Chenpo impressed
on the other two that
they were all Lamas
and needed a layman
to rule the kingdom
righteously. He further
pointed out that, 'In
the prophecy of Guru
Rinpoche, it is written
that four noble brothers
shall meet in Demajong
and arrange for its
government. We were
three of those who came
from the North, West
and South'. As for the
East, he quoted the
oracular guide book
Rinchen Lingpa which
mentioned, 'One of my
four avatars will be
like a lion, the king
among beasts, who will
protect the kingdom
by his bravery and powers'.
The book also mentioned
that, 'One named Phuntsog
from the direction of
Gang will appear'.
So Lhatsun Chenpo deputed
a hermit called Togden
Kalzang Thondup and
a layman called Passang
to lead a party to Gangtok
in invite the person
bearing the name of
Phuntsog to come to
Yuksom Norbugang. After
several adventures,
the party came to Gangtok
where they met Phuntsog
milking his cows. Phuntsog
invited them in and
bade them partake of
fresh cow's milk and
told them his name was
Phuntsog. He saw the
invitation of the three
Lamas as a most fortuitous
event and lost no time
in setting out for Yuksom
Norbugang with his entire
retinue of followers,
officers and household
establishment.
The coronation took
place in the Chu-ta
or water horse year
in 1642A.D. Thus Phuntsog
Namgyal was installed
on the throne of Sikkim
with the title of 'Chogyal'
or king who rules with
righteousness, with
both spiritual and temporal
powers. While the three
Lamas spread Buddhism
in Sikkim, Phuntsog
Namgyal started consolidating
his kingdom.
Twelve generations of
Chogyals ruled over
Sikkim for over 300
years. This tiny Himalayan
kingdom however witnessed
tumultuous change in
1972-73. In 1975 the
institution of the Chogyal
was abolished and on
May 16th, 1975 Sikkim
was formally inducted
as the 22nd state of
India |
Culture
of sikkim
Sikkim
residents celebrate
all major Indian festivals
such as Diwali and Dussera,
the popular Hindu festivals.
Losar, Loosong, Saga
Dawa, Lhabab Duechen,
Drupka Teshi and Bhumchu
are Buddhist festivals
that are also celebrated.
During the Losar –
the Tibetan New Year
in mid-December –
most government offices
and tourist centres
are closed for a week.
Christmas has also recently
been promoted in Gangtok
to attract tourists
during the off-season
It
is common to hear Western
rock music being played
in homes and in restaurants
even in the countryside.
Hindi songs have gained
wide acceptance among
the masses. Indigenous
Nepali rock, music suffused
with a Western rock
beat and Nepali lyrics,
is also particularly
popular. Football and
cricket are the two
most popular sports.
Noodle-based
dishes such as the thukpa,
chowmein, thanthuk,
fakthu, gyathuk and
wonton are common in
Sikkim. Momos, steamed
dumplings filled with
vegetable, buff (buffalo's
meat) or pork and served
with a soup is a popular
snack. The mountainous
peoples have a diet
rich in beef, pork and
other meats. Alcohol
is cheap owing to the
low excise duty in Sikkim
and beer, whiskey, rum
and brandy are consumed
by many Sikkimese.
Almost
all dwellings in Sikkim
are rustic, consisting
of a bamboo frame, woven
with pliable bamboo
and coated with cow
dung, providing a warm
interior. In the higher
elevations, houses are
made of wood. |
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PEOPLE
of Sikkim |
The
present population of
Sikkim is primarily
composed of different
races or ethnic groups.
They are the Lepchas,
the Bhutia, the Nepali
and the plainsmen. These
different ethnic groups
have their distinct
languages and cultural
pattern. This cultural
diversity of the ethnic
groups who have no common
racial backgrounds has
become the central point
of socio-economic and
political problems in
Sikkim. Over centuries,
the narrow fertile valleys
of the inner Himalayas
and the rugged hill
tracts of the greater
Himalayas have been
settled by the Tibeto-Burmese,
Tibeto-Mongoloid and
Indo-Aryan races who
have adjusted themselves
to the rigorous climate
of this state. Thus
Sikkim has become a
state of multi-racial
inhabitants. The oldest
inhabitants are the
Rongs or Lepchas who
migrated via Assam to
this mountain state.
Next came the Khampas
from the Tibetan province
of Kham, they are now
commonly known as Bhutias.
The Limbus who are considered
by some as belonging
to Lhasa gotra are believed
to have migrated from
Shigatse, Penam, Norpu,
Giangtse etc of the
Tsong province of Tibet.
These Limbus and other
Magar, Rai, Gurung,
Murmi etc are allied
races and in fact belong
to the Kirati sub-cultural
stock of the Nepali
race who migrated to
Sikkim from Nepal in
the west.
English
is the official language
of Sikkim. The Lingua-franca
is however Nepalese.
It closely resembles
Hindi. The Lepcha language
belongs to the Tibeto-Burman
family. The languages
of the Bhutias, Limbu,
Murmi, Magar, Khamba
and Mewar also belongs
to it.
High
priority has been given
to education. Education
is free upto the primary
school level. While
in the higher classes
the fee is nominal,
for girls education
is free up to class
XI. |
The
Lepchas
The central zone, the
lands of the Lepchas,
roughly covers the area
from the junction of
the river Teesta and
the Lachung river to
the junction of the
Teesta and the Dikehee
rivers. The Rong-pas,
who are known as the
Lepchas are the original
inhabitants of Sikkim.
Earlier it was believed
that, the tribe was
a very ancient colony
from southern Tibet.
Their physical characteristics
showed them to be a
member of the Mongolian
race. But later, it
was supposed that they
had come from the east,
from the direction of
Assam and Burma. The
Lepchas are markedly
Mongolian in features
and differ from the
Tibetans. It is also
said that the Lepchas
have similarity with
the tribes of Hangarang
in the North West Frontier
Province and with the
mountain tribes of the
Laree area in Ladakh.
Others content that
the Lepchas and the
Khasias of Khasias of
Khasi -Jaintai area
are two different branches
of the same ethnic group.
Though, at one time,
the Lepchas had blood
relation only with the
Limbus at present no
restriction is maintained
in establishing matrimonial
relations with other
tribes. The Lepchas
have no caste distinction,
but they believe that
they belong to either
of the five classes
of Syang-Den, Mu, Ling-SingMu,
Himu, Karthak Mu and
Thikung Syalang. There
are certain other classes
based on the places
of residence.
Polyandry
was prevalent among
the Lepchas in the past.
Marriage of wards is
normally negotiated
by the parents and after
fulfilling certain condition,
the marriage is publicly
celebrated with much
feasting. The Lepchas
are primarily animists.
They acknowledge the
existence of god and
the bad spirits and
do a lot to appease
the bad one. Every class
has a priest doctor,
who is in fact an exorcist.
The priest doctors may
be either male or female.
The male one is called
bon and the female one
is called generally
monn. The Lepchas have
their own language which
according to Mainwaring
is the oldest of all
the hill dialects. It
is contended that the
language they speak
is of the Tibeto-Burmese
family.
The
Lepchas are very intelligent,
amiable and always cheerful.
They are very modest,
extremely hospitable
people. They love sports
and games and are sociable.
They are innocent and
good humoured. They
are peace-loving people
who avoid quarrels
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Climate |
The
climate ranges from
sub-tropical in the
south to tundra in the
northern parts. Most
of the inhabited regions
of Sikkim, however,
enjoy a temperate climate,
with the temperatures
seldom exceeding 28
°C (82 °F) in
summer or dropping below
0 °C (32 °F)
in winter. The state
enjoys five seasons:
winter, summer, spring,
and autumn, and a monsoon
season between June
and September. The average
annual temperature for
most of Sikkim is around
18 °C (64 °F).
Sikkim is one of the
few states in India
to receive regular snowfall.
The snow line is around
6,000 metres (19,600
feet).
During
the monsoon months,
the state is lashed
by heavy rains that
increase the number
of landslides. The state
record for the longest
period of non-stop rain
is eleven days. In the
northern region, because
of high altitude, temperatures
drop below -40 °C
in winter. Fog also
affects many parts of
the state during winter
and the monsoons, making
transportation extremely
perilous.
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