The Lepcha, who call themselves Rongkup or Mutanchi Rongkup, are regarded as the oldest known inhabitants of Sikkim. Their homeland, which they call Mayel Lyang, takes in Sikkim and nearby hills, and Dzongu is often described as its heart.
In Lepcha tradition the creator, Itbu-moo, shaped the first man and woman from the pure snow of Kangchenjunga, which the Lepcha call Kongchen Kongchlo. They are known as Fudongthing and Nazongnyu. Because of this, Lepchas treat Kangchenjunga and the lakes, rivers and peaks around it as sacred, and many families still honour mountain and river spirits.
That belief shaped the protests of 2007 and 2008, when Lepcha activists opposed dams in Dzongu partly because they saw the rivers and land as holy. Spend an evening with a homestay family and you are likely to hear these stories told in their own words.
Sources
- Lepcha people (Wikipedia)
- Told locally in Dzongu
Legends are retold differently from village to village. Where a story is told locally rather than written down, we say so.
