Bhutias
Recent Lepcha History Retold
Indian photojournalist Nikhil Roshan visited Passingdang, a village in the Dzongu Reserve of Sikkim, to assess the feelings of the Lepcha toward the proposed dams that threaten their culture and society.
Bhutia Man Killed in Oakland Mass Shooting
One of the seven people killed in the mass shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, California, early last week was a young man from Sikkim named Tshering Rinzing Bhutia. While the Bhutia and the Lepcha people have separate origins in Sikkim, they have similar customs and are often united in trying to preserve their traditions […]
Lepcha Festival Celebrates Peaceful Coexistence
The Pang Lhabsol, one of Sikkim’s foremost festivals, celebrates the eternal peace declared 800 years ago between the original Lepcha inhabitants and the Bhutias, Tibetan Buddhist peoples who were then invading the region. According to legend, Thekong Tek, the chief priest of the Lepcha, and Khye Bhumsa, the ancestor of the Bhutia monarchs, assembled with […]
Lepcha Buddhism Threatened
A news story in Reuters India last weekend describes the increasing problems of Buddhism in Sikkim, which may threaten the peaceful lifestyle of the minority Lepcha people. Carried by the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and other sources, the article by Simon Denyer describes the superficial health of the Buddhist monasteries. But it indicates that […]
