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India's Lepcha Tribe May Lose Kanchenjunga Ritual

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India's Lepcha tribe may lose Kanchenjunga ritual
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15626993

The Lepcha tribe believe their ancestors were made from snow on Kanchenjunga's summit

Members of a mountain tribe in India say one of their most important rituals may never be performed again, after the death of their spiritual leader.

The Lepcha community, in the state of Sikkim, pray every year to the world's third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga.

However, their 83-year-old priest, Samdup Taso, who used to conduct the elaborate ceremony, died last week leaving no anointed successor.

The Lepcha regard Kanchenjunga as their guardian deity.

They believe their earliest ancestors were created from the snows on the summit of the peak, which towers over their homeland.

Around 50,000 members of the Lepcha tribe live in the tiny Indian state of Sikkim, which lies in the heart of the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.

Although many have converted to Buddhism and Christianity, they still follow some of their traditional rituals.

The Lepcha have been praying to Kanchenjunga for hundreds of years, with the ceremony always led by descendents of their original priest.

However, Samdup Taso's son decided not to follow his father's profession, and there is no sign of any other family member stepping forward to take on the role.

Lost tradition
"The tradition has ended forever," a local resident, Sherap Lepcha, told the Times of India.


The Lepcha are regarded as the original inhabitants of the Indian state of Sikkim
"It is not possible for another person to learn the rituals and take Samdup Taso's place."

Jenny Bentley, an ethnographer specialising in the Lepcha, said: "He was the last one in an ancient lineage of shamans who could perform the royal Kongchen [mountain deity] ritual."

"With his death a large part of the oral tradition and memory is lost irrevocably," she told the Sikkim Express.

A local filmmaker, Dawa Lepcha, said it was a sad situation.

"Of course it's a great loss to us, because it's a part of our history and part of our identity that is being erased."

Kanchenjunga was first climbed by British mountaineers in 1955.

The first member of the team to complete the ascent, Joe Brown, stopped just short of the top, out of respect for the belief in Sikkim that the summit of the mountain is sacred.
 
The gods are angry ....

[edit - to clarify - this happened in September 2011]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14965598

Dozens of people have been killed and many more injured after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook north-eastern India, Nepal and Tibet.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in India's mountainous Sikkim state, where at least 18 people were killed.

Rain and landslides are hindering search and rescue operations there and officials in Sikkim fear that the toll could rise further.

Several earthquakes hit the region this year, but none caused major damage.

At least five people were killed in Nepal, police there say, and at least seven died in Tibet, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. At least six other people were killed in other Indian states.

Officials in all regions say the death toll is likely to rise as rescuers reach the remote mountainous areas struck by the quake.

Power cuts
The quake struck the mountainous north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim at 18:10 (12:40 GMT) on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey, and was followed by two strong aftershocks.

Telephone lines were knocked out across the state, while power cuts plunged Gangtok, the capital, into darkness just seconds after the quake hit.

Hundreds of people there spent the night on the streets after buildings developed cracks, reports say.

Tremors were felt in the north-eastern Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. They were also felt in regions of India: West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi. Bangladesh and Bhutan also felt the quake.

One person was killed during a stampede as people panicked in a town in the eastern state of Bihar, and other deaths were reported near Darjeeling, in West Bengal.

Landslides have blocked the two main highways linking Sikkim with the rest of the country making it difficult for the rescue workers to reach the area, reports say.

Buildings evacuated
Just over the border in Tibet's Yadong County, just 40km (miles) from Sikkim, the earthquake caused hundreds of landslides disrupting traffic, telecommunications, power and water supplies.


Dozens of people were injured due to building collapses and falling debris
Chinese authorities said relief supplies were on the way to the area.

In Kathmandu, 270km (170 miles) west of the quake's epicentre, buildings were evacuated and traffic came to a standstill.

Three people died when a wall of the British Embassy collapsed. Those dead included a motorcyclist and his eight-year-old child who were struck as they rode past, police said.

Two others died in Dharan in Sunsari district, including a five-year-old child, according to the the Himalayan Times newspaper.

Lawmakers in parliament hurried out of the building shouting when the quake struck in the middle of a debate on the budget, witnesses said.
 
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