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This article explores the role of the traditional Pang Lhabsol festival of Sikkim in India as a medium for political ascendancy and influence in the region – a phenomenon that has continued, albeit with different political inflections, from its founding days until the present. Since its emergence as an indigenous practice in the thirteenth century, it has consistently transformed according to each juncture of political realignment in the region. After 1642, the festival was redesigned to resonate with the religion and ideology of the ruling Namgyal dynasty, playing out negotiations between mainstream Buddhism and the animistic Bon religion. While the inclusion of the Pangtoed Chham dance performance in the ritualistic itinerary of Pang Lhabsol had very significantly reinforced the role of the king as the protector of the people and their faith, the festival has been considerably overshadowed by the inclusion of new elements that resonate with the secular narrative of India after 1975. The article identifies the significance of each of these new elements, drawing as well on audience research undertaken through in-depth interviews. Arkaprava Chattopadhyay is an Assistant Professor at the Shri Ramasamy Memorial University in Sikkim, as well as a doctoral candidate at the Central University of Sikkim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sikkim is one of the most beautiful tourist hill states with tremendous biodiversity wealth. Cymbidium orchid dominates the states for hobby gardeners and commercial cultivating farmers. Handicraft is a part of hobbies and livelihood of the indigenous communities of the region. The Lepcha tribe craftsmen based on dried leaves of Cymbidium orchid is becoming promising apart from their handloom, cane and bamboo products. Attractive, simple products of dried Cymbidium leaves such as fruit and vegetable baskets, containers, sitting mats, hanging pots, trash bins, and plant growing pots is gaining popularity. Due to no noticeable researches and development in this sector, the traditional artifact craftsmen are unable to establish as a source of livelihood. With strategic approaches and intervention, these unique traditional craftsmen would be a reliable economic venture for the rural youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of the present communication was to document the traditional knowledge regarding ethnomedicinal uses of different plant species and conservative lifestyle of the Lepcha community in Darjeeling and some parts of North Sikkim. Extensive field surveys were undertaken between 2006 (groundwork) and 2010 (comprehensive) in selected study sites of North Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. Information was gathered using semi-structured formats, interviews, and group discussions. Lepchas have profound knowledge about the plants and animals in their surroundings and are reputed for their agelong traditions in herbal medicine. The present work brings into light 34 plant species from the ethno botanical survey among Lepcha people in Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, which have multifarious uses. The major areas of their utilization include folk medicine. Present ethnobotanical survey among the Lepchas in North Sikkim, India brings into light 44 plant species that indigenous people use in medicinal purposes and the plants they use to make different domestic utensils and musical instruments. Based on our field investigations, it appears that habitat loss due to increasing anthropogenic activities has promoter greater damage towards bioresources diversity of the concerned study sites. Therefore, awareness and documentation of traditional knowledge is vitally important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the Lepcha ethnic minority group in the Darjeeling Hills in India is trying to revive their Lepcha language. The group has now been claimed as a vanishing tribe in spite of being the original inhabitants of Darjeeling Himalayas. A comparison of the Nepalis and Lepchas in Darjeeling is provided. An overview of the origin and development of the Lepcha language is also offered.

Studies of ethnic minority peoples in Asia have long focussed on the relations between ethnic minority communities and the modern state and on the role of development in shaping these relations. This paper is concerned with how ethnic minorities respond to the state-led development. While there are numerous studies focussing on the collective agency of ethnic minorities opposing development projects, few studies consider the agency of pro-development actors. Pro-development actors are usually dismissed as co-opted, manipulated, inauthentic, or elite-driven, yet they can offer crucial insights into understanding state-ethnic minority relations and particularly intra-ethnic minority relations. This paper concentrates on pro-dam actors from the Lepcha minority in the Indian state of Sikkim to make four interlinked arguments. First, examining pro-development actors breaks the homogenous view of state-ethnic minority relations and shifts the focus to intra-ethnic relationships. Second, collective agency of ethnic minorities is not fixed in a particular relationship with the state nor does it have a particular position on development. Third, the long-term experience of development is vital in understanding how ethnic minorities manoeuvre and alter their position on contentious projects. Lastly, analysis of pro-development actors creates major dilemmas for researchers which are not easily overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepchas are the Indigenous people of Sikkim, a small Himalayan state in northeast India. They are known for their deep knowledge of botany and ecology; their close connection to their landscape has been acknowledged and admired for centuries. Their feeling for nature and reluctance to accept change to their sacred landscape, contributed to a protest movement to stop the development of several mega hydro-electric projects inside the Lepcha Dzongu Reserve in North Sikkim. The Lepcha activists' battle to stop the hydro projects started in Dzongu villages in 2003 and relocated to the capital of Sikkim, Gangtok in June 2007. Bhutia-Lepcha (BL) House, a worn out building on Tibet Road in Gangtok became the site of their flagship protest, a relay hunger strike which ran for close to two and a half years. The protest also extended to the Lepcha enclave in neighbouring West Bengal and the city of New Delhi where the activists spread their protest narrative to the wider Lepcha community, NGOs and the Indian Central government. In 2008 the Lepcha activists, aware that they needed to re-engage their community, started to shift their campaign back to the villages. This paper analyses the Lepcha protest narrative, contextualising it in terms of cultural heritage and contemporary political economy. It evaluates the protest group's strategic use of both rural and urban settings to strengthen the impact of their campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue including interview of Sartik Shanker on sea turtle conservation in Southern India, the immigrants who mourn the loss of the environment of their homeland, and the opposition of Lepcha to hydroelectric dams.

Lepcha being a language of the Tibeto Burman language family exhibit structural traits of the of the kinship terminological system realised in the Indian subcontinent. Kinship terminology has been analysed by different scholars from different points of view like, generation, sex, affinity, collaterality, relative age, polarity, affinity, etc. The present paper examines the Lepcha kinship terminology keeping the existing structural criteria in view along with culture and language specific aspects into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a discussion on the relation between religion, politics, and ecology in India. It offers disputations about social justice and sustainable development in the issue of dams constructed on sacred rivers. It refers to religion and mythology of the Lepchas, presenting a narrative that offers a depiction on the intimacy shared by the Lepcha activists from the context of their protest. It also offers insights on the sacred as a political narrative.

The recent comments on the gradual loss of influence of the Lepcha language on the Lepcha community trigger our attention for an intimate look at the Lepcha speech community. According to Landweer (2008), "The indicators of ethno-linguistic vitality are a collection of factors that have been documented in sociolinguistic literature … have been useful in indicating the probable direction a speech community will go relative to the maintenance of, or shift from, its traditional language. No one factor has become a leading indicator of linguistic vitality. Whether a language appears to be "maintained" or "dying" depends on the collective impact of positive or negative indicators that place the language on a continuum of stable vitality, change in process due to other-language interference, radical shift in process, and death. As such, language maintenance and shift are long-term consequences of consistent patterns of language choice throughout the speech community." This paper examines the ethno-linguistic vitality of the speech community with special reference to the Lepchas of Dzongu valley, 'the prime Lepcha reserve' in North Sikkim. In order to explore the endangered situation of the language, the probable direction of language maintenance and shift, towards which the speech community is proceeding has been studied, keeping in view the socio - political aspects of Lepcha life and its impact on the Lepcha language and culture across time in the multilingual setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepcha is the oldest and the first tribe reported from Sikkim, India; majority of its population inhabiting in Dzongu valley, an officially demarcated reserve for Lepcha community, bordering Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, in north district. Lepchas of Dzongu are known for their retention of rich cultural heritage. In view of the on-going cultural and economic changes brought in by the process of globalization, the immediate need was felt to document in details the underexplored ethnomedicinal practices of Lepchas of Dzongu valley. This paper reports 118 species, belonging to 71 families and 108 genera, under ethnomedicinal utility by the Lepchas for curing approximately 66 ailments, which could be grouped under 14 broad categories. Zingiberaceae appeared as the most used family (8 species and 5 genera). As per use pattern, maximum of 30.50% species are to cure stomach related disorders/ailments, followed by 19.49% for curing cut, wounds, inflammation, sprains and joint pains. Administration of medicine orally is recorded in 75% cases. Root and rhizome harvesting targeted 30 species. The changing scenario over time both at sociocultural front and passing traditional knowledge interests from older to younger generation and rich ethnomicinal wealth of the oldest tribe of Sikkim are discussed in the light of conservation strategies and techniques to adopt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of Lepcha tribe are aborigines in the Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalayan Region. Famed as born naturalists and known to be a "vanishing tribe," the ethnomedicinal traditions of these people are characterized by multiple remedies for a single ailment. The present study revealed the Lepchas use 36 species of plants belonging to 28 families as liver related ailments. Of these plants, 53 percent have not been reported earlier as hepatoprotective agents and may be used in the development of modern antihepatopathic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the blood pressure profile in relation to selected biological, behavioral and socioeconomic factors among the Lepcha tribe in Sikkim state, India. High blood pressure of the Lepchas compared to other rural populations; Reasons for the high proportion of hypertensive individuals among the Lepchas.

Balikci-Denjongpa, Anna. Tingvong: a Lepcha Village in Sikkim. Dawa T. Lepcha, cinematographer; Anna Balikci-Denjongpa, anthropologist and project coordinator; Asen Balikci, visual anthropology advisor. Produced by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok, Sikkim. DVD, 60 mins., color; 2005. Distributed by RAI Film and Video Library, Concord Video and Film Council, Ltd., Rosehill Centre, 22 Hines Rd., Ipswich IP3 9BG, UK. Tel: +44(0)1473-726-012; fax: +44(0)1473-274-531; e-mail: sales@concor.des.co.uk [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]