Welcome back!
Today, I am going to be discussing the cosmos of the Lepcha. By this I mean, what do they believe about the world? In my research, I have found that the people of Lepcha have a distinct belief on how illness, disease, or just overall bad luck is brought upon people. They also have their beliefs on how to get rid of these mungs (evil spirits).
(http://indianamulets.com.au/tag/sikkim/)
Mungs are a host of harming agents, and they can cause a number of things:
- fever
- headache
- epilepsy
- madness
- quarreling
- envy
- miscarriage
- bad mood
There is also a belief that Gods, rums, can cause disease and bad luck onto people when displeased.
(http://www.lepcha.info/religion.htm)
When the Lepchas are looking for a remedy from these ailments, they turn to shamans for guidance. The shaman will figure out the cause of the illness and from there they will use a variety of rituals, prayers, sacrifices, charms, and amulets to try and ease the suffering.
Damaru
(http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/505242)
One of the rituals I found to be quite interesting involved the offering of chi, which involves the offering of flowers, eggs, and animal scarifies; presented on a tray made of banana leaf.
Ghanta
(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=890901&objectId=249564&partId=1)
Thanks for reading this week!
Next time: Birds
