Culture

Sikkim today is a rapidly evolving society. Its major towns like Gangtok the capital city, Namchi and Jorethang already are urbanizing at a steady pace. More and more people are being attracted by business opportunities and gradually imbibing the cosmopolitan character. Though Sikkim is predominantly a Buddhist state its spirit is secular and here churches, monasteries, gurdwaras, mosques and temples co-exist peacefully. It is hard to define the true culture of Sikkim ? it could best be called a wonderful mosaic, a unique pattern made beautiful by the unusual harmony in its individually colourful threads. And that is its trait. The predominant communities are the Lepchas, the Bhutias and the Nepalese and over the years there have been inter-racial marriages among the three.

The Lepchas
are the natives of Sikkim with very little known about their origin. A theory has it that the Lepchas moved in from the borders of Assam and Burma while another speaks of them migrating from Southern Tibet. But basically they are of mongoloid stock. The tribe were nature worshippers and belonged to the Bon faith. It was later that they converted to Buddhism and much later to Christianity. In order to preserve their tribe and their tradition the government also has a reserved area for the Lepchas at Dzongu that has been declared restricted area.

The Bhutias
are purely of Tibetan origin who migrated to Sikkim from Tibet somewhere after the fifteenth century. The language of the Bhutias is Sikkimese, a dialect of the Tibetan language and are mostly Buddhists. A predominant Bhutia population inhabits North Sikkim in the villages of Lachung and Lachen. The Lachungpas and the Lachenpas still retain their age old village administrative system called the Dzumsa with an elected village chief called the (Pipen). Lachen and Lachung are also restricted areas. The Bhutia men still wear their traditional garment called the (Bakku) while women sport their (Bakku), (Hanju) with the married one donning a colourful Pangdin too.

The Nepalese
who migrated from Nepal from the mid-nineteenth century form the dominant population. It was the British who patronized the Nepalese for their warlike qualities and integrity and raised an entire army consisting purely of Nepalese soldiers. They were also allowed to settle down in the hill tracts belonging to British India. In Sikkim the Chogyal had granted a lease to some Nepalese traders sometime in the year 1860. It was these traders who reaped bountiful harvests in the fertile lands of Sikkim with the help of Nepalese farmers who later settled down completely. These early Nepalese settlers introduced terraced farming in the region and also brought the cardamom along with them which became a prized cash crop. The Kiratis who are also Nepalese are also believed to be the natives of Sikkim along with the Lepchas. The Kiratis include the Limbus, Rais, Tamangs, Gurungs, Magars and others. The Nepalese speak the Nepali language written in the Devanagri script and is the major language spoken in Sikkim. The Nepalese are mostly Hindus though we can also find Buddhists and Christians among them too.