#bongthing

Samdup Taso

Samdup Taso, who has died aged 83, was the last in an ancient line of shamans responsible for leading the indigenous Lepcha people of Sikkim in prayers to the mountain deity of Kanchenjunga – the world's third-highest mountain peak.

6:34PM GMT 09 Nov 2011

The Lepchas are regarded as the original inhabitants of Sikkim, a tiny former kingdom between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan that became part of India in 1975. Sikkim had been controlled by "chogyals" (kings) until India intervened after an uprising against the monarchy by the majority Nepalese population who had migrated into the region in the 19th century.

Lepchas have worshipped Kanchenjunga since the 13th century, in ceremonies led by an hereditary priest called the "Bongthing", which culminate in special rituals during the month of "Kursong" (February-March). Taso, believed to be a descendant of the first "Bongthing", would begin the annual ceremonies with overnight prayers at his home in Nung, the first Lepcha settlement, in the Dzongu region of north Sikkim. The next morning, he would lead a large procession towards Lha-thu, an open air altar, singing processional songs that trace the history of the Lepchas and explain the ritual.

One song tells the story of six Lepcha brothers who decide to become Kong Chen's (Kanchenjunga's) soldiers. When they tell their sister, she promises her brothers that when she bears children she will ensure that they worship Kong Chen and his soldiers.

On bearing a son, however, she forgets her promise and as a result Kong Chen sends a mythical serpent that coils itself at his feet across the Talung river that flows through Dzongu, damming it. As the river begins to flood, causing general panic, the son prays to Kong Chen and the waters recede. This boy, according to legend, became the first Bongthing.

Under the chogyals, the annual ritual used to be preceded by a trek by the Bongthing, accompanied by young men from Nung, to Sikkim's capital at Tumlong near Dzongu, where they would be received by the reigning Chogyal and entertained at the royal palace. So powerful was the belief in the divinity of Kanchenjunga that the British climbers who conquered the mountain in 1955 stopped just short of the peak out of respect for Lepcha culture. Subsequent expeditions followed suit.

In 1973, however, the Chogyal decreed that a yak sacrifice, which had been part of the ancient ritual, should be discontinued as being against the tenets of Buddhism. Taso, it is said, believed that the discontinuation of the sacrifice displeased Kong Chen and brought an end to the 300-year-old Namgyal dynasty of the Chogyals.

After 1975, the Lepchas' traditional shamanistic faith declined as most Lepchas converted to Buddhism or Christianity. Taso, whose son has not become a priest, died without anointing a successor.