Cultures & Etiquette

The people of Sikkim can be ethnically categorized into Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepalese. The Lepchas are considered to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim who practiced nature worship and lived off the forest. With the coming of the Bhutias, this tribal community was overwhelmed culturally and religiously. Lepcha culture and ways of life can be seen in some villages even now.

The Bhutias, Buddhist by faith are said to have come from the eastern region of Tibet sometime in the 14th century. They found the land warm and fertile and named it "Dema-zong" or the "Valley of Rice".

Moreover, Sikkim was very prominently mentioned by Guru Padmasambhava (the great 7th century Buddhist saint who strengthened Buddhism in Tibet) in his scriptures, as a very sacred place. It was also in consonance with his scriptures the first "Chogyal" or the religious king was consecrated at Yuksom in 1641. Since then the Namgyal Dynasty ruled Sikkim uninterrupted till 1975.

The Nepal community is a generalized term for the many castes and sub-communities like Brahmins, Chhetris, Newars, Kamis, and Damais, who are Aryans in origin and the Rais, Limbus, Gurungs, Magars, and even Sherpas who are basically Mongoloid. This community came into Sikkim from 19th century though the Limbus are said to have come much earlier. They were more agriculturists unlike the Bhutias who were mainly dependent on animal husbandry back home or the Lepchas who were forest folks. The fertile valley was terraced to grow paddy and maize and later cardamom as a cash crop.

The ethnic Sikkim is best seen in the villages rather than the towns, which have become more cosmopolitan in demography and culture.Buddhism has had a deep impact since time immemorial in history when Guru Padmasambhava traveled to Tibet. This has manifested in 200 monasteries and holy shrines. The oldest amongst the monasteries is the one at Dubdi, about an hour's walk from Yuksom. But Pemayangtse monastery has been more prominent due to the privilege bestowed to the Chief Abbot to coronate the successive Chogyal. In recent time, the Rumtek monastery is widely known as the seat of the Kagyupa sect and also the head quarter of the worldwide Karma Kagyu centre. The Bhutias are Buddhist and so are most the Lepchas. The Nepalese are Chiefly Hindus but many people in the villages, regardless of their religion still have strong beliefs in the spirits which are said to inhabit the mountains and hills, rocks and caves, streams and rivers and even trees and forests which are to be appeased by the "Jhankri" or the "Bongthings".