Sikkim is the least populated state in the country. There are three principal communities, the Nepalis (75%), Lepchas (20%), and smaller proportions of Bhutias and Limbus. The Lepchas or the Rong were the first tribe to come and settle in the region.
In the 13th century, the Bhutias from Kham area of Tibet came and brought with them for the first time the Mahayana sect of Buddhism to the state. The Nepalis were the last to enter Sikkim, in the mid-19th century.
In Sikkim, all communities live in perfect harmony sharing each other's culture, ethos, and traditions with the result that there is now a Sikkimese culture, which is a composite of all the three prominent communities.
Most of the people speak Nepali, which is also the state language. It is the harmony of the place that provides justification to the name of the state derived from Sukhim, meaning 'happy home, a place of peace'.
Though Hinduism is followed too, Buddhism is deep-rooted in the state of Sikkim. The people have faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma (his teachings), and the Sangha (assembly of monks) where religious texts are studied, taught and preserved.
Soaked in religious tradition, the land has a spiritual ambience where prayer flags with inscriptions of Buddhist texts flutter around the boundary of the village to ward off evil spirits, prayer wheels rotate to the currents of water, and chortens and lucky signs are common sights.
The protecting deity of this land is the goddess of Kanchanjunga Mountain, which stands erect as a sentinel protecting the peace of the state. The reverence is so deep and abiding, that adventurers are not permitted to scale the top of the peak. Their achievement is acknowledged by reaching somewhere close to the top. Since the hills cannot be animated, anthropomorphism enables these to be depicted in masks. |
