Yakthung Limbu People are not Being Able to Avoid Injected Cultures

 

After observing the recent festival celebrated by Hindu community, I personally felt that Yakthung people are heavily influenced by the that very culture.  though they have their own festivals and traditions unique to other fevtivals and traditions, they still are following the Hindu festivals as their own. The Yakthung (Limbu) indigenous community of eastern Nepal and the trans-Himalayan region possesses a distinct cultural identity rooted in Mundhum oral traditions and Yumaism. Despite this rich, independent heritage, the Yakthung people have faced centuries of systemic pressure making it difficult to fully avoid the influence of Hindu culture. This phenomenon, often studied as Sanskritization or cultural assimilation, is driven by historical state policies, socio-economic structures, and institutionalized national narratives rather than a voluntary abandonment of indigenous roots.

Historical State-Led Sanskritization

The primary catalyst for the integration of Hindu practices into Yakthung society stems from the historical expansion and centralization of the Nepali state. Following the unification of Nepal in the late 18th century, successive Shah and Rana rulers actively promoted a mono-cultural national identity centered on Hindu values, the Nepali language, and high-caste norms.

The codification of the 1854 Muluki Ain (Legal Code) systematically placed indigenous groups, including the Limbu, into a rigid Hindu caste hierarchy as Matwali (liquor-drinkers). To navigate this legal and social framework, avoid punitive state measures, and secure land rights under the Kipat system, many Yakthung families were forced to adopt public Hindu rituals, such as celebrating Dashain and Tihar, as a survival mechanism.

Socio-Economic Mobility and Prestige

Over generations, Hindu cultural practices became deeply associated with administrative power, education, and social prestige.

• Bureaucratic integration: Interacting with state institutions, courts, and government offices historically required conformity to dominant Hindu norms.
• Social mobility: Adopting certain Hindu dietary habits or religious festivals allowed indigenous individuals to mitigate discrimination and gain acceptance within broader civic spheres.
• The prestige trap: Indigenous practices were frequently marginalized or labeled as "primitive" by dominant societal structures, incentivizing assimilation for the sake of socio-economic advancement.

Institutional Dominance in Education and Media

The preservation of an independent cultural identity requires robust institutional support, which was historically denied to marginalized indigenous groups. For decades, the national curriculum, state media, and public holidays exclusively reflected Indo-Aryan Hindu traditions.

Yakthung children grew up immersed in educational environments where Hindu mythology and history were normalized as the standard national heritage. This structural immersion created a generational shift, where younger demographics became more familiar with Hindu festivals than the subtle nuances of their own Mundhum traditions.

Syncretism and Cultural Blending

Over centuries of coexistence, the boundaries between indigenous Yakthung practices and mainstream Hinduism became blurred. Because both systems share animistic elements and a deep reverence for nature, certain Hindu rituals were easily mapped onto existing Yakthung traditions. This syncretism resulted in a hybrid cultural reality where many Yakthung people participate in Hindu festivals while simultaneously maintaining their traditional shamanistic rituals led by Phedangmas and Yabas.

Conclusion

The difficulty the Yakthung (Limbu) people face in avoiding Hindu culture is not a reflection of cultural weakness, but rather the result of enduring historical, legal, and institutional structures designed to assimilate indigenous populations into a singular national identity. While modern revitalization movements are actively working to reclaim and preserve authentic Yakthung traditions, the legacy of structural Sanskritization continues to shape the contemporary cultural landscape of the region.

Yakthung Limbu Declared as State Language

 Province government of province one declared Yakthung Limbu langauage as official state language along with Maithili on October 10, 2026. This achievement is the result of very long effort made by the advocates of concerned language comminity. 

From the early ninteenth century the annexation of Yakthung Laje Limbuwan in to Gorkha kingdom, Yakthung language has lost its royal status. King Sirijanga from nineth century invented it and later it was revived by Sirijanga Sing Thebe. So, this script is popular as Sirijanga script used for writing Yakthung Limbu language. Different political parties and organizations kept demanding to adopt this language and script to be used as official government langauge for the long time.

Sirijanga Script Genuinely Belongs to Yakthung Community

 Now a days some Yakthung people, especially from KYC and Larumba, Ilam and others from Khambu peopele are claiming Sirijanga Script as Kirat Script which is totally fake. 

The historical basis of its invesntion and development of  credit solely goest to King Sirijanga of nineth century of Yakthung Laje, Limbuwanand Te Ongsi Sirijangga of eighteenth century. The revival of scritp was possible only through the King Sirijanga, and it was dessiminated by himself throughout the area confined by Arun river in west and Teesta river in east mainly occupied by the Yakthung people. He stayed in his laterpart of his life in Sikkim where he taught the Yakthung script in Martam region where he was captured, tortured and murdered by the Bhutia Namgyal dynasty of Sikkim.With the due respect to him and his effort Yakthung script is named and recognized as Sirijanga Script.

 Creative Writing as a Discipline

Dig Dhoj Lawati

hilihanglawati@gmail.com

 Creative writing is the academic writing course taught at colleges and universities of English-speaking countries that prepare students to become professional writers in imaginative fiction and poetry, which are different from academic and journalistic writing. Creative refers to “ fiction, poetry, script, narrative non-fiction and feature side of journalism” (May 2007). Concerning professional writing in a literary context, creative writing covers the critically reproduced and professionally managed attainment of literary writing techniques. Creative writing strives to make its students experienced in the writing of creative non-fiction, poetry, and fiction. But in university courses, it had been taken as the branch of literary studies in English departments before it departed as a discipline. “Many university creative writing courses place an equal emphasis on the study of literature and the practice of writing” (Morley, 2010). Though many universities in the world are teaching creative writing and literary studies some colleges and universities have separated it from the literary English departments by establishing separate creative writing departments in universities. Those colleges and universities have developed it as a discipline.  “An academic discipline is an organized body of knowledge collectively embraced in a formal course of learning: the acquisition of such knowledge is assumed to be an adequate and worthy objective as such without any demonstration or requirement of practical application: the content is theoretical and scholarly as distinguished from technical and professional” (Henry,1978). So this essay claims that creative writing is a separate academic discipline with its own field of study, research methodology, pedagogical practices, and scholarly journals publications. 

FIELD OF STUDY

          Creative writing is an emerging field of scholarly research and study. It originated from the composition studies and literary studies within English departments. So it has developed its field from other disciplines of English Studies. It has taken some areas of study from composition studies and some from literary studies. The field of creative writing stands once again at a crossroads. On one side of the road is a course of study, a discipline that is unaware of the histories and theories that inform its practice. On the other side of the road is a creative writing study, an emerging “field of scholarly inquiry and research” (Donnelly, 2011). Creative writing remained for a long time with rhetoric and composition studies in universities. Finally, it departed from the rhetoric and composition studies. So the principles, methodologies, and theories of this discipline are emerging in various cultural and institutional contexts. 

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES

Undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. programs in creative writing studies are being run by colleges and universities of English-speaking Anglophone countries and other Asian and African universities. Creative writing programs focus on developing skills to produce professional writing which could be publishable. Mostly in the academic world, it was thought that literary works are not the result of teaching. It was assumed it couldn’t be taught but it is the God-given talent that is beyond reason and logic. Writing and producing great literary works is taken as a solitary work. The main pedagogical paradigm adopted in creative writing programs is the workshop model. “The creative writing workshop itself is an event, significant site of human action. Because creative writing is an action the workshop can’t be considered unless it is considered in relation with action” (Donnelly, 2010). Workshops are conducted to develop creative writing skills and to produce creative works. This model assumes that students can read and respond to the work and it separates students from their work. This workshop takes students as a producer and their creative work as a product. Finally, the instructor corrects the flows of students’ work according to the standard of the workshop. 

         At the undergraduate level, a practical-based approach is adopted for developing literary skills that finally contribute to English literature. Anna Leahy says in Power and Identity in the Creative Writing Classroom: The authority project “The authority as a guiding pedagogical principle in our teaching makes central the human, the culture, and textual elements of our pedagogy encourage college-level teachers to participate most thoughtfully and productively in their professional lives and so that, students, too flourish” (2005). Authority is taken as the little power of the teacher to give order to the pupils in the classroom but it is more understandable as guidelines of overall classroom activities. Creative writing adopts two elements in its pedagogical practices; they are- “the act of writing creatively” and “the act of critically considering that act and its result” (Harper & Kroll, 2007). So the pedagogical paradigms are shifting and changing in creative writing programs in colleges and universities. 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

How the additional knowledge is produced is important for any academic discipline. The number of B.A., MA, and Ph.D. programs in creative writing is increasing in the United States, Australia, the UK, Africa, and the Asian continent. So it was necessary to develop its research methodology to stand as a discipline in academic institutions. So far its research for adding knowledge domain is not well documented. However, in creative writing as an academic discipline observation and reflection, the archival investigation into related works of literature and philosophy, and practice-led work of imagery lineation and expression method of research are adopted in scholarly research works. Practice-led research is widely adopted in creative writing departments of colleges and universities. “Practice-led a conceptual framework that allows a researcher to incorporate their creative practice, creative methods, and creative output into the research design and as a part of the research output” (Smith & Dean, 2009). As the epistemological framework, creative writing research is fundamental “practice-led” and it has always practiced as its central conceptual core even when it is dealing with “issues of critical understanding or with theoretical speculation” (Kroll & Harper, 2012). New research methodologies are also emerging in the creative research field.

            Creative writing has also adopted the writer-academic method is popularly adopted in creative writing departments of colleges and universities. “Research practices can invigorate writing; creative practices can invigorate research; and –if properly organized and managed- creative writing can operate as a mode of knowledge generation, a way of exploring problems and answering questions that matter in our current context. Researching creative writing enables writer-researchers to craft a toolkit that will help them produce better creative works and more rigorous research work” ( Webb, 2015). So in creative writing “research led by or through the practice of creative writing and research that is about creative writing: both frequently appear today on the radar of creative writing research” (Harper, 2013). So, in creative writing two methods are in a dominant position; they are practice-led research and research-led practice method.  

SCHOLARLY JOURNALS IN CREATIVE WRITING

For an academic discipline, there must be specialists and researchers who continuously contribute to developing the discipline and adding new knowledge in the study field. There is a large number of scholarly journals that publish research papers that examine the teaching, practice, theory, and history of creative writing. Creative research involves the theories and methodologies of all disciplines because it believes that knowledge must be constructed from open conversations. So the number of scholarly journal publications indicates how prosperous that particular discipline is. Along with the other dimensions of creative writing, journals are also increasing in this field. Associated with the UK expansion in the course the basic requirement of a Ph.D. in Creative and Critical Writing as the entry qualification for the field, a greater connectedness with institutions and representative bodies internationally, the “widespread staging of pedagogical conferences, and a production of pedagogical literature, including peer-reviewed journals of international scope pre-eminently the Australian online journal TEXT”, creative writing has established itself as a full-fledged academic discipline (Cowan, 2016). 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it can be claimed that creative writing has been growing as an academic discipline in the academic world. It has fully emerged its field of study from different disciplines such as composition studies, rhetoric studies s and literary studies. It has developed its own pedagogical approaches. It has a large number of scholarly research journal publications. The number of educational institutions are growing all around the world. But in the context of Nepal, there are no separate departments for creative writing studies. The portion of creative studies is small within the English departments of Tribhuvan University. Creative writing is still residing in the English departments of universities of Nepal. Though there is a creative writing course in the English departments of Nepal, the pedagogical approaches of creative writing are not adopted. Creative writing studies as a separate academic discipline seems to grow in the future when considering its current popularity.  

Works Cited

Cowan, A. (2016). The Rise of Creative Writing. In Futures for English Studies (pp. 39-60). Springer. 

Donnelly, D. (2011). Establishing creative writing studies as an academic discipline (Vol. 7). Multilingual Matters. 

Harper, G. (2013). Creative writing research. A Companion to Creative Writing, 278-290. 

Harper, G., & Kroll, J. (2007). Creative writing studies: Practice, research and pedagogy. Multilingual Matters. 

Henry, F. M. J. Q. (1978). The academic discipline of physical education. 29(1), 13-29. 

Jen, W. (2015). Researching Creative Writing. Frontinus Press. 

Kroll, J., & Harper, G. (2012). Research methods in creative writing. Macmillan International Higher Education. 

Leahy, A. (2005). Power and identity in the creative writing classroom: The authority project (Vol. 1). Multilingual Matters. 

Morley, D. (2007). The Cambridge introduction to creative writing. Cambridge University Press. 

Smith, H., & Dean, R. T. (2009). Practice-led research, research-led practice in the creative arts. Edinburgh University Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=315978

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b594

http://0-www.jstor.org.lib.exeter.ac.uk/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b594

https://elibrary.exeter.ac.uk/idp/shibboleth

http://www.myilibrary.com?id=270304&ref=toc

http://www.myilibrary.com?id=270304

https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=475756

http://ezproxy.canterbury.ac.nz/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b594

Webb, J., & Brien, D. L. (2011). Addressing the ‘ancient quarrel’: Creative writing as research. The Routledge companion to research in the arts, 186-203. 

Famous Nepali Gajalkar Bund Rana at Yasok, Eastern Nepal.

On Oct 8,2018 Nepali famous  poet Gajalkar Bund Rana recited his famous Nepali Gajals at Janabhavan, Yasok, center of Kummayak Rural Municipality. The open Gajal competition was held by the local Kummayak Kussayak Literature Society. 

A few pics from the program are uploaded here by me. I am a secretary of above society.

Tragic World in Padam Sing Subba's Thatthama : A Structural Overview

                       Tragic World in Padam Sing Subba’s Thatthama :

                                     A Structural Overview

                                                                                        Dig Dhoj Lawati

                                                                                  hilihanglawati@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper tries to find out the underlying structure of narration in Padam Sing Subba’s Limboo novel Thatthama applying structuralism as a method of analysis. The narrative mode of novel is approached using the structural devices. The different modes of narration are separated so as to find out the real structure of plot of novel. The attempt has been made to find whether there is connection or opposition between these parts of narration. This study has been carried out to find out how conflicting parts contribute to lay out the foundation of structure to convey the meaning of the text. Structural literary critical tools are applied to analyze the Limboo novel thatthama  in this paper. It, further, claims there are distinct modes of narration that put the novel in certain genre of literature.

Keywords: Structuralism, Structural Literary Critical Practice

1. Introduction

     Limbu novel Thatthama is considered to be the first modern work in novel writing in limbu literature. Though Puspa Subba Thamsung composed his first limbu novel 'sendipesap'  in 2031 BS, he didn't make it public till 2068 BS. Yakthungba Limbu mentions;

     'kan nisambein koyemmiba nisambe keraba takphao te:ruba nidet'

     ( This novel has beeen composed to make it the modern novel ) (235)

This novel falls in "koyemmiba/kusangyemmiba yem 2031BS - Up to Now ( modern age) " according to Yakthungba Limbu (230). From over all points it is believed as a modern limbu novel by Limbu literary historians and critics.

    It is not only the modern work but it has also opened the horizon of new world of novel in limbu literature. No one has explored the society like P S Subba in limbu literature. So, it can be claimed that Subba is a literary craftman who depicted the limbu society as mirror does.  Sabita Subba feels that "Thatthama is not only based on the social reality that has existed since the long but it is also a documentation of limbu culture and tradition in its original form" (142). The plot within the novel is not polished but it has been shown as it really is in limbu society. The organic picture of limbu society of west Sikkim can be found in Thatthama.

2. Narrative modes in Thatthama

     Tyson mentions, "structuralist analysis of narrative examine in minute detail the inner workings of literary texts in order to discover the fundamental structural units (such as of units of narrative progression) or functions (such as character functions) that governs texts' narrative operations (224). This structural approach to literary text is known as narratology in literary criticism. Different modes of narration of  Thatthama have been separated and examined to find out how a given narrative pattern construct Nunamphung's tragic world.  

     Likewise Lohini, Adhikari, and Subedi state, "structuralism is a method of analyzing and organizing concepts in anthropology, linguistics, psychology, literary criticism, and  other cognitive and social sciences in terms of contrasting relations (esp. binary oppositions) among sets of items within conceptual systems (55). In this paper different parts of narration in Thatthama have been figured out and strived to find their contrasting ralationship. The 'grammar' of narrative 'seek-find-lose' is applied in briefly to trace the real underlying structure of limbu novel Thatthama.

2.1 Seeking mode of narration

     From part 2 to part 8 of nattation, the protagonist Nunamphung is depicted as incomplete; so she strives to be complete by finding someone. She is from middle class family residing in Ladham, west Sikkim. She grows up in the village in typical Limbu family. Everyone in village call her by her nick name Chapati. She doesn't feel any lackness in her family. She spends her childhood happily in the village.  In the mean time she becomes young and attractive. Though she has her family members, relatives and friends around her, she is not satisfied. She is searching for someone who can fulfill  her incompleteness. The following lines from Thatthama shows the Nunamphung's anxiety;

             Kumma-kumba, kumbhu-kunne, pangbheba kak kundenglam kuno chapta nu kuno

            panchekwalle chogulle mim nu hena nunamphungle khosuang waye.karasang

            kuhingbrammo  themai themai megerenba meghosunba  immok pokkhebe kusing

           nisu. Kuningwa  pangse kuningwa  hanghang chokse Nunamphung chapyen chapyen

           mangha-manghaang yarakse kere (4-5) ' Nunamphung has got love and respect from    

           her family members and friends in village but she feels that something is lacking in her

           life. To relax her mind she sometimes goes to far away to dance yalang.'

     Nunamphung is always in search for someone . One day she and all her friends from Ladham village  go to the fair in Jorthang where  she meets Manhang  from Sirbung village. She feels like she has got something that is lost. Meeting Manhang at fair,  strange  feeling occurs in her.  They dance yalang whole night. Manhang and Nunamphung fall in love from that onwards. They meet eachother time and again on different occasions. They exchange their feeling on palam while dancing yalang. Finally Manhang decides to beg her hands by taking ingmeba to Nunamphung's home. She eagerly waits to Manhang and thinks that she is now going to be complete by getting married  with him. Manhang comes to her home with ingmeba to beg her hand. Her parents agree to give  her hand to Manhang with ingmebas.  

2.2 Finding mode of narration                                                                                                                        

     From part  9 to 11 of novel depicts the achievemment of the protagonist Nunamphung. She suceeds in getting what she is waiting for long time. She gets married with Manhang. She now reaches Sirbung village from Ladham. They get married according to the Limbu tradition.

          phejikum phedangmelle mundhummo kewawaba panha sellaptusi, khahun pirusi,

          sesephung wappanghusi, mangenna metusi, sewan pirusiang sewamo panghusira

          mekkamle mundhum suru (34) 'Phedangma questions them about things in Mundhum;

          gives didaction; lets them put on vermilion; conducts mangenna ( a custom of worshipping

          Gods for one's welfare); letting them to greet to relatives, he ends up the marriage ritual'.  

      She often comes to Ladham to meet her parents.  A year after marriage, she gives birth to the baby boy named Pahang.  Everything is going on fine in their lives. Nunamhung is happy to have her son and husband around her. But one day Manhang brings a shocking proposal to her. He finds that Ranhang, his friend has brought lots of ornaments of gold to his wife by joining the army. Ranhang who had got married later than they did. Finding out the success of Ranhang, Manhang also wants to join the army. He considers about the ornaments of silver worn by Nunamphung. He feels weak not being able to give his wife happiness like Ranhang. So, he also wants to decorate his wife with lots of jwellery. Nunamphung is reluctent to let her husband go to join army. She says to him that she is happy with what she has got.  

2.3 Losing mode of narration  

     Part 12 to 16 and part 1 of narration in Thatthama  shows the tragic loss in Nunamphung's life. The happy moment does not last long in her family life. Manhang joins army. He keeps in touch with his family by sending letters time and again. Nunamphung engages herself in household works. Pahang starts to go to school. Actually she is not happy to be away from her husband. She thinks that she will run a small business when her husband returns from platoon and makes him leave the job. She looks after the farming in village along with taking care of her son. She shares everything with her son. Pahangf is only one who saves her from being alone.

     One day while returning from school Pahang is disturbed by thunder and lightening on the way. His way is blocked by the fallen tree along with heavy rainfall and snake. Nunamphung goes up to half way to receive him. Pahang falls ill. He is treated by local shamans but he does not recover. Finally, the first loss occurs in Nunamphung life. Pahang passes away.

          Panunuba Pahangin nim kerangbara samkerobara taktenno keyakpa Pahanin ain hop,

          kerek kunjumha, pangbhesabaha, kummasi pakthasiang pe, alla yammo apphaleang khen

          taktenno nimedetnen, kuikla khemmedetnen (43-44) ' Lovely Pahang who always appeared

          at houseyard singing and dancing is no more; he passed away deserting his friends,   

          villagers and mom; he wont be seen at houseyard'.

     When Nunamphung's family is in preparation of Pahang's last rite, another news of great loss comes to house. It is informed that Manhang became myrter  in Kashmir war. Hearing the news Nunamphung falls unconcious. One by one what she cares disappear from her life. People in village say;

          Tukhein taille kakkerik ta........sakma nasingmaang khomedetnen, akkhe chokmasang

          sanarung medanen (45) ' Misery comes in such a away that we hardly have a time to

          breath; nothing can bring peace'.

     Such a unbearable loss strucks Nunamphung's life. As a consequence she starts to act abnormally. Lots of efforts have been made but she does not come back to normal life. Finally she becomes Thatthama (half-minded). She wanders here and there carrying a bag. She often reaches Gangtok , Jorthang, Darjeeling, and Kalinpong. At last, she takes final breath arriving Sirbung village.

3. Conclusion

     In this way Nunamphung is defeated by the complexities of her life. She dreams of happiness

 but  she never attain it. She is human, like others, and so she suffers. The tragic loss and death of

 Nunamphung in Thatthama generates the tragic meaning. The narrative grammar seek-find-lose

perfectly works as underlying sructural pattern in Thatthama to reveal the meaning. As a binary

opposition romance vs tragedy compete each other but romance is defeated by the  tragedy in Thatthama.

                                                        REFERENCES

Lohani, Shreedhar, et.al. 1996. A companion To Literature. Kathmandu: Modern Printing Press.

Tumyahang, Amar, et.al. 2005. Padam Singh Subba Apatan Byaktitwa Ra Krititwa. Kathmandu:

     Kirat Design.

Tyson, Lois. 2006. Critical Theory Today. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Yakthunba Limbu, Malisha. 2015. Yakthung Pandang Nu Sapsak. Kathmandu: Kanchan Printing  

     Press.

             

      

Way to No Where : Poem by Hilihang Lawati

            Way To Nowhere

                

My apathetic brain is empty,

Nothing is left there.

Only the emptiness,

No light in the day,

No sleep at night,

Only the path can feel

The shadow of my presence.

Why can't you see me?

Why can't you feel my presence?

Why can't you smell my breath?

 I am standing 

Beside you.

I am here passing all streams,

Leaving a tall mountain of snow,

Putting aside the gun,

leaving behind the jungle of rhododendrons,

Now,

I am exhausted from my journey,

And fell off

The ladder of my dream.

Still I am on the way, 

Leading to nowhere.