Namsung-Nambone

Namsung or Nambone is a Lepcha festival that is celebrated in their new year. They celebrate it in the first Lepcha month of Kurtiklavo which according to English calendar is in the month of December.

But, although, it is a new year festival, the actual celebration starts from the 29th of Marlavoko, the last month of the year and the Lepchas consider it to be based upon their origin, their struggle for existence and upon the lid value of their existence.

According to popular myth, the Lepcha God Aityu Devurume created Phodong Thing and Najongnew, the first Lepcha male and female from the sacred snow flakes of Mount Kungloshum Jobunjcho, the Lepcha name of Mount Kanchanjunga, and sent them to Mile Liang, a mountain situated at the heart of Sikkim and considered to be the heaven of Lepcha tribe, as guardians and care takers of all other creations. But they were debarred and forbidden by the God from establishing physical relationship between them and were strictly told to remain as brother and sister. So strict was the instruction that they were made to take an oath of sincerity and faithfulness towards each other.

But with the passage of time Phodong Thing and Najongnew could not remain honest to their oath and honour the instruction of their creator. They established physical relationship and started living as husband and wife secretly. In order to falsely justify their misdeed and prove to God that they still remained true to their promise, they threw the newly born baby in a cave and tried to eliminate the proof of their sexual relationship. Similarly they threw all other six babies that were born to them in due course.

Najongnew, the mother of those discarded children, felt guilty of her sinful act and her motherly heart could not bear the pain of such an action, therefore, when she gave birth to her eighth baby she could not throw as before. She decided to rear the baby unmindful of the consequences that followed in future. In that way all the children born to them thereafter survived a and grew up in Mile Liang, who afterwards came to be called Muthanchi Rongkup or the sons of God or the nature.

On the other hand, the seven babies that were thrown in the cave also survived but with evil incarnation, who on seeing their other brothers and sisters being looked and taken care by their parents and themselves being discarded and left to fend for themselves, grew jealous and restored to causing troubles upon their lucky brothers and sisters.

When the troubles given by their demon brothers became severe and beyond toleration, the Rongkups unitedly pleaded their God to save them from their brothers. Those who assumed leadership while going to God for rescue and help were called Motammu.

On hearing the prayer of Rongkups their God Aityu Deverume obliged them by sending Tamsang Thing, his most favourite creation, to Mile Liang. The God had created Tamsang Thing with the most sacred and the purest of snow flakes of Mount Pandim, and had bestowed him with immense strength and power.

Tamsang Thing who had been sent to Mile Liang 10 rescue the Rongkups from the oppression and torture of their demonic brothers, fought for twelves years with the demon king Lashong Mung Pano and faced a great difficulty in overcoming him, because, every year the demon king assumed different forms of various animals, such as mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, python, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog and pig and waged far against him.. These different animals, later on constituted the twelve different months of Lepcha year.

Now to ensure and confirm .the death of this deadly demon, king, Tamsang Thing sent his representatives to that place in, turns. The first person who went there was frightened to go near the demon, so he ascertained by throwing stone at him from a distance and found out that the demon had not died completely. On the second day another person was deputed with the instruction to kill the demon with a stick.

The representative who was sent on the third day was told to use iron to kill the demon. The daily visit to the place continued for seven days and when the death of the demon king was finally confirmed on the seventh day, the rejoicing people threw mud on the dead body and burnt it and threw the ash into the river. Thus in bringing out the complete elimination of the demon King, Lepchas made use of seven items such as, stone, stick, iron, mud, fire, air and water. These items, later on, assumed the name of seven days of Lepcha week. The stone being the first item to have been used is the name of. the first day of the week Loang Sayak, (Friday), from stick came the name of the second day King Sayak (Saturday), from iron Panjang Sayak (Sunday), from mud Frat Sayak (Monday), Misayak (Tuesday) from fire, Sukamut Sayak (Wednesday) from air and from water Ung Sayak (Thursday).

Therefore, to commemorate this historical victory of truth over the evils, Lepchas gather ,at Tarkot Tam Aitma, a place at Namprikodam in Jongu in North Sikkim and partake in the seven day long celebration during which different competitive games, such as, Dhuko Thuck, a game of throwing flattened stone, thahut, jumping competition and Chongay, a game of archery are also organized along with dance and song. To enthuse the competitors the winners are lavishly awarded and the week long festival comes to an end with a communial feast.