SAKYO-RUM-FAAT: In ancient time the Lepchas cultivated ten kinds of paddy, nine kinds of millet, four kinds of wheat, nine kinds of maize and other cereals. They also grew many kinds of vegetables.

   In days of antiquity the livelihood of the Lepchas in Sikkim was animal hunting and gathering of wild plants. One day a Lepcha hunter called Sheyraboo went on hunting expedition. He searched for an animal the whole day but found nothing. Tired and thirsty he sat to rest, after quenching his thirst in a nearby stream. Suddenly his eyes fell on a big boar grazing beyond the stream. He forgot his thirst and tiredness on seeing the animal. He moved forward cautiously towards the boar and let fly the arrow from his bow aiming at the animal. The boar was only injured and started fleeing from the place. The hunter Sheyraboo also went after the boar following the blood of the injured boar. As darkness Holt on he could not follow the animal any more. So he went towards a bamboo grove for the night-rest. He wake up in the early dawn and started following the animal. He could not find the animal anywhere. Still he did not stop following.

    At last when the sun was about to disappear in the far away horizon he saw the boar moving forward slowly. He went after it and reached a village farmhouse. He was surprised to find the animal resting in the group of other pigs of the farmhouse. As the dog started barking, a very old man with gray hair came out of the house. This old man was also pleased the long lost pig resting with other pigs. He thanked the hunter for his help for finding out his lost pig. The hunter was taken inside the house  and was offered food and strong Chee. He was really tired and fell into sound sleep in the bed made for him.

  He waked up from his bed as the sun had already come up in the sky. He looked for his host and his wife but they were not seen anywhere. He saw a girl and a boy playing in the courtyard. He was surprised to see the children as he had not seen them anywhere yesterday night. He went out for a while and came back to the house but still could not find out the old man and his wife. He just waited for them closing his eyes. He was feeling sleepy as he was still very tired. As he opened up his eyes he saw that the two children had grown to become man and woman. He was filled with fear as he now thought that the place was the abode of evil spirits . At midday the two had again grown into a young man and young woman. The young man told the hunter not to be afraid of them, assuring him that they were not evil spirits but immortal people who never die. The two people offered delicious food. The young man then took the hunted to a hillock just above the house and pointed at the valley down below the hillock told him that the valley is situated between the two Himalayan Mountains "Paki and Mendong".It is the most fertile valley of the land. The name of the valley is "Mayel Kyong" i.e., hidden village

     The valley was full kinds of fruits, flowers; and foodgrain crops. The were cascading waterfall and budding mountain streams which added fertility to the soil of the valley. It was certainly a paradise on earth. The heart of the hunter was filled with awe and happiness. The young man told the hunter that there are seven couples in this land of “Mayel Kyong” since the beginning of the earth. They are immortal beingsthat never die. They have no children. They have the power to be invisible anytime as they wish. In the early dawn they are small children at midday they become young persons and in the evening they become old couples. The agricultural crops, vegetables, fruits and flowers, and the beasts and birds of the world were first created in the land of "Mayel Kyang".

 Hearing these words of the young man he knew that this young man too was the same person who was a child in the morning and an old person in the evening. He took him down in the valley and introduced him to the immortal old couples of "Mayel Kyong". The two wandered through the valley observing all the beautiful things there. As the evening came the young man had already turned into an old person. The old person returned home leaving behind the hunter to rest for the night there. The hunter slept in one of the house of the old couple for the night after heaving a hearty meal.

   The next day at midday the seven couples of "Mayel Kyong" filled a basket with all kinds of seeds of food grain crops, fruits, vegetables and flowers and took him towards a very steep mountain ridge and told to sow and propagate all these in the land of Renjyong. He was also told that birds would be sent to tell the people of Renjyong when to sow these seeds at different seasons. After some time the basket touched the ground with a thud. As he took out the cloth from his eyes he found himself at the same place where he had hit the boar with the arrow.

    It is believed that every year in each season the seven immortal couples send Mayel-Fo, the birds to tell the exact time for sowing seeds. The Lepchas do believe that various kinds of agricultural crops and horticultural crops are the gifts of the seven immortal couples of "Mayel Kyong". So to show their gratefulness to them they offer all kinds of food grains, fruits, vegetables spices etc. every year during the month of November. The Lepchas dance and sing to celebrate the occasion. It is called the festival of Sakyo-Rum-Faat (Gurung and Lama, 2004: 73-76).