Limbu

Limbu, the second most numerous tribe of the indigenous people called Kiranti, living in Nepal, on the easternmost section of the Himalayas east of the Arun River, and in northern India, mostly in the states of Sikkim, West Bengal, and Assam. Altogether, the Limbu numbered some 380,000 in the early 21st century.

The Limbu are of Mongolian stock and speak a language belonging to the Kiranti group of Tibeto-Burman languages. It has its own alphabet (the Kirat-Sirijonga script), believed to have been invented in the 9th century.

Limbu villages are found 2,500 to 4,000 feet (800 to 1,200 metres) above sea level and consist of 30–100 stone houses surrounded by dry-cultivated fields. Divided into patrilineal clans, the families are led by a headman, or subba, who is often a returned Gurkha soldier.

Maintaining a self-sufficient economy, the Limbu grow rice, wheat, and corn (maize) on terraced and irrigated fields; land is planted once a year. In addition, water buffalo are kept, and goats, chickens, and sheep are raised for meat.

Although influenced by Tibetan Buddhism as well as by rituals from nearby lamaseries, the Limbu observe a traditional religion, worshipping a chief god, Niwa Buma, and mountain and river deities. Each Limbu household additionally honours an ancestor god and has a religious leader (a shamba, or a fedangba) to conduct family rituals.