The Limbu people are known as Yakthungba (refers to a Limbu man) and Yakthungma (refers to a Limbu woman) in their own language. Yambechha means man and menchhuma means woman. They are the descendants of the Kirant dynasty of ancient Nepal. The Kirant dynasty ruled Nepal from 3102 BC. Until the VII century d. C. as the first rulers in Nepal.
Historically, until 225 years ago, the Limbus had their own territory that was known as Lumbuwan before King Prithvi Narayan Shah united the territories that make up present-day Nepal. At present, this area is located in the eastern part of Nepal (including Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar, Ilam, Dhankuta and Tehrathum and the northern parts of the Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts). According to the 2001 census of Nepal, Limbus population is 359,371 (1.58% of the Nepalese population). Traditionally they have been followers of the Kirant religion which is a type of animism, a belief that both living and inanimate beings, such as trees, rivers and mountains, possess souls. They have their own spoken and written Limbu language. The LIMBU script is known as the Sirijanga script.
Historical social role of Limbu women:
Traditional Limbu women dressed sim (it is a 7-yard-long material wrapped like a skirt) with a cholo, a blouse that is made from locally hand-woven dhaka material. Phaee (a long cloth) is wrapped around the waist to tie the sim. They always covered their heads with thakhumya (a large scarf) as an accessory. They loved to wear large gold and silver ornaments. Limbu women traditionally wore a pair of Nesse (flat design large gold earrings), a gold mundri as a nose ring, and a dhungri, a studded nose ornament. In their hands, the women of Limbu wore bracelets of gold or silver. Silver kalli were used as anklets. They also used different types of ornaments on different occasions, ceremonies, and festivals. Some of these ornaments were Phangsese (a necklace made of nine gold beads strung with glass beads), Labaphung (a gold crescent-shaped ornament that is used as a hair clip), Namloi or Yogakpa (a necklace of large silver), sisiphung or nekkhophung (gold flower-shaped earrings), reji (coin necklaces made from ancient silver coins), and Swagep (a gold ring worn on the fingers). Also in the past, Limbu women used to wear Laskari on their ears, 5 or 6 similar tiny gold rings in a row. Old limbu women can still be seen in the villages dressed in this way. All the types of clothing and ornaments that women wore suggest that the Limbu economy adequately met their needs in those days. The traditional Limbu women looked very elegant and created a unique identity in the world.
Limbu women like to dance Ya-Lang (rice dance) and Ke-Lang (traditional Limbu drum dance) on formal occasions such as weddings and religious ceremonies. There is also a dance called Mang Lang (Dev naach-God dance) to celebrate religious occasions.
Most Limbus are farmers and many men serve as Gurkha soldiers with foreign armies (eg British, Indian) or as security personnel in Singapore, Brunei, and Hong Kong. Women help in agriculture by working in the fields. They plant rice, harvest crops and take care of domestic animals. They also raise their children and also take care of their in-laws.
My mom used to talk about “pewa” (Pewa is a Limbu word, it is a source of pocket money). Limbu’s parents were very generous to their unmarried daughters, allowing them to have their own money by providing “pewa”. Some single women used to have a pair of goats or pigs, so they could sell their livestock and get money to buy what they wanted.
My grandfather gave my mother a couple of orange trees, from which she could get her pocket money by selling oranges at the Dharan market. This allowed her to buy her own jewelry or whatever she needed. In those days, buying gold and silver jewelry was a type of family investment.
This article is about the women of Limbu. I must not forget its gourmet cuisine. Limbus generally eat the usual Nepalese food, steamed white rice, dal (lentil soup), tarkary (curry) and aachar (a kind of sauce). I would like to mention some gourmet Limbu food: kinema ko achar (pickled fermented soybeans), gundruk ko achar or gundruk ko soup (fermented mustard greens), yangben (moss that grows on trees), etc. They also drink a soft drink called tongba (millet beer), consumed in particular bamboo or large wooden containers with small bamboo straws).
Limbu women used to be great weaving entrepreneurs and hard workers. There was no imported yarn available for weaving, so they used to grow cotton themselves in their fields. They used to spin yarn for weaving after harvesting raw cotton and drying it in the sun. Once opened, the “chhitko sari”, woven by Limbu women, was very popular with other Nepalese women. They also used to weave handlooms called Dhaka. They would be very creative in coming up with different kinds of ethnic patterns like tanchhokpa (star). They sold that cloth material to women and men in other communities, as imported clothing was not readily available. This type of traditional weaving has been bequeathed to their female descendants. Dhaka material is very popular now, and you can get topis (caps) from Dhaka, traditional pachheuras (large scarves) and cholos (blouses) from Dhaka. Today, ties and kurta-suruwals (pantsuit) from Dhaka are very popular. The traditional material is also used in the interior decoration of contemporary modern houses; You can find it used for cushion covers, curtains, table runners, tablecloths, etc. This material is also used in boutiques to make unusual and unique designer outfits. Definitely, the credit goes to our mothers and grandmothers for passing on such skills from generation to generation.
Contemporary limbu women and their social role:
Today’s Limbu women generally do not dress in traditional clothing or wear heavy jewelry. They wear all kinds of contemporary outfits like kurta suruwal, sari, and other formal and casual western outfits. Married women wear traditional Nepalese adornments such as Tilhari with saris and kurta suruwal. Single women wear lightweight jewelry such as earrings, hoop or earrings, a pendant with a chain, gold link bracelets, a suruwal kurta ring and anklets, and western-inspired outfits. Some married women also wear formal Indian-inspired gold jewelry, such as heavy mangal sutra necklaces and large dangling earrings.
Contemporary limbu society, especially in urban areas, has evolved from the village society of a hundred years ago. Modern society has brought many changes. Limbu women’s responsibilities generally include housekeeping, cooking, babysitting, and in-laws, as before, but now they also include helping educate their children and perhaps running a shop or pursuing a career. out of home. Of course, investments in the stock market are not common in Nepal. Limbu women manage financial investments in land or property. There are many women whose husbands still work as Gurkha soldiers in foreign countries. These women learn to manage their lives very efficiently on their own.
Today, some Limbu women have established careers in all fields: politics, media, business, professional performing arts, legal services, education, and the medical profession. Here are some names of Limbu women who are active in different fields:
Anjana Limbu (Shrestha): Film actress, her best known film is Balidaan
Anupama Subba: Actress in the famous movie “Numafung”
Bishnu Chemjong: the first star of Lux Nepal; she was chosen out of 5000 other contestants for her beautiful voice.
Jina Lingden: Limbu’s first female pilot
Jayan Subba Manandhar: Choreographer and owner of the modeling agency called Ramp.
Kala Subba: active model, choreographer and Hits FM RJ.
Lila Subba (Shrestha): Member of Parliament of Nepal.
Pabitra Subba: established and recognized Nepalese singer and actress.
Malvika Subba: Miss Nepal 2002, working with Kantipur telvision as presenter and event manager for the Miss Nepal pageant for 2 years.
Srijana Subba: Active member of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung and representative of the Limbu Shamans Association of Nepal. He works as a program officer for the NGO-FONIN.
Contemporary Limbu women are highly regarded for their incredible achievements in a short period of time. Today, young Limbu women, whose mothers and grandmothers may be illiterate or barely literate, can go to university or obtain specialized training for skilled employment.
Although there are only a small number of limbu women compared to the total population of Nepal, they are actively involved in all fields.