The Mundhum (also known as Peylan) is the ancient religious scripture and folk literature of the Kirat people.[1] It is an ancient, indigenous religion of Nepal. Mundhum means "the power of great strength" in the Limbu language.[2][3] The Mundhum covers many aspects of the yakthung (Limbu) culture, customs and traditions that were followed since before the rise of the Vedic civilisation in the Indian subcontinent.[4][5][6][7]

The Mundhum is organised into two parts: Thungsap and Peysap.[8] The Mundhum extends beyond religion, serving as a guide for culture, ritual and social values. The Mundhum is written in ancient Limbu and versions vary among the various Limbu tribes, serving as each tribe's distinctive culture and framing their social identity and unity in relation to other tribes and peoples.[9]

Thungsap Mundhum

The Thungsap Mundhum was collected, preserved and passed on by word of mouth and folklore until the art of writing was introduced.[8] It was an epic composed and recited in the form of songs by Sambas, religious poets and bards. The Kirat priests in the beginning were called the Sambas where sam means song and ba means the one (male) who knows the sam.[8]

Peysap Mundhum

The Peysap Mundhum is a written book about religion. It is divided into four parts: the Soksok Mundhum, Yehang Mundhum, Samjik Mundhum and Sap Mundhum.[8] The Soksok Mundhum contains the stories of creation of the universe, the beginning of humankind, the cause and effect of sin, the creation of evil spirits such as the evil spirits of envy, jealousy and anger, and the cause and effect of death in childhood.

The Yehang Mundhum contains the story of the first leader of humankind who made laws for the sake of improvement of human beings from the stage of animal life to the enlightened life and ways to control them by giving philosophy on spiritualism. In this book, the leader has made rules for marriage, arbitration, purification and religion.[8] The story of destruction of human beings by a deluge and the cause of existence of many languages among the Kirat people, the social customs of seasonal worship to the worship of God, the rules of purification on child birth and death are mentioned in the Lepmuhang Mundhum.[8]

The Mundhum is a spiritual, rhythmic and shamanic form of scripture. Mundhum rituals and teachings are only used and performed by a very special Kirat religious master or shamanic guru of Kirant. Mundhum is written in very ancient native Kirat language and tones. To study Mundhum, one must study a native Kirat language such as Rai, Limbu, Yakha, or Sunuwar. Topics in the Mundhum include the origin of earth, air, water, fire and life, medicine, God, all ritual birth, marriage, death.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ P120 The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal: Democracy in the Margins By Susan I. Hangen Routledge, 4 Dec 2009
  2. ↑ Hardman, Charlotte E. (December 2000). John Gledhill; Barbara Bender; Bruce Kapferer (eds.). Other Worlds: Notions of Self and Emotion among the Lohorung Rai. Berg Publishers. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-1-85973-150-5.
  3. ↑ Nationalism and Ethnicity in a Hindu Kingdom: The Politics and Culture of Contemporary Nepal, Front Cover By D. Gellner, J. Pfaff-Czarnecka, J. Whelpton Routledge, 6 Dec 2012 - Social Science - 648 pages, Page 530
  4. ↑ Dor Bahadur Bista (1991). Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization. Orient Longman. pp. 15–17. ISBN 81-250-0188-3.
  5. ↑ Cemjoṅga, Īmāna Siṃha (2003). History and Culture of the Kirat People. Kirat Yakthung Chumlung. pp. 2–7. ISBN 99933-809-1-1.
  6. ↑ "Cultures & people of Darjeeling". Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  7. ↑ Gurung, Harka B. (2003). Trident and Thunderbolt: Cultural Dynamics in Nepalese Politics (PDF). Nepal: Social Science Baha. ISBN 99933-43-44-7. OCLC 57068666. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-02.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cemjoṅga, Īmāna Siṃha (2003). History and Culture of the Kirat People. Kirat Yakthung Chumlung. ISBN 99933-809-1-1.
  9. ↑ Monika Bock, Aparna Rao. Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice. Page 65. 2000, Berghahn Books.
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