article

Ancient funeral ceremonies of the Lepchas

Eastern anthropologist5 (1)Published In 1952 • Pages: 27-40

By: Nebesky-Wojkowitz, René de.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper describes the ancient funeral ceremonies of the Lepchas as preserved by oral tradition and perhaps still being practiced in remote areas of Sikkim. The author also discusses the Lepcha conception of the human soul and life after death. There are notes on Lepcha diviners and healers as well as the spread of Tibetan culture into Sikkim.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Burial practices and funerals
Eschatology
Spirits and gods
Magicians and diviners
Mythology
Acculturation and culture contact
Shamans and psychotherapists
Special burial practices and funerals
Ethnic stratification
Life and death
Localized kin groups
Revelation and divination
Missions
Animism
Priesthood
General character of religion
Regulation of marriage
Cultural participation
Ethnogeography
Inheritance
Social readjustments to death
Ethnogeography
Ingroup antagonisms
Theory of disease
Status, role, and prestige
Avoidance and taboo
Preventive medicine
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Lepcha
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Robert Lee ; 1958
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1950-1951
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-1951
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Sikkim, India
NotesAdditional notes
R. Nebesky de Wojkowitz
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
59030548
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Lepcha (South Asian people)