SIKKIM
Sikkim was inhabited in pre-historic times by three
tribes namely Naong, Chang and the Mon. The Lepcha who entered Sikkim
sometimes later absorbed them completely. The origin of Lepchas is shrouded
in mistery but it seems that they belonged to the clan of the Nagas of the
Mikir, Garo and Khasia hills which lie to the south of the Bramaputra
valley. Some believe they came from somewhere on the borders of Tibet and
Burma. According to their own tradition they came to Sikkim from the east in
company with Jindaxs, who went to Nepal and shared their tradition. The
Lepchas were a very peace loving people, deeply religious and shy, which
characteristics they still have retained. They were in fact the children of
nature, and worshipped nature or spirits of nature. These Lepcha lived quite
close to the nature by way of leading sustenance. Some of them practiced
shifting cultivation and raised grains like maize and millets. They led a
tribal life at the beck and call of their tribal leader.
The credit of organizing them into some sort of a society goes to a person
called Tur ve pa no. He was eventually elected leader of king called "Punu"
sometimes in A. D. 1400. He was killed in a battle and was succeeded by
three Kings - Tur Song Pa No, Tur Aeng Pa No and Tur Alu Pa No. The monarchy
came to an end with the death of the last king. The Lepchas now resorted to
the practice of electing a leader whose advice and counsel was sought on
crucial matters and followed. The Tibetan migration in early 17th century
led the Rongs to shift their habitats so as to avoid conflict. Meanwhile the
struggle and conflicts among the followers of the "Yellow hats" and the "Red
hats" in Tibet forced the latter to seek refuge in Sikkim, where they
attained the status of aristocracy. Being aggressive they occupied lands,
which was not registered by the docile Lepchas. These Tibetan migrants (the
Bhutias as they came to be known) who were followers of the sect of 'Red
Hats' now tried to convert these Sikkimese "Worshippers of nature" to
Buddhism. They succeeded to some extent, though the Lepchas tried to keep
themselves aloof as far as possible. In order to avoid any possible
opposition from the Lepchas, these immigrants now chose one venerable person
Phuntsok Namgyal as the temporal and spiritual leader of Sikkim, whose
ancestry they traced from a legendary prince, who founded the Kingdom of
Minvang in eastern Tibet in 9th century A.D. This dynasty ruled in the
Chumbi and Teesta valley for a long time.
Somewhere in the Thirteenth century a prince named Guru Tashi of Minyang
dynasty in Tibet had a divine vision that he should go south to seek his
fortune in "Denzong- the valley of rice". As directed by the divine vision
he along with his family, which included five sons, headed in the southern
direction. The family during their wandering came across the Sakya Kingdom
in which a monastery was being built at that time. The workers had not been
successful in erecting pillars for the monastery. The elder son of Guru
Tashi raised the pillar single handedly and thereby came to be known as "Kheye
Bumsa" meaning the superior of ten thousand heroes.
The Sakya King offered his daughter in marriage to Khye Bumsa. Guru Tashi
subsequently died and Khye Bumsa settled in Chumbi Valley and it was here
that he established contacts with the Lepcha Chieftain Thekong Tek in
Gangtok. Khye Bumsa being issueless went to Sikkim in the 13th century to
seek the blessing of Thekong Tek who was also a religious leader. Khye Bumsa
was not only blessed with three sons by the Rong chief but he also
prophesied that his successors would be the rulers of Sikkim. Out of
gratitude Khye Bumsa visited Thekong Tek a number of times. In due course of
times the relationship ultimately culminated in a treaty of brotherhood
between the two Chieftains at a place called Kabi Longtsok. This treaty
brought about new ties of brotherhood between the Lepchas and the Bhutias.
Mipon Rab the third son of Khye Bumsa assumed the Chief-Ship after the death
of his father. He had sons and the four principal clans of Sikkim are said
to have sprung from these four sons. The fourth son Guru Tashi succeeded
Mipon Rab and shifted to Gangtok. On the other hand after the death of
Thekong Tek the Lepchas broke into minor clans. They also gradually turned
to Guru Tashi for protection and leadership. Guru Tashi appointed a Lepcha,
Sambre as his chief adviser and lieutenant. Guru Tashi's rule marked the
absorption of the foreign ruling house into the native soil and also paved a
way for a regular monarchy. This way Guru Tashi became the first ruler of
Sikkim and was crowned as such. He was followed by Jowo Nagpo, Jowo Apha and
Guru Tenzing who pursued the policy creating progressively amicable relation
with Lepchas.
Phuntsok (or penchu) Namgyal was the next ruler. He was Guru Tenzing's son
(great grandson of Guru Tashi) and was born in 1604. Phuntsok Namgyal's
crowning was charged with all the vivid fantacy and miraculous phenomenon
that is befitting to so important an occasion. Three venerable lamas are
said to have entered sikkim from three different direction direction at the
same time. They met at Yoksam (meaning three wise men) and began a debate on
the desirability of having a temporal and religious head to rule over pagan
Sikkim. Two of the lamas furthered their own claims but the third lama
reminded them of the prophecy of Guru Padamsambhava that a man coming from
east and Phuntsok by name would rule Sikkim. It was also told that none of
them came from east hence the real man must be looked for. Messengers were
sent to seek Phuntsok. Near Gangtok the desired youngman was found and lamas
lost no time in crowning him the king. They seated him on a nearby rock slab
and sprinkled water on him from the sacred urn. He was given one of Lhatsun
Chenpo's (the lama told about prophecy) names, Namgyal, and the title of
Chogyal or religious king. It happened in the year 1642. The Namgyal dynasty
ruled over Sikkim as hereditary kings for about 332 years.
Phuntsok Namgyal, the first consecrated ruler ruled over a vast territory,
many times the size of present Sikkim. His kingdom touched Thang La in the
Tibet in the north, Tagong La near Paro in Bhutan in the east and the
Titalia on the borders of West Bengal and Bihar in the south. The western
border Timar Chorten on the Timar river in Nepal. Phuntsok though a distant
descendant of Indrabodhi was now a Bhutia by his domicile. He was persuaded
by the lamas enthroning him as Chogyal (Heavenly king or king who rules with
righteousness) to seek recognition from Dalai Lama of Tibet. The Dalai Lama
recognized Phuntsok Namgyal as the ruler of the southern slopes of the
Himalayas (Sikkim) and is also credited to have sent ceremonial present such
as the silken scarf bearing Dalai Lama's seal, the mitre(hat) of the Guru
Rimpoche, the devil dagger (Phurpa) and the most precious sand image of the
Guru. Consequently, the newly established Bhutia principality of Namgyal
Dynasty was tied to Tibetan theocracy. Since then up to 19th century, the
Bhutia rulers of Sikkim looked up to Tibet for protection against political
foes. Phuntsok Namgyal proved to be an efficient and capable administrator.
He divided his kingdom into twelve Dzongs i.e. districts and appointed
Dzongpana i.e. governor for each. He also declared Mahayana Buddhism as the
state religion, which continued to be the state religion under all the
Namgyal rulers. He very tactfully kept the lepchas, Bhutias and Limbus
together. The Governors were appointed from the lepchas who were then in
majority. Since Yatung the greatest commercial Tibetan center being nearer
to Gangtok posed some danger, he shifted his capital to Yoksom.. |