Acoustic Traditional tours Dzongu in search of tales of the Yeti

INITIATING A DIALOGUE ON ORAL HISTORY OF THE LEPCHAS
GANGTOK, 14 Sept: A three-member team of Acoustic Traditional [a Bangalore based NGO] has been in Sikkim for the last two months work especially in Dzongu recording and documenting the oral history related to the mythical Yeti. The tour is part of the One Tribe project of the organization which aims to document the near-extinct folklore of the Himalayan legend- Yeti.
The tour started with the ‘Big-Foot’ Campaign at Darjeeling where over 800 students participated with a view to revive the disappearing Himalayan folklores. The tour was then officially flagged off by a Limboo Shaman of Darjeeling, Dhan Bahadur Limboo, with Sikkim being the first destination.
The Acoustic Traditional team consists of storyteller Salil Mukhia, Minket Lepcha for oral documentation and Abhishek Pradhan for video documentation. During the tour in Dzongu, the team was led by Kachyo Lepcha in the process of recording the oral history related to the Yeti.
Addressing a press conference today, Mr Mukhia said that Yeti folklores are on the verge of extinction and Acoustic Traditional has been working towards the conservation of these myths and legends by documenting them so that anyone could have access to it in the future. He further added that these stories also act as a link to traditional systems and practices.
During the two months, the team toured six villages in Dzongu; Lingthem, Passingdang, Tingvong, Lingdem, Kusong and Lingdong. The team interacted with over 6 Bongthings and spoke to numerous local people of the area on the subject. It is informed that the team was able to document around 20 stories over a period of two months. The team used both audio and video in the documentation process.
Mr Mukhia informed that most of the stories were told by Shamans and Bongthings as they seemed to be the only people to know about the ‘Jhamphey Mung’ in detail. At the same time, he added that although most were aware of the legendary being, very few could recollect any story related to them.
Sharing their experiences in Dzongu, he said that Dzongu began to reveal a very different Mung and this view on Yeti was a bit different from other communities and the linkages of Jhamphey Mung to other similar beings are quite extensive. On the same, he added that given the existing nature of documentation from other communities, the team decided to focus on Lepcha folklore as much on the subject remains unexplored. “As a result of the Dzongu expedition, the team will now follow up on Lepcha folklore in Bhutan and Nepal where the community is present in small patches,” he added.
“The tour was a means to initiate a dialogue on oral history and so far it has been successful and the documentation work would continue in future and the present engagement was only a means to emphasize the need to document our folklore and to keep alive our amazing storytelling traditions”, expressed Mr Mukhia.
Acoustic Traditional has also planned to conduct a workshop at Dzongu to help initiate a long-term process of storytelling revival in the region. Acoustic Traditional’s resource centre in Darjeeling [from October 2012 onwards] will digitize all documentation materials and archive them in the hope that they will remain for the future generation to study or simply read. They also shared that there was great scope for government and other stakeholders to take part in this process.
The available folklore on Yeti is significant and there is much that needs to be done to strengthen the process of documentation and archiving them, said Mr Mukhia further stressing that, “Yeti or Jhamphey Mung or Sokpa is a part of our rich intangible heritage and it is critical that we keep them alive, orally and otherwise”.
The team has also planned to hold a workshop at Dzongu this September, which the regional coordinator, Kachyo Lepcha will be overseeing. He informed that a list of workshops is being prepared for various schools across Sikkim and Darjeeling as well.
The annual festival of Indigenous Storytellers, which is the only national event in South Asis, will be held in Darjeeling this year where many storytellers from Sikkim will be participating.
The entire event will be recorded and published as an Audio Book around November with the participation of storytellers from across the country including storytellers from Dzongu. This book will be released nationally, which will be followed by the national distribution process.
The team has also planned for a National Storytelling Tour from November onwards and the sessions will comprise of Jhamphey Mung stories, narrated in the drunken style.
“The impact of the documentation will be at a national level as travel to around 8 states is being explored through the tour and the tour will include meeting government representatives, NGOs and related organizations,” said Mr Mukhia. The documentation process will continue irrespective of the tour, he added.
Acoustic Traditional has also thanked the Lepcha Youth Association of Sikkim, musicians from the state and the people of Dzongu for their support and encouragement in this initiative.