A poem written by Lungmying Lepcha

I am because

we are

(A quote inspired by Cholhamu Lepcha )

It’s within me “deep inside “

We are not known by our surname

but by our anum Chu (mountains) ,

anom and anum

Aungkyongsong (rivers)

our mother Rungyu and father Rungeet

our eldest brother Anum Kongchen (Mt Kanchenjunga) and

to all the clans connected

within us .

Tangled in the roots of identity

I walked across rivers to find

mine

from the ever surrounding

modern complexities

And indigenous pathways

“I chose”

“Rongmit” as I titled myself

I wear my congruity as dumvon ,

Ferru (ornaments ) and

syumbrang bur(a silver ornament tugged around our waist ) .

I am not a dweller but a

protector too

The sounds

Of the trumpets and voices

of the thriving

roots

Which grow striking

The very rocks of uncertainty

This is not a Shukpot (poem)

This is a

spirit of the growing

roots within me .

Mother this is me

my identity

“I am rooted but I flow”

Credits: The poem is written by Lungmying Lepcha. The first quote “I am because we are” is inspired by Cholhamu Lepcha and the last line “I am rooted but I flow” has been borrowed from Virginia Woolf’s The Waves.

Bio: Lungmying Lepcha is a seventeen year old teen hailing from Gangtok, Sikkim. She is an avid reader and an explorer by heart. She wants to contribute to the preservation of her culture by reviving indigenous stories within the field of literature.