Evening star., 1936-05-17
he state of Sikkim, in the east.

the state of Sikkim, in the east.
So difficult did the situation become
that it was only with the conclusion
of the Nepal war, in 1915, that the
country was reduced to its present
limits. Although the Gurkha con-
quest was now stopped, no attempt
was made, nor indeed was it possible,
to prevent the Nepalese tribes from
settling in the various hill tracts ad-
jacent to their country.
At the present day Nepal is greatly
overpopulated in its more fertile parts,
but the emigration of Gurkhas into
Bhutan, and more particularly into
Sikkim, through which he have just
passed, was threatening the existence
of the other tribes, who found them
selves being driven farther and far
ther into the hills, to such an extent
that steps had to be taken to pre-
vent Gurkha settlement north, of
certain definite limits which were laid
down by the governments of the re-
spective countries.
New Tracts Being Opened.
The Nepal government Is, of course,
fully alive to the needs of its surplus
population and is constantly opening
new tracts to settlement, which were
previously covered with forest.
The SherpaS, who form the major
ity of our corps of porters, are from
one of the many tribes found living
within the confines of Nepal, and are
technically included in the generic
term of Gurkha. But since they live
in the district of Khambu. in the
northeast corner of Nepal and close
to the Tibetan border, it naturally
follows that, in common with all the
other tribes living in the northern
most parts of the country, they have
been less influenced by Hindu infiltra-
ton, and are thus more akin to pure
TibetanS than are the other Gurkha
tribes whose homes are in the center
of Nepal.
In Sikkim. through which We have
now Travelled from South to North,
the effects of cultured contacts can
be more easily studied than in any
other part Of the Eastern Himalaya.
Several reasons may be brought for
ward for this. In the first place,
the country contains a number of
easy passes leading into Tibet, so that
it has never been difficult for Tibe-
tans to migrate from their own bleak
and inhospitable uplands for the much
more fertile valleys of Northern Six
kim.
1t follows. therefore, that the bulk
OF the population of central and North
ern Sikkim differs but little from
that of Tibet proper. Whilst these
people nowadays describe themselves
as Sikkimites, in order to distinguish
themselves from Tibetans in senti-
ment, language and thought, they are
in reality, practically. one and the
same people.
Lepchas Aboriginal Population.
The Lepcha tribe, which is fast
dying out. is generally supposed to
have formed the aboriginal popula-
tion Of Sikkim. Extremely shy and
retiring, these people are now only
found in any numbers in Talung. a
remote and inaccessible valley on the
lower slopes of Kanchenjunga. Like
most forest dwellers. they have a re-
markable knowledge of jungle lore,
and their language contains a very
extensive vocabulary of words for
trees and plants. in the use of which
for medicinal and culinary purposes
they are extremely skilled.
The social organization Of the Lep-
chas has not yet been satisfactorily
described, but it may be of interest
to note that when a Lepcha dies it is
incumbent upon his younger brother,
should he have one, to marry his de-
ceased brothers wife, small mat
Ger in which our own uch-maligned
western civilization may perhaps