Assignment report

• On
• Food habits of Lepcha’s Community in Sikkim
• &
• Business Perspective
Aman Bajpai 21GB093

Sachin 21GB028

Naveen Raj 21GB068

HISTORY
Lepcha are originally inhabitants of Sikkim, earlier an independent empire
situated within the Himalayas between Nepal and Bhutan. Lepcha is that
the name was given to the present community by their Nepali neighbors
and is interpreted by some as an offensive acceptance of "nonsense
talkers." The Lepchas call themselves Rong. The community consists of
around 25000 people in Sikkim. They’re the earliest inhabitants of Sikkim,
but they adopted many elements of Bhutia culture, who entered Sikkim
from Tibet in the 14th century. Although the Lepcha don't have any
tradition of migration but there are multiple theories about their origin, the
most widely accepted theory is that they originated from the Sino-tar
Plateau of Burma. Their language is assessed within the Tibeto-Burman
Family. Traditionally Lepchas were hunters and gatherers, now they are
engaged in farming and cattle breeding. As they are indigenous inhabitants
of Sikkim they preferred to stay in remote areas. Due to this settlement,
their writing and language are very unique. The Lepchas speak a Tibetan
dialect that is only spoken by this community and it cannot be found in any
part of the world. (2021)i

FOOD CULTURE
Known as the organic state of the country, Sikkim
has much to offer when it comes to food.Food
culture in Sikkim has been reflected in the pattern of
food production. Food culture has been evolved as
a result of traditional wisdom and empirical
experiences of generations over a period of time,
based on agro-climatic conditions, ethnic
preference, socio economic development status,
religion and cultural practices of the region.
Traditional foods have an important bearing in the
dietary habits of the people of Sikkim Tiny
community of Lepcha is distinct from fantastic regional food. They have
very unique dishes to serve. Lepcha’s food is characterised by the use of
fermented items like vegetables, fruit and cheese. They are mainly meat
eaters who prefer beef and pork. Rice is the staple, whole wheat, maize
and buckwheat are also used. It’s simple and full of flavor and devoid of
spices that mainland India uses. They were formerly hunters and gatherers,
sustaining mainly on forest produce and cultivating just a few vegetables.
They lived with Nature. It was only in the 1900’s that they started owning
land and practicing long-term agriculture. All the vegetables and crops are
grown with organic manure. The lepcha way of cooking is still on earthen
ovens, with log fire, using very little oil and spices, the food is relatively
ii
simple but delicious. (Das, 1970)

Traditional Cuisines/Food
● nakima: it is a semi-dry side dish
made with nakima(native, edible wild
orchids), onion, tomato, salt, etc. it's
not just a vegetable but also one of the
promising herbal medicines for people
suffering from Diabetes. In mid-
September, the nakima flower burst
forth from plants that grow from
rhizomes. Traditionally, nakima is
served to the guests with warm rice
as a part of their dinner. This year, the
initial crop hit the market in the first
iii
week of September with a sale
price of Rs 600 a kilogram.
(Tamang & Thapa, 2015)
● Gundruk jhol: gundruk is probably the most
popular and loved food in Sikkim. It is dried
fermented leafy vegetables, made generally
from mustard green leaves (Rayo ko saag),
radish leaves (Mula ko saag), cauliflower
leaves (cauli ko paat). In the gloomy and foggy
monsoon, when both digestion and mood are
slow moving, hot and peppy gundruk jhol is a
much-needed mood lifter. Its distinctive sour-
hot taste tickles the taste-buds, aids in
digestion and stimulates bowel movement.
Now traditional eating habits are changing but
gundruk holds its own because of its benefits
and unique taste. Lepcha farmers still grow it
for commercial and domestic purposes. (Das,
1970) iv

● Khu-ree: Khu-ree is a traditional Lepcha

cuisine, made from Millet or Buckwheat flour
and leafy vegetables. The dish, which once
used to be the staple food for the Lepcha, is
now only made during special occasions like
Namsoong (Lepcha festival), during rituals,
or seldom for the special guest. Mostly the
dish is now an attraction for the tourists and
served as a Lepchacousin in the homestays
and some restaurants. The taste of
modernization has touched the flavor of
Khu-ree, and the traditionally used
vegetable species are often replaced by the
commonly available green vegetables.
● Thukpa: The word “Thukpa'' refers to any
soup or stew combined with noodles. It
originated from the eastern part of Tibet.
There are numerous varieties of Thukpa
including Thentuk (hard pulled noodle),
Gyathuk (Chinese noodle), Nepali, Pathug
(hand-rolled pinched noodle) and Drethug.
During the Tibetan new year celebration, a
special Thukpa called Guthuk is prepared. As
part of the rituals, nine drops of the soup from
the first bowl of Thukpa is kept separate and
presented as an offering. In Sikkim, Thukpa
is a dish that is popular across all
communities and many people like to pair it
with Momos.

● Momos: No tourist can return from Sikkim

without tasting the ubiquitous momo.
Traditionally locals make momos in
different patterns and shapes and each
shape is for different kinds of momos. For
example circular momo means it is filled
with meat, an elongated shape is filled
with fish, so on and so forth. Lepchas eat
momo with
tomato dip made with a little bit of lapsi
pickle.
● Thaipo: It is very similar to momo and it is
called the elder brother of momo, it is a gigantic
hybrid form of momo, which is thrice the size of
an average momo. Available mostly in
Northeastern parts of India, especially in
Sikkim, it is one of the most in-demand street
foods delicacies. It originated from Tibet and
after the migration of Tibetans in the north east
belt, it became a popular delicacy. find thaipo
with various kinds of fillings and all the Nepali,
Bhutia, and Lepcha people living in the region,
have their own version (fillings) of it. But the
love for the dish is the same among all. (Editor|,
2018)

● Chhurpi: This is a hardened cheese

consumed in Sikkim. This cheese has a
pale yellow color with a crumbly and
dense texture. There are two main
varieties of Chhurpi; the soft variety
prepared with cow’s milk and the hard
variety with yak’s milk. Soft Chhurpi is an
excellent source of protein and used as
a substitute for vegetables in the
mountainous region. People also make
a curry or pickle from Chhurpi and eat
with rice as a staple food in everyday
meals.
● ‘Chi’ or ‘chaang’: This is the traditional drink of
Lepchas of Sikkim. It is an alcoholic beverage
made with millet grains (Black millet grains). It is
a soft beer, the longer it is kept untouched the
stronger it tastes. Chi is culturally valued among
Lepchas. They believe that Itbu Deboo Rum, the
creator of all gods and goddesses, accepts the
offering of chi. This drink is offered in almost
every worship of god and goddess, for example
in ‘pong rum fat’ ‘peek sat’ ‘lyaang rum fat’ ‘Li rum
fat’ etc. People before drinking also offer a small
portion of “Chi '' to their god and ancestors and
after that only they consume drink.Importance of
chi In birth and death of a person. (Molommu, 1970)

vi

● Kargyong : Kargyong is a meat product, similar to sausage, t least 10 made

days,
with ginger, garlic and salt.
It is made with beef (lang kargyong), yak (yak kargyong) and pork (faak
kargyong).
It's made with a natural casing called gyuma and cooked by boiling,
then it is smoked and dried for a
but up to 15 days or more. The finished lang kargyong can be eaten
boiled. It is also fried with onion, chillies, salt and onion to be used in
curry. The fried sausage is also eaten plain with raksi liquor, or
chhaang. The microorganisms associated with kargyong as various
types of lactobacilli, bacillus, micrococcus and staphylococcus, and
some yeast and other fungal species with mycelia.
● Other Alcoholic Beverages : Alcoholic beverages are exclusively
prepared from locally grown cereal-grains using traditionally prepared
mixed inocula or starter called marcha. Traditional alcohol brewing is
a home-based industry mostly done by rural women using their
indigenous knowledge of alcohol fermentation. Rural women also sell
the food products in the local markets and earn their livelihood. Some
of their alcoholic beverages are Raksi/ arak(made from cereals),
Faapar ko jaanr(made from Buckwheat), Jao ko jaanr(made from
Barley). Alcohol has been in tradition and in cultures, where many
ethnicities casually use alcohol as an alternative to tea in households,
served to guests or used in trivial commencements.vii

● Snacks : Boiled yams and tubers are consumed on a seasonal basis

mainly as an evening snack. Pancakes made of buckwheat with
a filling of wild spinach or meat is highly celebrated.

● Gnuchi : Gnuchi is an ethnic smoked fish

product of the Lepcha people.During its
preparation, fish (Schizothorax richardsonii
Gray,Labeo dero Hamilton, Acrossocheilus spp.,
Channa sp.) is collected from the river, kept on a
big bamboo tray to drain off water, degutted, then
mixed with salt and turmeric powder. Fish are
separated according to their size. The bigger
sized fish are selected and spread in an upside-
down manner on sarhang and kept above the
earthen oven in the kitchen. The small sized fish are
hung one after the other on a bamboo strip
above the earthen oven and kept for 10–14
days.Gnuchi is kept at room temperature for 2–3
months and is eaten as curry. Microorganisms
of gnuchi include bacteria and yeasts.
● A Typical Day of Lepchas

The morning starts with a full mug of tea with sugar or salt with or
without milk, with a pinch of hot black pepper. The first meal in
the morning is a simple bhat-dal-tharkari-achar (rice-legume soup-
curry- pickle) corresponding to cooked rice, dal, vegetable
mixed with potatoes, meat or milk products and pickles. It is
followed by light refreshment with mostly traditional snacks and
tea in the afternoon. The second meal is dinner around early
evening, which consists of the same bhat-dal-tharkari-achar. They
also usually eat thug-pa, noodles in soup. Though the people of
Sikkim are mainly rice eaters, nowadays, roti or chapatti (wheat-
based baked bread) is replacing traditional rice eating habits among
the urban population. In the rural areas, people mostly eat cooked
maize as staple food. Popularly known as dhenroh, boiled maize-
rice, it continues to be a staple food in villages. In high altitudes mainly
north Sikkim, people drink pheuja, butter tea prepared from yak
milk. The Sikkimese food is less spicy and prepared in gheu or
maa (butter), but now commercial edible oil is being used. Non-
vegetarians eat chicken, mutton, lamb and pork. Consumption of
fish products in the local diet is comparatively less than other
fermented products such as vegetable and dairy products. This may
be attributed to the pastoral system of agriculture and the
consumption of dairy products in these regions. Women usually
do cooking. Elders and male members are served the meals first
and women eat afterwards in the kitchen.
How They eat?
The kitchen in a Lepcha household is always a separate entity and it
houses a huge dining space with hierarchical seating arrangements
wherein the head of the family is seated in a corner with a special
seat.

They usually use their hands to eat directly and use bamboo for
having beverages and the straws are also made from bamboo.
Objectives

1.To study about the culture, lifestyle and food habits of

Lepcha Community of Sikkim.
•We will be using the data, facts, figures and numbers to
identify whether it is possible to run a business in Sikkim
or to boost the already build up businesses (restaurants).
1.We will be catering only Food Services as per Study.
2.Our motive is to bring in the focus on Lepcha
Community- their food items and their traditions in order
to bring in the Target Audience.
 POPULATION
S.NO ITEM 2001 2011 2021*

1 Population 540851 610577 658019

2 Main Workers 212904 230397

(a)Cultivators 101200 82707

(b)Agricultural Laborers 9081 11582

(c)Worker in Household Industry 3168 2888

(d)Other Workers 9945 13322

5 0

3 Marginal Workers 50139 77741

4 Non Workers 277808 302439

LANGUAGES
Languages Persons Percentage Rural Urban
Nepali 382,200 62.596 291,531 90,669
5

Hindi 48,586 7.9574 17,938 30,648

Bhotia 41,889 6.8606 29,216 12,673
Limbu 38,733 6.3437 37,200 1,533
Lepcha 38,313 6.2749 34,545 3,768
Sherpa 13,681 2.2407 12,348 1,333
Tamang 11,734 1.9218 10,280 1,454
Rai 7,471 1.2236 6,999 472
Bengali 6,986 1.1442 2,956 4,030
Tibetan 2,785 0.4561 1,716 1,069
Urdu 2,001 0.3277 597 1,404
 Religion Persons Percentage Males Females
Hindu 352,662 57.7 189,972 162,690
6

Muslim 9,867 1.62 6,536 3,331

Christian 60,522 9.91 30,290 30,232
Sikh 1,868 0.31 1,592 276
Buddhist 167,216 27.3 85,302 81,914
9

Jain 314 0.05 181 133

RELEGIONS
Others 16,300 2.67 8,323 7,977
Not Stated 1,828 0.30 874 954

TOURISTS

STATE 2017 2018 GROWTH RATE

DOMESTIC FOREIGN DOMESTIC FOREIGN DOMESTIC FOREIGN

SIKKIM 1375854 49111 1426127 71172 3.65% 44.92

%
 HOTELS

STATE 5 STAR 5 4 3 2 1 APARTMENTS TIME HERITAGE B&B GUEST TOTAL

SIKKIM DELUXE STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR HOTEL SHARE HOTELS ESTABLISHMENTS HOUSE
RESORTS

NO OF 1 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 10
HOTELS

NO OF 64 103 83 45 56 0 0 0 0 0 351
ROOMS
ETHNIC FERMENTED BEVERAGES OF
SIKKIM
 FACTS

 The Sikkim Human Development Report revealed that the state had the best gender
parity performance among the north-eastern states, with female labor force participation at 40
per cent, much higher than the national average of around 26 per cent.
 Sikkim has, however, many things to worry about. This includes creating jobs for its
young people within the state, improving the quality of education, protecting residents from
natural disasters, expanding infrastructure and so on.
 Demographic scenario reveals that the state is heading towards a steady decline in the growth
rate of the population.
 Equally worrisome is the sharp decline in total fertility rate (TFR).
 The reduced TFR is not good news as it may result in an age-structural transformation wherein
Sikkim, like Kerala, will have to address the challenges of an aging population.
 This could get manifested in the short supply of workers as well as a further decline in the sex
ratio.
 With shrinking active labor force, Sikkim's economy could experience loss in economic output
and possibly a decline in income levels.
 The social structure, religious beliefs, economic prosperity and urbanization within each
country are likely to affect birth rates as well as abortion rates, in Sikkim it tends to have a
lower fertility rate due to lifestyle choices associated with economic affluence where mortality
rates are low, birth control is easily accessible and children often can become an economic
drain caused by housing, education cost and other cost involved in bringing up children.
 The sad part is fertility rate in Sikkim are declining massively where contraceptive users have
increased and is prevalent in rural than urban, women with no schooling uses more
sterilization.
 WHAT NOW?
After studying about the Sikkim in general and Lepcha community in particular, the best way to go
about would be to invest in already established businesses as in restaurants and hotels.

As seeing the present scenario from the numbers and charts we can say there is a shortage of labor in
Sikkim as of now and there are many reasons behind the same.

Although the female labor force in general is much better than the average Indian labor force. But in

general there is an issue with the labor force as of present now.

Taking into consideration languages spoken widely as it plays a very vital role in connecting with the
intermediaries and our final customers and it shouldn’t be a superficial one .We should draw our
learnings from the Amazon failure in Economy like China just because of late realization of their
Culture, their tradition and not just connecting with the target audience at the higher hierarchical level
only pays off.

More than 85% of people in Sikkim are Hindu and follow Hinduism and Buddhism and therefore
practices should be plan accordingly so that people should feel connected at workplaces. By this I mean
the wall pictures used in Restaurants and hotels should be promoting their Culture and Tradition. In a
country like India tourists usually visit from outside places because of our rich culture and They are very
much fascinated by the same .Since we have conducted the study on the Lepcha community we will be
telling them the ways how to present them and how our culture is our Strength and one of the best
thing is their food habits inclining with ours. Although they prefer less cooked food but it will sort of
connect. We can lure restaurants and hotels by showing them growth rate of the number of foreign
tourist visiting Sikkim and how much revenue increment they can expect if they do these subtle
changes.

And we know that because of various problems mentioned above how the Lepcha community in
particular is decreasing in terms of population. So in order to reverse the situation what we can do is
we can project them as a Community whose population although decreasing has rich culture .So that
more and more people come and visit and want to know about this culture as this is the typical
mindset.

And with the help of these measures we can provide them Employment and counter the effect because
of poor living style due to unavailability of the resources in general and running around awareness
program and making them realize how important they are as a Community.

Not only food habits we will adopt but also look for the ways in which they are presented for example
presenting some dishes in Bamboo Sticks as they do in their community.

We will ask the restaurants to play videos about this community (eating habits, folk dances and clothing
etc. ) in the lobby area and the room allotted by seeking permission and will be projecting this
community in all respects .
REFERENCES

i
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, August 3). Lepcha people. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 12,
2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepcha_people.

ii
Das, P. K. (1970, January 1). Cuisine of the Lepchas in Dzongu. Retrieved September 12,
2021, from http://riding-a-rainbow.blogspot.com/2019/02/cuisine-of-lepchas-in- dzongu.html.

Tamang, J. P., & Thapa, N. (2015, January 21). Some nonfermented ethnic foods of Sikkim in
iii

India. Journal of Ethnic Foods. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618114000092.

iv
Das, P. K. (1970, January 1). Cuisine of the Lepchas in Dzongu. Retrieved September 12,
2021, from http://riding-a-rainbow.blogspot.com/2019/02/cuisine-of-lepchas-in- dzongu.html.

v
Editor|, P. S. P. S. T. T. (2018, October 8). Meet thaipo, the bigger version of momo. Times of
India Travel. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/eating-out/meet-thaipo-the-bigger-version-of-
momo/as66121724.cms.

vi
Molommu, D. S. P. (1970, January 1). [pdf] chi-the traditional drink of the Lepchas : A case
study .: Semantic scholar. [PDF] Chi-The Traditional Drink of the Lepchas : A Case Study
. | Semantic Scholar. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Chi-The-Traditional-Drink-of-the-Lepchas-%3A- A-
Case-.-Molommu/ab875b12d65b86ed33a0ee763852c532356598f1.