The Subba-Limbu tribal community in sub-Himalayan Kalimpong!

 

India is the home of more than seven hundred distinct groups of Indigenous peoples. India does not, however, use the term “Indigenous peoples.” Instead, “scheduled tribes” are commonly used to identify the Indigenous groups formally. Yet, there are many tribal communities not even recognized officially as “scheduled tribes.” For example, the North-eastern parts of India accommodate over thirty-five groups within the Himalayan belt – the so-called third Pole – some of them are not recognized formally as “scheduled tribes.” The districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are the home of many tribal groups, including Tamang, Lepcha, Sherpa, Bhutia, Subba-Limbu etc. These groups are distinct themselves, while they mix themselves within the vast territories both in mountain valleys and on mountain tops. 

The Ratebasti is one such village located on mountain-tops in the Kalimpong district, fifty-six kilometers from the Siliguri town. The village, situated at an altitude of 700 meters on top of several physically linked mountains, is home to over 200 people belonging to the primarily Subba-Limbu, but also Chetty, Bhujel and Rai tribal communities. The village is cut-off by the Lise river and around ten kilometers away from the nearest urban settlements. No regular road and transportation networks are available to connect the village with those settlements. When the river is almost dead with only a tiny amount of visible water flow during the dry season, the village is accessible only by a heavy pick-up van. The pick-up van uses a stony riverbed as the communication route, which is an extremely tough journey. However, the villagers usually walk long ways through the unfriendly mountainous pathways for any supplies locally unavailable. They also use the dead river as their physical communication network to travel between home and the nearest urban settlements. During the rainy season, however, the river is full of water, and the river flow becomes harsh, cutting the communities entirely off from the urban settlements. Therefore, the village community usually preserves essential utilities to survive the rainy season (monsoon), lasting several months.

Traditionally, the Subba-Limbu tribe in the Ratebasti relies on mountain-based agriculture, including the production of crops, such as corn and various types of vegetables, and domesticated farming of cattle, goats, pigs, etc. In addition, every household often has poultry in the supply of food. The freshwater pool comes from natural sources originating from mountains. Generally, villagers are self-sufficient to meet their basic consumption needs. They use forest resources, such as wood and other natural resources, to build houses and similar infrastructure. For cash supplies, some of them, mostly young members of the families, occasionally travel to nearby urban settlements to find jobs, which in most cases are quarrying stones from the river, working in infrastructure and construction sectors and working in tea gardens. 

The Subba-Limbu people in the Ratebasti are usually religious, who perform their traditional religion and maintain a unique belief system. However, today many of them are converted to Christianity. For the performance of spiritual practices, the village has a small Church. Today, formal education amongst children is gradually becoming popular, although many still are reluctant to attend school. Yet, the village has an elementary school attended by sixteen children from out of forty-four households inhabiting mountains in the Ratebasti. The villagers usually live happy and healthy lives. 

- Kamrul Hossain