As season changes from winter to spring one can feel the change in the air. The chilled winter wind that brushes our faces as we step out of our houses is replaced by warm spring breeze that runs through our hair. The last batch of ripe oranges hangs on their trees while peaches and plums turn into full bloom of white and pink. The winter dry land transforms into a meadow of green grasses and colourful flowers. This is when insects and reptiles comes out of their hidings, bees and butterflies hover on different blossoms, fishes in the nearby streams swims against the currents towards their sources to bring their young ones into this world, animals comes out from their hibernation and seasonal birds return back to the mountains.
As these changes slowly yet constantly take places, we hardly but surely feel the seasons changing around us. Amidst the calm and steady transition of winter to spring we witness many seasonal birds chirping and dancing in our surroundings. In their long journey to the north they rest on their way to fill their tiny stomachs with some left over paddy in the fields, insects and some winter fruits and berries. This sight of seasonal birds in one’s surroundings must be an ordinary sight for the world but for the Lepchas this occurring holds a significant cultural importance.
Growing up I have seen my grandfather preparing seeds of different crops, fruits and vegetables in this time of the year. As he did; occasionally he would tell stories and sing about different seasonal birds while he worked in the fields. In Lepcha belief the arrival of seasonal birds signifies seasonal change and arrival of new seasons. The Lepchas believe the calls of different seasonal birds’ means the time to sow and harvest different crops, vegetables and fruits. This belief of the community is also told in the form of an oral story about a hunter who accidently enters Mayel Kyong[1] a mysterious hidden village while he was chasing a wild boar. Mayel Kyong is situated at the valley between Pakki Chyu[2] and Mendong Chyu[3] and is said to be always hidden and covered with thick blanket of white clouds. In this village lived seven couples who he encounters while he chased after his prey. As he spent more time in this place he notices something mysterious and supernatural about the seven couples. These couples were immortals; they would turn into infants during midnight and gradually age during the day and become old again during the night and the cycle continued every day. The hunter spent days in the village and upon returning back from Mayel Kyong he received seeds of different fruits and crops from the couples. They instructed him to sow them in his village and for that purpose they would send different seasonal birds to indicate different seasons and the time to harvest these seeds every year. Many years later the hunter returned with many men to look for the magical village he had once discovered but failed to do so.
Our elders would tell the story of seven immortal couples every time as they would take out cucumber and pumpkin seeds from a dusty paper wrap which they had saved from the previous year. They would sow these seeds in the field along with Kuchung (corns). Occasionally they would hum a tune of a Lepcha song which I still recall from my childhood. It was about a migratory bird known as Kurvok[4];a seasonal bird that migrates southwards during the winter season into the warmer regions and as the weather gets hotter they migrate towards the north into the mountains. The song beautifully describes the process of migration of Kurvok and its significance to Lepcha culture and belief. To literally translate the lyrics of this song it says “I am flying from the south towards the north as winter changes into spring and as I do the cool breeze of the mountains brushes through my feathers. This is the time to clean and clear the fields and sow new seeds”. As kids we used to bask under the late winter sun as we enjoyed the last batch of oranges that we plucked from our orchard. Occasionally we would hear the cry of Kurvok as they flew across the clear blue late winter sky in a V-formation. Our elders hastily pointed at the sky and made us look at them flying in an orderly manner as it was a rare sight and looking at the sky they would say that the time had now arrived to sow Kuchung (corns) in the fields.
As the lines of the song say “I come from the south with my adorned feathers during the months of spring. This is the time for the people to sow corns in their fields”. During this time I remember our grandmother would take out huge pile of dried and preserved corns from the dusty kitchen attic and made us remove the corn kernels as we sat by the kitchen door in the evening. By this time of the month the dry winter floor would be already soaked with the first few rain showers of the year. In no time the evening moonlit skies would be covered with flying termites that would come out of the soaked mud. The nocturnal birds and rodents would sit on tree branches and wait for them to come close enough to catch them. Next morning the paddy fields would be covered with the fallen wings and many dead termites. The dry and cracked fields would be flooded with water from nearby streams that washed away all the dead termites and their broken wings from the previous night. Our father and uncles would then plough the fields and sow the corn seeds along with cucumber and pumpkin seeds side by side for the following summer season.
Whenever our elders would witness Kurvok flying across the sky; they pointed at Da-Lho[5] hill (present day Deolo) and would say that in olden days these migratory birds could not cross the particular hill. Da meaning lakes and Lho meaning hills, my grandfather used to say that the hill had natural lakes and it is generally believed that these birds are not able to cross places that was believed to be the aboard of local land, river or lake deities. Our grandparents would say that they used to see these birds suddenly falling from the sky when they would reach Da-Lho. The lines towards the end of the song say “Now the seasons are changing and we are coming with our wings wide open helping our old and young ones to fly. As we do; we pray to all the deities of the regions that we come across to protect us in our journey”. Usually on a long journey the older and young members of the flock are not able to keep up with the pace with the others and tend to fall to the ground due to exhaustion. As per the community belief when Kurvok begin their journey from the south they pray to all the deities of different regions they come across on their journey so that they do not fall on the ground when they are travelling towards the mountains.
Now, as I occasionally listen to this song I am reminded of many nostalgic memories of my childhood days that I have spent learning and growing with my elders at my ancestral home. Kurvok is believed to be a very auspicious bird and when they arrive it is thought the following year is going to be a good year for harvest, however this bird is no longer witnessed as often as in the past. Today, the fields that we own are no longer being used to cultivate crops but are used as nurseries for commercial purposes. As paddy is no longer cultivated in our lands the one factor that would drive seasonal birds to our fields are no longer seen during winter and spring. The fruit trees like oranges and peaces no longer bare fruits like they used to in the past. Cucumber and pumpkins often dry out before they give any fruits and corns are often destroyed by parasites even before they reach their maturity. Yet, when I listen to the song of Kurvok; I bring to mind those winter days of my past and I can almost smell the faint aroma of the last batch of oranges from our orchard and the earthy smell of freshly dug mud in the field ready to be used for the summer crops.
As I grow older year by year; I realise that folk songs are not just a mean of leisure but are expressions of our cultural belief and practices. They tell stories of our ancestors, bravery, love, people, land, rivers, gods, deities, etc in many different ways. They evoke memories of past and preserve what we experience in the present for the future. They are the evidences of our existence through time that has been preserved and passed on through generations after generations. Folk traditions are the spirit of our culture that keeps our history alive and by celebrating this tradition we ensure its longevity in a hope that the melodies of the folk songs and music continues to inspire many generations to come in the future.
Samnim Lepcha
[1] Mayel Kyong is a mysterious magical village which is believed to be covered with thick clouds and hidden from the world.
[2] Pakki Chyu is a peak near Kanchenjunga as per the oral stories of the Lepchas.
[3] Mendong Chyu is a peak near Kanchenjunga as per the oral stories of the Lepchas.
[4] Kurvok is a species of geese found in the Himalayan regions. They are migratory birds and migrate from north to southern regions during winters and fly back towards the north for summer seasons.
[5] Da-Lho currently known as Deolo is a hill in Kalimpong.