Paper short abstract:

The paper takes you to Gumpa Gurpishey in South Sikkim, discusses the legends of a deity rGyal po sku lnga, and the linkage these offer between Tibet and Sikkim (India). It will illustrate how villagers reflect on the presence of this controversial deity, and create their own identity.

Paper long abstract:

This paper invites its listeners to Gumpa Gurpishey, a village in South Sikkim that houses the Nga Dag Monastery and the Kongso lhagang (a place where rituals are carried out) and is steeped in legends of the Bhutia people about a deity named rGyal po sku lnga (King with five heads). This deity was not always a resident there, but migrated, as did the Bhutia people themselves, from Tibet (Samye Monastery) to the (then) Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim.

Theorising upon the concept of supernatural 'liminality' (Turner:1967), I discuss the controversy surrounding the place and the legends as well as its linkage to the relationship between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India. More broadly, I explore how villagers reflect on the presence of rGyal po sku lnga on their soil and the deity's complicity in the murder of Princess Pende Ongmo at the hands of Chogyal Chagdor Namgyal, the third King of Sikkim.

rGyal po sku lnga has always been a part of my life since my relatives have been inflicted by the deity occasionally. However, my interest was triggered when I went back to conduct fieldwork in 2017-2018 and discovered how the villagers propitiate the deity with fear and hostility, emotions that are present in Sikkim's relationship with Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Keyword- Legend, deity, identity, Narratives, Sikkim, Tibet and Politics of belonging.