Solyop Lepcha and Ongchoo Lepcha
Muth RuumFaat: "Fading Gendered Ritual"
Lepcha community
Dzongu, North Sikkim, India
Solyop Lepcha and Ongchoo Lepcha, natives of the Lepcha community in Dzongu, North Sikkim, will carry out this project in the villages of Leven, Lingthem, Pentong, and Lingdong. The project aims to document the rituals and knowledge held by hunters in the Muntanchi community. One of these, the hunting ritual Muth RuumFaat, is held once a year and is largely gendered, as women are not allowed to attend. With hunting no longer a necessity, the ritual is gradually falling out of practice.