Change in Rituals Among the Limbu Community: A Case Study of Jorpati VDC, Kathmandu

Abstract

Limbus are the migrant ethnic group in the Kathmandu valley. They have been migrated at different parts of Kathmandu from the time immemorial. Among the various parts of Kathmandu, Jorpati VDC is one of them. After their migration into this study area, they have been practicing their life cycle ceremonies according to Limbu Mundhums. During the performance of birth, marriage and death rituals, they have used symbols with their specific meanings which have been identified in this study. After their migration, there has been found some changes in the forms of rituals due to various process of cultural changes such as modernization, acculturation, urbanization, sanskritization and also due to the various changing factors such as ecological factor, technological factor, demographic factor, economic factor, political factor and other factors such as issue of ethnic identity. Hence, all these causes and factors are described in this study to know about the changing forms of rituals practiced by the migrant Limbus residing in Jorpati VDC, Kathmandu.