Documents on Limbuvān

These documents pertain to the history of the Limbu (autonym Yakthung) indigenous group and their historical territory (Limbuvān/Pallo Kirāta), which encompasses present-day far-eastern Nepal and parts of Sikkim and West Bengal, India. The documents shed light on various issues, including communal land tenure (kipaṭ), conflicts in the eastern Himalayan borderlands, the distribution of political power among Limbu headmen vis-à-vis the premodern Nepalese state, and Limbu social customs and institutions such as marriage and adoption.

DNA_0001_0109: A letter from Subbā Jayanta Khatri writing from Ilamagaḍhī to Kājī Jaspāu Thāpā reporting on the killing of Limbus and Lepchas at the Nepal-Sikkim frontier (VS 1883)

E_2782_0042: A passage from the Mulukī Ain prescribing punishment for a specific violation of sexual relations within a family, except for Limbus and Kirātīs (n.d.)

E_3345_0008: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Rupi Hāṃ and other subbās to acquire and play nagarās (VS 1908)

E_3345_0009: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Subbā Sāhādala to acquire and play the nagarā (VS 1908)

E_3345_0010: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Subbā Jasarūpa and Subbā Jaghavara to obtain and play nagarās (VS 1908)

E_3345_0011: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Subbā Sāiṃmvā and Subbā Asāra Siṃ to obtain and play nagarās (VS 1908)

E_3345_0012: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Subbā Dayākarṇā and Subbā Phuṃhaṃ Jita to acquire and play nagarās (VS 1908)

E_3345_0013: A rukkā from King Surendra authorizing Subbā Dalakarna and Subbā Yunanda to obtain and play nagarās (VS 1908)

E_3420_0003: A copy of a deed from General Bhīmsena Thāpā to Mukunda Siṃ Rāī confirming his ownership of land and a house in Phedāp (VS 1881)

E_3420_0007: A copy of a letter from General Bhīmasena Thāpā ordering Mukunda Siṃ Rāī to repair and play an inherited nagarā (VS 1885)

E_3420_0008: A copy of a patra from Devāna Vaṃdhu Rānā and Sardāra Pratimana Rānā to Maṃjita Rāī appointing him as subbā of Phedāp (VS 1837)

E_3420_0013: A copy of a rukkā issued by King Rājendra reconfirming the appointments of officials at Pāñca Khapana in Limbuvān and instructing them to pay the salāmī levies and take possession of their properties (VS 1878)

E_3420_0016: A copy of a rukkā issued by King Rājendra announcing a ten-year ban on land surveys in Pallo Kirāta (VS 1891)