Jhuma Limbu to preserve Yakthung Indigenous Knowledge

Hi,

My name is Rosie Rai, a student of Indigenous Education, and a friend of Jhuma Limbu. I am assisting Jhuma to raise funds to document her journey to Phaktanglung, which is considered as a holy mountain for the Yakthung people as well as the Sherpa people of the region.

Jhuma Limbu is an indigenous artist from Yakthung community who has an illustrious body of work in Nepali music field. She has trained in classical and western music traditions and has spent last decade researching the folk music of Nepal, particularly of the eastern region.

With over 32 awards under her belt and 200 completed projects with various national and international artists, she believes that Nepal can woo the rest of the world with it's music. She has worked tirelessly to represent Nepal on global platform and his to preserve and transfer the knowledge of Nepali folk music, specially focused on her own Yakthung community to the new generation and the world.

Her last album 'Sounds of Mundhum - a musical documentary' portrays a ritual of the animist Limbu community. This fundraiser is to support her next project, a journey to Phaktanglung, which is another step towards documenting and preserving the Yakthung cosmology and indigenous knowledge.

Phaktanglung holds an important place in Yakthung Mundhum. According to Yakthung Mundhum, it is a sacred space where the first woman, Mujingna Kheyangna, is believed to have appeared and roamed. It is also believed that all souls when they leave their physical body, comes to rest at the foot of the Phaktanglung.

The journey from Kathmandu to Phaktanglung and back is expected to take approximately 3 weeks to complete, out of which 5 days will be journey on foot through a harsh mountain terrain. The team will include Jhuma Limbu, 2 cameraman, 2 porters, 1 Yakthung Mundhum expert and 1 Phedangma/ Yeba ( Shaman/ Spiritual guide).

The aim of this project is create a documentary that captures the journey through various important sacred spaces of Yakthung people while remembering and narrating the importance of these spaces based on Yakthung Mundhum. Currently, we are expecting to release the documentary towards the beginning of year 2025. The journey to Phaktanglung will being in 2 weeks before the snow comes in.

Jhuma has tried to complete her journey twice before but had to return back due to various reasons, one of them being unexpected weather challenges. We hope to complete the journey this time with your support for proper gears, funds to support the team as well as the Yakthung elder and spiritual guides we will be taking along with us.

The reason I am supporting her journey is because there has been coverage of Phaktanglung by others, but I believe that a story told by member of the Yakthung community through their lived experiences will bring an honest and clear understanding of importance of the subject matter.

We appreciate your support at any capacity.

Thank you/Nogen

Rosie Rai

On behalf of Jhuma Limbu