Religious Symbolism in Limbu Death-By-Violence

Abstract

This article analyzes a special death ritual performed for people who die by violence or accident in eastern Nepal among a Tibeto-Burman speaking tribal group, the Limbu. Such unusual deaths are contrasted to “normal” deaths of old age or disease and given a different symbolic treatment in Limbu myth and ritual. The symbolism of “chaos vs. order” permeates the death ritual. The author feels that the ritual is one way that the Limbu bring meaning to unexpected and absurd situations of death. The Limbu shaman who conducts the ritual plays an important role in the area of the drama.