Preserving Rong Identity: Oral Literature as Resistance to Cultural Erosion Manuscript

Abstract The Rong community inhabiting Sikkim and the Eastern Himalayas possesses a rich oral literature in the form of myths, legends, chants, songs, and ceremonial discourses. This literature has been passed down through generations in the oral tradition, embedding ancestral knowledge, spiritual beliefs, and ecological wisdom. This paper aims to demonstrate how the oral literature of Rong, or the Lepcha tribe, helps preserve cultural identity in the face of modernity, migration, and the threat to the language’s survival. The article, based on qualitative research, employs participant observation, interviews, video and audio recordings, thematic analysis, and comparison of oral and written literature when available. The discussion revolves around the motifs of sacred landscape, ancestral roots, survival, spirit mediumship, and harmonious co-existence with nature. The paper pays special attention to the creation and flood myths, the role of sacred mountains Kanchenjunga and Tendong, the significance of Mun and Bongthing, Rongring in oral literature, and the interplay between oral and written traditions in the preservation of cultural knowledge. The article also considers the adaptive capacity of oral literature in the context of migration and changing socio-cultural norms and explores the theme of oral literature as a cultural shield. It concludes with a discussion of the research’s findings and their implications for further study.