Risley, Herbert H.; Crooke, William [Editor]: The people of India: being an attempt to trace the progress of the national mind in its various aspects, as reflected in the nation’s literature from the earliest times to the present day ; with copious extracts from the best writers (Calcutta [u.a.], 1915)

PLATE XXXI.

From a Photograph by Messrs. Johnston and
Hoffmann, Calcutta.

A LEPCHA FROM SIKKIM : MONGOLOID TYPE.

The Lepchas are a Mongolian tribe, found in Sikkim,
western Bhutan, eastern Nepal, and Darjiling. They
are short in stature, of fair complexion, and their features
are markedly Mongolian. The total absence of beard
and the fashion of parting the hair along the crown of
the head add to a somewhat feminine expression of
countenance in the men, and the use of a jacket like a
loose bed-gown, with wide sleeves, contributes still more
to the difficulty of distinguishing the sexes, especially
in middle age. Their dirty habits render them un-
pleasant inmates of a close dwelling, but in the rainy
season, when they move about and are frequently wet,
they become partially clean. They are remarkably
honest, and seldom quarrel among themselves. When
they are ill-treated, they escape to the jungle and live
on yams and other fnnutritious vegetables. They are
" nominally Buddhists. They have no caste prejudices
about food, but in Nepal they are obliged to conform
to the law prohibiting the slaughter of cattle. Pork is
their favourite dish, but they will eat carrion, the flesh
of a dead elephant being specially prized.