Nakchhong (नाक्छोङ) are the

Shamanic Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spiri ...

tribal priest of Khambu Rai people an ethnic group that is predominantly located in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

and

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

Nakchhong is the main priest of the

Sakela Sakela (also Sakewa or Sakenwa) () is one of the main festivals of the Khambu (Rai people), an ethnic group indigenous to Eastern Nepal and the Sikkim, Kalimpong, and Darjeeling regions of India. Sakela is celebrated twice a year and is distin ...

shrine; during

Udhauli Udhauli () is a festival of the Kirat communities of Kirati people specially celebrated by Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha, Khambu Rai etc. of Nepal, India and other different countries around the world where these indigenous people (Kirati People) res ...

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Ubhauli Ubhauli () is festival of the Kirat communities of Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha and Rai of Nepal, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, sevent ...

. They are self-learned, self-realized and do not have a teacher. During the unavailability of Nakchhongs, others can be chosen to perform the ritual worship at the Sakela altar. It seems that before worshiping Sakela (Bhumidev), four types of Mang(deities) are being worshiped by Nakchhong in a regular manner. Only after worshiping the said mang (deities) according to the law, it is believed that the Sakela Nakchhong will get the power to worship Suptulung (three stone altar), Sikari devta (hunter deity) Nagangeni (snake deities), Simebhume, and Retkamang (eight ancestral spirits) are also worshiped asking for power. After all the work is done, Sakela Nakchhong will give the sound of drums from his house and inform about the beginning of Sakela. Before going to Sakela worship Nakchhong firstly worship ”Suptulung” (three stone altar of the house) and ask for strength. Nakchhong Rai Priest

Nakchhongs in Khambu Rai community are bridges connecting living with ancestors and spirits. He adorns himself with porcupine quills and peacock feathers. It is believed that knowledge is passed to a ‘nakchong’ in his dreams. When he wakes up, he has all the skills and powers of a shaman. *Nakchhong frequently work with the following materials: * अदुवा (Kirat culture)

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

Pokhemma Pokhemma is a type of food used by Kirat as an offering for their ancestors. It is simply boiled beans, served strictly without salt. See also * List of Nepalese dishes Nepali cuisine, Nepali/Nepalese cuisine refers to the food eaten in Nepal. ...

* Tupla (cut pieces of the front part of a banana leaf) *Chindo: Gourd filled with Jand (millet beer)

References

{{reflist Religion in Nepal