Ethnography of Tin Chula (three stoned hearth) System: An Indigenous Cultural Heritage of Bantawa Rai Clan

Abstract

This paper investigates the essence of Tin Chula system (three stoned hearth), the indigenous cultural heritage of classical Bantawa Rai clan as an epitome of living existence. The Tin Chula is the central point from which whole aspects of Bantawa Rai‟s socio-cultural phenomena exist. The Tin Chula and its Mundum (also Mundhum- is oral tradition of ritual performance with the power of indigenous knowledge) are valuable indigenous knowledge aspired by indigenous education system in Bantawa Rai clan. The prolonged and in-depth involvement with my participants in this research journey provided me with cultural construct of Tin Chula and Mundumic indigeneity. The open narrative interviews and participant observations provided me a space to use ethnographic method on this research journey to investigate into the cultural heritage of Tin Chula system as an indigenous education. The Mangpa or Nachhung, (a shaman) as the priest is the head ritual performer who by connecting him/herself with the spirit of ancestors does healing functions, making prophecies, finding resolutions of spiritual difficulties or problems of the households. Tin Chula in the classical Rai Bantawa is the heart of all the ritualistic performances an indigenous educational and cultural process and system. It is spiritually linked with the deities and ancestors like; Parohang and Sumnima, and naturally deceased souls including great grandfather and mothers to brothers and sisters.