Birth Anniversary of Tye Angsi Sirijunga Singh Thebe
Celebrated on: Dec 12th
Tye Angsi Sirijunga Singh Thebe was an 18th-century Kirat script resurrector, great scholar, educator, historian, linguist, leader, and philosopher. He was born on December 12, 1704 (B.S. 1761 Mangsir 27) from his mother Pudhangma and father Paruhang in Telloktar, one of the villages of Limbuwan (now Sirijunga Rural Municipality, Taplejung), Nepal. He was formally known as Sirichongba and later popularly known as Sirijanga.
He researched and taught Kirat script language and religion, which helped Kirat people to know more about literature, culture, history, and tradition. In doing this, Sirijanga laid the foundation for a Kirat ethnic revival and contributed significantly to the resistance against Tibetan Buddhist cultural domination.
In present-day terms, Sirijanga’s ethnic movement can be said to be one of the Kirat (Limbu) movements through education. Sirijanga’s writing and teachings through the Limbu alphabet (now Kirat script) and literary texts he collected from different monasteries and villages attracted significant numbers of Limbus and Lepchas and led to the start of an ethnic awakening. As a result, he was killed in Martham, Hee-Bermoik in West Sikkim in 1741, tied to a tree, and shot by numerous poisoned arrows by Tibetan Lamas or Bhutia soldiers.
His contribution to spreading Kirat script, Kirat language, Mundhum, and literature are immense. The Postal Services Department, Nepal Philatelic Bureau, Kathmandu, has issued a Postal Ticket in his name in the personalities series. He is always revered and remembered among Kirat Community for his contributions and scarification for Kirat Language, script, literature, and identity.