Limbu Folklore: A Collection of Oral Folklore from the Limbu People of Northeast Nepal

Limbu Folklore by Melanie Pappadis is a first hand study of the traditions and culture of one of the many ethnic groups that constitute the Nepal nation. This survey traces the origins and the gradual development of these people within the framework of the greater Nepalese nation.

Working closely with Nepali scholars the author visited and lived with the Limbu people over an extended period. She has enjoyed their hospitality and observed them at work and play. Her study is a candid compilation of their complicated folklore delving deep into their socio-religious activities. Through this study she has been able to discover their history, tradition life-style, eating habits, religious beliefs, social traits and close association with their adopted habitat. It also shows the inner aspects of the life of the Limbu people and how these have remained undisturbed over the years allowing them to maintain their individual identity within the whole gamut of culture that have coagulated into the collage of what we now know as Nepal.

About the Author:

Melanie Pappadis studied with the School for International Training in Nepal in 1993 and completed her Independent Research Project: to collect and translate Limbu oral folklore. She later moved to Cuenca, Ecuador where she spent time teaching English. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she is currently living and teaching in New York City where she obtained her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the New School. She has completed her first novel and is continuing to work on translation projects.