Nahangma is a martial deity of the Limbu, imagined enthroned on the mountain heights in the manner of Himalayan war-gods. In the Nahangma rite the shaman calls upon her so that the household head's soul may 'rise' (sam phungma) and his warrior dignity and political legitimacy be renewed; he receives arms identical to hers. In the oral tradition she and the grandmother-mother Yuma are figured as standing antagonists, a polarity of martial and nurturing power.
Domains
war and warrior prowess
life force of the household head
Powers
to raise the warrior life-force of the household head
to grant prowess and victory in war
Sources
Philippe Sagant, The Dozing Shaman: The Limbus of Eastern Nepal (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996)
Iman Singh Chemjong, History and Culture of the Kirat People, Parts I–II (Kathmandu: Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, 4th ed. 2003 [1967])