Sky Father

Kirati (Rai) primordial sky-father, classed as deity (cosmogonic creator/ancestor; the 'hang' element = lord/king). Half of the Rai primordial pair with Sumnima; he descends from heaven, unites with Sumnima, and animates the first man. The figure is documented in Martin Gaenszle's ethnographies of the Mewahang Rai Mundhum.

Children

• Hetchhakuppa, Founder of the Agricultural Age

Domains

• sky
• creation

Powers

• breathe life into the first man

Relations

• spouse: Earth Mother
• syncretism: Shiva

Sources

• 'Rai people', Wikipedia, accessed June 2026
• 'The Spiritual and Cultural Legacy of the Kiratis', thewondernepal.com, accessed June 2026
• Gaenszle, Martin. 'Origins and Migrations: Kinship, Mythology and Ethnic Identity among the Mewahang Rai of East Nepal' (2000)
• Gaenszle, Martin. 'Ancestral Voices: Oral Ritual Texts and their Social Contexts among the Mewahang Rai of East Nepal' (2002)