First Man
Lepcha · mortal · primordial / first generation of humans · Recorded classification
Lepcha first man, classed as mortal (the primordial human ancestor, child of the creatress). Sometimes called Tukbothing. In John Morris's account the first pair (Itpumu/Kumsiting) are themselves born of the two peaks of Kanchenjunga and beget Tashe-thing and Nazongnyu — naming varies by informant and ethnographer; the dominant Siiger/Gorer line makes Fodongthing the snow-formed first man.
Parentage
- parent: Mother-Creator
Domains
- ancestry
Relations
- sibling: First ShamanFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Mother-Creator) per the figures' cited genealogy.
- sibling: First WomanFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Mother-Creator) per the figures' cited genealogy.
Sources
- Fodongthing is the first man of Lepcha myth, shaped by the creatress Itbu-moo from the pure snow of Mount Kanchenjunga; with the first woman Nazongnyu he is progenitor of the Lepcha race.: 'Lepchas', Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of World Cultures), accessed June 2026 (reference); Siiger, Halfdan. 'The Lepchas: Culture and Religion of a Himalayan People' (1967) (academic)
- Fodongthing and Nazongnyu were created as brother and sister and forbidden physical union; their transgression and its consequences are a central Lepcha origin narrative.: Mythology and Origin Stories of the Lepchas (Sikkim PSC notes): 'God deemed them brother and sister and forbid them from enjoying physical relations' (secondary)