First-Born Son

Lepcha ancestral figure, classed as mortal. The transcription is unstable across sources: in Morris's account Tashe-thing is the first-born son of the primordial couple (Itpumu and Kumsiting) and the brother of Nazongnyu; elsewhere 'Tashe-tong' names a male creator-principle paired with Itbu-moo. Captured here as the attested first-born/ancestral son tradition.

Domains

• ancestry

Relations

• descendant of: Mother-CreatorIn Morris's account Tashe-thing is the first-born son of the primordial couple descended from the creatress; recorded as descent rather than parentage to respect his mortal type.Morris, Living with Lepchas (1938) (secondary)

Sources

• Tashe-thing is an early Lepcha ancestral figure, in some recensions the first-born son of the primordial pair and brother of Nazongnyu, settling at Mayel Lyang at the foot of Kanchenjunga.: 'Mythology and Origin Stories of the Lepchas', Sikkim PSC notes, accessed June 2026 (citing John Morris) (secondary); Gorer, Geoffrey. 'Himalayan Village: An Account of the Lepchas of Sikkim' (1938) (academic)
• Lepcha naming of the primordial humans varies across ethnographers: 'Tashe-thing' / 'Tukbothing' is used both as an alternate name for the first man and as the name of his son, reflecting differing informant traditions.: 'Mythology and Origin Stories of the Lepchas', Sikkim PSC notes: 'various names ... Foodongthing or Tukbothing or Tashay Thing for the man' (secondary)