Material culture is an important aspect of the belief system and the identity of many ethnic communities is based on it to this day. Material culture in its tangible or intangible form speaks volumes about the community, the environment, the past as well as the present, and also about the changes that have occurred along with the passage of time. As a part of intangible material culture, folklore establishes a baseline for the cultural practices and the significance of materials used in those practices. For many communities, their folklore is not merely imaginative stories but a foundation of their belief system. The belief system of any community is unique in its own nature where life and death are perceived in different ways. Death, an inevitable truth of life, is perceived in many forms; for some, it may be an end while for others, an unknown journey. In order to pay final tribute to the dead, different death rites are performed and the materials used in these death rites such as funeral pyre, bamboo strips with knots, the river, etc. hold specific significance. Among the Lepchas, one of the ethnic communities of the Himalayan region, their exclusive traditional belief system is reflected in their material culture. Their traditional belief system and knowledge have been passed down orally and still resonate among the community and beyond through their folklore. The essence of the oral tradition is deeply rooted so much so that everything from the origin of their existence till the end of life is embodied and explained in their folklore. This paper shares the narrative of materials associated with mortality and death rituals among the Lepchas through their folklores and also reflects the idea of how folklore substantiates the significant practice of material culture among the Lepchas.
