The Lepchas are the original inhabitants of Sikkim. The recorded knowledge of the social and domestic life of these shy and retiring Himalayan people is scanty. They are concentrated in the Dzongu Reserve of north-central Sikkim. Their age-old ethos of egalitarianism, good-citizenship and lack of aggressiveness combined with rich traditions and knowledge systems make them a fascinating subject of research. This book is a portrayal of Lepcha society in transition as a result of modern influences. The present study analyses the impact of modernity on the traditional society of the Lepchas and the impending threat of loss of oral knowledge, of the socio-cultural patterns and traditional knowledge systems. Their traditional wealth of knowledge in medicine and weather forecasting, hitherto unrecorded, has also been documented. An attempt has been made to give greater voice to the Lepcha individual and to step away somewhat from the anthropological trend of studying societies where the individual is often ignored.