Lalitpur, 13 November 2026: The *Yakthung Samjik Mundhum Dictionary*, a compilation of specialised terms found in the Mundhum, the sacred text and knowledge tradition of the Yakthung (Limbu) people, has been launched.
Former Chancellor of the Nepal Academy and Mundhum scholar Bairagi Kainla unveiled the publication at a ceremony in Lalitpur on Friday. Compiled and written by DB Angbung and Bishnudatta Angbuhang and published by Mundhum Academy, the dictionary includes Limbu, Nepali and English, using the Sirijanga, Devanagari and Roman scripts.
Mundhum is a principal source of Indigenous knowledge among the Yakthung people. It encompasses religious rituals, ceremonial recitations, ancestral experiences, collective memory, knowledge of nature, philosophy of life and cultural practices. The dictionary provides meanings and definitions of specialised vocabulary used in the oral and written knowledge tradition of Yakthung Samjik Mundhum. In particular, it explains the meanings and contexts of both components of paired Mundhum terms used in recitations and ritual practices.
The Yakthung (Limbu) language was recently recognised as a language of official business in Province 1. The authors said that growing work in Limbu songs, music, Palam, Hakpare Samlo, literature and Mundhum writing had highlighted the need for a specialised dictionary. The 420-page publication contains more than 1,500 entries and is priced at NPR 2,000.
Limbu dictionaries covering a broader range of subjects have previously been published. Records indicate that foreign researchers began collecting Limbu vocabulary as early as 1811. In Nepal, native speaker Kajiman Kandangwa compiled a Limbu dictionary in 2010 BS. The *Limbu–Nepali–English Dictionary*, compiled and written by Iman Singh Chemjong, was published in 2018 BS. Published by the Nepal Academy, that dictionary was subsequently revised under Bairagi Kainla’s leadership to include 40,000 words.
Angbung and Angbuhang previously co-authored *Limbu Namkosh*, a research-based dictionary of Limbu names. In a statement, Mundhum Academy said its continuing efforts to study, research and preserve Yakthung language, literature, history, culture and Indigenous knowledge systems aim to sustain historical awareness and cultural continuity among future generations.
