The Priest Leading His People From Grief Toward Acceptance

In Rasuwa’s Thulo Bharkhu and Sano Bharkhu settlements, Singi Nurpu Lama appears to be the calmest man. Behind that composure, however, the 83-year-old chief priest is coming to terms with the possibility that his son and two daughters-in-law will never return after last week’s floods.

At his home on Wednesday, three photographs stood in front of him, draped in white shawls. Butter lamps and incense burned before the images, alongside food offerings for the missing. Lama had not contacted his eldest son, Chhelewangdi Tamang, or his daughters-in-law, Chhengku Tamang and Pratima Lama, for more than a week.

“It was not an easy job to accept that our missing family members are no more,” Lama told Kantipur. “But how long could we wait?”

Rasuwa ranks among the districts hardest hit by the floods. Thulo Bharkhu and Sano Bharkhu sit hundreds of metres above the riverbed, but together they lost 33 residents, including 22 from Thulo Bharkhu and 11 from Sano Bharkhu. The residents had traveled to riverside settlements such as Syaphrubesi and Timure to earn a living. The cascading disaster wiped out those settlements.

Lama is the chief Buddhist priest for both villages. After performing funeral rites for his three family members, he still could not remain at home to grieve. Buddhist tradition calls for funeral rites on the seventh day after death, and Lama has had to visit house after house to serve other families who lost relatives. He now schedules visits across the two settlements, helping residents confront the bitter possibility that the missing are dead.

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It was not an easy job to accept that our missing family members are no more. But how long could we wait?