Kagate

The roots of the Kagate lie among the Yolmo, in the Helambu region of Nepal. According to linguistic studies, the ancestors of Syuba speakers left that area about one or two centuries ago and settled in villages in Ramechhap, where they became known for the craft of handmade paper. Over time, the nickname became a name.

Today there are Kagate communities both in Nepal and on the Indian side of the Himalayas, especially in Sikkim, a territory that went through great political changes in the twentieth century and became a state of India in 1975. As a small minority, they live surrounded by other languages and new influences.

Family and neighbors are the foundation of life among the Kagate. In Sikkim, they live among neighbors of many languages and traditions, which has accustomed them to moving between different worlds without losing their sense of belonging to a people of their own.

The mother tongue, Syuba, is still spoken at home, but it is considered endangered, because young people are drawn to Assamese, Hindi and English, the languages of school and work. Many try to balance loyalty to the traditions of their elders with studies and jobs far from the village. For those growing up in this setting, speaking the language of their parents is also a way of keeping the memory of the people and the name they chose for themselves.

The great majority of the Kagate follow Tibetan Buddhism, a heritage shared with the mountain peoples from whom they came, which shapes their calendar, their values and the way they see life. Faith appears in household rituals and community festivals, and it mixes with elements of shamanic practices, tied above all to the desire for protection from evil spirits.

In common perception, being Kagate and being Buddhist go together, so changing faith tends to be understood as turning away from family and community. There is also a small Christian presence among them, still fragile and barely visible, which deserves to be accompanied with respect, prayer and patience.

The Kagate have had portions of Scripture in their language since the 1970s, and the complete Bible does not yet exist. In recent years, however, the New Testament in Syuba was published, an important milestone for such a small people. There are also recordings and some resources available online, which helps those who live far from the centers and use the mobile phone as their main means of access. Since many young people are educated in other languages, the Word in the language of the heart is especially precious.

For the Kagate, Buddhist faith is intertwined with identity, family and village customs, and following Jesus can sound like abandoning one’s own people. The population is small, and the Christians of their own language are few, which leaves those interested in the gospel with little support from brothers and sisters who speak as they do. The distance between communities and the fact that the message often arrives through outside voices, in other languages, make it even harder for it to be heard with clarity and trust.

Above all, the Kagate need communities of faith of their own, where they can worship and grow in their language, without having to stop being Kagate in order to follow Christ. There is a need for discipleship and for materials and media in Syuba that reach the homes of the villages, as well as opportunities for study and livelihood that do not force young people to abandon the culture of their parents.

They also need friends who come with humility, learn the language and honor their customs, and Christians of their own ethnicity who carry the gospel to their people naturally.

A concrete sign of hope is the recent publication of the New Testament in Syuba, which for the first time puts a large part of Scripture within reach of the Kagate in their own speech. The language is still passed on to children in the villages of Nepal, which keeps alive the bridge between the Word and the heart of the people. These seeds, still small, point to the possibility of a movement that is born from within the people themselves.