For years, the question that loomed in Jhuma Limbu’s mind was ‘What is Nepali music?’ She first began wrestling with the question when she started pursuing a professional singing career almost 21 years ago. After she started studying music under teachers like Chandan Kumar Shrestha, Amber Gurung, and Victoria Onusrieva, Limbu says she realised the importance of finding the answer to the question.

Today, the 39-year-old singer, who specialises in eastern classical music, believes that she is closer than ever to answering the question.

“I came to realise that to bring my own music to the world, I first need to understand myself, my roots, my language, my community's musical tradition, and how our society’s evolution has contributed to our music. After spending many years trying to understand these aspects, I think I have finally reached a place where I can finally work on Nepali music," said Jhuma Limbu, on a recent afternoon in Jhamsikhel. “It took me a long time, but I am happy that I am now making music that matters to me. For me, it's enough if I can bring a piece of music that I can appreciate myself and tell history with.”

In Nepal's music scene, Limbu is recognised for her pursuance of folk-ethnic music and her interest in the intergenerational transfer of local ethnic music. Many from the mainstream Nepali music industry know Limbu for her musical performances with the great Amber Gurung. She is also one of the advisors of Echoes in the Valley, a music festival.

For many interested in Nepal's indigenous cultures and their folk music, Limbu’s ongoing effort to bring raithane (folk-ethnic fusion) music from Nepali communities has struck a chord.

Her most recent album, ‘Khaasaam’ (‘Sounds of Mundhum’), brings together Limbu Vedic chants that depict the story of human genesis as believed in Mundhum, and Limbu singing traditions such as ‘Hakparay’, ‘Khyali’, and ‘Paalaam’. The album's tracks are hauntingly beautiful music, and even those who don't understand the Limbu language will want to understand the stories of the songs.

Hark Saud, a lyricist who is also currently one of the juries of 'Sare Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs Nepal', sees Limbu as one of the people at the forefront of re-igniting the conversation around the role of indigenous Nepali music in the country’s evolving music scene. “She is fully invested in unearthing Nepali raithane music from different communities of our country. She is an eminent singer of our time who is taking the conversation on folk-ethnic music forward,” said Saud.

A year ago, Limbu and her collective, Raithane Music, introduced for the first time dhela—a base percussion instrument made from the khamaree tree. The instrument is a fusion of the traditional damaha instrument used in the Panche Baja and the Thulung community’s ritual baja dhela. The instrument’s name was inspired by the Thulung community’s sacred baja. According to Limbu, dhela provides base octaves, which is largely missing in the foundation of Nepali music.

“For music to be complete, we need three distinct octaves: base, mid, and treble. Electric guitar, chello, viola, and piano are some modern musical instruments musicians rely on for base octaves. But when it comes to traditional Nepali musical instruments, we lack such instruments. Our instruments like damaha, which produce base sounds, have already been patented by India," said Limbu. "So a year ago, I started exploring Far West Nepal to research on various indigenous Nepali musical instruments, and in Illam, we found the right tree to make dhela and started working on manufacturing the instrument."

Since then, Limbu has used dhela in her live shows, and many have appreciated her team’s initiative to bring a sound original to Nepali music.

Limbu grew up in Taplejung, and by the time she was in secondary school, she was already a known singer in her hometown.

“Singing has always been my passion, and when I decided to pursue singing as a profession, I didn't feel the need to seek anyone's permission. I have always been independent that way, and at that age, I was unstoppable,” said Limbu, remembering her younger self.

To hone her craft, Limbu started by learning from different music teachers. "For the first few years, I was more interested in mainstream modern music," she said. But her musical priorities began shifting when she got introduced to ethnomusicology in her college. And when she began working with composer, singer, and lyricist Amber Gurung and ethnographic music researcher Victoria Onusrieva, Limbu says that she started seeing music on a broader spectrum.

“I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from Amber Gurung and Victoria Onusrieva. The two left a profound impact on my musical journey,” said a smiling Limbu. “While Amber Gurung would urge me to read about music and listen to albums from different genres, it was Victoria who taught me to think about my musical heritage and to see it as a knowledge that could define our music. The two made me realise the importance of exploring my origins to take my music forward. My aim now is to bring to the forefront Nepal's raithane music and give them global recognition."

Limbu has spent the last few years focusing on the music of the Limbu tribes from Nepal’s Far West, and she is now working towards finding and understanding the music of other communities in the country.

“Nepal’s diverse communities have their distinct musical heritage, and the world is yet to know about them,” she said.

Prabhakar Gautam, a journalist at Setopati and a member of Raithane Music, believes Limbu’s inclination to finding her origin could have also been shaped by the culture and ethnic identity conversations that took to the forefront in the late 1990s. “Writers like Rajan Mukarung, Upendra Subba, Hangyug Agyat, and filmmakers like Nabin Subba were working to bring the culture, philosophy and lifestyle of Rai, Limbu and other janajatis to the mainstream media,” said Gautam in a phone interview with the Post. “And Jhuma didi was asking the same questions but from a musical perspective.”

By 2005, Jhuma Limbu was already researching ethnic-folk Nepali music traditions to incorporate them into her music.

“When I started going back to understanding my community, I found myself with much more material for my music, and the process became more meaningful. You see, good music doesn’t just come from the heart. It comes from the effort you put into your craft, and this is something I have learned from my journey,” she said.

Her years of involvement in researching folk-ethnic Nepali music has also shaped her musical leanings. There’s now a palpable difference between the music she is pursuing and the music she was into as an aspiring singer. It’s like seeing Limbu come to terms with her cultural identity and her musical destiny.

A decade ago, in her bid to preserve ethnic-folk music and to give continuity to the transfer of traditional music from one generation to another, she came up with the idea of her musical collective ‘Raithane Music’. But it was only in 2017 that she was able to find the right people to set up the collective. Since then, the group has collected, researched, and promoted Nepal’s folk music on different platforms.

“Between 2013 and 2014, I almost gave up on the idea of the collective because I just couldn’t find the right people for the project. Those who knew the language didn’t have the musical knowledge, and those who knew how to sing didn’t know the language or understood the communities I wanted to work with. But now we have a big team of about 18 people of researchers, musicians and writers,” said Limbu. “The journey is getting more and more interesting.”

When asked if a homogenised Nepal threatens a musical endeavour that celebrates and highlights the musical history of the country's diverse communities, Limbu seemed unruffled. “The language of music is universal, and you don’t necessarily have to understand a language to understand and enjoy music. Music is tactile that way. It touches you with just its texture and nuances,” she said.

“But music plays a unique role in preserving cultures and traditions. It has the power to encapsulate everything. And I also believe that our languages and traditions will continue in the future, like a river flowing in time,” assured Limbu.

These days, Limbu is preparing for a live recording of ‘Samsogha Mundhum’, a piece of Limbu ritual music sung outdoors. Shamans have traditionally sung the song to ward off evil spirits and talk about human civilisation and its strength.

With more ethnographic initiatives being picked up in the music scene and the increasing number of youngsters showing interest in understanding their roots, Limbu says she is hopeful about the future of ethnic Nepali music.

“I believe that in the coming years, we will have a more substantial collection of music to show to the world the diversity of Nepali music,” said Limbu, her eyes glistening with excitement. “I just feel like things are heating up right now. With my team coming together and the young artists eager to understand their identities like I once did, I feel assured about where our music is now heading. And I just wish this enthusiasm is followed by more interest and support from the general public and government entities.”