Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe

Te-ongsi Thebe/Sirijunga/Sirijonga
Born	12 December 1704 Tellok, kuchintarTaplejung, Limbuwan (Now Taplejung district, Nepal)
Died	1741 Kalej Khola in Hee-Martam, Kingdom of Sikkim(Now state of Sikkim in India)

Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe was an 18th-century Limbu scholar, educator, historian, linguist, leader, and philosopher of Limbuwan and Sikkim. He was formally known as Sirichongba and even more popularly known as "Sirijonga II."

Sirijunga was born in Tellok kuchintar (Yangwarok area) in Limbuwan in 1704. Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe real name as Rupi haang. The (Haang or Subba) part of the name is a common Limbu term indicating a family of high or royal origin. Sirijunga had accepted his Lepcha nickname by claiming to be the incarnation of a legendary 9th-century historical figure called "Sirijonga haang". It has been widely believed that it was this legendary historical figure who preserved and revived the ancient Limbu script, but many now feel that the Sirijonga haang legend was most likely created by the 18th-century Sirijunga himself, with the intention of making the Limbu and Lepcha people more ready to believe and follow his teachings.

Sirijunga Xin Thebe researched and taught the Limbu script language and religion of the Limbu's in various part of Limbuwan and Sikkim, India. Sirijunga revived the old Limbu script. With the use of his newly revived script, he collected, composed and copied huge amounts of Limbu literature pertaining to history and cultural traditions. He travelled extensively through remote regions, attempting to amass sources of Limbu knowledge and culture. Eventually, he began going from village to village, publicising his findings and establishing centres of Limbu learning. In doing all of this, Sirijunga laid the foundation for a Limbu ethnic revival, and contributed significantly to the resistance against Tibetan Buddhist cultural domination. Sirijunga preached that acquiring broad cultural knowledge and experience was the key to the revival and enrichment of a community. In an attempt to trace the sources of his culture, he at first studied with local Tibetan Buddhist lamas, who at the time were the only means of connecting to a learned tradition in the region.

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