Kinthup

Who is Kinthup?

Kinthup, a Lepcha man from Sikkim, was an explorer in the area of Tibet in the 1880s. He is best known for his impressive devotion to duty in surveying a previously unknown area of Tibet.

In the 1870s, the destination of the Tsangpo River was unknown. Some hypothesized that it was the same river that flowed into the Bay of Bengal under the name of Brahmaputra? To solve this mystery, the colonial government of India sent a pundit explorer, known only as "G. M. N." to follow the Tsangpo and determine its ultimate destination. G. M. N. was accompanied by his assistant, a Sikkimese lepcha named Kinthup. After surveying a good portion of the river, the pair returned to India. In 1880, a Chinese Lama was employed to continue G. M. N.'s work, and Kinthup was again hired to accompany him. However, in May 1881, this Lama sold Kinthup as a slave to another Tibetan lama. All of Kinthup's surveying equipment and notebooks were taken from him, and he served as a slave until March 1882, when Kinthup finally managed to escape. He traveled east along the Tsangpo, and sought sanctuary in a Buddhist monastery, where he was welcomed by the head lama.