Research and Development Vol 26 No 4 November 2006: 304–309 Edwin Bernbaum : Themes and Teachings 304

As the highest and most impressive features DC has developed with the US National Park of the landscape, mountains have an unusu- Service innovative educational activities that al power to awaken a sense of the sacred. highlight the spiritual and cultural meanings Their soaring summits, the clouds and thun- of natural features of mountain environ- der that swirl about their peaks, the life-giv- ments in different cultures. The purpose of ing waters that flow from their heights, these the project is to connect a broad range of and other characteristics imbue them with visitors with nature, enrich their experiences, an aura of mystery and sanctity. In that aura, and give them deep-seated, sustainable rea- people of diverse backgrounds, both tradi- sons for conserving the environment. Efforts tional and modern, experience a deeper real- to conserve the environmental integrity and ity that gives meaning and vitality to their cultural diversity associated with sacred lives. Drawing on many of the themes asso- mountains need to involve the many diverse ciated with sacred mountains around the peoples and traditions that revere and care world, The Mountain Institute in Washington for them.

The dimensions of sacredness basis of law and ethics in Western civiliza- tion. The graceful cone of has As sacred expressions of some deeper real- come to represent the quest for beauty ity, mountains have become associated and simplicity that lies at the heart of with the deepest and highest values and Japanese culture. stands aspirations of cultures and traditions out, even in the modern, secular world, as throughout the world. The remote an inspiring symbol of the ultimate. Himalayan peak of Mount Kailas directs The sacredness of mountains is mani- the minds of millions of Hindus and Bud- fested in 3 general ways. Firstly, certain dhists toward the utmost attainments of peaks are singled out by particular cul- their spiritual traditions. tures and traditions as places of sanctity. FIGURE 1 Monastery of St (Figure 1) occupies a special place in the These mountains—the ones traditionally Catherine at the foot of Jebel Bible as the imposing site where Moses known as “sacred mountains”—have well- Musa (Mount Sinai), Egypt. (Photo by Edwin Bernbaum) received the , the established networks of , beliefs, and Development

305 religious practices such as , bolizes for many the highest goal one can meditation, and sacrifice. Primary exam- strive to attain, whether one’s pursuit be ples would be Tai Shan in China, Mount material or spiritual. Because of its impor- Sinai in Egypt, and the San Francisco tance in the West as the ultimate high Peaks in the United States. place, the Tibetan name of Mount Ever- Secondly, mountains that may or may est, Jomolangma, is almost always mis- not be revered frequently contain sacred translated in Western literature as “God- sites and objects such as temples, monas- dess Mother of the World.” In fact, teries, hermitages, stones, springs, and Jomolangma is short for Jomomiy- groves, or are associated with the activities olangsangma, the name of the Tibetan of important holy persons, such as Mount goddess of Mount Everest, one of the Five Koya and Kobo Daishi in . Great Sisters of Long Life and a relatively minor numbers of people, for example, visit pil- deity, invoked for worldly benefits, such as grimage shrines located in mountainous longevity, food, and wealth. regions, such as the Hindu shrine of Center. An extremely widespread Badrinath in the Indian Himalaya. theme is that of the mountain as center— Finally, mountains commonly awaken of the cosmos, the world, or a local in individuals a sense of wonder and awe region. Although some scholars have gone that sets them apart as places imbued with so far as to assert that every sacred peak is evocative beauty and meaning. Many an , a careful analysis shows that tourists, hikers, and climbers today go to this hypothesis does not hold true: the 4 the Sierra Nevada in California, the Alps sacred mountains of the , for exam- in Europe, and other ranges such as ple, determine the perimeter of the land Huang Shan in China for esthetic and within which the Navajo live, not its cen- spiritual inspiration and renewal, often ter. With this caveat, it is true that a large regarding them as expressions of impor- number of mountains in Asia, such as tant values enshrined in works of litera- Kailas in Tibet and Gunung Agung in Bali, ture and art. As the writings of conserva- are patterned on the mythical Mount tionists such as John Muir demonstrate, Meru or Sumeru, which stands as a cosmic such views of mountains helped give rise axis around which the universe is organ- to the environmental movement in the ized in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. As United States and have played a key role a piece of Meru transported there by the in galvanizing public support for the gods, Gunung Agung provides the Bali- preservation of nature. nese with their sense of geographical and People of different cultures experi- psychological orientation—everything on ence the 3 general expressions of sacred- the island exists and finds its place in rela- ness in mountains through the views they tion to the . have of them, such as the mountain as cen- Power. Many sacred mountains are ter of the universe or source of water and revered as places of power, both natural life. These views or themes differentiate and supernatural. In the 19th century, the experience of the sacred and provide a Europeans in New Zealand were starting starting point for developing a framework to buy up parcels of land on Tongariro, for identifying mountain sites and deter- the sacred mountain of the Ngati mining their potential for helping to con- Tuwharetoa. This threatened the mana or serve environmental and cultural diversity. power of the chief and the tribe, which In the course of studying sacred mountains depended on maintaining the integrity of around the world, I have found 10 themes the volcano. In order to keep Tongariro to be particularly widespread. They are whole, a European advisor counseled the briefly described below. Paramount Chief, Horonuku Te Heuheu Tukino IV, to give the mountain to the Themes Crown as a park for the benefit of every- Height. Many people revere mountains as one. He did so in 1887, and Tongariro high places. Mount Everest, in particular, National Park became the first national has assumed the status of a sacred moun- park in New Zealand. It later became a tain in the modern world. Its summit sym- World Heritage site. Edwin Bernbaum

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FIGURE 2 Mount Kailas, Tibet. (Photo by Edwin Bernbaum) Ancestors and the Dead. Another major theme links mountains to the other world as ancestors and abodes of the dead, often involved in origin myths. Mount Koya, the meditation center of Shingon , has one of the most impressive graveyards in Japan. The Maori believe themselves descended from peaks in New Zealand, who came as their ancestors in legendary canoes and were shipwrecked on the shores of the islands. Aoraki or Mount Cook represents one ancestor who waded ashore and froze into the mountain we see today. The peak is the highest in New Zealand because he was carrying his grandson on his shoulders. Identity. Aoraki also illustrates the widespread theme of mountains as sym- bols of cultural and even personal identi- ty. The standard formula for identifying oneself at an intratribal Maori meeting is to begin with one’s tribal mountain, such as Aoraki or Tongariro, and then give Deity or Abode of Deity. The power of one’s lake or river and finally the name of many sacred mountains derives from the one’s chief. in the United presence of deities—in, on, or as the States functions as an icon of the Pacific mountain itself. Indians regard the grace- Northwest, as Mount Fuji does of the ful peak of Nanda Devi, a World Heritage entire country of Japan. site, as the abode of Nanda Devi, the God- Source. Throughout the world people dess of Bliss. A temple at the hill station of look up to mountains as sources of bless- Almora has a well-known image of the ings, such as water, life, fertility, and heal- deity. Native Hawaiians revere Kilauea ing. The Hopi of Arizona invite the Katsi- itself as the body of the volcano goddess na deities to come from the San Francisco . Peaks, bringing with them their rain Temple or Place of Worship. Many tradi- clouds on which the people depend for tions revere sacred peaks as temples or growing corn. Andean curanderos or places of worship. Tibetan Buddhists, for shamans invoke mountain gods, such as example, view Mount Kailas as the pagoda the Apus of Mounts Ausangate and Salcan- palace of Demchog, the One of Supreme tay near Cuzco, for healing and water. Bliss, a tantric deity embodying the ulti- Inspiration, Renewal, and Transforma- mate Buddhist goal of enlightenment tion. In China mountains are regarded as (Figure 2). Mounts Zion and Sinai func- such ideal places for meditation and spiri- tion as places of worship in Judeo-Christ- tual transformation that the Chinese ian traditions, the former providing the expression for embarking on the practice site of the ancient Jewish Temple. of means literally “to enter the Paradise or Garden. is said to mountains.” North American Plains Indi- reside in his on the summit of ans, such as the Lakota and the Crow, seek Kailas. Numerous cultures, both tradition- out high places for vision quests that give al and modern, view mountains as gardens them spiritual power and determine the and paradises— on earth. The course of their lives. Many in the modern Muslim Kirghiz of western China, for world go to mountains such as the Alps example, believe that the snows of Muz- and the Sierra Nevada for artistic inspira- tagh Ata, one of the highest peaks in the tion and spiritual renewal. Pamir, hide an earthly paradise that goes Each of these 10 themes or views back to the time of the Garden of Eden. brings together different ideas, images,

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307 and associations to evoke the experience biological and cultural diversity need such of a deeper reality. For the sake of simplic- an understanding and appreciation to ity, I have illustrated each theme with a gain the local and public support required particular mountain. But in actual prac- to be sustainable over the long term. tice these themes come in clusters linked to each other in complex ways. The more Interpretive and educational materials themes that gather like clouds around a and activities peak, the more associations they bring to One of the first interpretive products bear, making the mountain resonate with TMI’s Sacred Mountains Program devel- increasingly deeper significance. oped with the NPS was an offsite traveling exhibit for Mount Rainier National Park Applications to parks and entitled “Mountain Views” that focuses protected areas attention on the evocative spiritual and cultural dimensions of Mount Rainier, a Drawing on many of the themes associated prominent snow-clad volcano that is with sacred mountains around the world, sacred for 6 local tribes and is also a pow- The Mountain Institute’s (TMI) Sacred erful symbol of place and identity for 3 Mountains Program has been working with million residents of this region of the the US National Park Service (NPS) since United States (Figure 3). Park rangers 1998, developing innovative interpretive who specialize in interpretation take this and educational materials and activities traveling display to fairs, community cen- that highlight the evocative spiritual and ters, conventions, and other venues in the cultural meanings of natural features of Seattle–Tacoma area in an effort to reach mountain environments—ranging from a wider audience and encourage greater peaks and rivers to forests and wildlife—in visitation for the park. American, Native American, Native Hawai- The exhibit has 3 sections: “The ian, and other cultures around the world. Mountain,” “Mount Rainier National The purpose of the project is to connect a Park,” and “Mountains of the World.” Each FIGURE 3 Mount Rainier broad range of visitors with nature, enrich section employs images of people with traveling exhibit. (Photo by their experiences, and give them deep- Edwin Bernbaum) seated, sustainable reasons for conserving the environment. In addition to reaching the general public, the project helps diver- sify the National Park Service’s limited visi- tor base by connecting with the heritages and backgrounds of cultural and ethnic groups who have not visited national parks in high numbers, such as African Ameri- cans and Latinos. With more than 400 million visits a year from around the country and the world, US National Parks provide ideal high visibility, high impact platforms for reaching diverse sectors of the public with messages grounded in spiritual and cultur- al values that motivate enduring conserva- tion, and for reaching other parks and protected areas with models that inspire them to create similar products suited to their particular needs and resources. TMI’s project with National Parks has the potential to enrich the experiences of mil- lions of people and give them a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature and of other cultures. Efforts to conserve Edwin Bernbaum

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evocative quotes by each of them. “The where there is despair, love where there is Mountain” section, for example, has a pic- hate, and dignity where before there was ture of the well-known American conserva- only humiliation.” tionist John Muir with his impressions on A line at the bottom of the exhibit seeing Mount Rainier for the first time, asks viewers to write down their comments and a photograph of tribal elders with a on “What does the Mountain mean to quote on what the mountain, Tacobet, you?” in order to engage the public and means to the Nisqually Tribe. The quotes motivate support for the park and its envi- in the “Mount Rainier National Park” sec- ronment. tion show how “The Mountain,” as Rainier In 1999 the Sacred Mountains Pro- is known in the Pacific Northwest, has gram initiated a collaboration among inspired staff in different divisions of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Park, ranging from interpretation to main- the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, the tenance, to work at Mount Rainier. Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and TMI In an effort to provide multiple per- to develop wayside exhibits that link spectives and connect with the heritages Cherokee traditions and stories to fea- and traditions of African and Asian Ameri- tures of the natural landscape—such as cans in the Pacific Northwest, the left- buzzards, trees, a mountain, and the river hand section, “Mountains of the World,” itself—along the 2 km Oconaluftee River focuses on 3 mountains that stand out as Trail that runs from the Oconaluftee Visi- cultural icons similar to Mount Rainier: tor Center in the Park to the Qualla Mount Kailas in Tibet, Kilimanjaro in Boundary (the tribal lands of the Eastern Africa, and Mount Fuji in Japan. A picture Band of the Cherokee). The waysides are of Kilimanjaro, for example, is accompa- in English and Cherokee and are illustrat- nied by interpretive text on its importance ed with artwork by local Cherokee artists to the Chagga people who live on its selected by the Museum of the Cherokee slopes and a quote by Julius Nyerere, the Indian (Figure 4). first president of the modern state of Tan- As much as possible, the stories related ganyika/Tanzania: “We will light a candle on the signs are in the voices of living FIGURE 4 Design for Oconaluftee wayside exhibit on buzzard creating on top of which will Cherokee elders and storytellers in order mountains and valleys. (Poster courtesy shine beyond our borders, giving hope to ensure authenticity and immediacy. One of National Park Service)

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309 FIGURE 5 Cherokee elder pointing out buzzards on the Oconaluftee River Trail. (Photo by Edwin Bernbaum) wayside, for example, conveys Cherokee views on the sacredness of the mountains and their stewardship of the environment through the words of the Cherokee elder Jerry Wolfe: “The Great Smoky Mountains are a sanctuary for the Cherokee people. We have always believed the mountains and streams provide all that we need for sur- vival. We hold these mountains sacred, believing that the Cherokees were chosen to take care of the mountains as the moun- tains take care of us.” (Figure 5) Since many Cherokees, both adults and school children, walk the trail for exercise, the signs provide an opportunity to pass on their traditions to the younger generation and reinforce the teaching of the Cherokee language in their schools. The project also enables the Eastern Band to reach the wider public through park interpretive materials. Two additional way- sides on Clingman’s Dome, the highest mountain in the Park, tell the Cherokee creation story of the creation of the for a wide variety of people and groups, mountains and valleys and relate Chero- ranging from small to large. Many, such as kee traditions of Clingman’s Dome as a the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona or sacred place of healing and a sanctuary Ausangate in Peru, are important primari- that enabled some of the Cherokees to ly to local communities or indigenous FURTHER READING escape the forced removal to Oklahoma peoples. Others, such as Kailas and Sinai, Bernbaum E. 1997. Sacred Mountains on the Trail of Tears in the first half of the have regional, national, or even interna- of the World. Berkeley, CA: University of 19th century. The Eastern Band and the tional importance. They may be revered California Press. Bernbaum E. 1997. The spiritual and Park organized a major event in 2006, by the people of an entire nation or by a cultural significance of mountains. In: with speeches and ceremonial dances to major religious tradition with adherents Ives J, Messerli B, editors. Mountains celebrate the installation of the waysides. around the world, such as Christianity, of the World. A Global Priority. Oxford, United Kingdom: Parthenon. The project provides an innovative model , and Buddhism. Similarly, care- Dudley N, Higgins-Zogib L, Mansourian with exciting possibilities for inspiring takers and custodians of mountains and S. 2005. Beyond Belief: Linking Faiths similar collaborations and exhibits with mountain sites may be local or they may and Protected Areas to Support Biodi- versity Conservation. Gland, Switzer- other indigenous peoples and protected come from far away or belong to a reli- land and Manchester, United Kingdom: areas in the United States and elsewhere gious order responsible for many different WWF [World Wide Fund for Nature] International and Alliance for in the world. shrines. Efforts to conserve the environ- and Conservation. mental integrity and cultural diversity Kemf E, editor. 1993. The Law of the associated with sacred mountains need to Mother: Protecting Indigenous Peoples Conclusion in Protected Areas. San Francisco, CA: take into account and involve the many Sierra Club Books, WWF [World Wide As the examples above demonstrate, diverse peoples and traditions that revere Fund for Nature] International and sacred mountains have great importance and care for them. IUCN [The World Conservation Union]. Posey D, editor. 1999. Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity. Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme. AUTHOR ent features of mountain environments. He also co-directs a UNESCO [United Nations Educational, project in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan focused on cultural val- Scientific and Cultural Organization]. Edwin Bernbaum ues of nature as a basis for developing conservation activi- 2001. Thematic Expert Meeting on Sacred Mountains Program, The Mountain Institute, ties and sustainable livelihoods, and consults on another TMI Asia–Pacific Sacred Mountains. Final 1846 Capistrano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707, USA. project on sacred sites in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) Report. Paris, France and Tokyo, Japan: [email protected] National Park in Nepal. He is the author of the award-winning World Heritage Centre of the United Edwin Bernbaum, PhD, is Director of the Sacred Moun- book Sacred Mountains of the World—the basis for an Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- tains Program at The Mountain Institute (TMI), where he exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution—and lectures widely to tural Organization and Agency for Cul- works with US National Parks developing interpretive materi- audiences at institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Metro- tural Affairs of Japan, Wakayama Pre- als based on the cultural and spiritual significance of differ- politan Museum of Art, and the National Geographic Society. fectural Government.