Himalaya Region

Himalaya Region The Himalayas span a vast geography that and western Nepal are Hindu. Small communi- includes regions within the present-day countries ties of Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians of Afghanistan, → Pakistan, India, China, → Nepal, do exist in these areas, but they are vastly out- and Bhutan. The highest snow peaks are mostly numbered by Hindus. For instance, the town of situated along the southern border of Tibet, Dharamshala in Himachal is the present-day seat though some run through → Kashmir. These snow of the Tibetan government in exile and therefore peaks demarcate the northernmost extent of has a large Tibetan Buddhist population. How- purely Hindu cultural practice. Beyond them, in ever, Buddhist populations in regions nearby are Tibet and in parts of Kashmir and Himachal, extremely limited. Much farther to the east, in Tibetan Buddhist practices predominate. In this central and eastern Nepal, Buddhist populations way, Hindu populations are largely limited to the are again significant, although the majority popu- southern fringe of the Himalayas as located in the lation is still Hindu. To the east of Nepal, the countries of India and Nepal. region of Sikkim, which is in present-day India, Distinctions between Hinduism and Buddhism, in many ways reflects the Nepali situation, with a however, are not easily made. In particular, a majority Hindu population mixed with Buddhist. blend of Buddhism and Hinduism (particularly Still farther to the east, the country of Bhutan is Śaiva traditions) is practiced by many Nepalese, largely Tibetan Buddhist, and beyond that, the particularly the Newari population, and this is Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh presents a dif- often referred to as Naipāladharma (religion). In ferent demography. As S. Blackburn (2007, 422) as much as Naipāla dharma specifically, and states, approximately 20% of the population is tantric practices (→ Tantrism) generally, are asso- Christian, and the rest of the population is either ciated with both Hindu and Buddhist practices as Buddhist or animist. Buddhists in the west are exemplified by Naipāla dharma, Buddhist prac- nominally Tibetan Buddhist, while those in the tices must be acknowledged within any discus- east are Burmese influenced. sion of Hinduism. Nonetheless, consideration of For Hindu residents of the Himalayas, geogra- Buddhist practices, which are strictly Tibetan, phy is critical to numerous beliefs and ritual prac- remain outside the scope of this article (see also tices. Many mountains and rivers have sacred → Hinduism and Buddhism). significance, and temples dedicated to local A useful overview of the Himalayas may be deities are an essential part of each village’s geog- gained by considering the geography and popula- raphy. From the perspective of pan-Hindu traditions of subregions beginning in Kashmir and tions and beliefs, the region is a place of moving eastward. The population of western – or pilgrimage, not only for today’s people, but also Pakistan-controlled – Kashmir is almost exclu- for deities and characters from the great epics. sively Muslim. The indigenous population of The river→ Gangā̇ derives its sanctity largely Ladakh, which is in India-controlled Kashmir, because it is believed to emerge from → Śiva’s hair. practices Tibetan Buddhism. Similarly, northern Śiva and many other deities reside in the moun- areas of Himachal Pradesh, while sparsely popu- tains. Even in other parts of India, “the quality of lated, are also largely Buddhist. Moving south- sanctity of the Ganga and of the Himalaya seems ward across the highest snow peaks, however, the to have been transferred in part to other rivers demography changes. The majority of people liv- and other mountains respectively” (Bhardwaj, ing in the Srinagar Valley and the surrounding 1973, 86). hills are Muslim. However, a significant Hindu This article examines not only the unique prac- population also lives in India-controlled Kashmir, tices of Hindus in the Himalayas, but also the particularly in the southeastern area. By contrast, region’s symbolic significance for Hindus else- the majority of people who live in the lower where in the world. The article presents a broad Himalayan regions of Himachal, Uttarakhand, overview of local practice and situates this within © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 BEH, vol. I Also available online – www.brill.nl 74 Himalaya Region the unique geography of the Himalayas as well as central Nepal, a person’s Khasa identity may still within broader Hindu practices and beliefs. be known and is still sometimes used as a label. More-detailed information on the specific subre- This fact continues to add a subtle dynamic to gions of Kashmir and Nepal can be found else- caste hierarchy in the region. where in this volume. The dominant caste groups in the Himalayas are the land-owning Ksatriyas,̣ whether of plains heritage or Khasa heritage. Brahmans are fewer Aspects of Village-Level Caste in number but of course higher in caste status. As Structure C. Tingey (1994, 88) states, Caste structure among the rural population of The caste system of the Indo-Nepalese Hindus Hindus in the Himalayas has some significant dif- absorbed all the ethnic groups as the middle rungs of the social ladder [Ksatriya],̣ so that ferences to that of the plains. In as much as such even when interacting with non-Hindus the caste designations influence ritual action and reli- status of the Indo-Nepalese occupational castes gious practice, they are important to a discussion [Śilpkār] is still depressed. of religion in the region. Though demographic generalizations always run the risk of excluding In this sense, caste structure in the Himalayas specific subregional variation, the overview pro- might best be viewed as being dominated by the vided here is useful to illustrate how the rural majority population of land-owning Ksatriyas,̣ population of the Himalayas is different from who maintain a patronage relationship with high- other rural areas of the subcontinent. caste Brahman priests on the one hand and There are many cultural groups in the Himala- low-caste service groups – such as carpenters, yas who trace their heritage to various periods builders, artisans, blacksmiths, tailors, and musi- and patterns of migration. Some of these are asso- cians – on the other. Largely absent from rural ciated with different kingdoms that held power locations are the merchant caste groups – the over parts of the region at different times. Any Vaiśya varṇa – of other parts of the Hindu world. modern-day vision of caste that tries to fit the The situation in larger towns and cities is quite population into the four varṇas (→ caste) of Vedic different. The presence of a number of ethnically Hinduism runs the risk of ignoring these histori- distinct groups in the Nepalese Himalayas, cal, political, and cultural dynamics of the region. including people such as the Newaris, Sherpas, Nonetheless, ideas of caste structure as under- Gurungs, Bhotias, and others, adds complexity to stood by Hindus from the plains are influential. the situation. Immigrant groups largely from the Ksatriyạ Nonetheless, in a tripartite view of Himalayan varṇa, who moved into the region from India caste groups, the ritual well-being of the domi- over a period of centuries beginning possibly as nant middle caste (Ksatriya/Rajput)̣ is maintained early as the 12th century CE, became dominant by high-caste priests as well as some low-caste and began to assimilate earlier residents into caste ritual specialists like shamans and musicians. categories defined by wider Hinduism. For While low-caste musicians clearly have a depressed instance, the Khasa dynasty, whose center of status in society, they undertake crucial ritual power was in Jumla in western Nepal, controlled functions at specific events like weddings, deity all of western/central Nepal, Uttarakhand, and → processions, and particular festivities associated parts of Himachal from about 1000 CE until with village deities. about 1400 CE. Over time, as Indian Ksatriyạ (Rajput) immigrants gained power, earlier Khasa residents sought higher status through claiming Geography identity equal to that of the immigrants. In Nepal the Muluki Ain (1854) of Jang Bahadur Rana Few communities in the Himalayas actually attempted to codify the different caste groups of reside on mountain peaks. The highest snow- Nepal on the basis of concepts of → purity and covered mountains are inhospitable, and even impurity suggested in Sanskrit texts. Khasa iden- many of the lower peaks are not suitable for year- tity was largely subsumed within a Sanskritized round living. Most villages are therefore located version of social structure. However, in many in places near permanent water sources well areas of Himachal, Uttarakhand, and western/ below the permanent snow line. Mountain peaks Himalaya Region 75 themselves, however, are often part of a sacred who is also a form of Śakti, or Devī – has moun- geography that is associated with deities and rit- tains named after her, too, including Nandā Devī ual practice in various ways. Many higher snow (“Goddess Who Bestows Bliss”) in Uttarakhand, peaks carry names that link them to stories, his- and Annapūrnạ̄ (“Goddess of the Harvests”) in tories, or implements of specific deities. Lower Nepal. Names of rivers also reflect an association peaks, too, frequently become the location for with the goddess – the Pārvatī River flows temples of regional significance. In this way through Himachal, the Kālī along Nepal’s western sacredness is often reflected in the relative eleva- border with India, and the Nandākinī flows tion of a location. Higher altitudes are associated into the Ālaknandā from near the base of Nandā with an intensified sense of purity, while lower Devī herself. altitudes are associated with less purity. Pilgrim- age, whether to temples of local significance or to places of pan-Hindu significance, requires an Pilgrimage Sites of Pan-Hindu upward journey to a location of heightened Significance purity.

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