Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-30 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6600

Catherine Hartmann

{"title":"Necessary Questions of Chö: Uses and Abuses of Religion in Dondrup Gyel’s “Tulku”","authors":"Catherine Hartmann","doi":"10.2218/himalaya.2021.6600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2021.6600","url":null,"abstract":"“Why do you ask questions of roots and branches instead of the necessary questions of chö (Tib. chos)?” asks a character in Tibetan author Dondrup Gyel’s (don rgrub rgyal) controversial 1980 short story, “Tulku” (sprul sku). The Tibetan term chö can be translated in many ways, including to mean ‘the Buddhist teachings,’ ‘religion’ more generally, or even ‘the nature of reality.’ In “Tulku,” however, what chö means is not at all clear, and the various characters claim authority to determine what is legitimate chö. In the story, a Tibetan village is visited by a mysterious stranger claiming to be a tulku—a reincarnated religious leader— but who is actually a fraud. Most scholars have interpreted “Tulku” as a critique of traditional Tibetan religious devotion, and as a call by Gyel for Tibetans to modernize. This paper, however, proposes a new reading of “Tulku.” It suggests that Gyel pairs overt criticism of the corrupt tulku with a subtler critique of the Chinese government’s policy towards Tibetan Buddhism. It argues for such a reading by tracking how the word chö is used in “Tulku.” It shows that Gyel places the word not in the mouths of the Tibetan villagers, but rather in the mouths of the fraudulent tulku and the representatives of the Communist Party. Both thus use chö in order to appeal to the Tibetan villagers, claim power for themselves, and exclude the opposing party. “Tulku” thereby creates parallels between the ways in which the Tulku and the Party use chö to appeal to and manipulate the Tibetan villagers. On this reading, “Tulku” highlights the way chö can be weaponized by both traditional religious authorities and Communist party ideology, and suggests that in this modern period, any claimant to chö must be treated with caution and skepticism.","PeriodicalId":35062,"journal":{"name":"Himalaya","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84892639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Sacred Cows & Chicken Manchurian: The Everyday Politics of Eating Meat in India 神圣的牛和鸡肉满洲人:印度吃肉的日常政治

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6588

J. Dickstein

引用次数: 0

Of Education, Humanism and Civilizational Progress: An Explorative Study of Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh’s Life and Work from the Perspective of ‘Global Intellectual History’ 教育、人文主义与文明进步——从“全球思想史”的视角考察贾亚·普里特维·巴哈杜尔·辛格的生平与著作

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6591

Stefan Lueder

{"title":"Of Education, Humanism and Civilizational Progress: An Explorative Study of Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh’s Life and Work from the Perspective of ‘Global Intellectual History’","authors":"Stefan Lueder","doi":"10.2218/himalaya.2021.6591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2021.6591","url":null,"abstract":"The Himalayas have long been perceived as a region at the margins between South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. Since the turn of the 21st century, however, the area received continuously more scholarly attention, particularly with regards to historiography and historical research. Researchers started to explore the manifold historical connections, entanglements, and interdependencies of the Himalayas with its neighboring regions and the rest of the world, which have long been disregarded due to the prevalence of implicit methodological nationalism, historiographical isolationism, and exceptionalism. Anticipating these changing perspectives, my paper explores the life and works of Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh in an attempt to render the global historical connections of the Central Himalayas further visible and enrich broader debates from the perspective of ‘Global Intellectual History’. At the intersection of this newly emerging discipline and the intellectual history of the Himalayas, my paper seeks to address the research questions: Who was Jaya Prithvi Bahadur Singh and why is his life and work relevant for a better understanding of the multifaceted historical entanglements of the Central Himalayas? I argue that Jaya Prithvi’s thoughts, specifically those on education, humanism, and civilizational progress will add new thematic dimensions, empirically diversify and, thus, broaden the scope of contemporary discourses on ‘Global Intellectual History’ as well as Himalayan History.","PeriodicalId":35062,"journal":{"name":"Himalaya","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79778304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Mayel Lyang Embodied: ‘Tradition’ and Contemporary Lepcha Textiles Mayel Lyang体现:“传统”与当代Lepcha纺织品

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6595

Sarah Faulkner, KR Rama Mohan

引用次数: 0

‘Kyidug Manyom’: Transnational Migration, Belonging and Social Change in Mustang, Nepal “Kyidug Manyom”:尼泊尔野马的跨国移民、归属感和社会变迁

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6584

Emily Amburgey, Yungdrung Tsewang Gurung

{"title":"‘Kyidug Manyom’: Transnational Migration, Belonging and Social Change in Mustang, Nepal","authors":"Emily Amburgey, Yungdrung Tsewang Gurung","doi":"10.2218/himalaya.2021.6584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2021.6584","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores transnational migration in and from Mustang, Nepal, a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, to understand how people who migrate and return reconstruct a sense of belonging to their birthplace. Narrative ethnography forms the core of this paper as we discuss the stories of four individuals from Mustang to explore the complex decision making around migration and the act of returning, permanently and cyclically. We build on theories of ‘transnationalism’ and ‘belonging,’ and emphasize the circular nature of migration, to argue that migratory journeys involve a continued evaluation of the social and economic realities of contemporary life at ‘home’—highlighting intergenerational tensions, ideas around cultural preservation, and a dynamic understanding of belonging in the context of a transnational community. Although financial need continues to be a primary driving force behind migration trends in Mustang, this paper acknowledges other factors that shape migration such as, family pressure and intergenerational tensions, and the infrastructural and technological developments that have made travel and communication easier and more reliable. Despite the widespread depopulation of Nepal’s highlands, we argue that many Mustangis who migrate remain committed to Mustang’s socioeconomic future, and nurture a connection to their ancestral homeland even as their transnational aspirations pull them away.","PeriodicalId":35062,"journal":{"name":"Himalaya","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79456347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 2

Singing Across Divides: Music and Intimate Politics in Nepal 跨界歌唱:尼泊尔的音乐与亲密政治

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6594

Mason Brown

引用次数: 0

This Is the End: Earthquake Narratives and Buddhist Prophesies of Decline 这就是终结:地震叙事与佛教衰落预言

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6587

G. Childs, S. Craig, Christina Juenger, Kristine A. Hildebrandt

{"title":"This Is the End: Earthquake Narratives and Buddhist Prophesies of Decline","authors":"G. Childs, S. Craig, Christina Juenger, Kristine A. Hildebrandt","doi":"10.2218/himalaya.2021.6587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2021.6587","url":null,"abstract":"“This Is the End” presents findings from research in which the authors asked survivors of Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes to describe what they know about earthquakes based on their lifelong cultural and environmental experiences, how they responded to the devastating events, and how they view these earthquakes and their aftermath in terms of cause and consequence. The research settings of Tsum, Nubri, Manang, and Mustang were in the midst of rapid socioeconomic transformations and environmental disruptions when the earthquakes struck. Interviews shortly after the event reveal that many people are familiar with scientific concepts like the movement of tectonic plates, yet they attribute the earthquake’s ultimate cause to human activities that disturb autochthonous deities. Their interpretations suggest parallels with signs of impending doom contained within written prophesies, including a decline in religious devotion, the fraying of social cohesion, and environmental disruptions. The linking of written prophesies with lived experiences points toward a Buddhist understanding of conventional and ultimate realities in which people discuss the material and geophysical causes and consequences of earthquakes while also considering moral and cosmological understandings stemming from socially and environmentally destructive behaviors. This article contributes to a growing literature on the intersections of religion and natural disasters.","PeriodicalId":35062,"journal":{"name":"Himalaya","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89080662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Between Mandala and World Stage: A Historiographical Study of a Public Space 在曼荼罗与世界舞台之间:一个公共空间的史学研究

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6593

U. Sengupta

{"title":"Between Mandala and World Stage: A Historiographical Study of a Public Space","authors":"U. Sengupta","doi":"10.2218/himalaya.2021.6593","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2218/himalaya.2021.6593","url":null,"abstract":"Cities change. A sudden natural disaster may destroy a city. Spaces that were once important for the citizens and political life may be lost to development. Spaces that survive hold the quirks of history, culture, and society. This article develops a historical account of urban public space that explores the changing relationship between space, political order, identity, and memory. Using Tundikhel, the largest public open space of national significance in Kathmandu, Nepal, the article takes a journey from the ancient era to medieval times, and right through to the modern period to decipher the ways in which the public space has been historically formed, construed, and interpreted. The main body of the paper explores Tundikhel’s evolution through four thematic phases: (1) abstraction, folklore, and mysticism (300–1200 AD); (2) art, mandala and mercantalism (1201–1767 AD); (3) power, visibility, and modernity (1768–1989 AD) and; (4) breaking barriers and emancipation (1990 onwards). The article argues that a postmodern, hybrid nature of the public space today does more to capture the nature of the city’s change as a complex, multi-layered shift in which the history cannot be simply erased, but returns to disrupt contemporary narratives of the national space.","PeriodicalId":35062,"journal":{"name":"Himalaya","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73758288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

The Ends of Kinship: Connecting Himalayan Lives between Nepal and New York 亲属关系的终结:连接尼泊尔和纽约之间的喜马拉雅生活

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6581

Tashi W. Gurung, Phurba D. Gurung

引用次数: 7

Our Land, Our People: A Reflection of Tibetan Buddhist Space in Contemporary Art 我们的土地，我们的人民:藏传佛教空间在当代艺术中的反映

Himalaya Pub Date : 2021-11-15 DOI: 10.2218/himalaya.2021.6589

Jay A. Daugherty

引用次数: 0

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