Spiti: A Buddhist Land in Western Himalaya

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Spiti, a land of fascinating contrasts, shocks of green in a barren expanse of russet, lies hedged in between Tibet, Ladakh, Kullu and Kinnaur districts across the main chain of the Himalayas forming an administrative unit of the district of Lahul and Spiti. The hot, sandy and mountainous landscape spreading endlessly in all directions like the moonscape conjures up visions of inaccessible villages and inviolate summits. Scoured by wind and scorched alternately by freezing cold and the searing heat, the spitial is verily in constant conflict with the nature. The harsh climate, high altitude, Jack of communications and the poverty of land, all cumulatively, make his life hard in the extreme. Nevertheless, the average Spitial is optimistic in his outlook. His culture coloured by the harshness of nature, it seems, has developed in him a tolerant attitude to the problems of life. The secret perhaps lies not in his land's comforts but in its age old discomforts, which seem to have tought him to enjoy what he has and not crave for what he cannot have. Spiti valley may be one of such rare pockets in the Western Himalaya where one may trace a continuous course of development of Tibetan Buddhism. The religion professed by the people is thus the much evolved form of Tibetan Buddhism with no admixture of Hinduism as seen in the adjacent Lahul Valley. Chortens, temples, gompas, forts peppered all over the vastness of Spiti provide an un-ending feast for the singhtseer and for serious students, authentic foot-notes to history, architecture and culture. The present book, in brief, recounts all this and much more and presents a comprehensive sketch of the land and its people, the Bodhs, a scheduled tribe in Himachal Pradesh. Vishwashwar Verma, a discerning observer of life, has made study of tribal life in Himachal Pradesh, his current object of scholarly pursuit. His two earlier efforts on the same theme namely Gaddis of Dhauladhar and Pangi-A Tribal Habitat in Mid-Himalaya have been well received in academic circles. The present work revolves round the social, cultural and religious life of the Bodhs of Spiti, a region lying in the neigh bour hood of Ladakh and Tibet. A law graduate, Mr. Verma, has had a very long service career full of rich and varied experience-of the Army, as a civil servant, a top-level Parliamentary functionary, of practising Advocate and as a presiding Member of Consumer Disputes Redressal Machinery viz., District Forum and State Commission.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to all the learned authors, whose names figure in the select bibliography, for the guidance and help, I readily admit, I obtained from their scholarly works. I do not forget their publishers, whom I hasten to thank like-wise. On the eve of his visit to Spiti, Thakur Kaul Singh, the Speaker of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, last year asked for a comprehensive background paper on the area. He was dismayed not to get hold of a single volume covering the geography and history of the land and the social, religious and cultural life of the people. It was entirely his idea which has prompted me to bring out this book in a handy and compact form.

To him I am highly indebted. Several kind friends have rendered me valuable assistance. Of special mention are Mian Govardhan Singh, Dr.Bansi Ram, Ms Veena Thakur, Shri Birpal Singh, Director Agricultural census, and Shri S.L. Sharma, Assistant Commissioner, Tribal Development, Himachal Pradesh and Shri Sanjay Marwaha for the photographs. To all of them and many others whom, for constraint of space, I have not been able to name individually, I gladly say: Thank you'. I am willing to think that the various information I have collected and whatever I have recorded may not prove altogether uninteresting to a general reader. For the antiquary and scientific inquirer, there are several subjects, which, I fain hope, would merit attention. I appreciate my wife and children who took my mind off all the domestic worries and troubles in order to allow me peace and quietness, the concomitant essential to concentrate and engage in creative pursuits.

Spiti is a land, dry, dusty and desolate defying descrip tion. Standing back to back with Lahaul, the other sub division of the district called Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, it lies enmeshed in the folds of the great western Himalaya with Baralacha Range standing guard on its north and huge Manirang Chain in the south. 'Rock, rubble and river combine to give Spiti its fascinating profile: steep, towering cliffs of hard rock at the outer edges of the picture, next the cone heaps of rubble which lie tilted against the rock, next and closest to the centre, the flat, soft and yielding plateaus of gravel and at the centre the river itself? which keeps cutting deeper and deeper into the bed, creating banks which are straight and steep. The main valley looks as if it had consisted originally of a level plain, the greater part of which over the time, has been carried away by the river shut in steep cliffs. The remains of the plain now form the plateaus above the cliffs. Rising from them the mountains rear up their heads in jagged ridges completely blocking the view. The plateaus and slopes of debris look brown and bare, and the rocks are of all colours, shades of red and yellow predominating. Geographically the land presents a variety of terrain.

Wholly populated by Bodhs, a scheduled tribe, with a strong infusion of Tartar blood and wearing complete Mongoloid features they are Tibeto-Buddhists by religious persuasion. Numbering around ten thousand they live in 81 inhabited hamlets scattered all over the 7600 square kms of mountains, glaciers and valleys with lowest point at 11000 feet above MSL perched virtually on the roof of the world. Following agro-pastoral vocations the man and the beast end eavour their best during the brief summer to scratch about a thousand hectares in isolated pockets on the flats. which are as dry as the valleys of the moon. They are industrious and one of the finest farmers producing lush green crops in the cold desert. Theirs is a caste-less society, which is though structured on class lines. Far removed from the ferocity commonly associated with a Tartar, they are of a mild and benevolent disposition. Refreshingly cheerful, honest, decent and daring the Bodhs are kind and courteous especially to women and children.

Though doubly unblest the average Spitian is optimistic in his outlook and is always prepared to rough it out in the brutally hostile environment. What is unique in their society is the custom of inheritance, which is based on promigeniture.

**Contents and Sample Pages**