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Art and Geography: Patterns in the HimalayaAuthor(s): Pradyumna P. Karan and Cotton MatherSource: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 66, No. 4 (Dec., 1976), pp.487-515Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American GeographersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2569252 .

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* ANNALS of theAssociationfAmerican eographersVolume 66 December,1976 Number4

ART AND GEOGRAPHY: PATTERNS IN THE HIMALAYA*PRADYUMNA P. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

ABSTRACT. TheHimalayaembrace ome ancient ultureswhichhave remainedgeographicallynd culturally istinct. hesecultures re expressedn their ernacu-lar artwhich, n- ontrast o internationalrt,representsoth place and culture nthe nthropologicalense.Vernacular rtmirrors istoricalnd geographical orcesand it provides nsightnto social aspirations,nd therebys importantn under-standing ocial behavior.Most aspectsof the art forms f painting, ance, music,embroidery,rchitecture,nd sculpturere regionally istinct.THE Himalayanrealm s one of theworld'srichest areas in vernacular art. Distinctculturalgroups settled ong ago in the moun-tainswhere ccess to the outsideworldhas notbeen easy. Althoughthe cultureswithintheHimalaya have ancientroots and have existedfor ages in juxtaposition,heyremaindistinctfrom ach other ventoday.This realm anks sone of the primeplaces to observethebearingof cultural roupingsnd environmentalondi-tions pon vernacularrt.

Dr. Karan is Professor of Geography at the Univer-sity of Kentucky n Lexington,KY 40506. Dr. Matheris Professor of Geographyat the University f Minne-sota in Minneapolis, MN 55455, and Adjunct Profes-sor at the University f Kentucky.*We wish o thank ocal officialsndartistsn vari-

ous regions f theHimalayafromKashrniroAssamfor theirhelp and assistance. n particularwe ac-knowledge he help and advice of the late KingMahendraBir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal, KingJigmeDorji Wangchukof Bhutan,and Sir TashiNamgyal nd PaldenThondupNamgyal, ormer ul-ers of Sikkim. ir Tashi, himself renowned ima-layan artist, as of considerablessistancen explain-ingand in interpretinghe painting,culpture,music,dance, rchitecture,ndhandicraftsftheHimalayanrealm. Thanksare due to lamas of Buddhistmon-asteries, illagepriestsnHindu nd tribal reasof theHimalaya, Islamic artisans in Kashmir,peasants,nomads,merchants,rtists,musicians, ancers, nd

Art is an esthetic xpression f humanex-perience.t represents distillationfboth ex-perientialand aspirationalaspects of man-kind and a fusionof the environmentalndmetaphysical ealms.Placed in the time-spaceframe,rtmaybe viewed s eithernternationalor vernacular.Internationalr cosmopolitanmodern rt sthepossession f theglobalelite. ts style, ran-scendingregionaland national bounds, is di-vorcedfrom heterritorial ilieu n whichtheartists ive and work.Within few years anartisticnnovationmay weep tothefarreachesoftheworld.The innovationmay representhediscovery f newmaterials orartistic xpres-sionor it may nvolveold materialswhose usefor esthetic xpression as been made feasibleby technological hange.This mayvaryfromacrylicpaints to laminatedwoods or specialtycraftsmenhom he uthors adtheprivilegefknow-ing n their omeland,nd who n thecourseoftheirtalks nd interviewsave contributedo thedevelop-ment f ideas set forthn thispaper.All theaccom-panyinghotographseremadebythe uthors uringtheir ravelsn theHimalaya;we are indebtedoGun-vantRai, B. K. Narain,V. P. Misra,and S. Lal forpermissionophotographrtobjects orreproduction.Our thanks re due to SirD. P. Varma, scholar fHimalayan rtand literature,orreviewinghisman-uscriptnd offeringuggestionsor mprovement.

ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS Vol. 66, No. 4, December 1976) 1976 by the Associationof AmericanGeographers. Printed n U.S.A.487

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488 PRADYUMNAP. KARANAND COTTON MATHER Decembersteels. ncorporatedwith hephysical ontribu-tionof technologicaldvance s thehighlyntel-lectualized imagery that is used to portrayontologicalperception f experiences nd as-pirations.

The geographical nmindfulnessf interna-tional art is one of its most strikingeatures.The influence f a HenryMoore, forexample,can sweep across continents, nd influenceartistic tyles in Scandinavia, Japan, or theUnited States. Cezanne and Gaugin, for in-stance,sent waves of reactionthroughoutheinternationalrt world, and the art mode ofCubismbrought orth veritable rtistic evo-lution hatfound xpression n painting, culp-ture, rchitecture,nd the industrial rts. n averyreal sense international rt s an abstrac-tion. t does not springdirectly romregionaltradition nd setting,t is not an expression fculture n the anthropological ense, and ittranscends eographicalbonds with abandon.This is not to deny that nternational rt mayexpress tself n functionalways, that t may,for example, get inspirationfrom primitiveAfricanart. It may have geographical andsociological inkageswhichhelp to explain itsareal dispersion rompointof origin,but es-sentially t is neither ulturally onfinednorgeographicallyimited. t springs rom an in-dividualgenius' ntellectualizedense ofesthet-ics rather han from n inherited ultural ra-dition.'Vernacularor folk art focusesnot upon theindividual's xpression, ut upon a groupde-velopment. t is the productof culture n theanthropological ense and derives nspirationfromndigenous raditionnd setting.t evolvesslowly nd ithas a geographical ase.2 It mir-

1For a discussion f the dichotomy etween hecontemporaryodern r internationalrt ndvernac-ularfolk rtfrom heperspectivef the ndian rtists,see A. K. Dutta, "Contemporaryndian Art:Searchfor a New Identity?" ndian and Foreign Review, Vol.II (December1, 1973), pp. 18-19. During visit oIndia in 1973 AndreMalraux,the famousFrenchhumanist, isappointed ith he sweep of abstractn-ternational rt in India advised youngartists o goback to thevernacular r folk rtwhich erivednspi-ration rom he rich ndigenoushought,ulture, ym-bols and signsof India. See A. S. Raman,"Contem-porary Indian Artists,"Indian and Foreign Review,Vol. II (August , 1974), pp. 13-17.2 Landscape painting lso has a geographicalase.See RonaldRees, "Geographynd LandscapePaint-ing: An Introductiono a NeglectedField,"ScottishGeographical Magazine, Vol. 89 (1973), pp. 147-57;

rors strong ulturalhistorical orces and geo-graphical ettings.Withthe sudden and world-wide onslaught of moderntechnology, herewere some indications that vernacular art(which was often nd sometimes arelessly e-ferred o as primitive rt) mightbe effaced.Now itappears thatnumerousmodern ocietiesare yearning ormore inkageswiththeir on-temporary nvironment nd also their past,and are studiously ttemptingo preserve ndindeedto revivenearly ostties. This is evidentin academiccurricula,n the establishmentffolk-artmuseums, n governmental rogramsto foster ernacular rt, nd in the commercialinterest roadlymanifestedn the vernacularart ofboththiscontinent nd abroad. Interiordesigners eature, orexample, ndian art,Es-kimoprints,Andean weavings,Africanwoodcarvings, skimo soapstone culpture, nd Ori-ental ade figurines.Vernacular rtbearsdirectly pon geographysince t representsoth culture nd place. It isofparticular ignificanceo students f histori-cal and contemporary ultural geography e-cause it reveals physical and nonphysical n-vironmentalactorswhichhave melded hroughtime nthe rucible fhuman xperience.More-over, tprovidesnsight nto a society's spira-tions and thereby elps to explain social be-havior.The Himalayanrealm s one of the fewplaceson earthwithmainstreamsf culture hathave been next oeach other ver vast stretchesof timeand where the forcesof fusion havefailed o obliterate he ndividual ulture.

THE HIMALAYAN SETTING ANDMAJOR CULTURAL GROUPSThe Himalaya mountains xtend along thenorthernringes f the Indian subcontinentn

a seriesof towering angesbetweenthe greatbendofthe ndus RivernearGilgit nKashmirand the sharpturnof theBrahmaputraRiverin Arunachal radeshofeastern ndia (Fig. 1).Originatingn thevicinityf Mount Kailas andthesacredLake Manasarowar, hegreat ndusand BrahmaputraRivers hold the entireHi-malayan region n their rms.3The Himalaya"JohnConstableand the Art of Geography,"Geo-graphicalReview, Vol. 66 (1976), pp. 59-72.3 For a discussionf thephysical eology ndphys-iography f the Himalaya,see D. N. Wadia, "TheHimalaya Mountains:Their Age, Originand Sub-crustal Relations," Himalayan Journal, Vol. 26(1965), pp. 20-37; A. Gansser,Geology ftheHima-

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1976 HIMALAYAN ART 489

Gilgit

LADAKH HIMALAYAQ KASHMIR LOCATION MAP.) \ Srinagar

0 6' >Chamba a, ( ?0 100 200 300 400 MiesPAKISTAN >PUNJAB HIMALAYA

ge of t-he I KUMAOUN B~ohW R.No tonsHIMALAYA '~~~~i 'I~~~~~SIKKIMDeIhi 7 BHUTAN edge'f thAl Kathmandu7D G ''-

FIG. 1. Himalaya.LoH mation MpiINDIA ~~~~S M DE* H IM~ ~N D A ~7~ YA DUAR Ss'~BANGLADESHFIG. 1. Himalaya. ocationMap.

consistsmainlyof: 1) the Great Himalaya,asingle angewith t eastfiftyeaksover23,000feet 7,000 meters), ncludingMountEverestat 29,002 feet 8,848 meters),Kanchenjungaat 28,146 feet 8,578 meters), Nanga Parbatat 26,620 feet 8,126 meters),and Dhaulagiriat 26,795 feet 8,172 meters);2) thesubordi-nate rangeson theTibetanside, includingheimportantanskar,Ladakh and Kailas Ranges,with elevationsup to that of Mt. Kamet at25,447 feet 7,756 meters)and Mt. Kailas at22,028 feet (6,714 meters)-where both theIndusandBrahmaputra ise; 3) theKarakoramchain at the westernnd oftheHimalayawithits lofty eak knownas K2 or MountGodwinAustinat 28,287 feet 8,611 meters);4) theMiddle Himalaya, which borders the GreatHimalaya on the southwith remarkable ni-formityf heights etween6,000 (1,829 me-ters) and 10,000 feet 3,048 meters);and 5)the OuterHimalaya,with n averageelevationof5,000 feet 1,024 meters),which s the ow-est zone and is contiguousto the plains ofIndia.4 Southward s the piedmontplain, anlayas (New York: Interscience Publishers, 1964), pp.235-6 1.4 P. P. Karan, "Geographic Regions of the Hima-laya," Bulletin of Tibetology, Vol. 3 (July 1966), pp.5-25. For geographyof theHimalayan realm,see S. C.Bose, Geography of the Himalaya (New Delhi: Na-tional Book Trust, 1972); P. P. Karan and W. M.Jenkins,The Himalayan Kingdoms: Bhutan, Sikkim

extension f theplains of northernndia, lo-cally known s the Terai n thewest and Duarsin the asternHimalaya.5Four distinct ulturalgroupspenetratedherelatively solated geographic nvironmentfthe Himalaya.6People of the Hindu (Indian),Lamaist Buddhism (Tibetan), Islamic (Af-ghan-Iranian), and animistic (Burman orSoutheastAsian) cultures rrivedn wavesfromthe south, north,west, and east, makingtheHimalaya theirhome and imprintingheir rtsand cultureson the Himalayan environment(Fig. 2).7 The cultures were preserved ndand Nepal (Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co.,1963); P. P. Karan, Nepal: A Cultural and PhysicalGeography (Lexington, Ky.: University of KentuckyPress, 1960); idem, Bhutan: A Physical and CulturalGeography (Lexington, Ky.: University of KentuckyPress, 1967); Jacques Dupius, L'Himalaya (Paris:Presses Universitairesde France, 1972).5 For the human occupance of the Terai, see L. R.Singh,The Terai Region of U. P.: A Study in HumanGeography (Allahabad: Ram Narain Lal Beni Prasad,1965).6 Gerald D. Berreman, "Peoples and Culturesof theHimalayas," Asian Survey, Vol. 3 (1963), pp. 289-304.

7 Marie-Therese de Mallmann, "Arts du Tibet etdes regions Himalayennes," Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 21(1970) pp. 71-89; Madanjeet Singh, "Mystique ofHimalayan Art," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 12(1975), pp. 13-17; idem, "Unknown Treasures ofHimalayan Art," Unesco Courier,Vol. 22 (February,1969), pp. 14-25; idem, Himalayan Art (Greenwich,Conn.: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1968).

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490 PRADYUMNA P. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER December

HIMALAYA\ TIBETAN ULTUE_(t ISLAMIC\ (Lamaist) ,_J CULTURALREGIONS

X zfo \0 100 200 300 400 Miles

/SSouthern \tx gn_ Nof mountain culu e \ t S \

i~~u)O~ (Lomoisi CULTUREIC ~~~~IodCo/lures (LomaiSlM=dified after Berrern

~~~~~~~~IEREGIONAL PATTERNSOF PAINTINGAN

Modified after C M N. Suhuy

J TIBETAN ANCE ,

\COURT\DANCEREGIONAL PATTERNSOF DANCE

\ ATHAK ,

FIG. 2. Himalaya.Map of cultural egions, egional atternsfpainting,nd regional at-ternsof dance.

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1976 HIMALAYAN ART 491nurturedn theseHimalayanvalleyswhile theywere beingmodifiedmarkedly y outsidein-fluences t theirplaces of origin n the ndian,Afghan-Iranian,nd SoutheastAsian areas andwerebeingeffacednTibet by the obtrusion fa new deology.8The principal eatures f the Hindu culturesuch as the Indo-Aryan anguages, art forms,and settled agriculture,ntered he Himalayafrom he Indian plains to the southY9 istinc-tivefeatures ftheLamaistculture uch as theTibetan language, art, sculpture, nd a com-binationof pastoralism nd settled gricultureencroached upon the Himalaya fromthe Ti-betanplateau to thenorth.'0Buddhistmonas-teries, ocated in secluded places but withineasy reachof themain trans-Himalayanraderoutes, developed as centers of religious ifewhere artistic nd intellectual xpression ndculture lourished. ajor Buddhistmonasterieswithgreatworksof art are located in the highvalleys of such rivers as the Sutlej, Ganges,Jamuna,Kali, Bagmati,Kosi, Manas, Raidak,and Brahmaputra,which flow through themountains romnorth o south n gorges ften9,000 to 15,000 feet 2,743 to 4,572 meters)deep. Pilgrims nd traders tillwend theirwayalong the steep valley trails o reach monaster-ies such as the Thyangboche n the innerre-cesses of the mountains Fig. 3). The monas-teries merged s institutionalodes withworksof artbased on native ulture.From ran andAfghanistaname majorfea-tures f slamic culture,ncluding henon-IndicAryan anguages, rt forms ssociatedwith heMoslems, and irrigated, ettled agriculturalforms nd pastoralism." The animist ulturalfeatures ssociatedwiththe Burman or South-east Asian area such as the Tibeto-Burmanlanguages, rt forms ssociatedwith he ndig-enousreligious ystems distinct rom hegreatreligions f Hinduism, slam, and Buddhism),

8 For details, ee S. C. Bose, Land and People oftheHimalayas Calcutta: ndian Publications,968).For therelationshipetween deology nd landscapein Tibet, see P. P. Karan, The Changing Face of Tibet:The Impact of Chinese Communist Ideology on theLandscape Lexington, y.: University ress of Ken-tucky, 976).9H. Bhattacharya, Cultural Heritage of India(Hollywood,California:VedantaPress, 1961).10P. Carrasco, Land and Polity in Tibet (Seattle:UniversityfWashington,959), pp. 4-5.11W. C. Smith, Modern Islam in India: A SocialAnalysisNew York: Russelland Russell,1972).

and shifting griculturentered he Himalayafrom he east.'2The Himalaya thus presents complexcul-turalpattern ith ourmajor cultures ncroach-ing upon the area-from ifferentirections. ngeneral, eople of the Hindu culture re domi-nant n the ub-Himalaya nd themiddleHima-layan valleysfrom Jammuto Nepal. To thenorth, eople of Lamaist Buddhist ulture n-habit heHighHimalaya from adakh to north-eastern ndia. In centralNepal, in an area from6,000 to 8,000 feet (1,829 to 2,439 meters)and occasionallyup to 10,000 feet 3,048 me-ters),the ndian and Tibetan cultures ave in-termingled,roducing combination fHinduand Tibetan traits.This intermediateone be-tween he Hindu and TibetanculturesnNepalforms distinctultural egion.'3Elsewhere nthe Himalaya the Hindu and Lamaist Bud-dhist ulturesmeeteach otherdirectlywithoutany transitionalone. Eastern Bhutanand As-sam Himalaya are inhabited y people whoseculture s similarto those living n northernBurma andYunan. People ofwestern ashmirhave a culture imilar o the nhabitants f ranand Afghanistan.The artforms,nfused uring eriods f polit-ical expansionor culturaland religious nter-change, have become permanentlystablishedas regionalgroups.Each regionalgroup origi-natedfrom tylistic odelsdeeplyrooted n thereligious anonsofIslam,Hinduism, nd Bud-dhism. Inspirationfor patternsand designscame also fromnaturalelements uch as theripples on the surfaceof a mountain tream,clouds,rainstorms, ingsof thebutterflies,hemarkings n a snake, the nterlacingf leavesandbranches gainst hesky, nd thecolorsoftherainbow.These styles ave beenreproducedby generations f Himalayan artists.Variouselementswhich nfiltratedegionalart in theHimalaya rarely produced a combinationofforms.Rather,each styleflourishednd a re-gionalism f arthas beenmaintained. he dis-tinctiveegional atternsfHimalayan rtwere

12 C. Von Furer-Haimendorf,imalayan Barbary(New York:Abelard-Schuman,956).13 The ethnographyftheMagar peopleof thisre-gion s describedn John . Hitchcock, heMagarsofBanyanHill (New York: Holt,Rinehart nd Winston,1966). The distinctiveolk rt of the Newar nhabit-antsof this rea is describedy Susan Peterson,FolkArt of Nepal," CraftHorizons,Vol. 27 (March-April,1967), pp. 36-39.

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_I

, ;I. '-' K ;fi v lv E;A

60-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

FIG. 3. Monasteries such as this one at Thyangboche,located at 12,715 feet (3,873 meters)near Khumjungin Nepal, are the focal pointsof art and cultural life in BuddhistHimalaya. Thewalls and ceilings are decorated withreligious paintings.People who must make great efforts oextracta livingfroman inhospitableenvironment ftenspend much time and moneyon artisticrepresentation.Many of the frescoes at Thyangboche are of considerable estheticmerit.

recognized s earlyas the seventeenthenturyby Taranatha,a Tibetanhistorian,who identi-fiedfour rtistic choolsin theHimalaya-theEastern School (in Eastern Himalaya), theMadhyadesh chool (in CentralHimalaya), theWestern chool (in Kumaon and Punjab Hi-malaya), and theKashmir.14REGIONAL PATTERNS OF PAINTINGIN THE HIMALAYA

Regional artistic haracteristicsf paintinghave been nfluencedytheBuddhist nd Hindupantheon of deities,the Islamic traditions fIran, and the awesomephysical etting f theremotevalleys and highpeaks. In the relative14Taranatha, Taranatha's Geschichtedes Bud-dhismus n ndien.Aus demtibetischenebersetzitonAnton Schiefner St. Petersburg,Russia: Eggers,

1869). The originalTibetanmanuscript as held atSt. Petersburg; facsimileopy of the Tibetan ext nthe ibraryf theNamgyal nstitutefTibetology asconsulted n thisresearch.

isolation of cloisteredvalleys,the distinctiveregional tyles fpainting avebeenpreserved,each style haracterizedy a magnificencendbeautyof its own. The paintings bjectify heartistic ognition f a people of theirphysicalenvironmentnd their ulturalvalues.Islamic Painting f Western ashmir

Islam, which forbidsrepresentation f ani-mate nature n art, has generally ondemnedimagepainting s sacrilege.The orthodoxMos-lem in the Himalaya usually displayedartisticconsciousness in calligraphyby transcribingthe exts f theHoly Book. Calligraphy ecamea religiousduty and assumed a higherplacethan imagepainting.This theologicalprohibi-tionwas obeyedby theorthodox unniMoslemsof theArabnations, ut t was generallygnoredby the Sia Moslems of Persia (Iran).The Persian artistic raditionwas introducedintothe westernHimalaya by the Mogul rulersof India. Giftedwith keen artistictempera-

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-~~ ~f-~Be

.1~~~~~ tl_ -.

FIG. 4. A representativexampleofMogulpaint-ing,a royalportrait. he calligraphyn themarginsrepresentshe materializationf the Holy text ofIslam.ment, henew rulersdefied he religiousban.Risingabove therestriction,heygave protec-tion o theartofpaintings a court ccomplish-ment.The sympatheticttitude f the Mogulemperorsuch as Akbarencouragedocal artiststo do imagepainting nder hePersianmastersintheVale of Kashmirwith nlightenedatron-age.15 Some ofthe ocal Hindu artistswho ac-quired characteristics f the Persian schoolcarried hemntostylisticeatures f theHinduart. The Persian concept is apparentevery-where n Kashmir although ome Hindu fea-turesminglewith he Persian tyle.The indige-nous Hindu tradition ssertsitself n a newrealism,ngreater igor,n a morenatural ep-resentationf distance nd atmosphere,nd inthe ncreasingmploymentf Hindu characters,costume, rchitecture,nd foliage.

15 The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli andA ice Heeramaneck Collection (published by OctoberHouse Inc. forMuseumof FineArts,Boston,Mass.,1966), pp. 100-03.

. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4

FIG. 5. A royal hunt. The Mogul artistsdepictedadventuresof the nobles and other aristocrats.The impactof Moguls on the art of Kash-mir s not confinedust to the illustration fmanuscriptsfPersianclassics,chronicles,ndtales. Portraiture,cenes of hunting, nimals,and birdswerefavorite ubjects Figs. 4 and5). Artistsn theMogul courthad no associa-tionwith hecommonmanso they eldomrep-resented ny facet of ordinary ife (Fig. 6).

Mogul painting fKashmir s very ristocraticin outlookand it s entirelyisdainfulf demo-craticfolkappeal. The Moguls lovedblossomsand plants n bloom, and artistshave contin-uedtoportray eautifulndnovelthingsn theregional raditionf theVale of Kashmir Fig.7).LamaistPaintingThe unique imageryof Lamaist Buddhismcharacterizespainting n the Tibetan culturearea of theHimalaya.h Two typesof Lamaist16 BlancheChristine lschak n collaborationwithGeshe ThuptenWangyal,Mystic Arts ofAncientTibet

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t + +@tofal+ nA-+s?* * B 0 9 -;--

FIG. 6. A Mogulcourt cene.Ruler, moking a-terpipe,attended ya prince nd a nobleman. ourtscenes uchas these re prominentn Mogulart.imagerywhichexpressTibetanculture re theimagery f apotheosized amas and saints, ndthe mageryfterrifyingeities.17Each HimalayanBuddhistmonastery as itspantheon flamas; some lamas are deified ndothers are glorifiedimply s saints. Most ofthem re idealizedas divinefigures ather hanreasonable ikenesses f the personsportrayed(Fig. 8). Buddhism,with ts emphasison theillusorynature of the phenomenalworld, dis-couragesportrayal fthephysical ikeness f aperson."'A peculiarfeature fLamaistart s the gro-tesque and bizarreformsof terrifyingeitiespaintedbythe artists n the Thangka,or scrollpaintings,n cottoncloth (Fig. 9). These im-(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,1973).For an exampleof secularTibetan rt, n contrast othereligious tyle,with ts trictconographicalorms,see B. C. Olschak, "The Art of Healing n AncientTibet,"Ciba Symposium, ol. 12 (1964), pp. 129-34.17 F. Sierksma, Tibet's Terrifying eities: Sex andAggression in Religious Acculturation (The Hague:Mouton, 1966).

18D. Barrett, The BuddhistArt of Tibet andNepal," Oriental Art, Vol. 3 (1957), pp. 90-95; S.Kramrisch,Art of Nepal and Tibet," PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art Bulletin (Spring, 960), pp. 23-38.

FIG. 7. Flowerswere popularsubjects n Mogulart.ages,whichhave been interpreteds a releasefrom psychicand culturaltensions, llustratethefears f peoplewho reside n an inhospitablephysical nvironment.1The consistent rder and harmony n thedesign of mandala structures the mostcom-plex and complete xpression f theTibetan'sperception f cosmicreality.20 he mandala'sdesign s geometricallyrecise,and its colors

19R. Bartholomew,Tibetan hangkas," he Timesof India Annual (1967), p. 30; Valrae Reynolds,"ThangkaArt,"ArtNews, Vol. 73 (March 1974),pp. 109-11.For psychologicalnterpretationsf artis-tic productions,ee A. Bader,"Psychoticsnd TheirPaintings: he Human Soul Laid Bare," Ciba Sym-posium, Vol. 6 (1958), pp. 152-55; and G. Clauser,"Painting s a Remedial Factor in Psychotherapy,"Ciba Symposium, ol. 8 (1960), pp. 13-22.20 The symbolismf the mandala s discussed n G.Tucci, The Theory and Practice of theMandala, withSpecial Reference to the Modern Psychology of theSubconscious London: Rider,1961); D. Snellgrove,BuddhistHimalaya (Oxford:Bruno Cassirer,1957),p. 154.

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1976 HIMALAYANART 495

FIG. 8. The wall paintingsn monasteriesuchasthisone in Thimphu, hutan, epict egends f Bud-dha's life s wellas otherdeities. he main argefig-ure s always hefocal point owardwhich he mallerdivinitieslock. he central igures paintedn a staticritual ose.As the cenes pread uton thewall thereis moreand moremovement eltto compensate ortherigidityftheprincipal ivinity.hepaintingsndthemurals choboth thefaith nd a fanciful ercep-tualization f their nvironment.arealways trongnd luminous. o theTibetanBuddhist hephenomenalworld s oneofchaosand tension nd themandala is an attempt oproject order and harmony nto that world(Fig. 10). It is an effectivend graphic isual-izationof a world hat xists n themindoftheTibetan.HinduPaintings fthe outhern imalaya

Designs derivedfrom the Hindu religiondominatethe paintings f southernHimachalPradesh,Garhwal, and Nepal Himalaya. Theworship ndadoration f a personaldeity,om-mon amongHindus,form he inspiration orpaintingswhichsymbolize hemutual ongingof God and the human soul.2' One principalthemeof the Hindu artistshas been the lovestoryof Krishna and Radha, as representing21 R. K. Kaushal, Himachal Pradesh: A Survey of

the History of the Land and its People (Bombay:MinervaBook Shop, 1965), pp. 77-80; M. S. Rand-hawa,"Vaishnavismnspirationf RajputPainting,"Marg,Vol. 17 (June, 964), pp. 4-7.

FIG. 9. A thangka,an example of scroll paintingon cotton cloth. The lion-headed goddess Simhavak-tra,on the lotus throne, s surroundedby four of herretinue rranged n theformof mandala.

God and individual oul, in unionand separa-tion (Fig. 11). The Hindu artist lso desiredthereligious ruthso appeal to society nd hedrewhis mageryromverydayife, hus over-inga larger ield hantheBuddhist nd withdifferentpproach than the Moguls. Hinduartists rought rishna ndRadha downtothelevelof ordinary ersonsby humanizing heminpaintings. hus,theHinduHimalayanpaint-ing is reallya visualization f the lifeof thecommon eople,theirwork ndplay,theiroysand sorrows,theirbeliefsand customs,andtheir omeand field ife, n thebackground ftheir eligious aith;tis an "immediate xpres-sionoftheHinduviewof life ..the productof whole ivilization.22Paintings f theHimalayanhill statessuchas Kulu,Guler,Chamba,Mandi,Bilaspur, ndKangra (now in theIndian stateofHimachalPradesh) are giventhegenericname, Pahari'

.23T

ar.TepotaaoeinPhr7pitn

22 A. Coomaraswamy,aiput Painting (New York:OxfordUniversityress,1916), p. 14.23 C. M. N. Sahay, "IndianMiniature ainting,"Arts of Asia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 25-41. The word

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496 PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER December

PA_

7 ,. _4_

HAS~~A

FIG. 10. Beautiful rescoes f cosmicmandalas spheres) adornthe walls in the dzongs(monastery-castles)fThimphundParo.Theydepict heorigin nddevelopmentf the uni-verse ccording o the Buddhist exts.Mandalas arepainted n theouterwallsof temple atessuch s this ne at Thimphuomake hedevotees nteringhe emplewareof thenature f thephenomenalworld.This is the messageof thesepsychograms,nce consideredmythologicalfantasy ut now regarded y philosopherss essential n understandinghe way in whichTibetan culture nticipated eality nd relativityn its own uniqueway. Harmony, well-orderedymmetryn space, s ascribed o the networkfenergies alled thecosmic"wind."is sublimated, nd passion is enobled and sug-gestedwithgreat enderness.ex is not allowedto lose the quality f subtletynd refinement.24The recurringubjectmatters woman restlesswith ongingfor her lover. Incidental objects(clouds, rain, lightning,torm, rees, flowers,pictures, irds, nd animals) are used to suggesta crisis (Fig. 12). A girl standing gainst a'miniature'n thiscontext efers o size whichmayrangeup to a fullpagefolio.24 W. G. Archer, Indian Painting in the PunjabHills,Victoria ndAlbertMuseumMonograph, o. 3(London: His Majesty's StationeryOffice,1952);idem, PahariMiniatures: ConciseHistory,"Marg,Vol. 28 (March,1975), pp. 3-44.

background f an impending tormrepresentsthepassionatemood ofwomanpiningforherlover.25Other themes n Hindu Himalayanpaintingalso come from he vast range of Hindu reli-gious thoughtndmythology. mong he rtistsof Garhwal Himalaya (Uttar Pradesh) andNepal Himalaya, heRamayana of Tulsidas, heBhagvata Purana, dealing with the life ofKrishna, ndGitaGovinda, he ymbolical ove25 V. S. Agrawala, "The Romance of HimachalPainting,"oop Lekha,Vol. 20 (1948-49), pp. 89-90.M. S. Randhawa, Kangra Valley Painting (New Delhi:Ministryf nformationndBroadcasting,954), p. 4.

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-q

FIG. 11. The love storyof Krishna and Radha isone of the main themes of painting in the PunjabHills. In this scene Radha is reluctantto surrender oKrishna. Beyond the garden railing is a floweringcypresstree and birds in flight ilhouettedagainst thenightsky.

songforKrishna, repopularthemes orpaint-ings.In Mithila,the ancientcultural region lo-cated in the Terai of easternNepal and cen-teredupon Janakpur, here s a distinctrtistictraditionepresentedy paintings oneon mudwalls by thevillagewomen.Favoritesubjectsare gods and decorative loral nd ornamentalpatterns n the walls of a corridoror of theGosain-Ghar (room) where the familydeityis worshipped Fig. 13). Hindu festivals uchas the Chhath (worship of Sun God), theChauth Chand (the fourth ay of the Hindumonthof Bhadra about August-September),Dassehra (worshipof goddess Durga in lateSeptember),and Diwali (worshipof goddessLakshmi in October) providethe main occa-sions forthe painting.None of these surpassthe intricacy nd exuberance of the designsdone inside a kowar-the bridal chamberat

VI A

FIG. 12. A portrayalf love in Paharipainting.ladywithfour attendantsn the terracewaiting orher over.The gatheringtorm eflectshe ady'sun-ease as along thebanksof the river ach bird hasfound mate.

FIG. 13. Paintingsnmud-wallsf"Gosain-Ghar"or God's room n a home n the Mithila ultural e-gionofsouthern epal. Home-made olorsfrom eg-etablematter re mixedwithoil and water and ap-pliedwith brushmade ofgrass.

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FIG. 14. Decorativepaintingsnsidea Kowar ofthenewlyweds.the bride's home where the newlymarriedcouple reside forat least a fewdays after hewedding Fig. 14). Some of the designs nter-pret physiological actswithconsiderable an-dor.26In Mithila,the birthplace f Sita-the epit-ome of Hindu womanhood as portrayed nRamayana-local women artistshave devel-oped a distinct egional tyle fpainting nownas Madhubaniart.27 he hallmark f thestyleis the distinctive ortrayal f thehuman faceas being roughly val, with a sharplypointednose tiltedupward,smooth rounded aw line,and full,wide eyes. The paintings, epictingscenes fromthe lives of Ram and Sita, havefree-handine drawingswithout he restrictionsofgeometry nd proportions. ach paintingsembellishedwith stylizedlocal flowers andbirdmotifswhichform n intricate order.To-dayMadhubaniartrepresents cultural radi-tionof paintingustas ancient s the and calledMithila.Paintingnthe outheastAsian CultureArea

Much of thebeautyof tribal rtand culturestill urvivesn the mountainous ountryftheeasternHimalaya.28As compared to the Is-26 InterviewwithSri SitaramMisra,B. L. Yadav,and Ram Lochan Misraat Janakpur, epal.27 C. Y. Gopinath,Madhubani aintings-AnAn-cientArt Form," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 12

(June 1, 1975) pp. 13-16.28 Verrier Elwin, The Art of theNortheastFrontierof India (Shillong:North-east rontierAgencyAd-ministration,959).

FIG. 15. Dragon painted on wood, an example ofMonpa art of easternHimalaya.

lamic,Hindu,and Tibetan reas thepainting fthe tribalregionof the easternHimalaya dis-plays less sophisticated sthetic ense and aless complex medium f expression. he mostcommonform f art in Arunachal Pradeshisthedrawing n wood (Fig. 15). At the houseentrance re some crude and simple drawingson a woodenframe,with ome dots and length-wise lines displayed n an unsystematic ay.Figures and lines are drawnusually with theliquid of lingchong pine-resin), he essence ofwhich ivesblack dye.These drawings re associatedwith socio-religious ites. hey erve na way to declare nexplicit utsymbolic orm he desireof the n-dividualwhoperformsheceremony o attaincertainheights.Amongthe Akas, forexample,when manaspiresfor omematerialgoals inlife,he performs religious ite o appease thedeitywho can bless him withthedesiredend.On the last day of the ceremony,he personperformingt,or someoneon his behalf,whomay have acquired some special skill in thework, draws symbolicdesignsat the entranceof thehouse. The performerf the ritual ex-presseshisyearningshrough hesefigures ndpraysto the presiding eity or success or for-tune nthedesired phere.

REGIONAL PATTERNS OF DANCEIn mostof theHimalayathedancehas cometo be generally egarded s an artformmeantto enkindleemotionsexpressiveof religious

sentiments.eligion,however, oes notalwaysprovidetheinspiration ordances. In theHi-malaya, heBuddhists,heHindus, nd theani-

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1976 HIMALAYAN ART 499mistshave used dancing n thepropitiationfthe spirits f Nature.For example, a numberof epidemicdiseaseshave theirown presidingdeities.Whenever here s impendingdangerof an area being affected, eople gathertoofferprayersand performritual dances toplease the gods.The rain dancesemphasize heritualistic haracter f dancing; other dancesdepict he harvesting f crops, symbolizingifein ts truggleor xistence.Dance in the ndicCultureArea

The dances of the Indic culture rea of theHimalaya represent he majormoments n thelife f thecultural roup nd inthe existence fthe ndividual.29his may rangefrom hecol-lective xuberance ssociatedwith hehunt ndharvest estivals o the poignantpersonal feel-ings at moments f birth,marriage,r death ofa loved one.The earliestknown codifiedwork on thedance is the Natya Shastra,by BharataMuni,whichwas writtenomewhere etween he sec-ond and fourth enturiesA. D. Bharata Munireferso fourregionalvariations f the art ofdancing n India: Avanti,Dakshinatya,Pan-chali, and Odha-Magadhi. n theHimalaya re-gionalismndance s expressed n thedistinctiveKathak dance of HimachalPradesh and Garh-wal Himalaya, the cosmic-dance of Siva inNepal Himalaya, and folkdancingthroughouttheHinduHimalaya.30The Kathak (meaninga narrator fKathasor epic Hindu stories) dance represents richand varied record of traditions nd ideas. Acommunityf musicians nd dancers, nown sKathakas,fromwhom his tyle f dancinggetsits name,danced on festivals nd participatedin daily templerituals.As unsophisticateder-nacular art thas religious nd spiritual oots.Moslem nvasions roughtnnew nfluences nthe Kathak dance of the southernHimalaya.The Moslem royalty and nobility extendedpatronage o Kathakdancingas a form f so-cial entertainment.s the dance shifted rom

29 Ragini Devi, Dance Dialects of India (Delhi:VikasPublications, 972); R. S. Gupta, Language fDance in India," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 9(January , 1972), pp. 18-20.30 For a briefdiscussion f regionalismn Indiandance, see Kapila Vatsyayan, Indian Dance," Artsof Asia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 48-55.

the templesof gods to the courts of Moslemrulers t swung oward ensualism.The cosmic-dance f Siva, which visualizestheunity fBeing,radiates ll movement ithinthe cosmos,and liftshumanity rom emporalto eternalrealities.The dance of Krishna andRadha, the Eternal Lovers, symbolizes om-plete onenessof soul and body, expressingheembodimentf spiritualove leadingthesoul,intheprocessof dancing, n thepathof ibera-tion.The dance in the ndic culture f the Hi-malaya is the vehicle for communicatinghedominantHindu conceptsofman'sfaith.Folk dancing n the Terai originatedn thehunt nd harvest estivals f theancientAryanancestorsof the local population. Demons,spirits, nd gods were invoked or appeasedthroughances. Present-dayolkdancers f theTerai exhibit much of this ancientheritage;they dance for sheer fun,for the fertilityfcrops,forluck, forprotection,nd for sum-moning nd dispellingheforces f nature.Thedances are characterized y joys and sorrowsof life, sense of lightheartedness,nd under-currents f gratitude r fear forsupernaturalpowers.Various Hindu castes such as the Ahirs,Kahars, Chamars,and the Dhobis have theirownrepertoirefdancestocelebrate weddingor the birthof a child. These are purelyfolkdances,characterized y elementaldirectness,spontaneity,ndsincerity.Dance in the outheastAsianCultureArea

Tribes of theeasternHimalaya region, uchas the Monpa, Dafla, Apa Tani, Akas, andMishmis, re so imbuedwith heconceptoftheunity f life and the unfettered ature aroundthemthattheyregardnatureas the mantleofdivinitytself.3' Their dances, therefore, rededicatedto nature worship.Festivals relatedto seasonal variationsprovide occasions fordancing. The dances are of simple gesturalform; hefootwork,hough wiftndrhythmic,is characterized y abrupt eaps and bounds.The body itself lideswithremarkable ase incircles, nd thearms move sideways o weavedelightfulatterns f the gentlebreeze playingwith the soft ripples of the quietlyflowingmountain treams.

31 S. G. Burman,"NEFA (North East FrontierAgency)-The Land and Its Peoples," India Quar-terly, ol. 19 (1963), pp. 344-69.

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> ~~~~~~~~~, _2

_.~ .4 ,i_

FIG.16. Lamadances tGangtok, ikkim.Wearingargeblackhats nd acoat adorned withthunderbolts, nd dried skulls, theycall forththe deities. An orchestraaccompanies the danceand marksthe dancer's steps.These boriginaleoplebelieven the acredand fertilizingowerof human lood.Head-huntingractices ave ceased to exist uttheritual f sacrificetill urvives ith n animal

profferedn place of human eings. acrificesthe ccasion or great ealofdancing mongthe ribalnhabitants.ardances, survivalfthe martial ast, symbolizeventswhich heaboriginalribes esire o be successfullyc-complished. he tribes ave a richvariety fdanceswhich re mostlywarliken characterand presentbstract onceptionsf the hunt.A fantasticnd extravagantmaginationomesinto ull lay n thedramatizationf the hrillsand surprisesftheduel n thedanceform.Dance in the TibetanCultureAreaThe mask dancesof the Tibetanculturalgroup n the highHimalaya rom adakh to

Bhutan presentmotifswith unsophisticatedforms f folkexpression. hese dances havecultural nd artistic ignificances well associal and recreationalalues.A variety fdancingmasks representsivine and super-natural eings uch s demons ndevil pirits,animals,ndmen.82ome f hedancingmasksaremadeupofpaper ulp nd others fwood.The beat of thedrum tarts lowly,nd as thedanceproceeds,he empo ises ndthe hythmbecomesmore renzied.he entire erformanceis a deliberateymbolicepresentationf thestrugglegainsthehazards f ife Fig. 16).

32G. Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows (New York:Stein ndDay, 1967), pp. 133-34; SiegbertHummel,"Boy Dances at theNewYear's Festival n the Regionof Dri-cu-ron, orthNepal,"East and West,Vol. 24.New SeriesNos. 3-4 (1974), pp. 363-64.

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1976 HIMALAYAN ART 501Tibetans n the Darjeeling rea have a formof duetdance in whichtwopersonsform necharacter n orderto portray he character ftheHimalayanyak.The dancer n frontholdsthemaskwhile his partnermoving n unison

immediatelyehindmanages owag thetail.Dance in the slamicCulturalAreaIn the KashmirHimalaya dancing in thepalaces of feudal hiefs ecame a form fsala-ciousentertainmentarked y thevisualphysi-cal charms f the dancer as she lustilywhirledtosensuousmusic.During heperiod fMoslemrule theemphasis n dancingshifted rom hespiritual o the physical and courtesanstookto dancingas an easy means to gainfavor oftheMogul lords. n theMoslem Vale of Kash-mirdancingbecame a tabooed art forrespect-able persons; tmaintained lassicalpurity nlyin those partsof thewesternHimalaya whichenjoyedgreater rotection romMoslem inva-sionsbecause ofgeographical eclusionand insomevalleys due to sustainedpatronagefromthesuccessivegenerations f theHindu rulingfamilies.Rural peasants perform traditional folkdances such as theihoomarand khattak; hemovements eflect raits onsidered good" intheregionalculture.33n contrast o the Westwhereupright ody posturedenoteshonestyanddances such as Spanishflamencond classi-cal balletemphasize sense ofverticality,ift-ing upwards, nd a desire o overcome hepullofgravity,hefolkdancing fKashmir mpha-sizes a downbody posture.The movements e-flectmodesty,which s a mostdesirable ocialtrait nthis ulture. n thefolkdancing f Kash-mir"lifted"postureoftendepictsoverweeningpride or comic pomposity.An upward lookamong hedancers nserious ontextsmay ndi-cate ooking oheaven.

REGIONAL PATTERNS OF MUSICTheHindu CulturalAreaIn the HinduHimalaya every ongor pieceof music s set in some raga.34Literally, aga

33 For examplesof folk dances from he Islamicarea,see ReginaldMassey, Dancers from akistan,"Dancing Times, Vol. 65 (1975), p. 535.34 EmmieTe Nijenhuis,ndian Music: HistoryandStructureLeiden: E. J. Brill, 1974); Walter Kauf-man, The Ragas of North India (Bloomington: Indi-ana Universityress,1968).

is something hich olors themindwith cer-taindefinite eeling-a waveof passion or emo-tion. n a special sense,raga s a tonal composi-tion of musical notes with a formof peculiarsignificance. he peculiarconceptionof raga,one of the basic principles f the system, asno exact parallel withother ystems f musicin the world. Hindumusicexpresses certainfeeling r mood and reflectshe inspiration fthe outhern imalayanpeople.Specific easons and hours of the day andnight re fixed ortheperformancef differentfestivals, eligious rites and ceremonies. ni-tially herewere ixragasand theywereassoci-ated with he ix seasons of theyear.TheywereBhairava (summer), Megha (rainy), Pan-chama (autumn), Nat-Narain early winter),Shri (winter), and Vasanta (spring) ragaswhichweremeant o be sung n their espectiveseasons. Raga Bhairava, associated with thefestivalfor the worship of Siva, became themelodyof summer ime April and May) re-mindingmen of the anger ofSiva, the God ofDestruction.Megha, meaning loud, s the mel-odyoftherainy easonrepresentingheexuber-ance of oy amongthe agriculturaleople withthe oming ftherains. hri,which s a name ofLakshmi, he goddess of wealth, s sung n thewinter eason soon after he harvest.Vasantaraga, arousing motions f oyandhilarity iththeappearance of blossoms, s the songof thespring r vasanta season. Similarly, aga Pan-chama is allocatedto the autumnmonths ndraga Nat-Narain o theearlywinter eason.Apart from the traditional ssociation ofragaswith easons,additional agas are derivedfrom geographicalplace names and regions,fromthe names of specific roups of people,fromcult and cult worship, nd from namesofgods and goddesseswhichhave been addedto provide richand colorfulmusicalform ntheHinduHimalaya. The ragas emergeas thesuggestiveound pictures f the variousenvi-ronments;ach ragareflectshementalpercep-tion and awareness fthephysical nd culturalmilieu.All forms fHindumusic uch as theDhru-pad, Thumri, nd Dadra-each characterizedby a set of distinctiveagas-are prevalentnthe Himalaya (Fig. 17). Each form has itsown regionof popularity ependingupon thehistoricalndsocial traditions.

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HIMALAYA\ TIBETANMUSICHKHEYAL F REGIONAL PATTERNS F MUSICAND \X

0 100 200 300 400 Miles

I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~sf B,,,,,,,( AMD\\GABHA \1PASHMINA A A

REGIONAL PATTERNS F EMBROIDERY

\ TIBETAN AMAIST/ \ ~~(CHORTEN)I SLAMIC

REGIONALPATTERNS F ARCHITECTURE ND SCULPTURE

FIG. 17. Himalaya. Map of regional atterns f music,regional atterns f embroidery,regional atternsf architecturend sculpture.Based on fieldreconnaissancend literaturereview.)

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1976 HIMALAYAN ART 503The literary ontentof Dhrupad, the mostfavored melody in the Hindu courts of theformer unjab Hill states, s based on the tra-ditions, ymbols, nd imagery f Hindu myth-ology. It is characterized y a spiritof regalmajesty ndgrandeurwhichreflectedhemoodof theprincely ourts.Dhrupadwas originallya melody ntowhichwerewoven theprevalentfolk musical patterns.Most hill states songsgenerally ecount tales of romanticove or ofheroism."35Thumri is characterizedby erotic subjectmatter, nd soft notes and is associatedwithsouthern artsof theHimalaya adjacentto theGanges valley.36Thumrimoved into the Hi-malaya after t was developed n the area nearLucknow and Banaras and was influencedstrongly y local folk music suchas theKajariand Chaitawhichcatch the seasonal moods ofsummer nd the rains,respectively.he domi-nant heme fthe songs nThumris love in allits spects.Bhajan and Kirtans, kind of dramatic o-nata based on the various episodes from thelife of Ram, Sita, Krishna, nd Radha are thetwo most popular forms f religiousmusic ntheNepal foothills.37n Himachal Pradesh theraga system f the ndian music has inspired

special styleof paintings alled Ragamala (ormodes nmusic) painting.38hese paintings reillustrations f poems whichdescribeor evokethemood of the raga. Thus, the three arts-music, poetry, nd painting-are involved nthe production f Ragamala paintings.Thesepaintings re extremely omplex to interpretdueto a lack ofunanimitymongmusicologists,poets,and painters bout the exactmelodyormusicalstructure, reciseverbal imagery, ndartisticconography epresented. hetwopaint-ingsof Todi Ragini,one in sophisticated tyleand theother n folk tradition, re attempts oportrayhespirit nd character f the melodyor raga (Figs. 18 and 19). Todi Ragini, repre-sentedbya charmingwoman n an open land-

35 GeraldD. Berremen, indus of the Himalaya:Ethnography and Change (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia ress, 1972), p. 262.36PremLata Sharma, The Origin f Thumri,"nAspects of Indian Music, 2nd rev. ed. (New Delhi:1970), pp.73-85.37 A. A. Blake, "Kirtan nBengal," ndianArt ndLetters, ewSeries,Vol. 21 (1947), pp. 34-40.38 Pratapaditya Pal, Ragamala Paintings in theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston: Museum ofFine Arts,1967).

I' U~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIG. 18. Todi Raginirepresents transpositionfone of themodesor raga of Indianmusic ntopaint-ings.Thisone illustrateshe ophisticatedtyle.scape, entrancesthe deer in the neighboringpasturesby the music. The imageryderivedfrom folk stories is expressiveof a womanwhose youth as inspiredove among heyoungloverswho cluster roundher. Both of theseRagamala paintingsre characterizedya sen-sitiveappreciation f the regional andscape,flowers nd trees, he yricalgraceof animals,and theportrayal f abandon in women.Music n the slamicCultureAreaKheyal,a modifiedndicmusicalform om-inant n theKashmir alley, s lessrigorous,essbound by rulesand enjoys greater lexibilitynits exposition hantheHindu Dhrupad.It con-veys the idea of imagination.39With greaterfreedom n the matterof improvisation ndtonal structure, heyal easily developed andprosperedn theromantic nd sensuousatmo-sphereofMogul courts nd became a popular

3'"Jaideva Singh,"The Evolutionof Khayal," inAspects of Indian Music, 2nd rev. ed. (New Delhi:1970), pp. 86-96.

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~~f /

FIG. 19. Folk style ainting eflectinghe pastoralenvironment of the Himalayan valleys.new style in music in the Vale of Kashmir.Ghazal9 originating in the Lucknow area, rep-resents Moslem influence. The intense emo-tional appeal of the Ghazal depends on its suc-cessful renderingwith correct accent and a goodvoice.Kawwali and Mercia are the counterpartsofKirtan and Bhajan for the Moslems. Mercia isthe song describing the battle in which thegrandsons of the Prophet were killed. It ischanted in a recitativemanner in the morningsduring the Moharram festival. Kawwali is dis-tinguishedby its quick and lengthypassages upand down the scale and well-punctuated cho-ruses emphasizing the main theme of the song.Music in the Southeast Asian CultureArea

The folk songs and music of the easternHimalaya lack the restraint f established clas-sical varieties of Hindu musical forms. Thewords of the songs are simple and precise,adorned with homely similes and metaphors.Among the Akas, a tribal group in Kameng

FIG. 20. In the Uchi, the religious enter f theTashi Cho dzongin ThimphuValley of Bhutan,monkbeats drumheld nhis efthand.The drum sadornedwithreligious ymbols.

district, most popular song is brjhva. It issungon festive ccasionsand on journeys romone village to another.Duringmarriage ere-monies songs and music are played by thepeople of the bride's village to express theirhumility nd respectfor the wedding guests.Amongthe tribalyouthsove-lyricsre a mostpopular form of music. Boys and girls playmusic nd sing ove-lyricsxpressingheir mo-tionsndividuallynd secretlyehind hebushesin the olitary orners f theneighboringoods.Music ntheTibetanCulturalAreaThe popularsongsand musicoftheTibetancultural area blend the concepts of Lamaismand the egends f the Buddhist pic.4"For ex-ample,they reat hethree evels of theworld,each inhabited y its own deities, he differentrealms of nature each with ts representativeanimal such as the white ion of theglaciers),the four okpalas (guardiangodsof fourdirec-tions), and thefour egendary ings uling ver

40 Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Folk Songs fromGyantse and Western Tibet, 2nd rev. ed. (Ascona,Switzerland: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 1966).

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1976 HIMALAYANART 505

FIG. 21. A horn,made of a human thighbone,used n Buddhistmonasteries.the fourpointsof thecompass. The songsaresupposed to protect he area through heir e-ligious powers. They express the wisdomofthe elders and lend sanction o the social andworld order, he structuref the environmentand that of the groups inhabitingt. To theaccompanimentof whistles and shouts thefull-throatedarefree songs of the Tibetanherders are similarto those of the Spanishshepherds.

In the monasteries he monksblow horns,conch shells, nd beat drums nd cymbalsdur-ing the chanting f sacred prayers Fig. 20).The horn s generally lown on one note onlyandis easy to play. The majority fthemonksrun their fingers long the script while theychant and play music. A small horn,carvedfrom humanfemur, ollowedout and shapedto a mouthpiece t oneend, s common opmostmonasteriesn the Tibetan cultural rea (Fig.21). From each of thewhole range of instru-mentsthe monks usually play only one fre-quently epeated nd tonelessnote.REGIONAL PATTERNS OFEMBROIDERY HANDICRAFTS

Handicrafts re a major element n thecul-turalheritage f theHimalayan people. Likeothermanifestationsf Himalayan art, handi-crafts re products f the material nd spiritualenvironment.n theirvaried forms he handi-crafts eflect religious-philosophicaldealism,and an imaginationhatdrawsupon the physi-cal and culturalmilieu fthemountains. rafts-men, while striving or beauty,do not lose

FIG. 22. An embroidery motif from Kashmir.Flowers and tendrils of the cypress tree have beenused to produce the pattern.

touchwith the physical, ultural, nd experi-ential nvironment.The principal esigns rdecorativemotifsnHimalayanhandicrafts ave been derived romthree ources:the slamic ornamentsrdesignsinwhich ll naturalforms re reduced o con-ventional arabesques or ingeniousgeometricpatterns; hemore exuberant nd imaginativeHindu form,whichuses animals and humanfigureswithgreater reedom; nd the LamaistBuddhist raditionsilledwithrituals nd sym-bolismsofTibetan Buddhism.These traditionscanbe seen ntextilembroideryesigns,metalwork, ewelry, ottery, ood, horn, vory, nd

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~~~~~ -4FIG. 23. The craftsmenn Kathmandu,Nepalhave excelled n finemetalwork.Fine specimens ep-resentingariousdeities n the Hindu and Buddhistpantheonre made fordecoration f thealtars.Thefacesare alwaysmoulded n perfect roportionnddisplay beautifullyerene xpression. he iconogra-phyof these art forms eflectsmanyaspectsof theHinduand Buddhist ymbolism.othercrafts Figs. 22-24).41 The hereditaryHinducraftsman,rotected y caste traditions,and Moslemcraftsmenccustomed o occupa-tionaltraditions,ontinue o transmithetradi-tional arts and crafts n originalformfromfather o son.Embroideredtextilesand carpets are themostcommonhandicraftnd they llustratee-gionalismderivedfromthe physicaland cul-tural characteristicsf the area. The distinctforms f art-fabrics ave been preserved s aresultof severalfactors.Prescriptionsf rigidsocial codes, particularlymongtheHindus ofthe Himalaya,have ordainedstyles f decora-tion,color, and designsfor various occasionsand differentommunities.Marriages,festiveseasons,and sacredceremonies equire heuseofparticular lothes n variouscolorsby vari-ous religious nd castegroups.Color has greatsymbolic alue such as among heHindusoftheHimalaya,forwhomcolorssymbolize oncreteand abstract ldments.Green standsfor youth

41 Pratapaditya al, "Bronzesof Nepal," ArtsofAsia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 31-37; Pushpa Sundar,"Wood Carving," ndian Horizon,Vol. 23 (1974),pp. 33-39. For a discussion f regionalvarietiesntoys, highly evelopedfolkart,whichreflect eo-graphical nd cultural nfluences,ee Anne Winter,"India's Toys: In Varietyand Style,They ReflectEvery Facet of This ComplexCulture,"CraftHori-zons,Vol. 16 (December,1956), pp. 32-36.

Z X~~~~~~~~~~~~~,~s-, _^ o . s v~~. .- _ *' -^'?S;, ' ,t 4X~#,#, -,. . . t ...t........... ...................,ssv,--,l{:4* S ;- f i-* +0*B@*^

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and life.Red is thecolorof oy andhappiness,or passion,virility,nd strength. ellow sym-bolizescheerfulness,ntellectualism,nd the ife-giving aysof the sun. Blue symbolizes eace,the atmosphere, he sky, as well as heaven.Purplestandsforwealthand materialposses-sions.The designs angefrom hegeometricr-rangementsf dots,squares,zigzagsor circlestofloral nimaln,ndreligiousmotifs.42IslamicEmbroideryandicraftsThe shawl embroideryfKashmirvividlyl-lustrateshe mpact fnature Fig. 25). Floral

42 JohnErwin and MargaretHall, IndianEmbroi-deries (Ahmedabad: Calico Museum of Textiles,1975); Mulk Raj Anand, "Embroidery," arg,Vol.28 (December, 974),pp. 30-33;Kamala Dongerkery,"Place of Embroideryn IndianCrafts,"Marg,Vol.

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FIG.5.loralatternnhembroiderash-qirhawl.motifs,majesticmountains,himmeringakes,birds,and luscious fruits, ll finda place inKashmirembroidery.43ocal and Persianin-fluences ave blended n the distinctiveeafandflowerpatterns n the Kashmircarpets.Car-pets ntended oruse bytheMoslems as prayer

~~~' ~ 4

mats reof heMihrabarch)typeFig.26).4The "Tree of Life" is coveredwithflowers;heearth s representedythetriangularmoundofbuilders, eneathwhich straightine is some-times rawn odepict river.Islamicprayer s directional,nd orientationin the direction f Mecca or theqibla is essen-tial. The liturgical ocus of the mosque is aprayer-niche Mihrab) in the wall facingMecca. The portrayal f thisniche n embroi-dery esign istinguishesrayer-rugsrom ther17 (March,1964), pp. 69-70; KamaladeviChattopad-hyaya, Originand Development f EmbroiderynOur Land,"Marg, Vol. 17 (March,1964), pp. 5-10.43 Nelly H. Sethna, Shal: Weaves and EmbroideriesofKashmirNew Delhi:WileyEasternPrivate im-ited,1973).44JamesDickie, "The Iconographyf the PrayerRug,"OrientalArt,Vol. 18 (1972), pp. 41-49.

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FIG.26. Islamicprayer ugwithfloraldesign(Courtesy . Khan,Srinagar).kinds fcarpets. heprayer ug s alwaysdirec-tional n pattern nd symmetricallong a sin-gle longitudinal xis. Its embroidereddesignechoes thearchitecturef themosquein linearterms.Embroidery andicraftsntheHinduCultureAreaEmbroidery in Himachal Pradesh andKumaounHimalaya is usuallycalled Chambastyle ndithasbeen nfluencedyPaharipaint-ing.The characteristicsre easilydistinguishedbythepictorial nd geometrical esignswhichdepict hemes orrowed rom ahari paintings.Scenes of Krishna's life,dances, and ancientlegendsare reproducedn warm,vividcolorsin the tradition f Kangra paintings. mbroi-dery s used to adorn variousarticles uch asscarves,caps, fans, linen, and blouses (Fig.27). The patterns re simpleand go withthe

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508 PRADYUMNAP. KARANAND COTTON MATHER December

FIG. 27. Krishna, hown n the center f thisChambaRumal, s a popularfigure n theembroideryftheHinduculturerea.Fourscalloped rches, ach with woman, re separatedbycedartrees. old leavesand flowersecorate heborder.

prevalent olk tyle f paintingn which lowersand trees are drawnwithout ophistication.45Phulkari,whichmeans "flowering ork," sa spectacularstyleof embroidery ssociatedwith the OuterHimalaya in Punjab and Ku-maoun. The motifs re largely loral nd geo-metrical Fig. 28). Phulkarihas a large num-ber of patterns nd each pattern as a specialnamebased on the motif. his form fPunjab45"Chamba Rumal,"Marg,Vol. 17 (March,1964),pp. 19-21.

and Kumaoun Himalaya embroiderys oftenmentionedn the literaturend folk songs ofthe rea.46Religiousmotifs uch as thesankha (conchshell), surja (sun), chandrama (moon), and46 "Bagh and Phulkari:Punjab,"Marg, Vol. 17(March,1964), p. 19. For a discussion f the roleofsymbolical,sychological,nd physical actorswhich

influenceheuseof colors n textile andicraftsnvar-ious parts f ndiaand Himalaya, eeNancy Kenealy,"India's CraftsToday: Color,"CraftHorizons,Vol.19 (July-August,959),pp. 29-30.

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FIG. 28. A floral mbroideryesign sedon scarfsin thePunjabHimalaya.trishul trident),enter the embroidery f theTerai and Middle Himalaya in Nepal. Thisarea remained solatedfrom hecourtly ompand show of Mogul rulersand it retainedatraditional olk styleusingavailable materials.Kashida embroideryf theNepal Terai has alarge varietyof designsuniversally sed forpersonalgarments.ujani style f Terai is usedin quiltsand covers and illustrates atural ur-roundingshrough ree-flowingepresentationsof trees, lowers,nd animals.Kantha,an em-broidery n the Duar (piedmont) of easternHimalaya, has designsof human and animalfigures,lowers,ndfoliage.SoutheastAsianHill Culture mbroidery

The embroideryf easternHimalayareflectsthe dual influences f Indian and Burmancul-tures,as well as the tribal traditions f theaboriginalpopulation. The embroiderys ex-tremely elicateand it is commonlypreparedon the phaneyk,a type of sarong worn bywomen.The pattern ommonly sed is the cir-culardesign,one circle oiningthe other. t isa designnspired ycircular wirls f thewaterand natural bjectssuchas theflower uds.Another trikingxample of embroiderysthe black chaddar (bed spread) with embroi-dered nimalmotifnthick otton hreadwhichis popularlycalled the Naga chaddar. Thismotifwas derivedfromhunting xploitsandwasoriginally ornbytheAngamiNagas.47 B. K. Barua, "Weaving n Assam,"The AssamQuarterly, ol. 2 (April,1962), pp.45-49.

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FIG. 29. On festive ccasionsthewomen n Sik-kim weara long-sleevedilk acket,hat,and richly-striped pron.Note thematchingloral esign n theumbrella andle.

Embroideryn theTibetanCultureAreaBuddhistHimalaya people weave as theirancestorsdid in Tibet. In Ladakh, northernNepal, Sikkim, nd Bhutanweaving s a house-hold art.On such occasions as theNew Yearcelebration r the anniversaryf thefoundingof a monastery, hentheentirepopulationofa valley s dressed n new clothes ndhas cometo participaten the event,the local weavingartmaybe noticednthefestival ostumes Fig.29). Each highHimalayanvalleyhas its owndistinct weaving patterns.For example, inBumthangncentralBhutan,unscoured heep'swool is used in differentolors to weave thefamous "Bumthang blankets" with yellowstripes and floral pattern.Black Bumthangblankets of wool withyellow,red, and whitefloralcrosses,which afford rotection gainstthe extremewinter old, are widelyused as agarmentr skirtn central nd easternBhutan.The pattern onsistsof a broad stripeddesignwith tylized loralmotifs.48

48 B. C. Olschak, "BhutaneseWeaving," Palette(Sandoz,Basel), No. 24 (1966), pp. 3-8.

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FIG. 30. Woolen cloth withstripedpattern ndflowermotifs usedfor women's lothingn Bhutan.Two silver houlder laspshold thisgarmentogether.The top of thesilver lasp is decoratedwith ymbols,oftengilded, howing he wheelof the aw,the otusflower,nddragon.In Bhutan theblanket withstripedpatternforms hetypicalwoman'sgarmentFig. 30).The longitudinal tripedpattern n which thegolden flowerdesign is prominents used inmen'sgarments. lowerdesigns nd symbols fBhutanese ulture lso gleam from hebrightlypaintedpillars of theunnailed,timber-framedbuildingsand bridges. In northSikkim thefloralpattern s used on the special bedstead,which is similar to the sofa for sitting.The

ground hade of beige or blue is employed oset offthe brightflowers nd foliagemotifs(Fig. 31).Carpetweaving n northern imalaya is es-sentially folkart.49 he most popularkind sthesmallsaddlecarpeton which very lementof ornamentationhas a symbolicmeaning,bringing ood fortune r providing rotection.Carpet designsoften howseveral or all eightofthe uckyBuddhist ymbols fgood fortuneeither inglyor in groups.One of the oldest49PhilipDenwood,The Tibetan Carpet (Warmin-ster, ngland:Arisand PhilipsLtd.,1974).

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FIG. 31. A floralpattern ecorates he bedsteadcover in this picturetaken at the palace of theChogyal f Sikkim nGangtok.Raw silkproducednthe outhernegions fSikkim as been used tomakethegarment ortheChogyal's ister. t is decoratedwithfloralpatterns nd ornamental illetswiththeswastikawhichsymbolizes ood fortune. Tibetancarpetwithflowermedalliondesign oversthe floor.decorativemotifs n carpets n Bhutan is thesingle arge swastikaon a border of separateor nterlacedwastikas.50

PATTERNS OF ARCHITECTUREAND SCULPTUREThe distinctiveimalayan ultures resplen-didlyrealized nfolk rchitecturend sculpture(Fig. 32). As the principalvisiblerecordofthe religious, esthetic nd materialenviron-ments,folk architecturend sculpturevividlyexpress hevariouscultures-even colonialism(Figs. 33 and34).TheHinduCulturalArea

In thesouthern arts of thePunjab, Kuma-oun, andNepal HimalayatheHindutemples acommon andscapefeature ut tdoes notcon-tain a largeshelter o accommodate congre-gation fdevotees Fig. 35). The Terai ineast-50B. C. Olschak, TibetanCarpets," alette San-doz,Basel), No. 27 (1967), p. 7.

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FIG. 32. The drawings on these round storagebuildings adjacent to homes in westernTerai in Nepalare associated with socioreligious rites. In symbolicform they signify hat theywish to be blessed to re-main freefrom evil influences.ernNepal with ts tradition f wooden housesandthatched utsoffersomenew and interest-ingarchitectural odes n the Chandimandapa(literally, orchof goddess Chandi) and tem-ples.i' This alluvialregionhaswidespread lay

51MaryShepherd lusser ndGantamavajra ijra-carya, Two MedievalNepaleseBuildings:An Archi-tectural nd CulturalStudy,"ArtibusAsiae, Vol. 36(1974), pp. 169-218. For detailsof Indian templestyles, ee K. V. SundraRajan, ndian Temple tyles:

V

3,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r.FIG. 34. Rest houses n Paro, Bhutan, laterde-velopment y the Bhutanese overnment.he livingquarters re less elevatedthan in the colonial resthouseand there re structuralifferencesuch as tieabsence fnails and moreuse of masonryn this atertype,but the overall similarityf architecturaltyleandfunctional urpose s strikingn thetwotypes.

deposits suitable for brick manufacture. heTerai mason uses molded bricksto beautifytemples nd multiplies he number f pavilionsand spires o make them mposing.Residentialstructures, owever,graduallyevolved whichusedwood and bamboo. This distinctive eraiThe Personalityof Hindu Architecture Delhi: Mun-shilalManoharlal,1972).

FIG. 33. The rest house (Dak Bungalow) was aproduct f colonialism ntroducedythe British. o-cated in easternTerai, at the edge of the foothills,their urposewas to accommodate igh ivil servantson official usiness. ivingaccommodations on theelevated econd floor.The style s reminiscentf theold colonialedifices uiltforsimilar urposesn thetropicsf both heOld andNewWorlds ytheBritish,Dutch, and otherwestern uropeancolonialpowers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~-j4L~~~~~

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FIG. 35. DurbarSquare at Bhatgaon,Nepal. Thepalace is on the right; he tatue fBhupatindra alla( 1696-1722), thebuilder,s in eft enter. he artsofterra otta ndwoodworkreamong hemostnotableartisticchievementsn theKathmandu alley,whichmeans heValleyofWoodenTemples,where uildingsare lavishly ecoratedwith unals r carvedbrackets.The palace of Bhatgaon s a masterpiece f Hindu-Buddhistrtand architecture.

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FIG. 36. This argework fart t BuddhaNilkan-tha,nearKathmandu,howingVishnu leeping n abedofsnakes n thesymbolicosmicocean,connotesprofound erenitynd peace. Over fivemetersong,this eventhenturyculpturef Vishnu ies ina tankfedbya natural pring.Grandiose rtdevoted o theHindugods produced ome massive culpturesn theKathmanduValley. Brahminpriests re shownper-formingheritualworship.architectures particularlyhown n the lopingroof, urved ave, and a pointed rch style.+2

In the Hindu sculpture f southernHima-laya, a widerangeof Vishnuand Siva imagesappearfrom hePunjabto theNepal Himalaya(Figs. 36 and 37).5 Bhairawa s another om-mondeity n Hindu architecture;he club andskulls n thehandsofBhairawa symbolize eath(Fig. 38). A sculpturedependinggreatly orits expressionon the religious deals requireslittle ewelry, ut the little hat s tolerated sonlyto furthereveal the philosophicalbeingintheouter orm.Architecturend Sculpture ftheTibetanCultureAreaIn BuddhistHimalaya chortens nd stupasdominate he landscape and serveas symbols

52 For details n regionalismn architecture,ee H.Sanyal, RegionalReligiousArchitecturenBengal:AStudy n theSourcesofOrigin ndCharacter,"Marg,Vol. 27 (March, 1974), pp. 31-43.53 Often he magesof Vishnu re set n a tank-auniquearchitecturefwaterwhich n areas ofHinducultural nfluence nderwent laboratedevelopmentinto forms ombining eauty nd utility. ohnNico-lais, "WaterArchitecturef theKathmandu alley,"Arts of Asia, Vol. 4 (September-October,974), pp.62-67.

of thepassing wayof theBuddha ntoNirvana(Figs. 39 and 40). The shrinetself eminds hedevotees f theGreat Teacher as an omniscientreality.54 he stupa is a massivehemisphericalrelicmound, rowned y a stoneumbrella ndsurrounded y a balustrade. t was originallya simple burial mound of earth and brickserected verfragmentsfbones and ashes ofaholy personage. Following this custom, theashes of Buddha, afterhis Great Departure,wereenshrinedwithin uch tumuli.The reliefcompositionsdorning hestupas and chortensnarrate toriesmainly rom he ife ofBuddhaor from he egendsofhis incarnations. nderthepatronage f lamas, sculpturen Tibet en-tered phase of intense reativity ithreligionas theprincipal ourceof nspirationFig. 41).ArchitecturendSculpturenthe slamicCultureArea'The Islamic architecturend sculptureofKt.tirmirHimalaya is characterizedby theneatlydefined utlineand thegeometric ro-portion of interior pace. The Islamic Law,based on the Koran, forbade any sculpturaldecoration; heonlyplasticembellishmentsnwhichthe Moslems indulgedwere the carvingandpaintings f texts rom he Holy Book andtheuse of Persianand Arabicgeometrical ndfloralmotifs arabesques) forsurfacedecora-tion. The artistsrepresented eometrical ndfloralmotifs n endlesscombinations nd withremarkableesthetic ense.The Moslembuild-ers n SouthKashmir howeda great tructuralingenuityn coordinating hemainelements oform unified nd pleasingarchitecturalom-position.Religious architecture n Islamic Kashmirconsistsof mosques whichfulfill he practicalneeds of a religionwhich dvocatescommunityworship ndmausoleums, hefinest xpressionsof slamicarchitecturen theVale ofKashmir.The mausoleums re almostalwayssituatednthecenter f a beautiful arden,giving n im-pression fserenitynd peace.55

54 P. Pal, The Artof Tibet New York: The AsiaSociety,1969), p. 44; PhilipDenwood, "BhutaneseArchitecture," sian Affairs,Vol. 58 (February,1971), pp. 24-33; GelongmaKarmaKechiogPalmo,"Mantras on the Prayer Flag," Kailash: A Journal ofHimalayan Studies, Vol. 1 (1973), pp. 168-69.*5 For the roleof environmentn theMogul land-scape architecture,ee MulkRaj Anand,"The Treat-mentof Environmenty the Mughals,"Marg,Vol.26 (December,1972), pp. 3-8.

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FIG. 37. Entrance o the Hindu Temple of PasupatinathLord of the AnimalWorld)viewed from the bank of Bagmati. Siva, the god of thisNepalese national shrine, s symbolizedby the productiveand creative Linga, or Phallus. It is in this symbolic formthat Siva is wor-shippedin theTemple of Pasupatinath.On thebanks of Bagmati flanking hetemple,the Hinduscarry out their ritual ablutions on stone steps. Washing for the purification nd expiation ofsins is a ritual to the Hindus in Nepal and elsewhere.

The SoutheastAsian Hill CultureAreaTibeto-Burman illages are made up of sev-eral long-houses ontaining number f patri-lineallyrelatedfamilies.The houses are raisedon piles and are made of bamboo in contrastto the stonehouses of the BuddhistHimalaya,and themud brickhousesofmostof theHindu

Himalaya andSouthKashmir.Architectures influenced y theabundanceof bamboo groves which provide the material

forhousebuilding.Cane, which s common nthe forests, urnishesmaterial of greatutilityforhomebuilding. heAka house,for xample,is a longbamboo and cane structureaised ona platform,boutsix feet bove theground nddivided ntotwo compartments y a partitionwall (Fig. 42). The space betweenthe plat-form nd theground ervesas a shed forpigsand goats. The roofis usually thatched, up-ported y bamboosheets.

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FIG. 38. Bhairawa n Kathmandu'smarket lace.Originally, "fearful" orm f Hindugod,Bhairawais wrathful,utprotectiven spirit,he emanation fdivine mnipotence,nd slayer f demons.CONCLUSIONVernacularrtforms re largely roductsofa group's ehavior ithinhe ontextfspe-cific raditionsndenvironmentalettings.heregional atternsfHimalayan rtwere ecog-nized hree enturiesgo by Taranatha, Ti-betanhistorian.ontactbetween he ancientculturesn thisrealmwas minimizedor ongperiodsnthe astbyphysicalsolation.nmore

FIG. 39. A chorten n Gangtok, Sikkim,sur-rounded yprayer lagswith acredmantra ainted nthem.Chortens uch as this one markthe route ofpilgrimsoundfor heholyplacesofBuddhismn theHimalaya.Amongtherelicsof variouskindsdepos-ited nthehollows f the difice reclay figurinesep-resentingmagesof deities, nd sacred nscriptions.

___ 4FIG. 40. This huge, hemispherical stupa in Kath-manduValley s a strikingxample f religious rchi-

tecture. t the top of the spire s a canopy.Four gi-ganticpairs of eyes are paintedon thebase of thespire.These representhe wisdomof Buddha,mani-fested n all sides by his all-seeing yes.Originally,this decorationwas probablyntended o protect hebuilding rom he "evil eye" or themachinationsfevilspirits.

FIG. 41. This mpressiveculpturefPadamsamb-hava in Gangtok,who broughtBuddhism o Tibet,Nepal, Sikkim, nd Bhutan in the eighth entury,evokes thepresence f the great aintof Lamaism.Considered s the central ranscendentf Buddha,heis representedn paintingsnd sculpture hroughouttheTibetan ulture rea.He is dressed nhis religiousgown nd wears hecharacteristiceaddresswith ar-lappets urned p. His tiara-like ap is crowned y athunderbolt,oppedby a peacockfeather hatsym-bolizespurityrom in.On thefrontf thecap is thetwin-symbolfsunandmoon, mphasizingisperfectcomprehension.ittingn theposture f meditation,he holdsthethunderboltcepterndtheskullcapwiththebase which s filledwith he Water fLife.A tri-dentwith kulls s a specialfeature f thisrepresenta-tion.

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FIG. 42. Aka house This longbamboo and canestructures representativef theresidentialrchitec-ture f theeasternHimalaya.recent imes, owever,nterculturalontacthasprevailed n manyplaces and yetthe regional-ism of Himalayan arthas persisted. t is truethatPahari culture n thecentralHimalaya has

embraced significant lements of both theLamaist and Indic traditions, ut thatfusionhas constitutedimplyan enrichmentf theregional ulturalpattern f the Himalaya in avariety fartforms.Himalayan art is strongly ernacular,notinternationaln character.One may wonderwhy vernacular rt has persisted ere, why tpersists n many otherregions and on othercontinents nd in areas like the AmericanSouthwestwhich re not solated and in whichthere s the onstantmpact f nternationalrt.Those questionsof necessitymustremainun-answered ntilgeographersnd other tudentsofculture ddress hemselves urthero the de-velopmentalspects fregional rt.

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