Mountain spirits of Spiti
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Syksy on täällä. Aika taikoa kesän kuvat muistoiksi. Tallena parhaat hetket kuvatuotteisiin edullisesti. Tilaa 27. syyskuuta mennessä ja saat ilmaisen toimituksen yli 10 euron ostoksille efor.fi.
The Documentary, home of the best documentaries from the BBC World Service. Ludila Modi
In Sagnam village, in India's spitty valley in the vast Himalayas. Devi Deckett performs a Galsheng, a story about good and evil. It's a story woven to entertain families at bedtime. when they're trapped indoors by Spitty's long, harsh winters. The story can stretch over three nights.
Don Rosama
Debbie learnt songs like these from her mother. She's one of the very few people who still knows them.
Who is Dr Jane Orton and why does she study the spirits of Spiti Valley?
The value is changing. Its isolation is coming to an end. Mobile phones, the internet and tourism are connecting the world's highest mountain range to the rest of the world. But oral traditions, like singing the gyalshan, are becoming harder to pass on. Traditional beliefs are disappearing.
I'm Jane Orton. And you're listening to mountain spirits of Spity. I'm a folklorist and over ten years I've been visiting Spity Valley. Collecting their stories and songs. Documenting a dying tradition.
I am Lama Trashinamja. I am now gross to sixty plus.
Lamatashi Namgal is a monk in Key Monastery, the largest of five monasteries in Spiti Valley.
Spiti is a very remote place, not connected to any another world. Spiti is a very calm and quiet before in the mini ten years ago, twenty years ago, now it's a big change is coming.
When I first started visiting Spity in twenty fifteen. It took three days to get to the main town of Kaza. It involved an overnight bus journey from Delhi, followed by a day long minivan ride. Casa is over twelve thousand feet above sea level, and it's usually where people start noticing the altitude. Some people find it hard to breathe. Spity Valley is heartbreakingly beautiful. Dramatic sweeping views across the valley. Sharp mountain edges and huge drops when you look down. And of course it's home to the elusive snow leopard. As I got to know people. It became almost impossible for me to walk down the street without being called in to drink tea. And over many, many cups of tea. People told me stories about their beliefs.
There are many la And each la has its own sonam or luck. If you perform good deeds, whether you are a la or a human, everyone receives the result of their own karma.
This is Punchaknam Vral. He's in his eighties now, and he's from Kibba Village. Kiber is eighteen kilometres from Kaza. Its altitude is a heady fourteen thousand feet. Punchuk is talking about la it's not a word with a direct translation into English. Some local people translate La as spirit or God or deity. When Tibetan Buddhism came to the Himalayas, local beliefs in Laas were integrated into the new religion. Instead of getting rid of them. They were recruited into protecting the teachings of Buddhism.
The La has the power to curse and to cure the cursed person, but he does not have the power to provide spiritual comfort or peace. He can tell where the curse came from and how one can be protected from it. Mama Gnunnen, yeah. According to our religion, La is our guardian who will help us to learn how to live.
This is Dorjay Namgao. He's also from Kibba.
And there are different kinds of la. One is Yullah, which means village la or protector spirits who can only help here. And he is just a Yiddha who can only help us live in this world, but he cannot give us spiritual enlightenment or an afterlife.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:44
2
Who is Dr Jane Orton and why does she study the spirits of Spiti Valley?
1:44–7:59
3
How did Jane first travel to the remote village of Kaza and what challenges did she face?
7:59–14:10
4
What are Lhas and how have they been incorporated into Himalayan Buddhism?
14:10–17:07
5
What are Biyuls (hidden lands) and how do locals perceive people who can see them?
17:07–21:29
6
Who is Balu Thukangbu and what wish‑granting powers is he believed to have?
21:29–26:24
7
How do villagers use prayers and pujas to ensure snowfall and water security?
26:24–29:23