Peculiar Customs and Rites of the Himalayan People

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Peculiar Customs and Rites of the Himalayan People is an outcome of the more than 20 years personal acquaintance with the socio-cultural life style of the Himalayan peoples, inhabiting from Ladakh in the West to Bhutan in the east. Besides, some of the studies relating to the people of various Himalayan regions have also have supplemented to the data already collected from the fields by the author during his linguistic survey of these regions from the year 1975 to 1995.

Although peculiarities and variations of the socio-cultural patterns of the Himalayan people are inexhaustible, yet the author has, for this study, selected only a few of them which may be of greater interest to the readers of the world at large. As such prominence has been given to customs and rites pertaining to birth, marriage and death which are, in a more or less degree, observed by every social group in the world over.

It is hoped that this volume will provide a deep insight to the readers interested in having intimate knowledge of socio- cultural patterns of the people of the Himalayan regions of the Indian sub- continent, better known as wonderland for its peculiar socio-cultural customs and rites.

PROF. D.D. SHARMA (b.1928) is a renowned scholar of Sanskrit and Linguistics. He has served as a professor and head of the department of Sanskrit in the Panjab University, Chandigarh. His academic achievements are many. Besides triple doctorates in the above mentioned subjects, he has obtained highest oriental titles and diplomas in many Indian and foreign languages, and is well acquainted with nearly two dozen Indian and foreign languages. He has to his credit more than 30 research volumes and scores of re- search papers on language, culture and literature, published in the journals of national and international repute. On Himalayan languages and cultures alone his publications are more than 20. Prof. Sharma, particularly in Linguistics, has made substantial contributions. It was in recognition of his sterling contributions in Linguistics that he was awarded the most prestigious academic fellowship of the Indian government, viz. Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship and U.G.C. Emeritus fellowship in 1984 and 1989 to undertake the linguistic survey of the Himalayan languages right from Ladakh in the west of Bhutan in the east, which he pursued for many years and of which 10 volumes have already been published so far.

He has received many national and international awards and recognitions for his distinguishing achievements in these fields. In the year 1999-2000 alone he has received 3 national awards, viz., Millennium Honours (Sahasrabdi Sammans) from Sanskrit University Varanasi, Ministry of Education & Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Govt. of India, and Certificate of Honour from the President of India.

Existence of strikingly peculiar socio-cultural features is but in a natural in a multi-racial and multicultural country like Indian sub-continent. But there have been not many attempts to present their panoramic view at a glance. The aim of the present volume is an effort in this very direction, if not of all, at least of a few of them, pervading the life cycle of the people of a geo-physical part of it, viz. the tribal communities of the Himalayan region. But before presenting a comprehensive account of certain customs, rites and rituals, it would be profitable to have some idea of the nature, extent and operational mechanism of these aspects of socio-cultural importance to appreciate them in a proper prospective.

At the very outset of it, it may be said that social customs of any human group, may be primitive or advanced one, are long established usages which dominate all round socio-cultural activities of the society concerned and in their operation are much more comprehensive than any other law. According to Wundt, "Custom is concerned with the constant need of the society, and is subject to change only with the change in conditions of life or theories of living, and, as this change is reflected in the form of custom, custom is as truly a picture of moral consciousness of the community, as a man's habits are expression of his individual character. Habits can constantly be formed anew, because new individuals, whose habits they are, are constantly coming into existence, but a custom, the national habit endures while the nation endures." (Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume-IV, 4th impression, 1959). .

To trace the history of the inception of every custom is almost a difficult task, in view of its antiquity. There are many customs and rituals in every community the world over the origin of which is irretrievably lost in oblivion and only their shadowy, nebulous legendary traces have come down to us.

**Contents and Sample Pages**