Art and Geography: Patterns in The Himalaya

Art and Geography: Patterns in the Himalaya
Author(s): Pradyumna P. Karan and Cotton Mather

Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 66, No. 4 (Dec., 1976), pp. 487515
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* ANNALS of the
AssociationofAmericanGeographers
Volume 66
December, 1976
Number 4
ART AND GEOGRAPHY: PATTERNS IN THE HIMALAYA*

PRADYUMNA P. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER
ABSTRACT. The Himalaya embracesome ancientcultureswhichhave remained
and culturallydistinct.These culturesare expressedin theirvernacugeographically
art,representsboth place and culturein
lar art which,in-contrastto international
theanthropologicalsense.Vernacularartmirrorshistoricaland geographicalforces
and it providesinsightinto social aspirations,and therebyis importantin understandingsocial behavior.Most aspects of the art formsof painting,dance, music,
and sculptureare regionallydistinct.
architecture,
embroidery,
THE Himalayan realmis one of the world's
Art is an estheticexpressionof human experience.It representsa distillationof both experiential and aspirational aspects of mankind and a fusion of the environmentaland
metaphysicalrealms. Placed in the time-space
frame,artmaybe viewedas eitherinternational
or vernacular.
Internationalor cosmopolitanmodernart is
thepossessionof theglobal elite.Its style,transcendingregional and national bounds, is dimilieuin whichthe
vorcedfromthe territorial
artistslive and work. Withina few years an
Dr. Karan is Professor of Geography at the Univer- artistic
innovationmaysweep to thefarreaches
sity of Kentucky in Lexington, KY 40506. Dr. Mather of theworld.The innovationmayrepresent
the
is Professorof Geography at the Universityof Minneartistic
expresfor
of
materials
new
discovery
sota in Minneapolis, MN 55455, and Adjunct Profession or it may involveold materialswhose use
sor at the Universityof Kentucky.
for estheticexpressionhas been made feasible
and artistsin vari- by technologicalchange. This may vary from
*We wishto thanklocal officials
ous regionsof the HimalayafromKashrnirto Assam acrylicpaintsto laminatedwoods or specialty
richest areas in vernacular art. Distinct
culturalgroups settledlong ago in the mountainswhereaccess to the outsideworldhas not
been easy. Although the cultureswithinthe
Himalaya have ancientroots and have existed
for ages in juxtaposition,theyremaindistinct
fromeach othereventoday.This realmranksas
one of the primeplaces to observethe bearing
condiof culturalgroupingsand environmental
tionsuponvernacularart.
for theirhelp and assistance.In particularwe acknowledgethe help and advice of the late King
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal, King
JigmeDorji Wangchukof Bhutan, and Sir Tashi
Namgyaland Palden ThondupNamgyal,formerrulers of Sikkim.Sir Tashi, himselfa renownedHimalayanartist,was of considerableassistancein explainthe painting,sculpture,music,
ing and in interpreting
and handicrafts
of theHimalayan
dance,architecture,
realm.Thanks are due to lamas of Buddhistmonasteries,villagepriestsin Hinduand tribalareas of the
Himalaya, Islamic artisans in Kashmir, peasants,
nomads,merchants,artists,musicians,dancers,and
whomtheauthorshad theprivilegeofknowcraftsmen
ingin theirhomeland,and who in thecourseof their
to the developtalksand interviews
have contributed
mentof ideas set forthin thispaper.All the accomweremade bytheauthorsduring
panyingphotographs
theirtravelsin theHimalaya;we are indebtedto Gunvant Rai, B. K. Narain,V. P. Misra,and S. Lal for
artobjectsforreproduction.
to photograph
permission
Our thanksare due to Sir D. P. Varma,a scholarof
forreviewing
thismanHimalayanart and literature,
forimprovement.
suggestions
uscriptand offering
ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS

) 1976 by the Associationof American Geographers. Printed in U.S.A.
Vol. 66, No. 4, December 1976
487
488
December
PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER
steels.Incorporatedwiththe physicalcontributionof technologicaladvanceis thehighlyintellectualized imagery that is used to portray

ontologicalperceptionof experiencesand aspirations.
The geographicalunmindfulness
of international art is one of its most strikingfeatures.
The influenceof a HenryMoore, forexample,
can sweep across continents,and influence
artisticstyles in Scandinavia, Japan, or the
United States. Cezanne and Gaugin, for instance, sent waves of reactionthroughoutthe
internationalart world, and the art mode of
Cubismbroughtfortha veritableartisticrevolutionthatfoundexpressionin painting,sculpand the industrialarts. In a
ture,architecture,
veryreal sense internationalart is an abstraction. It does not springdirectlyfromregional
traditionand setting,it is not an expressionof
culture in the anthropologicalsense, and it
transcendsgeographicalbonds with abandon.
This is not to deny that internationalart may
expressitselfin functionalways, that it may,
for example, get inspirationfrom primitive
African art. It may have geographical and
sociological linkageswhichhelp to explain its
areal dispersionfrompoint of origin,but essentiallyit is neitherculturallyconfinednor
geographicallylimited.It springsfrom an individualgenius'intellectualizedsense of esthetics ratherthan froman inheritedculturaltradition.'
Vernacularor folk art focusesnot upon the
individual'sexpression,but upon a group development.It is the productof culturein the
anthropologicalsense and derives inspiration
fromindigenoustraditionand setting.It evolves
slowlyand it has a geographicalbase.2 It mir1 For a discussionof the dichotomybetweenthe
artand vernacmodernor international
contemporary
of theIndianartists,
ular folkartfromtheperspective
Indian Art: Search
see A. K. Dutta, "Contemporary
for a New Identity?"Indian and Foreign Review, Vol.
rors strongculturalhistoricalforcesand geographicalsettings.Withthe sudden and worldwide onslaughtof modern technology,there

were some indications that vernacular art
(which was oftenand sometimescarelesslyreferredto as primitiveart) mightbe effaced.
Now it appears thatnumerousmodernsocieties
are yearningformore linkageswiththeircontemporaryenvironmentand also their past,
to preserveand
and are studiouslyattempting
indeedto revivenearlylost ties.This is evident
in academic curricula,in the establishment
of
folk-artmuseums,in governmentalprograms
to fostervernacularart,and in thecommercial
interestbroadly manifestedin the vernacular
art of both thiscontinentand abroad. Interior
designersfeature,for example,Indian art, Eskimo prints,Andean weavings,Africanwood
carvings,Eskimo soapstonesculpture,and Orientaljade figurines.
Vernacularartbears directlyupon geography
since it represents
both cultureand place. It is
of particularsignificance
to studentsof historical and contemporaryculturalgeographybecause it reveals physicaland nonphysicalenvironmental
factorswhichhave meldedthrough
timein thecrucibleofhumanexperience.Moreover,it providesinsightinto a society'saspirations and therebyhelps to explain social behavior.The Himalayanrealmis one of the few
places on earthwithmainstreams
of culturethat
have been nextto each otherovervast stretches
of time and where the forces of fusion have
failedto obliteratetheindividualculture.
THE
HIMALAYAN
MAJOR
SETTING
CULTURAL
AND
GROUPS
The Himalaya mountainsextend along the

northernfringesof the Indian subcontinent
in
a series of toweringrangesbetweenthe great
bend of theIndus Rivernear Gilgitin Kashmir
and the sharp turnof the BrahmaputraRiver
in ArunachalPradeshof easternIndia (Fig. 1).
in thevicinityof Mount Kailas and
Originating
the sacred Lake Manasarowar,the greatIndus
and BrahmaputraRivers hold the entireHimalayan regionin theirarms.3The Himalaya
II (December 1, 1973), pp. 18-19. Duringa visitto

India in 1973 Andre Malraux, the famous French
withthe sweep of abstractinhumanist,disappointed
ternationalart in India advised youngartiststo go
back to thevernacularor folkartwhichderivedinspiculture,symrationfromtherichindigenousthought,
bols and signsof India. See A. S. Raman, "Contem- "JohnConstableand the Art of Geography,"Geoporary Indian Artists," Indian and Foreign Review,
graphical Review, Vol. 66 (1976), pp. 59-72.
3 For a discussion
of thephysicalgeologyand physVol. II (August1, 1974), pp. 13-17.
base. iographyof the Himalaya, see D. N. Wadia, "The
2 Landscape paintingalso has a geographical
See Ronald Rees, "Geographyand Landscape Paint- Himalaya Mountains:Their Age, Origin and Subto a NeglectedField," Scottish crustal Relations," Himalayan Journal, Vol. 26
ing: An Introduction
(1965), pp. 20-37; A. Gansser,Geologyof theHimaGeographical Magazine, Vol. 89 (1973), pp. 147-57;
HIMALAYAN ART
1976
489
Gilgit
Q
.)
PAKISTAN
LOCATION
MAP
Srinagar
HIMALAYA
LADAKH
KASHMIR
6'
a,
>Chamba
>PUNJAB
100
?0
300
200
400 Mies
HIMALAYA
I
ge of t-he
NontonsHIMALAYA
KUMAOUN
'~~~~i
~~~~~SIKKIM
Kathmandu7
Al
INDIA
N DI A
'I
DeIhiD
R.
B~ohWp
~~~
~~S
~7~
FIG.
1.
Himalaya.LoH
G
mation
M
YA
Mpi
DE*
BHUTAN
IM~Ss'~
DUAR
edge'f
''
th
BANGLADESH
FIG.
1. Himalaya.LocationMap.
consistsmainlyof: 1) the Great Himalaya, a

peaks over23,000
singlerangewithat leastfifty
feet (7,000 meters),includingMount Everest
at 29,002 feet (8,848 meters), Kanchenjunga
at 28,146 feet (8,578 meters), Nanga Parbat
at 26,620 feet (8,126 meters),and Dhaulagiri
at 26,795 feet (8,172 meters); 2) the subordinate rangeson the Tibetan side, includingthe
Zanskar,Ladakh and Kailas Ranges,
important
with elevations up to that of Mt. Kamet at
25,447 feet (7,756 meters) and Mt. Kailas at
22,028 feet (6,714 meters)-where both the
Indus and Brahmaputrarise;3) theKarakoram
chain at the westernend of the Himalaya with
its loftypeak knownas K2 or Mount Godwin
Austin at 28,287 feet (8,611 meters); 4) the
Middle Himalaya, which borders the Great
Himalaya on the southwitha remarkableuniformityof heightsbetween6,000 (1,829 meters) and 10,000 feet (3,048 meters); and 5)
the OuterHimalaya, withan averageelevation
of 5,000 feet(1,024 meters),whichis thelowest zone and is contiguousto the plains of
India.4 Southwardis the piedmontplain, an
layas (New York: Interscience Publishers, 1964), pp.
235-6 1.
4 P. P. Karan, "Geographic Regions of the Himalaya," Bulletin of Tibetology,Vol. 3 (July 1966), pp.
5-25. For geographyof the Himalayan realm, see S. C.
Bose, Geography of the Himalaya (New Delhi: National Book Trust, 1972); P. P. Karan and W. M.
Jenkins, The Himalayan Kingdoms: Bhutan, Sikkim
extensionof the plains of northernIndia, locally knownas the Terai in thewest and Duars
in theeasternHimalaya.5
Four distinctculturalgroupspenetratedthe
relativelyisolated geographicenvironmentof
the Himalaya.6People of the Hindu (Indian),
Lamaist Buddhism (Tibetan), Islamic (Afghan-Iranian), and animistic (Burman or
SoutheastAsian) culturesarrivedin wavesfrom
the south, north,west, and east, makingthe
theirarts
Himalaya theirhome and imprinting
and cultureson the Himalayan environment
(Fig. 2).7 The cultures were preservedand
and Nepal (Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co.,
1963); P. P. Karan, Nepal: A Cultural and Physical
Geography (Lexington, Ky.: Universityof Kentucky
Press, 1960); idem, Bhutan: A Physical and Cultural
Geography (Lexington, Ky.: University of Kentucky
Press, 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 Human
Geography (Allahabad: Ram Narain Lal Beni Prasad,
1965).
6 Gerald D. Berreman, "Peoples and Cultures of the
Himalayas," Asian Survey, Vol. 3 (1963), pp. 289304.
7 Marie-Therese de Mallmann, "Arts du Tibet et
des regions Himalayennes," Arts Asiatiques, Vol. 21
(1970) pp. 71-89; Madanjeet Singh, "Mystique of
Himalayan Art," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 12
(1975), pp. 13-17; idem, "Unknown Treasures of
Himalayan Art," Unesco Courier, Vol. 22 (February,
1969), pp. 14-25; idem, Himalayan Art (Greenwich,
Conn.: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1968).
490
PRADYUMNA
P.
HIMALAYA
TIBETANCULTUE_
(t ISLAMIC\
(Lamaist)
,_J
zfo
CULTURALREGIONS
\0
ex en_
/SSouthern
\t
of mountain culu e
December
KARAN AND COTTON MATHER
100
200
300
400
Miles
i~~u)'O~
IC
(Lomoisi
~~~~IodC
Co/lures
C UL TURE
(LomaiSl
M=dified
after Berrern
~~~~~~~~IEI
REGIONAL PATTERNSOF PAINTING
AN
A
Modified after C M N. Suhuy
TIBETANDANCE
\COURT\
DANCE
REGIONAL PATTERNSOF DANCE

\
ATHAK
FIG. 2. Himalaya.Map of culturalregions,regionalpatternsof painting,and regionalpat-
terns of dance.
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
491
nurturedin theseHimalayanvalleyswhilethey and shiftingagricultureenteredthe Himalaya

were being modifiedmarkedlyby outside in- fromthe east.'2
The Himalaya thus presentsa complex culfluencesat theirplaces of originin the Indian,
Afghan-Iranian,
and SoutheastAsian areas and turalpatternwithfourmajorculturesencroachdirections.In
werebeingeffacedin Tibet by the obtrusionof ing upon the area-fromdifferent
general,people of the Hindu cultureare domia newideology.8
The principalfeaturesof the Hindu culture nantin thesub-Himalayaand themiddleHimasuch as the Indo-Aryanlanguages, art forms, layan valleys fromJammuto Nepal. To the
and settledagriculture,enteredthe Himalaya north,people of Lamaist Buddhistcultureinfromthe Indian plains to the southY9Distinc- habittheHighHimalayafromLadakh to northtivefeaturesof theLamaist culturesuch as the easternIndia. In centralNepal, in an area from
Tibetan language, art, sculpture,and a com- 6,000 to 8,000 feet (1,829 to 2,439 meters)
binationof pastoralismand settledagriculture and occasionallyup to 10,000 feet(3,048 meencroached upon the Himalaya from the Ti- ters), the Indian and Tibetan cultureshave inproducinga combinationof Hindu
betan plateau to the north.'0Buddhistmonas- termingled,
zone beteries,located in secluded places but within and Tibetan traits.This intermediate
easy reach of the main trans-Himalayantrade tweentheHindu and Tibetanculturesin Nepal
routes, developed as centers of religiouslife formsa distinctculturalregion.'3Elsewherein
where artisticand intellectualexpressionand the Himalaya the Hindu and Lamaist Budcultureflourished.Major Buddhistmonasteries dhistculturesmeeteach otherdirectlywithout
withgreatworksof art are located in the high any transitionalzone. EasternBhutan and Asvalleys of such rivers as the Sutlej, Ganges, sam Himalaya are inhabitedby people whose
Jamuna,Kali, Bagmati,Kosi, Manas, Raidak, cultureis similar to those living in northern
and Brahmaputra,which flow through the Burma and Yunan. People of westernKashmir
mountainsfromnorthto southin gorgesoften have a culturesimilarto theinhabitantsof Iran
9,000 to 15,000 feet (2,743 to 4,572 meters) and Afghanistan.
deep. Pilgrimsand tradersstillwend theirway
The artforms,infusedduringperiodsofpolitalong the steepvalleytrailsto reach monaster- ical expansion or culturaland religiousinteries such as the Thyangbochein the inner re- change, have become permanently
established
cesses of the mountains(Fig. 3). The monas- as regionalgroups.Each regionalgroup origiteriesemergedas institutional
modelsdeeplyrootedin the
nodes withworks natedfromstylistic
of artbased on nativeculture.
religiouscanons of Islam, Hinduism,and BudFrom Iran and Afghanistancame major fea- dhism. Inspiration for patterns and designs
turesof Islamic culture,includingthenon-Indic came also fromnatural elementssuch as the
Aryanlanguages,art formsassociatedwiththe ripples on the surfaceof a mountainstream,
Moslems, and irrigated,settled agricultural clouds, rainstorms,
the
wingsof the butterflies,
formsand pastoralism."-The animistcultural markingson a snake, the interlacingof leaves
featuresassociatedwiththe Burman or South- and branchesagainstthesky,and thecolors of
east Asian area such as the Tibeto-Burman therainbow.These styleshave been reproduced
languages,art formsassociatedwiththe indig- by generationsof Himalayan artists.Various
enous religioussystems(distinctfromthegreat elementswhich infiltrated
regional art in the
religionsof Hinduism,Islam, and Buddhism), Himalaya rarely produced a combinationof
forms.Rather,each styleflourishedand a re8 For details,see S. C. Bose, Land and People of
gionalismof arthas been maintained.The distheHimalayas (Calcutta: Indian Publications,1968). tinctiveregionalpatternsof Himalayanartwere
For the relationship
betweenideologyand landscape
in Tibet, see P. P. Karan, The Changing Face of Tibet:
The Impact of Chinese Communist Ideology on the
Landscape (Lexington,Ky.: University

Press of Kentucky,1976).
9 H.
Bhattacharya, Cultural Heritage of India
(Hollywood,California:Vedanta Press, 1961).
10 P. Carrasco, Land and Polity in Tibet (Seattle:
of Washington,
University
1959), pp. 4-5.
11 W. C. Smith, Modern Islam in India: A Social
Analysis(New York: Russell and Russell,1972).
12 C. Von Furer-Haimendorf,
Himalayan Barbary
1956).
(New York: Abelard-Schuman,
13 The ethnography
of the Magar people of thisregionis describedin JohnT. Hitchcock,The Magarsof
BanyanHill (New York: Holt,Rinehartand Winston,
folkart of the Newar inhabit1966). The distinctive
antsof thisarea is describedby Susan Peterson,"Folk
Art of Nepal," Craft Horizons, Vol. 27 (MarchApril,1967), pp. 36-39.
492
P.
PRADYUMNA
KARAN AND COTTON
December
MATHER
_I
60-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,
;I.
?'
'-
.fi
lv
E;A
FIG. 3. Monasteries such as this one at Thyangboche, located at 12,715 feet (3,873 meters)
near Khumjung in Nepal, are the focal points of art and cultural life in Buddhist Himalaya. The
walls and ceilings are decorated with religious paintings. People who must make great effortsto
extract a living from an inhospitable environmentoften spend much time and money on artistic
representation.Many of the frescoes at Thyangboche are of considerable esthetic merit.
recognizedas early as the seventeenthcentury

by Taranatha,a Tibetan historian,who identifiedfourartisticschools in the Himalaya-the
Eastern School (in Eastern Himalaya), the
MadhyadeshSchool (in CentralHimalaya), the
WesternSchool (in Kumaon and Punjab Himalaya), and the Kashmir.14
REGIONAL PATTERNS OF PAINTING
IN THE HIMALAYA
Regional artisticcharacteristicsof painting

have been influenced
by theBuddhistand Hindu
pantheon of deities,the Islamic traditionsof
Iran, and the awesome physicalsettingof the
remotevalleys and high peaks. In the relative
14 Taranatha, Taranatha's Geschichte des Buddhismusin Indien.Aus demtibetischen
uebersetzit
von
Anton Schiefner (St. Petersburg,Russia: Eggers,
1869). The originalTibetanmanuscriptwas held at
St. Petersburg;
a facsimilecopyof the Tibetantextin
thelibraryof theNamgyalInstitute
of Tibetologywas
consultedin thisresearch.
isolation of cloisteredvalleys, the distinctive

regionalstylesof paintinghave been preserved,
each stylecharacterizedby a magnificenceand
beauty of its own. The paintingsobjectifythe
artisticcognitionof a people of theirphysical
environment
and theirculturalvalues.
IslamicPaintingof WesternKashmir
Islam, which forbidsrepresentation
of animate nature in art, has generallycondemned
imagepaintingas sacrilege.The orthodoxMoslem in the Himalaya usually displayed artistic
consciousness in calligraphyby transcribing
thetextsof theHoly Book. Calligraphybecame
a religiousduty and assumed a higherplace
than image painting.This theologicalprohibitionwas obeyedby theorthodoxSunniMoslems
of theArab nations,butitwas generallyignored
by the Sia Moslems of Persia (Iran).
The Persian artistictraditionwas introduced
into thewesternHimalaya by the Mogul rulers
of India. Gifted with keen artistictempera-
1976
493
HIMALAYAN ART
-~~
of-~
~
Be
.
.1~~~~~
tl_
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4
exampleof Mogul paintFIG. 4. A representative

ing,a royalportrait.The calligraphyon the margins
representsthe materializationof the Holy text of
FIG. 5. A royal hunt. The Mogul artists depicted
Islam.
adventures of the nobles and other aristocrats.
ment,the new rulersdefiedthe religiousban.

theygave protecRising above the restriction,
tionto theartof paintingas a courtaccomplishment. The sympatheticattitudeof the Mogul
emperorssuchas Akbarencouragedlocal artists
to do image paintingunderthe Persianmasters
patronin theVale of Kashmirwithenlightened
age.15 Some of the local Hindu artistswho acquired characteristicsof the Persian school
featuresof theHindu
carriedthemintostylistic
art. The Persian concept is apparent everywhere in Kashmir althoughsome Hindu featuresminglewiththe Persianstyle.The indigenous Hindu traditionasserts itselfin a new
realism,in greatervigor,in a morenaturalrepresentationof distanceand atmosphere,and in
of Hindu characters,
theincreasingemployment
and foliage.
costume,architecture,
15 The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and
A lice Heeramaneck Collection (published by October
House Inc. for Museumof Fine Arts,Boston,Mass.,

1966), pp. 100-03.
The impact of Moguls on the art of Kashmir is not confinedjust to the illustrationof
manuscriptsof Persianclassics,chronicles,and
tales. Portraiture,scenes of hunting,animals,
and birds were favoritesubjects (Figs. 4 and
5). Artistsin the Mogul courthad no associationwiththecommonman so theyseldom representedany facet of ordinarylife (Fig. 6).
Mogul paintingof Kashmiris veryaristocratic
in outlookand it is entirelydisdainfulof democraticfolk appeal. The Moguls loved blossoms
and plants in bloom, and artistshave continued to portraybeautifuland novel thingsin the
regionaltraditionof theVale of Kashmir (Fig.
7).
LamaistPainting
The unique imageryof Lamaist Buddhism
characterizespaintingin the Tibetan culture
area of the Himalaya.h Two typesof Lamaist
16
Blanche ChristineOlschak in collaborationwith
Geshe Thupten Wangyal, Mystic Arts of Ancient Tibet
494
PRADYUMNA
t + +@tofal+ nA-+;s?*
P.
KARAN AND COTTON
MATHER
December
-;--*
FIG. 6. A Mogul courtscene. Ruler,smokingwaterpipe,attendedby a princeand a nobleman.Court

in Mogul art.
scenessuchas theseare prominent
imagerywhichexpressTibetan cultureare the

imageryof apotheosizedlamas and saints,and
deities.17
theimageryofterrifying
Each Himalayan Buddhistmonasteryhas its
pantheonof lamas; some lamas are deifiedand
others are glorifiedsimplyas saints. Most of
themare idealized as divinefiguresratherthan
reasonable likenessesof the personsportrayed
(Fig. 8). Buddhism,with its emphasison the
illusorynatureof the phenomenalworld,discouragesportrayalof the physicallikenessof a
person."'
A peculiarfeatureof Lamaist art is the grodeities
tesque and bizarre formsof terrifying
paintedby the artistson the Thangka,or scroll
paintings,on cottoncloth (Fig. 9). These im-
FIG. 7. Flowers were popular subjectsin Mogul

art.
as a release
ages, whichhave been interpreted
from psychic and cultural tensions,illustrate
thefearsofpeople who residein an inhospitable
physicalenvironment.1
The consistentorder and harmonyin the
design of mandala structureis the most complex and completeexpressionof the Tibetan's
perceptionof cosmic reality.20The mandala's
design is geometricallyprecise, and its colors
19R. Bartholomew,
"TibetanThangkas,"The Times
of India Annual (1967), p. 30; Valrae Reynolds,
"Thangka Art," Art News, Vol. 73 (March 1974),
(New York: McGraw-HillBook Company, 1973). pp. 109-11. For psychologicalinterpretations
of artisFor an exampleof secularTibetanart,in contrastto tic productions,
see A. Bader, "Psychoticsand Their
thereligiousstyle,withitsstricticonographical
norms, Paintings:The Human Soul Laid Bare," Ciba Symsee B. C. Olschak,"The Art of Healing in Ancient posium, Vol. 6 (1958), pp. 152-55; and G. Clauser,
Tibet,"Ciba Symposium,
Vol. 12 (1964), pp. 129-34. "Paintingas a Remedial Factor in Psychotherapy,"
17 F. Sierksma, Tibet's TerrifyingDeities: Sex and
Ciba Symposium,
Vol. 8 (1960), pp. 13-22.
20 The symbolism
Aggression in Religious Acculturation (The Hague:
of the mandalais discussedin G.
Mouton,1966).
Tucci, The Theory and Practice of the Mandala, with
18D. Barrett,"The BuddhistArt of Tibet and Special Reference to the Modern Psychology of the
Nepal," Oriental Art, Vol. 3 (1957), pp. 90-95; S.
Subconscious(London: Rider, 1961); D. Snellgrove,
Kramrisch,"Art of Nepal and Tibet," Philadelphia BuddhistHimalaya (Oxford:Bruno Cassirer,1957),
Museum of Art Bulletin (Spring,1960), pp. 23-38.
p. 154.
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
such as
FIG. 8. The wall paintingsin monasteries
thisone in Thimphu,Bhutan,depictlegendsof Buddha's lifeas well as otherdeities.The mainlargefigure is alwaysthefocalpointtowardwhichthesmaller
flock.The centralfigureis paintedin a static
divinities
ritualpose. As thescenesspreadout on thewall there
is more and more movementfeltto compensatefor
and
The paintings
therigidity
of theprincipaldivinity.
the muralsecho boththe faithand a fancifulperceptualizationof theirenvironment.
are alwaysstrongand luminous.To theTibetan

Buddhistthephenomenalworldis one of chaos
and tensionand the mandala is an attemptto
project order and harmonyinto that world
and graphicvisual(Fig. 10). It is an effective
izationof a worldthatexistsin themindof the
Tibetan.
495
FIG. 9. A thangka, an example of scroll painting

on cotton cloth. The lion-headed goddess Simhavaktra, on the lotus throne,is surrounded by four of her
retinuearranged in the formof mandala.
God and individualsoul, in union and separation (Fig. 11). The Hindu artistalso desired
the religioustruthsto appeal to societyand he
drewhisimageryfromeverydaylife,thuscovering a largerfieldthanthe Buddhistand witha
differentapproach than the Moguls. Hindu
artistsbroughtKrishnaand Radha down to the
level of ordinarypersonsby humanizingthem
in paintings.Thus, theHindu Himalayanpainting is really a visualizationof the life of the
commonpeople,theirworkand play,theirjoys
and sorrows,theirbeliefs and customs, and
theirhome and fieldlife,in the backgroundof
theirreligiousfaith;it is an "immediateexpression of the Hindu view of life . ..the product
o oeinPhr7pitn
ar.Tepotaa
HinduPaintingsof theSouthernHimalaya
Designs derived from the Hindu religion
dominatethe paintingsof southernHimachal
Pradesh, Garhwal, and Nepal Himalaya. The
worshipand adorationof a personaldeity,com- ofa wholecivilization.
"22
mon among Hindus, formthe inspirationfor
Paintingsof the Himalayan hill states such
paintingswhich symbolizethe mutual longing as Kulu, Guler,Chamba, Mandi, Bilaspur,and
of God and the human soul.2' One principal Kangra (now in the Indian state of Himachal
theme of the Hindu artistshas been the love Pradesh) are giventhe genericname, 'Pahari'
storyof Krishna and Radha, as representing
.23T
21 R. K. Kaushal, Himachal Pradesh: A Survey of
the History of the Land and its People (Bombay:
22 A. Coomaraswamy,
Raiput Painting (New York:
Press,1916), p. 14.
MinervaBook Shop, 1965), pp. 77-80; M. S. Rand- OxfordUniversity
23 C. M. N. Sahay, "Indian MiniaturePainting,"
hawa, "VaishnavismInspirationof Rajput Painting,"
Arts of Asia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 25-41. The word
Marg,Vol. 17 (June,1964), pp. 4-7.
496
December
PA_
7.
,.
_4_
a
HAS~~A
FIG. 10. Beautifulfrescoesof cosmic mandalas (spheres) adorn the walls in the dzongs
of the uniof Thimphuand Paro. Theydepicttheoriginand development
(monastery-castles)
verseaccordingto theBuddhisttexts.Mandalas are paintedon theouterwalls of templegates
thetempleawareof thenatureof the
suchas thisone at Thimphuto makethedevoteesentering
once consideredmythological
phenomenalworld.This is the messageof thesepsychograms,
the way in which
fantasybut now regardedby philosophersas essentialin understanding
in its own unique way. Harmony,a wellTibetan cultureanticipatedrealityand relativity
orderedsymmetry
in space, is ascribedto the networkof energiescalled the cosmic"wind."
is sublimated,and passion is enobled and sug- backgroundof an impendingstormrepresents

gestedwithgreattenderness.Sex is not allowed the passionatemood of woman piningfor her
to lose the qualityof subtletyand refinement.24lover.25
The recurring
subjectmatteris woman restless
Other themesin Hindu Himalayan painting
with longingfor her lover. Incidental objects also come fromthe vast range of Hindu reliAmongtheartists
(clouds, rain, lightning,storm,trees,flowers, giousthoughtand mythology.
pictures,birds,and animals) are used to suggest of Garhwal Himalaya (Uttar Pradesh) and
a crisis (Fig. 12). A girl standingagainst a Nepal Himalaya,theRamayana of Tulsidas,the
Bhagvata Purana, dealing with the life of
'miniature'in this contextrefersto size whichmay Krishna,and Gita Govinda,thesymbolicallove
rangeup to a fullpage folio.
24
W. G. Archer, Indian Painting in the Punjab
25 V. S. Agrawala, "The Romance of Himachal

Hills,Victoriaand AlbertMuseumMonograph,No. 3
Roop Lekha,Vol. 20 (1948-49), pp. 89-90.
(London: His Majesty's StationeryOffice,1952); Painting,"
idem,"Pahari Miniatures:A Concise History,"Marg, M. S. Randhawa, Kangra Valley Painting (New Delhi:
Vol. 28 (March, 1975), pp. 3-44.
Ministry
of Information
and Broadcasting,
1954), p. 4.
1976
497
HIMALAYAN ART
-q
VI
FIG. 11. The love story of Krishna and Radha is

one of the main themes of painting in the Punjab
Hills. In this scene Radha is reluctantto surrenderto
Krishna. Beyond the garden railing is a flowering
cypress tree and birds in flightsilhouetted against the
night sky.
songforKrishna,are popular themesforpaintings.

In Mithila, the ancient cultural region located in the Terai of easternNepal and centeredupon Janakpur,thereis a distinctartistic
by paintingsdone on mud
traditionrepresented
walls by the village women. Favorite subjects
are gods and decorativefloraland ornamental
patternson the walls of a corridoror of the
Gosain-Ghar (room) where the familydeity
is worshipped(Fig. 13). Hindu festivalssuch
as the Chhath (worship of Sun God), the
Chauth Chand (the fourthday of the Hindu
month of Bhadra about August-September),
Dassehra (worship of goddess Durga in late
September), and Diwali (worship of goddess
Lakshmi in October) provide the main occasions for the painting.None of these surpass
the intricacyand exuberance of the designs
done inside a kowar-the bridal chamber at
of love in Paharipainting.A
FIG. 12. A portrayal
lady withfourattendantson the terracewaitingfor
the lady's unstormreflects
her lover.The gathering
ease as along the banks of the rivereach bird has
founda mate.
on mud-wallsof "Gosain-Ghar"
FIG. 13. Paintings
or God's room in a home in the Mithilaculturalregionof southernNepal. Home-madecolorsfromvegetable matterare mixedwithoil and waterand appliedwitha brushmade of grass.
498
FIG. 14. Decorativepaintingsinside a Kowar of

thenewlyweds.
December
FIG. 15. Dragon painted on wood, an example of

Monpa art of eastern Himalaya.
lamic,Hindu,and Tibetanareas thepaintingof

the tribalregionof the easternHimalaya disthe bride's home where the newly married plays less sophisticatedestheticsense and a
couple residefor at least a few days afterthe less complexmediumof expression.The most
wedding(Fig. 14). Some of the designsinter- commonformof art in Arunachal Pradesh is
pret physiologicalfactswithconsiderablecan- the drawingon wood (Fig. 15). At the house
dor.26
entranceare some crude and simple drawings
In Mithila,the birthplaceof Sita-the epit- on a woodenframe,withsome dots and lengthome of Hindu womanhood as portrayedin wise lines displayedin an unsystematicway.
Ramayana-local women artistshave devel- Figures and lines are drawn usually with the
oped a distinctregionalstyleof paintingknown liquid of lingchong(pine-resin),theessence of
as Madhubani art.27The hallmarkof the style whichgivesblack dye.
is the distinctiveportrayalof the human face
These drawingsare associated with socioas being roughlyoval, with a sharplypointed religiousrites.Theyservein a way to declarein
nose tiltedupward,smooth roundedjaw line, explicitbut symbolicformthe desireof the inand full, wide eyes. The paintings,depicting dividualwho performsthe ceremonyto attain
scenes fromthe lives of Ram and Sita, have certainheights.Amongthe Akas, forexample,
free-handline drawingswithoutthe restrictions whena man aspiresforsome materialgoals in
of geometryand proportions.Each paintingis life,he performsa religiousriteto appease the
embellished with stylized local flowers and deitywho can bless him withthe desiredend.
birdmotifswhichforman intricateborder.To- On the last day of the ceremony,the person
day Madhubani art representsa culturaltradi- performing
it, or someone on his behalf,who
tionof paintingjust as ancientas theland called may have acquired some special skill in the
Mithila.
work,draws symbolicdesignsat the entrance
of the house. The performer
of the ritual exPaintingin theSoutheastAsian CultureArea
presseshis yearningsthroughthesefiguresand
Much of thebeautyof tribalart and culture praysto the presidingdeityfor success or forstillsurvivesin the mountainouscountryof the tunein thedesiredsphere.
eastern Himalaya.28As compared to the IsREGIONAL PATTERNS OF DANCE
26 InterviewwithSri SitaramMisra, B.
L. Yadav,
Nepal.
and Ram Lochan Misra at Janakpur,
27 C. Y. Gopinath,"MadhubaniPaintings-AnAn-
In mostof theHimalaya thedance has come

to be generallyregardedas an art formmeant
cient Art Form," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 12 to enkindle emotions expressiveof religious
(June 1, 1975) pp. 13-16.
sentiments.
Religion,however,does not always
28 Verrier Elwin, The Art of the Northeast Frontier
the
provide
inspirationfor dances. In the Hiof India (Shillong: North-eastFrontierAgencyAdmalaya,theBuddhists,theHindus,and theani1959).
ministration,
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
499
the templesof gods to the courts of Moslem

rulersit swungtowardsensualism.
The cosmic-danceof Siva, which visualizes
theunityof Being,radiatesall movementwithin
the cosmos, and liftshumanityfromtemporal
to eternalrealities.The dance of Krishna and
Radha, the Eternal Lovers, symbolizescomplete oneness of soul and body, expressingthe
embodimentof spirituallove leading the soul,
in theprocessof dancing,on thepath of liberation.The dance in the Indic cultureof the HiDance in theIndic CultureArea
malaya is the vehicle for communicatingthe
The dances of the Indic culturearea of the dominantHindu conceptsof man's faith.
Folk dancingin the Terai originatedin the
Himalaya representthe major momentsin the
hunt
and harvestfestivalsof the ancientAryan
lifeof theculturalgroupand in theexistenceof
of the local population. Demons,
ancestors
colThis may rangefromthe
the individual.29
and
gods were invoked or appeased
spirits,
lectiveexuberanceassociatedwiththehuntand
folkdancersof the
dances.
Present-day
through
harvestfestivalsto the poignantpersonal feelancient heritage;
exhibit
much
of
this
Terai
ingsat momentsof birth,marriage,or deathof
of
for
the fertility
for
sheer
fun,
they
dance
a lovedone.
for
for
sumfor
and
luck,
protection,
crops,
The earliest known codified work on the
dance is the Natya Shastra,by Bharata Muni, moningand dispellingtheforcesof nature.The
whichwas writtensomewherebetweenthe sec- dances are characterizedby joys and sorrows
and underond and fourthcenturiesA. D. Bharata Muni of life,a sense of lightheartedness,
or
for
of
fear
currents
supernatural
gratitude
refersto four regionalvariationsof the art of
powers.
dancing in India: Avanti, Dakshinatya,PanVarious Hindu castes such as the Ahirs,
chali, and Odha-Magadhi.In the Himalaya re- Kahars, Chamars, and the Dhobis have their
gionalismin dance is expressedin thedistinctive own repertoire
of dances to celebratea wedding
Kathak dance of Himachal Pradesh and Garh- or the birthof a child. These are purelyfolk
wal Himalaya, the cosmic-dance of Siva in dances, characterizedby elementaldirectness,
Nepal Himalaya, and folk dancingthroughout spontaneity,
and sincerity.
theHinduHimalaya.30
The Kathak (meaning a narratorof Kathas Dance in theSoutheastAsian CultureArea
or epic Hindu stories) dance representsa rich
Tribes of the easternHimalaya region,such
and varied record of traditionsand ideas. A as the Monpa, Dafla, Apa Tani, Akas, and
of musiciansand dancers,knownas Mishmis,are so imbuedwiththeconceptof the
community
Kathakas,fromwhomthisstyleof dancinggets unityof life and the unfettered
naturearound
its name, danced on festivalsand participated themthattheyregardnatureas the mantleof
ver- divinityitself.3'Their dances, therefore,are
in daily templerituals.As unsophisticated
nacular art it has religiousand spiritualroots. dedicated to nature worship.Festivals related
Moslem invasionsbroughtin new influenceson to seasonal variations provide occasions for
the Kathak dance of the southernHimalaya. dancing. The dances are of simple gestural
thoughswiftand rhythmic,
The Moslem royalty and nobility extended form;thefootwork,
is
characterized
by
abrupt leaps and bounds.
patronageto Kathak dancingas a formof soThe
itself
withremarkableease in
glides
body
cial entertainment.
As the dance shiftedfrom
circles,and the arms move sidewaysto weave
patternsof the gentlebreeze playing
delightful
29 Ragini Devi, Dance Dialects of India (Delhi:
with the soft ripples of the quietly flowing
Vikas Publications,1972); R. S. Gupta,"Languageof
mountainstreams.
Dance in India," Indian and Foreign Review, Vol. 9
mistshave used dancingin the propitiationof
the spiritsof Nature. For example, a number
of epidemicdiseases have theirown presiding
deities. Wheneverthere is impendingdanger
of an area being affected,people gather to
offerprayers and performritual dances to
please thegods. The rain dances emphasizethe
ritualisticcharacterof dancing; other dances
depictthe harvestingof crops, symbolizinglife
in itsstruggle
forexistence.
(January1, 1972), pp. 18-20.

31 S. G. Burman, "NEFA (North East Frontier
30 For a briefdiscussionof regionalism
in Indian
dance, see Kapila Vatsyayan,"Indian Dance," Arts Agency)-The Land and Its Peoples," India Quarof Asia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 48-55.
terly,
Vol. 19 (1963), pp. 344-69.
500
December
>
_2
~~~~~~~~~,
_.~
.4
,i_
FIG. 16. Lama dancesat Gangtok,Sikkim.Wearinglargeblackhatsand acoat adorned with

thunderbolts,and dried skulls, they call forth the deities. An orchestra accompanies the dance
and marks the dancer's steps.
Theseaboriginal
peoplebelievein thesacred Bhutan presentmotifswith unsophisticated
These danceshave
powerof humanblood. Head- formsof folkexpression.
and fertilizing
as well as
hunting
practiceshave ceased to existbut the culturaland artisticsignificance
values. A varietyof
withan animal social and recreational
stillsurvives
ritualof sacrifice
is dancingmasks represents
divineand superproffered
in place ofhumanbeings.Sacrifice
theoccasionfora greatdeal ofdancingamong naturalbeingssuchas demonsand evilspirits,
of animals,andmen.82
Someofthedancingmasks
Wardances,a survival
thetribalinhabitants.
the martialpast, symbolizeeventswhichthe aremadeup ofpaperpulpandothersofwood.
ac- The beatof thedrumstartsslowly,and as the
aboriginaltribesdesireto be successfully
The tribeshave a richvarietyof danceproceeds,
complished.
thetemporisesandtherhythm
danceswhichare mostlywarlikein character becomesmorefrenzied.
Theentire
performance
of thehunt. is a deliberatesymbolicrepresentation
and presentabstractconceptions
of the
comes struggle
imagination
A fantastic
and extravagant
againstthehazardsoflife(Fig. 16).
ofthethrills
intofullplayin thedramatization
andsurprises
oftheduelin thedanceform.
Dance in theTibetanCultureArea
The mask dances of the Tibetancultural

groupin the highHimalayafromLadakh to
32G. Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows (New York:

Steinand Day, 1967), pp. 133-34; SiegbertHummel,
"Boy Dances at theNew Year's Festivalin the Region
of Dri-cu-ron,
NorthNepal," East and West,Vol. 24.
New SeriesNos. 3-4 (1974), pp. 363-64.
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
Tibetansin the Darjeelingarea have a form

of duet dance in whichtwo personsformone
characterin orderto portraythe characterof
the Himalayan yak. The dancerin frontholds
the mask while his partnermovingin unison
immediately
behindmanagesto wag thetail.
501
is somethingwhichcolors the mindwitha certaindefinite

feeling-a wave of passion or emotion.In a special sense,raga is a tonal composition of musical notes with a formof peculiar
significance.The peculiar conceptionof raga,
one of the basic principlesof the system,has
no
exact parallel with othersystemsof music
Dance in theIslamicCulturalArea
in the world.Hindu music expressesa certain
In the Kashmir Himalaya dancing in the feelingor mood and reflectsthe inspirationof
palaces of feudalchiefsbecame a formof sala- thesouthernHimalayanpeople.
cious entertainment
markedby thevisual physiSpecificseasons and hours of the day and
cal charmsof the dancer as she lustilywhirled nightare fixedforthe performance
of different
to sensuousmusic.DuringtheperiodofMoslem festivals,religious rites and ceremonies.Inirule the emphasisin dancingshiftedfromthe tiallythereweresix ragas and theywereassocispiritualto the physical and courtesanstook ated withthesix seasons of theyear.Theywere
to dancingas an easy means to gain favor of Bhairava (summer), Megha (rainy), PantheMogul lords. In theMoslem Vale of Kash- chama (autumn), Nat-Narain (early winter),
mirdancingbecame a tabooed art forrespect- Shri (winter), and Vasanta (spring) ragas
able persons;it maintainedclassical purityonly whichweremeantto be sungin theirrespective
in those parts of the westernHimalaya which seasons. Raga Bhairava, associated with the
enjoyedgreaterprotectionfromMoslem inva- festivalfor the worship of Siva, became the
sions because of geographicalseclusionand in melodyof summertime (April and May) resome valleys due to sustainedpatronagefrom mindingmen of the anger of Siva, the God of
the successivegenerationsof the Hindu ruling Destruction.Megha, meaningcloud, is themelfamilies.
theexuberody of therainyseason representing
Rural peasants perform traditional folk ance of joy amongthe agriculturalpeople with
dances such as the ihoomar and khattak;the
thecomingoftherains.Shri,whichis a nameof
movementsreflecttraitsconsidered"good" in
Lakshmi,the goddess of wealth,is sung in the
the regionalculture.33In contrastto the West
where uprightbody posture denotes honesty winterseason soon afterthe harvest.Vasanta
and dances such as Spanishflamencoand classi- raga,arousingemotionsofjoy and hilaritywith
cal ballet emphasizea sense of verticality,
lift- the appearance of blossoms,is the song of the
ingupwards,and a desireto overcomethepull springor vasanta season. Similarly,raga Panof gravity,
thefolkdancingof Kashmirempha- chama is allocated to the autumnmonthsand
sizes a down body posture.The movementsre- raga Nat-Narainto the early winterseason.
Apart from the traditionalassociation of
flectmodesty,whichis a most desirablesocial
traitin thisculture.In thefolkdancingof Kash- ragaswithseasons,additionalragas are derived
mir "lifted"postureoftendepictsoverweening from geographicalplace names and regions,
pride or comic pomposity.An upward look fromthe names of specificgroups of people,
amongthedancersin seriouscontextsmayindi- fromcult and cult worship,and fromnames
cate lookingto heaven.
of gods and goddesseswhichhave been added
to providea rich and colorfulmusicalformin
REGIONAL
OF MUSIC
PATTERNS
theHindu Himalaya. The ragas emergeas the
sound picturesof the various envisuggestive
The Hindu CulturalArea
thementalpercepronments;each raga reflects
In the Hindu Himalaya everysong or piece tion and awarenessof thephysicaland cultural
of music is set in some raga.34Literally,raga milieu.
All formsof Hindu musicsuch as the Dhru33 For examplesof folk dances fromthe Islamic
area, see ReginaldMassey,"Dancers fromPakistan," pad, Thumri,and Dadra-each characterized
Dancing Times, Vol. 65 (1975), p. 535.
by a set of distinctiveragas-are prevalentin
34 EmmieTe Nijenhuis,
Indian Music: History and the Himalaya (Fig. 17). Each form has its
Structure(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1974); Walter Kaufthe
man, The Ragas of North India (Bloomington: Indi- own regionof popularitydependingupon
and
historical
social
traditions.
ana University
Press,1968).
502
December
HIMALAYA
\
TIBETANMUSIC
HKHEYAL
\
AND
\X
REGIONAL PATTERNSOF MUSIC
100
200
300
400 Miles
If
B,,,,,,,
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~s
( AMD\
\GABHA
1PASHMINA
\
A
REGIONAL PATTERNSOF EMBROIDERY
TIBETANLAMAIST
\
/
~~(CHORTEN)
I SLAMIC
AND SCULPTURE
REGIONAL PATTERNSOF ARCHITECTURE
FIG. 17. Himalaya. Map of regionalpatternsof music,regionalpatternsof embroidery,

and sculpture.(Based on fieldreconnaissance
regionalpatternsof architecture
and literature
review.)
1976
503
HIMALAYAN ART
The literarycontentof Dhrupad, the most

favored melody in the Hindu courts of the
formerPunjab Hill states,is based on the traditions,symbols,and imageryof Hindu mythology. It is characterizedby a spiritof regal
themood
majestyand grandeurwhichreflected
of the princelycourts.Dhrupad was originally
a melodyinto whichwere woven the prevalent
folk musical patterns.Most hill states songs
generallyrecount"tales of romanticlove or of
heroism."35
Thumri is characterizedby erotic subject
matter,and soft notes and is associated with
southernpartsof the Himalaya adjacent to the
Ganges valley.36Thumri moved into the Himalaya afterit was developedin the area near
Lucknow and Banaras and was influenced
stronglyby local folkmusic such as the Kajari
and Chaita whichcatch the seasonal moods of
U~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
summerand the rains,respectively.
The dominantthemeof thesongsin Thumriis love in all
itsaspects.
Bhajan and Kirtans,a kind of dramaticsonata based on the various episodes fromthe
life of Ram, Sita, Krishna,and Radha are the
two most popular formsof religiousmusic in
of
a transposition
FIG. 18. Todi Raginirepresents
the Nepal foothills.37
In Himachal Pradeshthe one of the modesor raga of Indianmusicintopaintraga systemof the Indian musichas inspireda ings.This one illustrates
style.
thesophisticated
special styleof paintingscalled Ragamala (or
modesin music) painting.38
These paintingsare
illustrationsof poems whichdescribeor evoke scape, entrancesthe deer in the neighboring
pastures by the music. The imageryderived
the mood of the raga. Thus, the three artsfrom
folk stories is expressive of a woman
music, poetry,and painting-are involved in
the productionof Ragamala paintings.These whoseyouthhas inspiredlove amongtheyoung
paintingsare extremelycomplex to interpret lovers who clusteraround her. Both of these
due to a lack ofunanimity
amongmusicologists, Ragamala paintingsare characterizedby a senpoets, and paintersabout the exact melodyor sitive appreciationof the regional landscape,
musical structure,
precise verbal imagery,and flowersand trees,the lyricalgrace of animals,
artisticiconographyrepresented.
The twopaint- and the portrayalof abandon in women.
ings of Todi Ragini, one in sophisticatedstyle
Musicin theIslamic CultureArea
and the otherin folk tradition,are attemptsto
portraythe spiritand characterof the melody
Kheyal,a modifiedIndic musicalformdomor raga (Figs. 18 and 19). Todi Ragini,repre- inantin theKashmirvalley,is less rigorous,less
in
sentedby a charmingwoman in an open land- bound by rules and enjoysgreaterflexibility
its expositionthanthe Hindu Dhrupad. It con35 Gerald D. Berremen,
Hindus of the Himalaya:
With greater
veys the idea of imagination.39
Ethnography and Change (Berkeley: University of
freedomin the matterof improvisationand
CaliforniaPress,1972), p. 262.
36PremLata Sharma,"The Originof Thumri,"in tonal structure,Kheyal easily developed and
Aspects of Indian Music, 2nd rev. ed. (New Delhi:
prosperedin the romanticand sensuous atmo1970), pp. 73-85.
sphereof Mogul courtsand became a popular
37 A. A. Blake, "Kirtanin Bengal,"Indian Artand
I'
Letters,New Series,Vol. 21 (1947), pp. 34-40.
38 Pratapaditya Pal, Ragamala Paintings in the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston: Museum of
Fine Arts,1967).
3'" Jaideva Singh, "The
Evolution of Khayal," in
Aspects of Indian Music, 2nd rev. ed. (New Delhi:
1970), pp. 86-96.
504
PRADYUMNA
P.
KARAN AND COTTON
MATHER
December
~~f /
FIG. 20. In the Uchi, the religiouscenterof the

Tashi Cho dzong in ThimphuValley of Bhutan,a
monkbeatsa drumheldin his lefthand.The drumis
adornedwithreligioussymbols.
FIG. 19.
the pastoral
Folk stylepaintingreflecting
environment 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 emotional appeal of the Ghazal depends on its successful renderingwith correct accent and a good
voice.
Kawwali and Mercia are the counterparts of

Kirtan and Bhajan for the Moslems. Mercia is
the song describing the battle in which the
grandsons of the Prophet were killed. It is
chanted in a recitative manner in the mornings
during the Moharram festival. Kawwali is distinguishedby its quick and lengthypassages up
and down the scale and well-punctuated choruses emphasizing the main theme of the song.
Music in the Southeast Asian Culture Area
The folk songs and music of the eastern
Himalaya lack the restraintof established classical varieties of Hindu musical forms. The
words of the songs are simple and precise,
adorned with homely similes and metaphors.
Among the Akas, a tribal group in Kameng
district,a most popular song is brjhva. It is

sungon festiveoccasions and on journeysfrom
one village to another.During marriageceremonies songs and music are played by the
people of the bride's village to express their
humilityand respectfor the wedding guests.
Amongthe tribalyouthslove-lyricsare a most
popular form of music. Boys and girls play
musicand singlove-lyrics
expressingtheiremotionsindividually
and secretlybehindthebushes
woods.
in thesolitarycornersoftheneighboring
Musicin theTibetanCulturalArea
The popular songs and musicof the Tibetan
culturalarea blend the concepts of Lamaism
and the legendsof the Buddhistepic.4"For example, theytreatthe threelevels of the world,
each inhabitedby its own deities,the different
realms of nature each with its representative
animal (such as thewhitelion of the glaciers),
thefourlokpalas (guardiangods of fourdirections), and thefourlegendarykingsrulingover
40 Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Folk Songs from
Gyantse and Western Tibet, 2nd rev. ed. (Ascona,
Switzerland: Artibus Asiae Publishers, 1966).
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
505
FIG. 21. A horn,made of a human thighbone,

used in Buddhistmonasteries.
thefourpointsof the compass. The songs are

supposed to protectthe area throughtheirreligious powers. They express the wisdom of
the elders and lend sanctionto the social and
world order,the structureof the environment
and that of the groups inhabitingit. To the
accompanimentof whistles and shouts the
full-throatedcarefree songs of the Tibetan
herders are similar to those of the Spanish
shepherds.
In the monasteriesthe monks blow horns,
conch shells,and beat drumsand cymbalsduring the chantingof sacred prayers(Fig. 20).
The hornis generallyblown on one note only
and is easy to play. The majorityof the monks
run their fingersalong the script while they
chant and play music. A small horn, carved
froma humanfemur,hollowedout and shaped
to a mouthpieceat one end,is commontopmost FIG. 22. An embroidery motif from Kashmir.
Flowers and tendrils of the cypress tree have been
monasteriesin the Tibetan culturalarea (Fig. used
to produce the pattern.
21). From each of the whole range of instruments the monks usually play only one fretouch with the physical,cultural,and experiquentlyrepeatedand tonelessnote.
entialenvironment.
The principaldesignsor decorativemotifson
REGIONAL PATTERNS OF
have been derivedfrom
Himalayanhandicrafts
EMBROIDERY HANDICRAFTS
threesources: theIslamic ornamentsor designs
Handicraftsare a major elementin the cul- in whichall naturalformsare reducedto contural heritageof the Himalayan people. Like ventional arabesques or ingenious geometric
othermanifestations
of Himalayan art, handi- patterns;the more exuberantand imaginative
craftsare productsof thematerialand spiritual Hindu form,which uses animals and human
In theirvaried formsthe handi- figureswithgreaterfreedom;and the Lamaist
environment.
craftsreflecta religious-philosophical
idealism, Buddhisttraditionsfilledwithritualsand symand an imaginationthatdrawsupon the physi- bolismsof TibetanBuddhism.These traditions
cal and culturalmilieuof themountains.Crafts- can be seen in textileembroidery
designs,metal
men, while strivingfor beauty, do not lose work,jewelry,pottery,wood, horn,ivory,and
506
PRADYUMNA
P.
KARAN AND COTTON
_^
s-,
v~~.
~l{
:4*
t-,. t.
...t...........
!^'?S;,
.-i
'_
,t
*'
.......
.............,ssv,-
ZvWON
~~~~~
-4
FIG. 23. The craftsmenin Kathmandu, Nepal
have excelledin finemetalwork.Fine specimensrepresentingvarious deitiesin the Hindu and Buddhist
pantheonare made for decorationof the altars.The
faces are always mouldedin perfectproportionand
sereneexpression.The iconogradisplaya beautifully
phy of these art formsreflectsmany aspectsof the
Hindu and Buddhistsymbolism.
December
MATHER
4X~#,#,
-
*^
i-*++0*B@*
;-
-,
X~~~~~~~~~~~~~,~
lLW ;' SE;-ii'''ia

B^|l
>
09
648e
->**
ww~~~~~~~~~~~~.
2
A_
**
#ff
. t'.. *. *. . s. .
. . .................................,,W
,'?
A."ww
.0 r
.r
other crafts (Figs. 22-24).41 The hereditary

protectedby caste traditions,
Hindu craftsman,
and Moslem craftsmenaccustomedto occupa=
continueto transmitthe tradi- deodar in Kashmir.
tionaltraditions,
tional arts and craftsin original form from
fatherto son.
Embroidered textiles and carpets are the
mostcommonhandicraftand theyillustrateregionalismderivedfromthe physical and cultural characteristicsof the area. The distinct
have been preservedas a
formsof art-fabrics
resultof several factors.Prescriptionsof rigid
social codes, particularlyamong the Hindus of and life.Red is the color of joy and happiness,
the Himalaya, have ordainedstylesof decora- or passion, virility,and strength.Yellow symand thelifetion, color, and designsfor various occasions bolizescheerfulness,
intellectualism,
communities.Marriages, festive givingrays of the sun. Blue symbolizespeace,
and different
seasons, and sacred ceremoniesrequirethe use the atmosphere,the sky, as well as heaven.
of particularclothesin various colors by vari- Purple stands for wealth and materialpossesous religiousand caste groups.Color has great sions.The designsrangefromthegeometricarsymbolicvalue suchas amongtheHindusof the rangementsof dots, squares, zigzags or circles
and religiousmotifs.42
Himalaya,forwhomcolors symbolizeconcrete to floralanimaln,
and abstracteldments.Green standsfor youth IslamicEmbroidery
Handicrafts
of KashmirvividlyilThe shawl embroidery
41 PratapadityaPal, "Bronzes of Nepal," Arts of
Asia, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 31-37; Pushpa Sundar, lustratestheimpactof nature(Fig. 25). Floral
"Wood Carving,"Indian Horizon, Vol. 23 (1974),
pp. 33-39. For a discussionof regionalvarietiesin
toys,a highlydevelopedfolk art, whichreflectgeosee Anne Winter,
graphicaland culturalinfluences,
"India's Toys: In Variety and Style, They Reflect
EveryFacet of This Complex Culture,"CraftHorizons,Vol. 16 (December,1956), pp. 32-36.
42 JohnErwin and MargaretHall, Indian Embroideries (Ahmedabad: Calico Museum of Textiles,

Marg, Vol.
1975); Mulk Raj Anand, "Embroidery,"
28 (December,1974), pp. 30-33; Kamala Dongerkery,
"Place of Embroideryin Indian Crafts,"Marg, Vol.
1976
507
HIMALAYAN ART
aidx'
Al~-
4~~~~~~~~~~
Kashembroidere
on
the
Floral
25.
FIG.
pattern
shawl.
mqir
~~~'
FIG.26. Islamicprayerrug withfloraldesign

lakes,
motifs,majestic mountains,shimmering
H. Khan,Srinagar).
(Courtesy
in
a
find
all
and
luscious
fruits,
birds,
place
Local and Persian inKashmir embroidery.43
leaf and
fluenceshave blendedin thedistinctive
direcflowerpatternson the Kashmir carpets. Car- kindsof carpets.The prayerrugis always
a sinin
and
tional
along
symmetrical
pattern
pets intendedforuse by theMoslems as prayer
embroidered
axis.
Its
design
longitudinal
gle
matsareoftheMihrab(arch) type(Fig. 26).4
of the mosque in linear
The "Tree of Life" is coveredwithflowers;the echoes the architecture
terms.
earthis represented
by thetriangularmoundof
builders,beneathwhicha straightline is someHandicraftsin theHindu
Embroidery
timesdrawnto depicta river.
CultureArea
Islamic prayeris directional,and orientation
in the directionof Mecca or the qibla is essenEmbroidery in Himachal Pradesh and
tial. The liturgicalfocus of the mosque is a Kumaoun Himalaya is usually called Chamba
prayer-niche(Mihrab) in the wall facing styleand it has been influenced
by Pahari paintMecca. The portrayalof this niche in embroi- ing. The characteristics
are easily distinguished
fromother by the pictorialand geometricaldesignswhich
prayer-rugs
derydesigndistinguishes
depictthemesborrowedfromPahari paintings.
17 (March, 1964), pp. 69-70; KamaladeviChattopad- Scenes of Krishna's life, dances, and ancient
hyaya,"Originand Developmentof Embroideryin
Our Land," Marg,Vol. 17 (March, 1964), pp. 5-10. legends are reproducedin warm, vivid colors
in the traditionof Kangra paintings.Embroi43 Nelly H. Sethna, Shal: Weaves and Embroideries
of Kashmir(New Delhi: WileyEasternPrivateLim- deryis used to adorn various articlessuch as
ited,1973).
44 JamesDickie, "The Iconographyof the Prayer scarves, caps, fans, linen, and blouses (Fig.
27). The patternsare simple and go withthe
Rug," OrientalArt,Vol. 18 (1972), pp. 41-49.
508
December
FIG. 27. Krishna,shownin the centerof thisChamba Rumal, is a popularfigureon the

of theHinduculturearea. Four scallopedarches,each witha woman,are separated
embroidery
by cedartrees.Bold leavesand flowersdecoratetheborder.
prevalentfolkstyleof paintingin whichflowers

and trees are drawn withoutsophistication.45
Phulkari,whichmeans "floweringwork,"is
a spectacular style of embroideryassociated
with the Outer Himalaya in Punjab and Kumaoun. The motifsare largelyfloraland geometrical(Fig. 28). Phulkarihas a large number of patternsand each patternhas a special
name based on the motif.This formof Punjab
45"Chamba Rumal,"Marg,Vol. 17 (March, 1964),
pp. 19-21.
and Kumaoun Himalaya embroideryis often

mentionedin the literatureand folk songs of
thearea.46
Religious motifssuch as the sankha (conch
shell), surja (sun), chandrama (moon), and
46 "Bagh and Phulkari: Punjab," Marg, Vol. 17
(March, 1964), p. 19. For a discussionof the role of
and physicalfactorswhich
symbolical,psychological,
in vartheuse of colorsin textilehandicrafts
influence
ious partsof India and Himalaya,see Nancy Kenealy,
"India's CraftsToday: Color," CraftHorizons,Vol.
1959), pp. 29-30.
19 (July-August,
1976
509
HIMALAYAN ART
.~~~~~~~~1
designused on scarfs
28. A floralembroidery
in the Punjab Himalaya.
FIG.
ar4
trishul(trident), enter the embroideryof the

Terai and Middle Himalaya in Nepal. This
area remainedisolated fromthe courtlypomp
and show of Mogul rulers and it retained a
traditionalfolk styleusing available materials.
FIG. 29. On festiveoccasionsthe women in SikKashida embroideryof the Nepal Terai has a kim wear a long-sleevedsilk jacket,hat, and richlylarge varietyof designs universallyused for stripedapron.Note the matchingfloraldesignon the
personalgarments.Sujani styleof Terai is used umbrellahandle.
in quilts and covers and illustratesnaturalsurrepresentations
roundingsthroughfree-flowing
in theTibetanCultureArea
Embroidery
of trees,flowers,and animals. Kantha, an emBuddhist Himalaya people weave as their
broideryin the Duar (piedmont) of eastern
Himalaya, has designs of human and animal ancestors did in Tibet. In Ladakh, northern
Nepal, Sikkim,and Bhutanweavingis a houseflowers,and foliage.
figures,
hold art. On such occasions as the New Year
SoutheastAsian Hill CultureEmbroidery
celebrationor the anniversaryof the founding
The embroideryof easternHimalaya reflects of a monastery,when the entirepopulationof
the dual influencesof Indian and Burmancul- a valleyis dressedin new clothesand has come
tures, as well as the tribal traditionsof the to participatein the event, the local weaving
aboriginalpopulation. The embroideryis ex- artmaybe noticedin thefestivalcostumes(Fig.
tremelydelicate and it is commonlyprepared 29). Each high Himalayan valley has its own
on the phaneyk, a type of sarong worn by distinct weaving patterns. For example, in
women.The patterncommonlyused is the cir- Bumthangin centralBhutan,unscouredsheep's
colors to weave the
cular design,one circle joiningthe other.It is wool is used in different
a designinspiredby circularswirlsof thewater famous "Bumthang blankets" with yellow
stripes and floral pattern. Black Bumthang
and naturalobjects such as theflowerbuds.
Anotherstrikingexample of embroideryis blanketsof wool with yellow, red, and white
the black chaddar (bed spread) with embroi- floralcrosses, which affordprotectionagainst
deredanimalmotifin thickcottonthreadwhich the extremewintercold, are widelyused as a
is popularly called the Naga chaddar. This garmentor skirtin centraland easternBhutan.
motifwas derived fromhuntingexploits and The patternconsistsof a broad stripeddesign
withstylizedfloralmotifs.48
was originallywornbytheAngamiNagas.
47 B. K. Barua, "Weavingin Assam," The Assam
Quarterly,
Vol. 2 (April,1962), pp. 45-49.
48 B. C. Olschak, "BhutaneseWeaving," Palette

(Sandoz, Basel), No. 24 (1966), pp. 3-8.
510
PRADYUMNA P. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER
December
(7
--
FIG. 30. Woolen cloth with stripedpatternand

flowermotifis used forwomen'sclothingin Bhutan.
Two silvershoulderclaspshold thisgarmenttogether.
The top of the silverclasp is decoratedwithsymbols,
oftengilded,showingthe wheelof the law, the lotus
flower,and dragon.
pm
FIG. 31. A floralpatterndecoratesthe bedstead

cover in this picture taken at the palace of the
Chogyalof Sikkimin Gangtok.Raw silkproducedin
thesouthernregionsof Sikkimhas been used to make
the garmentfor the Chogyal'ssister.It is decorated
with floralpatternsand ornamentalfilletswith the
swastikawhich symbolizesgood fortune.A Tibetan
carpetwithflowermedalliondesigncoversthe floor.
In Bhutan the blanket with stripedpattern

formsthe typicalwoman's garment(Fig. 30).
decorativemotifson carpets in Bhutan is the
The longitudinalstripedpatternin which the
single large swastika on a border of separate
golden flowerdesign is prominentis used in or
interlacedswastikas.50
men'sgarments.Flower designsand symbolsof
Bhutaneseculturealso gleam fromthebrightly
PATTERNS OF ARCHITECTURE
painted pillars of the unnailed,timber-framed
AND SCULPTURE
buildings and bridges. In north Sikkim the
The distinctive
Himalayanculturesare splenfloralpatternis used on the special bedstead, didly
realizedin folkarchitecture
and sculpture
which is similar to the sofa for sitting.The (Fig. 32). As the
principalvisible record of
groundshade of beige or blue is employedto the
religious,aestheticand material environset off the brightflowersand foliage motifs ments,
folk architectureand sculpturevividly
(Fig. 31).
expressthe various cultures-even colonialism
Carpet weavingin northernHimalaya is es- (Figs. 33 and 34).
sentiallya folkart.49The mostpopular kindis
thesmall saddle carpeton whicheveryelement The Hindu CulturalArea
of ornamentationhas a symbolic meaning,
In the southernparts of the Punjab, Kumabringinggood fortuneor providingprotection.
oun, and Nepal Himalaya theHindu templeis a
Carpet designsoftenshow several or all eight
commonlandscape featurebut it does not conof the luckyBuddhistsymbolsof good fortune
tain a large shelterto accommodatea congreeithersinglyor in groups. One of the oldest
gationof devotees(Fig. 35). The Terai in east49 Philip Denwood, The Tibetan Carpet (Warmin50 B. C. Olschak,"TibetanCarpets,"Palette (Sanster,England:Aris and PhilipsLtd., 1974).
doz, Basel), No. 27 (1967), p. 7.
1976
511
HIMALAYAN ART
V.
-
x-
ID
3,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r.
FIG. 32. The drawings on these round storage

buildings adjacent to homes in westernTerai in Nepal
are associated with socioreligious rites. In symbolic
form they signifythat they wish to be blessed to remain free from evil influences.
FIG. 34. Rest housesin Paro, Bhutan,a laterdeThe living

velopmentby the Bhutanesegovernment.
quartersare less elevated than in the colonial rest
such as tie
differences
house and thereare structural
absenceof nailsand moreuse of masonryin thislater
of architectural
style
type,but the overall similarity
and functional
in thetwo types.
purposeis striking
ern Nepal withits traditionof wooden houses

and thatchedhutsofferssome new and interestmodes in the Chandimandapa deposits suitable for brick manufacture.The
ing architectural
(literally,porch of goddess Chandi) and tem- Terai mason uses molded bricks to beautify
ples.i' This alluvial regionhas widespreadclay templesand multipliesthe numberof pavilions
and spiresto make themimposing.Residential
structures,
however,graduallyevolved which
51 Mary ShepherdSlusserand GantamavajraVijraused
and bamboo. This distinctiveTerai
wood
An
Archi"Two
Medieval
Buildings:
Nepalese
carya,
tecturaland CulturalStudy,"ArtibusAsiae, Vol. 36
(1974), pp. 169-218. For details of Indian temple The Personality of Hindu A rchitecture(Delhi: Munstyles,see K. V. SundraRajan, Indian TempleStyles: shilal Manoharlal,1972).
4L~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~-j
*.'4~~~~'a
FIG. 33. The rest house (Dak Bungalow) was a
productof colonialismintroducedby the British.Located in easternTerai, at the edge of the foothills,
theirpurposewas to accommodatehighcivil servants
on officialbusiness.Livingaccommodationis on the
elevatedsecondfloor.The styleis reminiscent
of the
old colonial edificesbuiltfor similarpurposesin the
tropicsof boththeOld and New WorldsbytheBritish,
Dutch, and otherwesternEuropeancolonial powers.
lk
FIG. 35. Durbar Square at Bhatgaon,Nepal. The

palace is on theright;thestatueof Bhupatindra
Malla
( 1696-1722),thebuilder,is in leftcenter.The artsof
terracottaand woodworkare amongthemostnotable
artisticachievements
in the KathmanduValley,which
meanstheValleyof WoodenTemples,wherebuildings
are lavishlydecoratedwithtunalsor carvedbrackets.
The palace of Bhatgaonis a masterpieceof HinduBuddhistart and architecture.
512
PRADYUMNA
P.
KARAN AND COTTON MATHER
December
of thepassingaway of theBuddha intoNirvana

(Figs. 39 and 40). The shrineitselfremindsthe
devoteesof theGreat Teacher as an omniscient
reality.54
The stupa is a massivehemispherical
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A
relicmound,crownedby a stone umbrellaand
surroundedby a balustrade.It was originally
a simple burial mound of earth and bricks
erectedover fragments
of bones and ashes of a
holy personage. Following this custom, the
ashes of Buddha, afterhis Great Departure,
-~
-~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
were enshrinedwithinsuch tumuli.The relief
compositionsadorningthe stupas and chortens
narratestoriesmainlyfromthe life of Buddha
or fromthe legendsof his incarnations.Under
the patronageof lamas, sculpturein Tibet entereda phase of intensecreativity
withreligion
as theprincipalsourceof inspiration(Fig. 41).
FIG. 36. This largeworkof artat BuddhaNilkantha, near Kathmandu,showingVishnusleepingon a

bed of snakesin the symboliccosmicocean,connotes
profoundserenityand peace. Over fivemeterslong,
thisseventhcenturysculptureof Vishnulies in a tank
fed by a naturalspring.Grandioseart devotedto the
Hindu gods producedsome massivesculpturesin the
KathmanduValley. Brahminpriestsare shownperthe ritualworship.
forming
shownin thesloping
architecture
is particularly
roof,curvedeave, and a pointedarch style.+2
In the Hindu sculptureof southernHimalaya, a wide range of Vishnu and Siva images
appear fromthePunjab to theNepal Himalaya
(Figs. 36 and 37).5 Bhairawa is anothercomthe club and
mon deityin Hindu architecture;
skullsin thehandsofBhairawasymbolizedeath
(Fig. 38). A sculpturedependinggreatlyfor
its expressionon the religiousideals requires
littlejewelry,but the littlethat is toleratedis
only to furtherreveal the philosophicalbeing
in theouterform.
and Sculptureof theTibetan
Architecture
CultureArea
In BuddhistHimalaya chortensand stupas
dominatethe landscape and serve as symbols
52 For detailson regionalism
in architecture,
see H.
Sanyal,"RegionalReligiousArchitecture
in Bengal:A
Studyin theSourcesof Originand Character,"Marg,
Vol. 27 (March, 1974), pp. 31-43.
53 Oftenthe imagesof Vishnuare set in a tank-a
uniquearchitecture
of waterwhichin areas of Hindu
culturalinfluenceunderwentelaborate development
into formscombiningbeautyand utility.JohnNicolais, "WaterArchitecture
of the KathmanduValley,"
Arts of Asia, Vol. 4 (September-October,
1974), pp.
62-67.
Architecture
and Sculpturein theIslamic
CultureArea
'The Islamic architectureand sculptureof
Kt.tirmirHimalaya is characterized by the
neatlydefinedoutline and the geometricproportion of interiorspace. The Islamic Law,
based on the Koran, forbade any sculptural
decoration;the only plastic embellishments
in
whichthe Moslems indulgedwere the carving
and paintingsof textsfromtheHoly Book and
the use of Persian and Arabic geometricaland
floralmotifs(arabesques) for surfacedecoration. The artistsrepresentedgeometricaland
floralmotifsin endless combinationsand with
remarkableaestheticsense. The Moslem builders in South Kashmirshowed a greatstructural
in coordinatingthe main elementsto
ingenuity
forma unifiedand pleasingarchitectural
composition.
Religious architecturein Islamic Kashmir
consistsof mosques which fulfillthe practical
needs of a religionwhichadvocatescommunity
worshipand mausoleums,thefinestexpressions
of Islamic architecture
in theVale of Kashmir.
The mausoleumsare almost always situatedin
the centerof a beautifulgarden,givingan impressionof serenity
and peace.55
54 P. Pal, The Art of Tibet (New York: The Asia
Society,1969), p. 44; Philip Denwood, "Bhutanese
Architecture,"Asian Affairs,Vol. 58 (February,
1971), pp. 24-33; GelongmaKarma KechiogPalmo,
"Mantras on the Prayer Flag," Kailash: A Journal of

Himalayan Studies, Vol. 1 (1973), pp. 168-69.
*5 For the role of environment

in the Mogul landscape architecture,
see Mulk Raj Anand,"The Treatmentof Environment
by the Mughals,"Marg, Vol.
26 (December,1972), pp. 3-8.
1976
513
HIMALAYAN ART
_~~~~~~~~
a_a
-.
M~~~~~~~~~.
FIG. 37. Entranceto the Hindu Temple of Pasupatinath(Lord of the Animal World)
viewed from the bank of Bagmati. Siva, the god of this Nepalese national shrine, is symbolized
by the productive and creative Linga, or Phallus. It is in this symbolic form that Siva is worshipped in the Temple of Pasupatinath. On the banks of Bagmati flankingthe temple, the Hindus
carry out their ritual ablutions on stone steps. Washing for the purificationand expiation of
sins is a ritual to the Hindus in Nepal and elsewhere.
The SoutheastAsian Hill CultureArea

Tibeto-Burmanvillagesare made up of several long-housescontaininga numberof patrilineallyrelatedfamilies.The houses are raised
on piles and are made of bamboo in contrast
to the stone houses of the BuddhistHimalaya,
and themudbrickhouses of mostof theHindu
Himalaya and SouthKashmir.
Architecture
is influencedby the abundance
of bamboo groves which providethe material
forhouse building.Cane, whichis commonin

the forests,furnishesmaterialof great utility
forhomebuilding.The Aka house,forexample,
is a long bamboo and cane structureraised on
a platform,
about six feetabove thegroundand
divided into two compartments
by a partition
wall (Fig. 42). The space between the platformand the groundservesas a shed for pigs
and goats. The roof is usually thatched,supportedbybamboo sheets.
514
PRADYUMNA
P.
KARAN AND COTTON
MATHER
A
___
FIG. 40.
December
This huge, hemispherical stupa in Kath-
exampleof religiousarchimanduValley is a striking

tecture.At the top of the spireis a canopy.Four giFIG. 38. Bhairawa in Kathmandu'smarketplace. ganticpairs of eyes are paintedon the base of the
the wisdomof Buddha,maniOriginally,a "fearful"formof Hindu god, Bhairawa spire.These represent
but protectivein spirit,the emanationof festedon all sides by his all-seeingeyes. Originally,
is wrathful,
thisdecorationwas probablyintendedto protectthe
divineomnipotence,
and slayerof demons.
buildingfromthe "evil eye" or the machinationsof
evil spirits.
CONCLUSION
Vernacularart formsare largelyproducts

thecontext
ofspeofa group'sbehaviorwithin
The
settings.
cifictraditions
and environmental
ofHimalayanartwererecogregionalpatterns
nizedthreecenturies
ago by Taranatha,a TiContactbetweenthe ancient
betanhistorian.
forlong
culturesin thisrealmwas minimized
In more
isolation.
periodsinthepastbyphysical
FIG. 39. A chorten in Gangtok, Sikkim, surroundedbyprayerflagswithsacredmantrapaintedon

them.Chortenssuch as this one mark the routeof
pilgrimsboundfortheholyplaces of Buddhismin the
Himalaya. Amongthe relicsof variouskindsdepositedin thehollowsof theedificeare clay figurines
representing
imagesof deities,and sacredinscriptions.
sculptureof PadamsambFIG. 41. This impressive

hava in Gangtok,who broughtBuddhismto Tibet,
Nepal, Sikkim,and Bhutan in the eighthcentury,
evokes the presenceof the greatsaint of Lamaism.
of Buddha,he
Consideredas thecentraltranscendent
is represented
in paintingsand sculpturethroughout
theTibetanculturearea. He is dressedin his religious
headdresswitheargownand wearsthe characteristic
lappetsturnedup. His tiara-likecap is crownedby a
toppedby a peacock featherthat symthunderbolt,
bolizespurityfromsin. On thefrontof thecap is the
his perfect
of sun and moon,emphasizing
twin-symbol
Sittingin the postureof meditation,
comprehension.
he holdsthethunderbolt
scepterand theskullcapwith
the base whichis filledwiththeWaterof Life. A tridentwithskullsis a specialfeatureof thisrepresentation.
1976
HIMALAYAN ART
FIG. 42. Aka house This long bamboo and cane

is representative
of the residentialarchitecstructure
tureof theeasternHimalaya.
recenttimes,however,intercultural
contacthas
prevailedin manyplaces and yetthe regionalism of Himalayan art has persisted.It is true
thatPahari culturein thecentralHimalaya has
515
embraced significantelements of both the

Lamaist and Indic traditions,but that fusion
has constitutedsimply an enrichmentof the
regionalculturalpatternof the Himalaya in a
varietyof artforms.
Himalayan art is stronglyvernacular,not
internationalin character.One may wonder
why vernacularart has persistedhere, why it
persistsin many other regions and on other
continentsand in areas like the American
Southwestwhichare not isolated and in which
art.
thereis theconstantimpactof international
Those questionsof necessitymust remainunanswereduntilgeographersand otherstudents
to the deof cultureaddressthemselvesfurther
velopmentalaspectsofregionalart.

Art and Geography: Patterns in The Himalaya

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Art and Geography: Patterns in the Himalaya

Author(s): Pradyumna P. Karan and Cotton Mather

ART AND GEOGRAPHY: PATTERNS IN THE HIMALAYA*

THE Himalayan realmis one of the world's

ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS

Vol. 66, No. 4, December 1976

PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

steels.Incorporatedwiththe physicalcontributionof technologicaladvanceis thehighlyintellectualized imagery that is used to portray

for a New Identity?"Indian and Foreign Review, Vol.

rors strongculturalhistoricalforcesand geographicalsettings.Withthe sudden and worldwide onslaughtof modern technology,there

The Himalaya mountainsextend along the

II (December 1, 1973), pp. 18-19. Duringa visitto

graphical Review, Vol. 66 (1976), pp. 59-72.

consistsmainlyof: 1) the Great Himalaya, a

KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

Modified after C M N. Suhuy

REGIONAL PATTERNSOF DANCE

FIG. 2. Himalaya.Map of culturalregions,regionalpatternsof painting,and regionalpat-

nurturedin theseHimalayanvalleyswhilethey and shiftingagricultureenteredthe Himalaya

Landscape (Lexington,Ky.: University

Bhattacharya, Cultural Heritage of India

(Hollywood,California:Vedanta Press, 1961).

10 P. Carrasco, Land and Polity in Tibet (Seattle:

11 W. C. Smith, Modern Islam in India: A Social

Analysis(New York: Russell and Russell,1972).

KARAN AND COTTON

recognizedas early as the seventeenthcentury

Regional artisticcharacteristicsof painting

isolation of cloisteredvalleys, the distinctive

exampleof Mogul paintFIG. 4. A representative

ment,the new rulersdefiedthe religiousban.

House Inc. for Museumof Fine Arts,Boston,Mass.,

Blanche ChristineOlschak in collaborationwith

Geshe Thupten Wangyal, Mystic Arts of Ancient Tibet

KARAN AND COTTON

FIG. 6. A Mogul courtscene. Ruler,smokingwaterpipe,attendedby a princeand a nobleman.Court

imagerywhichexpressTibetan cultureare the

FIG. 7. Flowers were popular subjectsin Mogul

are alwaysstrongand luminous.To theTibetan

FIG. 9. A thangka, an example of scroll painting

PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

is sublimated,and passion is enobled and sug- backgroundof an impendingstormrepresents

W. G. Archer, Indian Painting in the Punjab

25 V. S. Agrawala, "The Romance of Himachal

FIG. 11. The love story of Krishna and Radha is

songforKrishna,are popular themesforpaintings.

PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

FIG. 14. Decorativepaintingsinside a Kowar of

FIG. 15. Dragon painted on wood, an example of

lamic,Hindu,and Tibetanareas thepaintingof

In mostof theHimalaya thedance has come

the templesof gods to the courts of Moslem

(January1, 1972), pp. 18-20.

PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

FIG. 16. Lama dancesat Gangtok,Sikkim.Wearinglargeblackhatsand acoat adorned with

The mask dances of the Tibetancultural

32G. Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows (New York:

Tibetansin the Darjeelingarea have a form

is somethingwhichcolors the mindwitha certaindefinite

PRADYUMNAP. KARAN AND COTTON MATHER

REGIONAL PATTERNSOF MUSIC

REGIONAL PATTERNSOF EMBROIDERY

FIG. 17. Himalaya. Map of regionalpatternsof music,regionalpatternsof embroidery,