Spiti Valley: the world of Tibetan Buddhism

Spiti Valley Valley is located in the north-east of Himal-Pradesh in the administrative district of Lahul and Spiti District). The expeditions of the St. Petersburg Union of Scientists visited this amazing remote corner of India twice, choosing different seasons for trips: in early October 2011 and in early June 2015.

This area should not be confused with the entire Spiti River River, which is much longer. SPITI - the right tributary of the SATALEGE River. Her stormy stream frantically breaks through the rocky gorge near Chinese Tibet, from where the Satlay flows. The merger of water occurs in a deserted gloomy place among the sheer bare rocks in the north of the neighboring district of Himalar District).

A small iron bridge across Satledge was built near the confluence of SPIT. Having drove along it, you get into the gorge where the narrow road is pierced directly through a powerful rock. A foamy, rebellious spells flashed very noisily next to you. Tesnina, like some gate, passes you into a different, unfamiliar world. The road along the slope of a steep dry ridge, almost devoid of vegetation, rises high above the ribbon of the river and enters a wider valley. A peculiar beauty of a deserted landscape with small green interspersed areas and modest groves of poplars and Yves below the floodplain of the river opens in front of the traveler. In the fall, they looked like elegant golden spots from above.

In October 2011, I was struck by the color of the river, which is not the same in different sections of the current. In the more steep and narrow places among the large boulders, a frantic, as if boiling with rage, the stream became white. In some places, calmed water acquired a wonderful blue or turquoise color, while in some places it stained in a muddy brownish. In the moonlight, SPITI was mysteriously silvering, fascinating and inviting to a date. Only the gloomy shadows of the mountain slopes drowned out the romance of the landscape with their anxiety.

In early June 2015, the water, like in Satledic, was only a gray-gryped shade. Apparently, the powerful melting of glaciers turned mountain streams and rivers into strong streams, washing coastal soil from the slopes.

The entire area of ​​the Spiti River is a rather harsh edge lying in the zone of the so-called rain shadow, where summer monsoons do not reach due to high mountain ranges. This is a typical section of cold alpine deserts, which are characterized by nonsense, a small amount of precipitation (about 170 mm per year), high insolation, severe winters, strong winds, deep narrow valleys and canyons, clamped between steep ridges with snowy peaks [2] . It is not surprising that the area belongs to the least populated territories of India.

Actually, Spiti's valley begins for Sumdo, north of the mouth of the river. Near this village, she makes a sharp turn, changing the direction from the north to the western, and then to the northwest. Reaching about 150 km in length with a width of up to 1.5–3.0 km, the Spiti valley ends at the Kunzum Pass pass (Kunzum Pass, 4551 m above sea level), where the sources of the river are located.

A significant part of the year SPITI residents are isolated from the outside world. The Kunzum Pass can be closed for travel from 6 to 8 months a year, from October - early November to May. In 2011, the first light snow in the valley fell on October 8, but we safely overcame the pass. In the summer of 2015, we had to sharply change the expedition plans because of the Big Snow avalanche, which buried the road near the pass. On June 11, we were forced to turn back to Satlage [3] . In the south, the connection of the SPII Valley with the rest of the country from November to June is periodically interrupted by powerful storms.

Despite the weak settlement, in the Specit Valley, judging by the cards of 2010–2011, about two and a half dozen small villages, not counting the side valley of Pin [4] . In the town of KAZ (KazA, 3670 m) - an administrative center and the largest settlement - about 3200–3300 people live. It is curious that in 1891 a comparable number of inhabitants was registered in the entire Spiti area [5] ; Now it has more than 10 thousand.

It should be indicated that the SPII River basin is located in the border zone with China (Tibet). Earlier for a long time, the district was closed to foreigners. To get here now, you need to get a special resolution (the so-called Inner Line Permit) in the city of Shimla, the capital of Himala-Pradesh.

SPITI’s Valley, apparently, has a long story, although in various kinds of notes (and inscriptions) it is mentioned only from the end of the 10th century AD. The British, who visited Spiti in the 19th century, noted the Tibetan character (in ethnic, cultural and religious relations) of this Himalayan corner of India (“A Tibetan Country”). Indeed, Spiti is the world of Tibetan Buddhism, but this was not always the case.

In the Middle Ages (until the 10th century), the district was influenced by the West Tibetan kingdom of Shang Shung with the capital in the area of ​​Mount Kailas; The religion of Bon dominated it [4] . Around the 10th century, the state of the Guga state, which replaced Shanshung, established control of the SPIT valley. The ruler of Lama, who received the spiritual name of the eche-one (jangchub eshe-n, or eshe-Od, c. 959–1040) became famous for its support for Buddhism, ensuring its revival in Tibet and neighboring areas. The second wave of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism also captured Spiti.

On modern tourist cards in the Spiti Valley, including PIN (PIN), seven Buddhist monasteries are noted, although only five indicated in the 1891 report [5, p. 86] . The most ancient is the monastery (in the Tibetan Gompa) in the village of Tabo (Tabo): it is dated to 996 year. e. [6] . After the monastery in the Zanskar sleigh, the foundation of which is attributed to the 2nd century n. e [7] , Tabo and the Alchi Gompa Monastery on the Indus River can be considered the oldest of the Ladaka and Himala-Pradesh that are now existing in the Tibetan world.

Experts [6] believe that the name Tabo (TAPO), like some others found in the inscriptions on the walls of the monastery, is clearly not Tibetan, but the language of inscriptions have not yet been identified. Perhaps the initial in this area was the Shanshung language, preserved in the same village in the district of Kinnor.

The tradition connects the construction of the Tabo monastery, like Alchi, with the name of the famous Buddhist mentor Rinchen Zangpo (in the Tibetan Rin-Chen-Bzang-PO, 958–1055). He became famous as the Great Lotzava (Lo-Tsa-Ba, literally a “translator”). After fierce persecution of Buddhism in Tibet in the 9th century and the restoration of the power of the priests, Bon Buddhism was revived in the southwest of Tibet in Guga.

The already mentioned by him-one, also known as the “noble king,” decided to translate the Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts to Tibetan. To do this, he sent the most talented novices to study in India and Kashmir. Of the 21 students, only two survived, the rest died from diseases, unusual hot and wet climate, as well as from snake bites. One of the returning was Rinchen Zangpo, who later became a great teacher (Mahaguru).

According to legend, he also engaged in the construction of monasteries throughout Guug and built them supposedly more than a hundred. In addition to the activities in the capital itself (Tholing in the west of Tibet, 997) and in Mustang (now Nepal), he is credited with the creation of temples in Tabo, Alchi and Lamayur in the Western Himalayas. It should be noted that they are stylistically unequal. As Rinchen, Zangpo managed to engage in thorough, painstaking translations of sacred texts and the widespread tireless construction of temples, only one thing is known to him.

Austrian scientists [6] , who examined in detail the monastery complex in Tabo, discovered an inscription that reported that Gompa was founded by Bodhisatty, i.e. The King of Lama is eche-one, and after 46 years was updated by his grandchildren. Apparently, the monastery arose during the early missionary activities of the King Buddhist even before he attracted Rinchen Zangpo for the construction of temples.

Gompa Tabo Slavic with his old frescoes. It is often called Ajanta Gimalaev by analogy with the famous Ajanta in Maharastra, a cave temple complex with a wall painting. Unfortunately, the frescoes in Tabo are now in not very good condition. The twilight reigns inside the temple rooms. To photograph with a flash, as in many other monasteries, tourists are not allowed to prevent the destruction of colors.

In addition to frescoes, inside the temples you can see large figures of various deities made of painted clay. It is believed that the GOMPA Tabo initially experienced the influence of Indian Buddhist art, which came from the north from East Turkestan, in particular from the Oasis of Dunhuan (now the Gansu province in Western China).

The features of Dotibetan Buddhism in Tabo also include the image of the defender Wi-Neu-Myin. Once she, apparently, was an influential local deity of the female, which gradually transformed into the character of the Buddhist world. Thus, the Tabo monastery is interesting in that it clearly shows the process of tibeting the West Himalayan outskirts.

Unlike the vast majority of Buddhist monasteries in the Western Himalayas, Gompa Tabo is located on a river plain (height of about 3300 m), like monasteries in a sleigh (Zanskar) and Alchi (Ladak).

It is also surrounded by an uncomplicated clay wall. The walls of temples and chartens (stupas) are made from the same material. Therefore, outwardly, ancient one -story buildings look quite inconspicuous.

The monastery complex in Tabo includes nine temples, many Chortenes, the dwelling of the lamas and the premises for the guests; There are also sacred caves for meditation outside the village. Chronologically, these structures belong to the X - XI (main temple), XIII - XIV (ancient stupas) and XV - XX centuries (other parts of the complex). The entire complex is seen as the national treasure of India and is protected by the country's archaeological service.

Over his long history, GOmp Tabo belonged to various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma , Kadam and Sakya were represented here, but then replaced by the Geluga school (yellow -martyrs) that arose in the 15th century. The current Dalai Lama XIV patronizes Tabo as one of the most holy places of Tibetan Buddhism in India and even expressed a desire to retire here at the end of his life. In 1996, when the millennium of the Tabo monastery was celebrated, he held here the Calacoca initiation ceremony, which arrived at thousands of pilgrims from different countries.

We visited the GOMPU Tabo twice: October 5, 2011 and June 9, 2015. In the village and monastery, you can find curious facts. So, entering one of the temples, we saw the sculpture of the son of Shiva Ganesha, the god of wisdom and prosperity with the head of the elephant. To my question (in 2015), why here is this pretty Hindu deity, a young llama, showing the monastery, only smiled.

Changes in the life of the Buddhist community of Taba over the past decades are very noticeable and are influenced by the outside, as indicated by Austrian researchers [6] . Indeed, the village is under construction, a tourist business focused on foreigners is unfolding.

So, in 2011, we have repeatedly dined in the local Zion cafe, located in the center of the village and hung with prayer Buddhist flags. The name clearly indicates a stream of tourists from Israel. I can’t say anything about the kosher of food. I note that the inhabitants of Tabo themselves vegetarians. There were few places in the new hotel where our main group was located, and I had to rent a large, generally comfortable room right in a cafe on the second floor, becoming a “Zionist” for a couple of days. I remember that in the house, judging by the Topot, a large rat ran in the house at night.

In 2015, our group stopped on the outskirts of Tabo at Trojan Guest House. I asked the owner of the Indus Ramesh Kumar, where such a strange name is. Embarrassed, he said that he certainly did not know, but this is connected with the horse (!). So the ancient Greek legend of the Trojan horse through many centuries reached a secluded corner of the Western Himalayas.

Other monasteries in the Spiti Valley in their location are the exact opposite of Taba. They are built on the slopes of mountain ranges or on the tops of separate hills and rocks. If you go up the spiti river from Tabo, then the impressive monastery Dankar (Dhankar) will inevitably fall into your field of vision. Like a large eagle nest, he ascended to the very top of the three -hundred -meter cliff and with cold calm looks at the river flowing below.

The name (also write Dankhar, Drangkhar, in the Tibetan Brang-Mkhar or Grang-Mkhar) consists of two words: Dhang or Dang means “rock”, and Kar or Khar- “Fortress”. To get into this magnificent castle-monastery, you must first drive 25 km up the left bank of the Spiti River to the village of Attargo (Attargo), and from there to a complex serpentine to return 7 km ago, rising along the slope of the ridge to a height of about 3900 m above sea level.

In the top of Dankar and its architecture, they see the stylistic influence of the monasteries-fortresses of Central Tibet. Dankar's base is attributed to almost the 10th century, i.e. By the initial period of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Spiti, although there is no reliable evidence of this. However, the fort is mentioned in the early history of the West -Tibetan kingdom of Huga. In the XI century, the heir to the throne was exiled here.

According to other sources, the current GOMPA could be built in the XII century. For several centuries, Dankar was the place of residence of the rulers of SPITI (the so -called non -Nono ). A small village is located next to the monastery. As in Tabo, the Dankar monastery consistently belonged to the different movements of Tibetan Buddhism ( Nyingma , Sakya and Kagyu ), but about the middle of the 15th century the Gelugpa school reigned here.

In October 2011, we were able to wander into the tight streets of the fort, look into the dilapidated rooms of dust, hear prayer muttering of lamas in a few preserved rooms. In one abandoned empty room of a tall-shoulder building, I went to the opening, from where an exciting view of the sole (removal cone) of the side valley of Pin and Spiti itself opened.

From the room it was possible to go along the narrow cornice along the outer wall of the building. When looking down, my head was spinning from a great height, and even the very thought of using this path seemed to me crazy and fantastic. How much you need to be dexterous and trained, in order to go nasty at a steep cliff without a fence and a railing. Probably, Lamam in such an unsafe business was helped by the Buddha himself!

The whole complex is not in the best condition, and now they are trying to restore it with the help of foreign funds (in particular, from the USA). In 2006, Dankar was included in the list of hundreds of monuments of the world in the most threatened state. In May 2015, the monastery was closed.

Dankar once controlled not only the passage along Spiti, but also the entrance to the PIN area. About the river and the valley of the same name, as well as about the old monastery located there, I wrote earlier [4] . 45 km from Tabo up the spacy is located. Residents of the surrounding villages flow into this shopping and administrative center, and tourists also come. The population of the Spiti Valley belongs to the vast ethnic group of Bhoti, using different languages ​​and dialects of the Tibetan group. Residents in various national clothes can be seen on the main bazaar street.

It seems attracted to three Buddhist monasteries. Above all, Tangyud Gompa, 4548 m) rose to the mountains, where in 2011 there was only one lama, although once their number reached 60. The monastery is also considered very ancient (supposedly the XI century), but it is more realistic to date its XIV century. This is one of the two monasteries belonging to the Sakya school, which was influenced in Tibet in the XIV century thanks to the support of the Mongols. Similarly, the village of comedian (Komik) lies among the wide gentle slopes.

On the hilly road along the ridge, where at an altitude of more than 4000 m, fossil remains of long -extinct jurisen marine animals often come across, you can get into the village and Kibber monastery. In 2011, we did not go there due to a lack of time. Визит в 2015-м оказался неудачным, так как гомпа была закрыта, и даже ламу, способного что-то внятно рассказать о ней, нам найти не удалось (зато попались приветливые индийские военные). Сам комплекс по сравнению с другими выглядит не очень заманчиво.

Пожалуй, самым знаменитым из тройки монастырей близ Казы следует считать Ки (Key, Kyi, Kye или Ki Gompa, около 4000 м). Это крупнейший монастырь в долине Спити вообще; в нем от 250 до 300 лам, и издали он выглядит как маленький городок со множеством различных построек. Ки находится в 7 км от Казы вверх по течению реки. В отличие от двух других упомянутых выше гомп, он расположен не глубоко в горах, а на левом берегу Спити, величественно занимая отдельно стоящий холм. Полагают, что монастырь возник еще в XI веке и первоначально относился к школе кадам , но в XVII столетии перешел под контроль желтошапочников.

Начиная с XIV века Ки не раз подвергался разрушениям, горел в 1840-е годы. Последний сильный удар ему нанесло землетрясение 1975 года. Тем не менее восстановленный монастырь сохранил настенные росписи XIV века, в которых видят китайское влияние, а также ценную коллекцию священных текстов (Ганджур), утонченных танок (матерчатых икон) из Лхасы и старинных музыкальных инструментов.

Путешествуя по долине Спити, вы не только наслаждаетесь удивительной природой Западных Гималаев, встречаетесь с людьми из разных этнических групп, но и при определенной подготовке можете странствовать во времени, осматривая селения и буддийские монастыри. Не удивляйтесь, если в какой-то момент вы почувствуете, что попали в тибетское средневековье, окруженные миролюбивыми жителями-буддистами, занятыми своими повседневными заботами.

Om Mani Padme Hum!

TRV-hobby-information partner of SPBCU on the Himalayan project.

1. См. также: Singh K. Driving Holidays in the Himalayas: Himachal. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 2007. Боркин Л. Я. Извара, Н. К. Рерих, Гималаи. СПб.: Европейский Дом, 2014.

2. Negi SS Cold Deserts of India. Second edition. [New Dehli]: Indus Publishing Company, 2002. Rao N. Himalayan Desert. New Delhi: Lustre Press / Roli Books, 2007.

3. Боркин Л., Андреев А. Меняем план экспедиции: диктат обстоятельств // ТрВ-Наука. 2015. № 182.

4. Боркин Л. В суровой долине Пин: между Кулу и Спити // ТрВ-Наука. № 179.

5. Gazetteer of the Kangra District. Part II to IV. Kulu, Lahul and Spiti Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab Government. Delhi: BR Publishing Corporation, 2012 (reprint of 1899).

6. Klimburg-Salter DE Tabo Art and History. Vienna, 2005.

7. Боркин Л., Андреев А. Буддийский праздник в Сани (Занскар ) // ТрВ-Наука. 2015. № 188.