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Sacred mountains

Sacred mountains Symbolism of the mountains Mountain worship Threats to sacred mountains Climate change Tourism Ways for conservation Sacred mountain

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Sacred mountains

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  1. Sacred mountains • Symbolism of the mountains • Mountain worship • Threats to sacred mountains • Climate change • Tourism • Ways for conservation

  2. Sacred mountain “There are mountains which are just mountains and there are mountains with personality. The personality of a mountain is more than merely a strange shape that makes it different from others-just as a strangely shaped face or strange actions do not make an individual into a personality. Personality consists in the power to influence others, and this power is due to consistency,harmony, and one-pointedness of character. If these qualities are present in a mountain, we recognize him as a vessel of cosmic power, and we call it a sacred mountain […].”

  3. 1. Symbolism of the Mountains:Mircea Eliade, comparative religion • The mountain as sacred center • Morphology of mountains • Mountain as Gods • Mountains charged with Divine power • Mountains as life and death places

  4. The mountain as sacred center • “Axis mundi” = center of the world • Cosmic mountain- image of stability and permanence • Mythology: Mt.Kailas, center of the world for Hindus, • Buddhists

  5. Morphology? • Morphology of the mountain plays an important role in defining the mountain as sacred • Shape • Color of the rock • Elevation • Local relief • Snow

  6. Mt.Kailas, Tibet- World’s most sacred mountain

  7. Most revered pilgrim center for four different religions. • Hindus: the abode of Lord Shiva and his Consort Parvathi. • Jains: where their first prophet achieved enlightenment. • Tibetan Buddists: the manifestation of Mount Meru - navel of the world – th earthly manifestation of Meru the spiritual center of the Universe, around which everything evolves. • Bon religion: believe the founder of the religion descended here from heaven.

  8. Morphology features that make Kailas a sacred mountain • Shape: perfect dome • Color: white (snow) • Source of 4 rivers in 4 cardinal directions • Local relief: contrasting with the vast plateau surrounding it • Remoteness (W Tibet very sparsely populated)

  9. Rivers like the arms of a Mandala • South: Karnali and Ganges • North: Indus • West: Sutlej • East: Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)

  10. Attributes • The mountain itself is layered in horizontal strata and has been likened to a ladder or staircase rising heavenward through the planes of earthly existence. • It stands alone, rather than among a cluster of icy peaks and glaciers. • This latter feature makes it possible to circumambulate Kailas, and the korra, or pilgrimage route, around the mountain is considered by believers to be a significant action by which to gain virtue.

  11. Stands alone and dominates landscape Possible to circumambulate

  12. Korra circumambulate • The kora is a 32-mile hike • Some pilgrims aspire to increase their merit by completing the korra in a single day, or by prostrating all the way around the mountain -a grueling test of virture requiring at least three weeks and some 20,000 prostrations. • Pilgrims who complete this so-called outer korra 13 times are worthy to make the inner korra: an ascent up the south face of the mountain to the Cave of the Thirteen Golden Chortens at over 19,500 feet. This is the highest point of the mountain accessible to humans.

  13. Getting there: ain’t as easy as you think

  14. Mountains as Places of Revelation • Mountaintop- revelatory place • Height of the mountain is important • Mountain ascent – spiritual, transforming experience

  15. Mountains as Gods • Snow capped mountains are important • Verticality/local relief • Remoteness • Abode of the Divine • Guardian Gods for local people

  16. Rongbuk Monastery Everest Base Camp, North (Tibetan) side Cosmic mountain represented in temple architecture: “Stupa” (Buddhist temple) shaped in form of a dome with gateways to the four directions Stairs symbolize way to heaven (the ascent) Led Zepplin: Stairway to heaven?

  17. Hindu temple in Durbar Square, Kathmandu (Nepal) • Shape of mountains represented in temple architecture • Steps represent spiritual ascent • Link between heaven and earth

  18. 2. Three ways to worship sacred mountains • Buddhism: circumambulation (circling) of sacred mountains • Hinduism: pilgrimage to the base of the mountain • Andean culture: human sacrifice on top of the peaks to appease the mountain Gods (Inca Empire)

  19. Buddhist mountain worship CIRCUMAMBULATION (Korra) is the way to worship: “to see the greatness of a mountain, one must keep one’s distance; to understand its form, one must move around it” • Prostration • Prayer wheels • Offerings: juniper incense • “Sky burial” ceremony

  20. Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu (Nepal)

  21. Sky burial structures at a Tibetan monastery

  22. Pilgrimage: Hindu mountain worship • Mountain top=off-limits • Macchapuchare • Ama Dablam • Kailas • pilgrimage to the base of the mountain • bathing in the lake • Incense burning

  23. Mt.Numbur (Shorong Yul-lha), Nepal Himalayas

  24. Dudh Kunda (“Milk Lake”) at the base of Mt Numbur Pilgrims bath here at about 16,000’

  25. Mountain worship in the Andes • Archaeological sites and mummies have been found in the Andes at altitudes up to 20,000ft • Incas constructed the sites in the 15th century to appease the mountain gods • Human sacrifice: Capac Cocha ritual

  26. Mt.Coropuna, sacred mountain

  27. Volcano Llullaillaco, Argentina, highest archeological site (~21,000ft)

  28. Peaks in the Andes are still worshipped to this day, eg. Mt.Ausangate

  29. Andes: Mountain as source of Water and Fertility • Verticality is important • Source of water • Gods of meteorological phenomena, controlling crops and cattle • Places of astronomical observations

  30. Present day pilgrimage to Qoyllur Rit’I, Peru

  31. Sinaqara Glacier, pilgimage site

  32. Qoyllur Rit’I, Sinaqara Glacier, S.Peru Taking “medicinal” ice from the glacier as a symbol of water sources and fertility

  33. 3. Threats to sacred mountains • Tourism: • Climbing permits • Pollution of sacred space Nepal, 2001: 103 more peaks opened for mountaineering in the area of Everest and Kangchenjunga • Climate change: • glacial melt • Changes in vegetation • Water resources

  34. Tourism: climbing andde-sanctification of sacred peaks

  35. Mt.Macchapuchare

  36. World Tibet Network News • Thursday, May 17, 2001 • Mount Kailash Desecrated • Some press agencies and specialized magazines have recently spread the news that a Spanish mountaineering expedition led by Mr. Jesus Martinez Noves had applied for and was granted permission by the Chinese authorities to attempt the climb of Mount Kailash in Tibet. • Wednesday, May 30, 2001 • Climber calls off ascent of sacred peak amid protests (ST) • INTERNATIONAL protests by mountaineers have halted what would have been the first ascent of Mount Kailash, a Tibetan mountain held sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.

  37. Climate change Glacier ablation at Shorong Yul-lha (Numbur), Nepal Himalayas Glacier AX010 estimated to disappear by year 2060.

  38. Everest Melting? High Signs of Climate Change Stentor DanielsonNational Geographic NewsJune 5, 2002 A team sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found signs that the landscape of Mount Everest has changed significantly since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered the peak in 1953. A primary cause is the warming global climate. But the growing impact of tourism is also taxing the world's highest mountain. The team found that the glacier that once came close to Hillary and Norgay's first camp has retreated three miles (five kilometers). A series of ponds that used to be near Island Peak—so-called because it was then an island in a sea of ice—had merged into a long lake.

  39. Indian Himalayas: • Glacier ablation at • Gangotri,source of • the holy Ganges • 1% of Ganges water comes • from Gangotri glacier • millions of people dependent • on water from runoff • glacier terminus retreated by • 3km ASTER Image courtesy of: NASA EROS Data Center, Sept. 9, 2001

  40. “Modernization” in Tibet?

  41. THE END OF • A LEGEND? Aug 2000: Another cable car project is being proposed for Macchu Picchu

  42. MACHU PICCHU TODAY AFTER THE PROJECT

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