Cultural Heritage of the Trans-Himalaya (Kinnaur)

The work is a study of the cultural heritage of the trans-Himalayan area of Himachal Pradesh, especially Kinnaur, that involves documentation of traditional institutions like temples, monasteries, Bon chos, artefacts, forts and old dialects of various ethnic groups. Relying on field studies, the volume throws light on the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of the region of Kinnaur including a study of their customs and architectural heritage. It discusses the indigenous deities (“Shu” on rathang or Shu Republic) that rule and run the administration of the ethnic communities alongside the development administration and democratic set-up from the Panchayats upwards. It deals with the universe under the various indigenous deities of cults like those of Vishnu, Shaiva and Shakti based on an actual field study of the public proceedings of the Shu Republic in 15 deshang or villages of Kinnaur and the U-Khyang and Dhang-U-Khyang, i.e. the festival of flowers and the festival of the Dakhrain, in some deshang. With reference to the deshang, it provides more than a glimpse into their administrative set-up and customary laws and traditions, and describes various architectural designs of the native residential buildings. The book emphasizes the need for necessary conservation measures for the preservation of the cultural heritage of Kinnaur. It would be useful to scholars and students concerned with the study of cultural heritage of India.