Culture and the Environment in the Himalaya by Guneratne Arjun & Arjun Guneratne

Author:Guneratne Arjun & Arjun Guneratne [Arjun, Guneratne & Guneratne, Arjun]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Social Science, Ethnic Studies
ISBN: 9780415533140
Google: Ac1stQAACAAJ
Goodreads: 21816919
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Their physical environment

The physical environment in the eastern Himalaya has been steadily degraded in every respect. The forests have vanished, wells and streams are dry during winter, and the soil has suffered erosion. The herbs that Limbus have used for treating diarrhoea, headache, nausea, skin diseases, etc. are no longer available nor do they easily get the plants they used for their rituals. Their crops fail frequently and are subject to the depredation of wild birds and animals. Landslides are frequent and sometimes hazardous to humans and cattle.

Almost everywhere in East Nepal, West Sikkim and Darjeeling, Limbus are predominantly settled in rural areas of the middle hills at altitudes varying from about 3000 to 6000 feet (approximately 915 to 1830 metres) above sea level. The climate is temperate and the vegetation predominantly tropical. If the soil is fertile, depending on the altitude, slope and aspect of the hill, they can grow many varieties of crops, both for domestic consumption and for sale in the market. Marketing crops is an opportunity rarely available to most Limbus in East Nepal and West Sikkim due to the distance between their villages and the nearest market. Therefore, they generally grow maize as a summer crop and paddy and black lentil as winter crops in the irrigated fields that are normally limited to 1500 metres above sea level. In the winter the high altitude dwellers—Sherpas and Bhutias—come down to the middle hills and exchange their crops with Limbus, Rais and Yakkhas.

In the dry fields, which may or may not be terraced, they grow either maize, black lentil or millet. Inter-cropping with beans, chillies, yam, pumpkin, tapioca, turmeric, sweet potatoes, arrowroots, etc. is common, which also indicates a shifting cultivation past. Although shifting cultivation is no longer practised, the cropping pattern is similar to what it was under that system. Almost every available piece of land is used for growing some crop, leaving little room for trees. Even the bamboo groves that grew everywhere in the past are no longer easily seen. Limbus do not encourage the cultivation of bamboos because the land around bamboo groves becomes infertile.

Yet they have an intimate relationship with bamboo. They need it for constructing their houses, cow sheds, pig sties, etc.; fencing their kitchen gardens, providing support to inclining plantain trees, as handles of various agricultural implements including the axe, for making baskets to carry as well as to store grains, as pipes for drawing water from long distances, harvesting fruits and crops from tall trees, among other uses. They also need a particular variety of it for making tongba (see note 6). They need green bamboo for carrying a corpse to the cremation or burial ground. Its leaves are a favourite for cattle as fodder; its shoots make good curry and pickle; its roots provide very good hockey sticks, tops, and other playthings; when dry it burns very well and also helps to burn the less dry firewood. Limbus do not use green bamboo to cook rice, as many

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.