Religions in Himalayas
The
people living in the inner dry valleys of Garhwal are mainly Hindus, although
followers of other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity are also present.
These people worship the local or village deity along with Durga and Shiva.
They celebrate all religious occasions that are followed by Hindus living in
other parts of India. The population living in this region is also superstitious
and has a firm belief in spirits and other supernatural powers.
Gods and Goddesses
Nanda Devi is the patron Goddess of both Kumaon and Garhwal. Known since ancient
times as Uttarakhand, the combined terrain between Nepal's western border and
the Tons River has featured prominently in the Puranas (Hindu scriptures) as
the playground of the gods.
Her idols are worshipped in villages and taken out in large processions during
certain parts of the year. Also, there are many other gods and goddesses worshipped
in different villages. Almost all hill provinces claim to be "dev bhumi"
-- the land sacred to the deities of Hinduism.
But Garhwal is the only region that can truly claim to be so. One reason is
that Garhwal possesses the "char dham", the quartet of sacred Himalayan
shrines. Moreover, the sacred Ganga river flows exclusively through Garhwal
before descending to the plains.
The Nepalese community, which repesents over two-thirds of thepopulation, follow
Hinduism. The Lepchas continue to have theirtraditional beliefs. They have faith
in spirits and in theshamans who cure illnesses and preside over ceremonies
duringbirth, marriage and death.
The
Bhutias practise Buddhism andwere responsible for converting the Lepchas to
MahayanaBuddhism. Buddhism was introduced in Sikkim primarily due to a strifeamong
the Buddhists of Tibet in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The root of this strife was the reformation brought about inTibetan Buddhism
by Dipankar Srijana or "Atisha". He was anIndian monk who visited
Tibet in the 10th century. He led amissionary journey in 1042 and preached celibacy
and moralabstinence and opposed the tantric arts.
The Gelugpa or thereformed order, headed by the Dalai Lama, originated duringthis
period of time. The unreformed or the old order was theNyingmapa, whose source
of inspiration were the great mysticyogis of the time. The Nyingmapa trace their
origins to thegreat yogi Milarepa.
They resisted the reform of the Gelugpaand maintained their beliefs in the tantric
practises. The gap between the followers of the two sects deepened. Intime,
the Gelugpa sect, headed by the Dalai Lama, became theprominent influence in
Tibet, while the Nyingmapa sought refugein Sikkim.
The major festival in Sikkim is the Phanglhapsol festival. Onthis occasion,
masked dances are performed by the people inhonour of Kanchenjunga, the presiding
deity and the mountain. This festival lasts for two days.
The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in the region has afantastic collection
of Tibetan books -- the largest in thispart of the world. Most of the Buddhist
monasteries are bigrepositories of artifacts, wall paintings, tankas (religiouspaintings)
and bronze images.
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