Deep in the heart of the Himalayas, nestled between the sweltering Indian subcontinent and the frozen plains of the Tibetan plateau, Humla lies hidden in the far northwest corner of Nepal. Shadows of the towering Saipal range and sacred Takh and Changla Himalayas loom over this barren forgotten basin of he mighty Karnali River. It is an era of extreme geographical conditions with the elevation fluctuating between 1524 m – 7337 m, and an approximate population of 45,000. The natives still speak an archaic dialect of Tibetan and Nepali languages. Summer in Humla is pleasant while the winter is harsh and cold, leaving the region isolated and mostly snowbound.

Humla’s snow capped mountains: lush valleys, unique Trans-Himalayan plateau, rocky cliffs, quiet lakes, long streaming ricers and abundance of wild life are major attractions for visitors. The soul of Humla, however, is the people and their culture. During the medieval period of the khasa Malla dyanasty, Humlis, a part of the Karnali region, were a powerful empire led by the potent Buddhist Dharma-Rajas. Today, they are a peaceful people, leading a simple, rural life in harmony with their environment.

Though remote, its prosperous geography has given birth to a rich niche for natural products. Its wealth of flora and fauna make Humla the home of many natural products of high value, while typical Humli handicrafts are slowly making their way into the local market.

BHOT or JADA, people originated from artic plains of the Tibetan of the Tibetan plateau, and MON or KHASA, people of Caucasian stock or people originated from the tropical Indian subcontinent primarily make up the Humla populace. In the course of history, during religious and political uprisings, Bhots from north and Mons from south moved into the remote unknown mountain gorges of Humla. They had come to save themselves, their cultural heritage and values, and found a precise haven in these Hidden Himalayas.

Geographically, the High Himalayas of Humla can be divided in two eco-zones. Upper Humla, with its high mountains and barren hills is home to the Bhot or jada who are divided within 5 sub-ethnic Limi, Yultshodun, Trugchulung, Nyinba and Tsangba. Traditionally they are practitioners of fraternal polyandry –a very effective practice aimed at curbing population growth and dispersal of land and possessions in an area of scarce resources – but now worth the passage of a time. There communities are slowly making a transition to monogamy.

The Bhots are primarily farmers, livestock herders and traders. Due o the high alpine meadows and difficult terrain for farming, depend upon supplementary for their existence. Bhots supply salt from Tibet to barter with grain from lowland Nepal so they have developed their life as Buddhists in Tibet and as Hindus in Nepal during winter, similar to the fungi called “Yartsa-gunbu” ( which is a grass in summer and a worm in winter) which is common to this region.

Lower Humla is hone to the Khasa who came from sweltering tropical areas from the south. Unlike the jadas, the khasas practice polygamy but they are now slowly changing being open to changes. Separation of households is their way of life, and therefore in an area of scarce resources, the Khasas are comparatively poorer because of their larger families and smaller land plots. To brave the cold harsha climate, they live in ling connected line of houses called “patti” and smoke a lit of tobacco. Most of them work on their farm to earn their livelihood.

TRACES OF HISTORY

Holy Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar are the focal points of many of the Asiatic civilizations and Humla, a close neighboring region could not remain apart from their influences. Kailash as Mt. Sumeru, generates the four holiest rivers of the Indian subcontinent, which have driven birth to the cultural identity of jadan of upper humla where ancient Bon and modern Buddhism originated and flourished. Karnali’s canyon in the south is the hub of khasan of lower Humla (Jumla), where descendants of the famous Buddhist Malla kings, ruled Humla from the 11th century before collapsing and splintering into local chiefdoms during the 14th century.

Unfortunately nothing much is known about the early history of this region. Both religions – ancient Bon from ate north and shamanism from the south – have had a tradition of transferring knowledge orally and hence Humla’s history disappears into an obscure mist of legend and lore. However with the inception of Buddhism from the north and Hinduism from the south the tradition of keeping records in texts started but only after the medieval period.

The bhots trickled south from the Asiatic steppes settling in Humla’s highlands above 10 thousand feet and so the mountains became home to the Buddhists. Their world is alive with stories of wandering Buddhist saints who conquered the many pre Buddhist deities and the demons of the region. Among them are the popular saints padmasambhava, Rinchen Zangbo and Milarepa.

During the early Mogul invasions of 14th century, Hindu Bauns and Thakuris fled the desert low lands of Rajasthan, finding refuge in Humla’s valleys. Along with the traditional customs and garb, like the bulbous white gowns for unmarried virgins, and cowry shells from the bay of Bengal for women to weave into their long black hair, they brought with them ancient Rajasthani gods, language, and folk beliefs – gone now from Rajasthan itself. The Bauns and Thakuris found Humla settled by the native khasa people, an Indo Aryan tribe believed to have first traveled through Persia also cloth from their native Persia and Kashmir. Due to the comparatively superior political and military organization and their traditional ruling status, the Thakuris quickly dominated the area, forming the Kayla confederacy, which ruled Humla until the Gurkha conquest and the unification of Nepal in 1768. secluded from the Bra manic center of thoughts, a unique folk Hinduism has thus emerged in lower Humla fusing elements of animism with Orthodox Hindu beliefs.