Hidden Himalayas
Hindus and Buddhists coexist peacefully in Humla, a remote, mountainous region in the northwestern corner of Nepal. This photoessay portrays diverse tribal peoples living in close proximity, scrambling to survive in an area of scarce resources. Among the self-reliant Bhotias, Tibetan-speaking folk of Mongolian stock, the wide-spread practice of fraternal polyandry (two or more brothers married to the same wife) curbs population growth. In contrast, the monogamous Hindu tribes are much poorer because of their larger families. Female infanticide is common. In a poetic text built around the cycle of the seasons, Dunham, director of a cultural-exchange program called Sojourn Nepal, describes various peoples for whom life is hard and short, each moment precious. The photographs by Kelly, who lives in Nepal, depict polyandrous marriage ceremonies, annual trade fairs, lamas, ancient festivals.
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Two young Americans take us to Humla, an ancient territory at the edge of Nepal where no Westerner has ever lived before. In breathtaking photographs and evocative prose, Thomas Kelly and Carroll Dunham capture Humla's limitless vistas and disclose intimate details of the lives of its extraordinary people: yak herders, caravan drivers, shamans, and brides who are shared among brothers.
Here is a land of eternally snow-capped mountains and sweeping valleys. A land as eerie and forbidding as the landscape of some distant moon, its people all but forgotten by the rest of the world. Their lives are a struggle--the alpine soil metes out sustenance grudgingly, and long winters threaten to banish the warmth of life forever. Yet these lives yield untold riches. As if the splendid isolation and sheer altitude of the hidden Himalayas bring them closer to the gods, the people of this land are possessed of a spirituality few Westerners will ever know.
Kelly's extraordinary photographs are accompanied by Dunham's evocative and lyrical account of life as the people of Humla conceive it: a cycle of fall, winter, spring, and summer. In a world made easy, accessible, and all too familiar by supersonic travel, television, and communication at the click of a mouse, here is an enlightening glimpse into the lives of a virtually untouched people.
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