Sacred mountains :
Review: What is a mtn?
Components of Sacred Mtns
Mountain worship
Threats to sacred mountains
Climate change
Tourism
Sacred mountains
Review: What is a mountain? Objective Criteria : Scientific definition:
objective set of criteria
elevation
local relief
Climate
Steepness
geology Review: What is a mountain? Objective Criteria
2. Subjective definition: : 2. Subjective definition:
“To a large extent, a mountain is a mountain because of the part it plays in popular imagination.”
(Roderich Peattie)
Review: What is a mountain? Subjective Criteria
Sacred mountain : Sacred mountain “There are mountains which are just mountains and there are mountains with personality. The personality of a mountain is more than merely a strange shape that makes it different from others-just as a strangely shaped face or strange actions do not make an individual into a personality.
Personality consists in the power to influence others, and this power is due to consistency, harmony, and one-pointedness of character. If these qualities are present in a mountain, we recognize him as a vessel of cosmic power, and we call it a sacred mountain […].”
Components of Sacred Mtns: Mircea Eliade, comparative religion : Components of Sacred Mtns: Mircea Eliade, comparative religion The mountain as sacred center
Mountain as Places of Revelation
Mountain as Gods
Mountains as life and death places
Persistence of Mountains
1. The mountain as sacred center : 1. The mountain as sacred center “Axis mundi” = center of the world
Cosmic mountain- image of stability and permanence
Example: Mt.Meru, center of the world for Hindus,
Buddhists and Jains
Mythical mountain
Heaven is actually part of the mountain
Central component of the regions
Based on real mountains
1. The mountain as sacred center : 1. The mountain as sacred center Morphology of the mountain plays an important role in defining the mountain as sacred
Shape
Color of the rock
Elevation
Local relief
Snow
1. The mountain as sacred center : 1. The mountain as sacred center Mt.Kailas, Tibet-
World’s most sacred mountain
Morphology features that make Kailas a sacred mountain : Morphology features that make Kailas a sacred mountain Shape: perfect dome
Color: white (snow)
Source of 4 rivers in 4 cardinal directions
Local relief: contrasting with the vast plateau surrounding it
Remoteness (W Tibet very sparsely populated)
Mt Kailis rivers : Mt Kailis rivers Tsangpo/Bramaputra
Indus
Ganges
Slide13 :
Cosmic mountain represented
in temple architecture:
“Stupa” (Buddhist temple)
shaped in form of a dome
with gateways to the four
directions
Stairs symbolize way to
heaven (the ascent) Rongbuk Monastery
Everest Base Camp,
North (Tibetan) side
Hindu temple in Durbar Square, Kathmandu (Nepal) : Hindu temple in Durbar Square, Kathmandu (Nepal) Another example of mountains represented in temple architecture
Steps represent spiritual ascent
Link between heaven and earth
1. The mountain as sacred center Summary : 1. The mountain as sacred center Summary Axis mundi: center of world
Connects heaven to earth
Characteristics: morphology, color
Represents cardinal directions
Temple architecture
Mount Kailish
Ganges, Indus, Tsangpo/Bramaputra
2. Mountains as Places of Revelation : 2. Mountains as Places of Revelation Mountaintop- revelatory place
Height of the mountain is important
Mountain ascent – spiritual, transforming experience
Mount Hira : Mount Hira
Mount Sinai : Mount Sinai Moses encounters Yahveh
with fire and lightning
And the Lord came down
upon Mount Sinai, on the
top of the mount: and the
Lord called Moses up to
the top of the mount; and
Moses went up.
Exodus 19:20
Ten commandments
Native Americans Vision Quests : Native Americans Vision Quests
Yamabushi : Yamabushi Yamabushi (山伏) (Literally: "One who lies in the mountains") are Japanese mountain ascetics and warriors, mostly of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
Mountain ascents associated with spiritual transformation, particularly spiritual insights.
Slide21 : Swayambunath Temple, Kathmandu (Nepal)
2. Mountains as Places of Revelation Summary : 2. Mountains as Places of Revelation Summary Transcends cultures and religions
Places of spiritual transformations
Places of revelation where “god” communicates to special people
Revelation generally a function of ascending the mountains
Ex: Mt Hira, Mt Sinai, vision quest
3.Mountains with Divine Powers/Gods themselves : Snow capped mountains are important
Verticality/local relief
Remoteness
Abode of the Divine
Guardian Gods for local people 3.Mountains with Divine Powers/Gods themselves
Shiva : Shiva Resides on Mt Kailas, which
Is personification of Shiva
Parvat, Siva’s wife, is the
daughter of the Himalayas
4. Mountains as Givers of Life and Death : 4. Mountains as Givers of Life and Death Sources of rivers
Thus, sources of fertility
Abode of the dead; path of the dead
Andes: Mountain as source of Water and Fertility : Andes: Mountain as source of Water and Fertility Verticality is important
Source of water
Gods of meteorological phenomena,
controlling crops and cattle
Places of astronomical observations
Slide27 : Mt.Mismi, Peruvian Andes
Mt.Coropuna, sacred mountain : Mt.Coropuna, sacred mountain
5. Persistence of Mountains : 5. Persistence of Mountains Many-layered traditions of myth and pilgrimage
Mount Moriah : Mount Moriah Early Caanite high
place of worship
Abraham came to
sacrifice Isaac
Solomon built the great
temple
Nehemiah rebuilt after
Babylonian exile
Muhammad begin ascent
from earth to heaven
Mountain Worship Examples : Mountain Worship Examples
Buddhist mountain worship : Buddhist mountain worship Prostration
Prayer wheels
Mani stones
Offerings: juniper incense
“Sky burial” ceremony CIRCUMAMBULATION (Korra)
is the way to worship:
“to see the greatness of a mountain, one must
keep one’s distance; to understand its form, one
must move around it”
Slide34 : Sky burial
Body placed on top
Vultures consume
About 18,000’ here
Pilgrimage : Pilgrimage Pilgrimage in outer space= mirrored reflection of an inner movement or development (Tibetan Buddhism)
the journey to sacred places for spiritual benefit and paying homage to deities (Himalayas)
Asking for good crops as well as good health (Andes)
a purifying journey (ex. Dudh Kunda in Nepal)
Pilgrimage as a means for conservation : Pilgrimage as a means for conservation Encourage local beliefs about sanctity of the mountains
Sacred space needs to be clean and not polluted
Local people’s concern not to upset the mountain Gods helps maintain the pilgrimage practice
Slide37 : What can happen when you hitch-hike
on trucks in Tibet…?
Mountain rituals: the Himalayas : Mountain rituals: the Himalayas Mountain top=off-limits
Hindu mountain worship:
pilgrimage to the base of the mountain
bathing in the lake
Incense burning
Slide40 : Mt.Numbur (Shorong Yul-lha), Nepal Himalayas
Slide42 : Dudh Kunda (“Milk Lake”) at the base of Numbur Mt.
Mountain worship in the Andes : Archaeological sites and mummies have been found in the Andes at altitudes up to 20,000ft
Incas constructed the sites in the 15th century to appease the mountain gods
Human sacrifice: Capac Cocha ritual
Mountain worship in the Andes
Volcano Llullaillaco, Argentina, highest archeological site (~21,000ft) : Volcano Llullaillaco, Argentina, highest archeological site (~21,000ft)
Peaks in the Andes are still worshipped to this day, eg. Mt.Ausangate : Peaks in the Andes are still worshipped to this day, eg. Mt.Ausangate
Slide46 : Present day pilgrimage to Qoyllur Rit’I, Peru
Slide47 : Sinaqara Glacier, pilgimage site
Slide50 : Qoyllur Rit’I,
Sinaqara Glacier,
S.Peru Taking “medicinal”
ice from the glacier
as a symbol of water sources and fertility
Threats to sacred mountains : Threats to sacred mountains Tourism:
Climbing permits
Pollution of sacred space
Nepal, 2001: 103 more peaks opened for mountaineering in the area of Everest and Kangchenjunga
Climate change:
glacial melt
Changes in vegetation
Water resources
Tourism: climbing and de-sanctification of sacred peaks : Tourism: climbing and de-sanctification of sacred peaks
Mt.Macchapuchare : Mt.Macchapuchare
Slide54 : World Tibet Network News
Thursday, May 17, 2001
Mount Kailash Desecrated
Some press agencies and specialized magazines have recently spread the news that a Spanish mountaineering expedition led by Mr. Jesus Martinez Noves had applied for and was granted permission by the Chinese authorities to attempt the climb of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
Climber calls off ascent of sacred peak amid protests (ST)
INTERNATIONAL protests by mountaineers have halted what would have been the first ascent of Mount Kailash, a Tibetan mountain held sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.
Slide55 : Climate change
Glacier ablation
at Shorong Yul-lha
(Numbur),
Nepal Himalayas
Glacier AX010
estimated to
disappear by year
2060.
Slide56 : Everest Melting?
High Signs of Climate Change
Stentor Danielson National Geographic News June 5, 2002
A team sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found signs that the landscape of Mount Everest has changed significantly since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered the peak in 1953. A primary cause is the warming global climate. But the growing impact of tourism is also taxing the world's highest mountain.
The team found that the glacier that once came close to Hillary and Norgay's first camp has retreated three miles (five kilometers). A series of ponds that used to be near Island Peak—so-called because it was then an island in a sea of ice—had merged into a long lake.
Slide57 : ASTER Image courtesy of: NASA EROS
Data Center, Sept. 9, 2001 Indian Himalayas:
Glacier ablation at
Gangotri,source of
the holy Ganges
1% of Ganges water comes
from Gangotri glacier
millions of people dependent
on water from runoff
glacier terminus retreated by
3km
Slide58 : “Modernization” in Tibet?
Slide59 : THE END OF
A LEGEND? Aug 2000: Another cable car project
is being proposed for Macchu Picchu
Slide61 : MACHU PICCHU TODAY AFTER THE PROJECT
Slide63 : Sept 11, 2000: “The Intihuatana, considered by archaeologists to be the most sacred object in Machu Picchu has been damaged in the filming of a beer commercial.”
Beer vs. Sacred Mountains?
Slide64 : Summary: Mountain cultures at risk Mountain rituals: a way for local cultures to maintain
global and local awareness
Balancing sanctity of the mountains with resource use
and conservation in the mountains
Global action:
address issue of climate change in the mountains
help maintain traditional worship practices
Scientific research: need to respect local traditions
“Mountain to mountain” exchange and collaboration
Slide65 : Summary: Why is a mountain sacred? Glacier-topped peaks=venerated as abode of
heavenly enlightened (Devi and Deva, Gods of weather and crops)
Highest prominent feature in a village landscape
Extreme beauty (Macchapuchre, Ama Dablam)
Clouds: creative power of mind (Tibetan Buddhism)
Source of water (Andes)
Healing power and energy (Huaringas- Peru, Kalincok, Nepal)
Color of the rock: white=purity
Example: Garhwal Himalayas (India) : Example: Garhwal Himalayas (India) Most important pilgrimage site in Indian Himalayas
Shrines at the source of the Ganges
Seedling ceremony to plant trees to preserve the sacred forests
Priests blessed the seeds
Pilgrims helped in planting the seeds
Slide73 : Ama Dablam, Nepal Himalayas
Summary: Three ways to worship sacred mountains : Summary: Three ways to worship sacred mountains Buddhism: circumambulation (circling) of sacred mountains
Hinduism: pilgrimage to the base of the mountain
Andean culture: human sacrifice on top of the peaks to appease the mountain Gods (Inca Empire)
Slide77 : ...A Way for Conservation Sacred mountains...