Heights of Solukhumbu

Perched on the steep mountain slope, Solukhumbu looked altogether a different planet, except for a few botanists, scientists and mountaineers who dared to undertake the long arduous fortnight trek in this difficult terrain.

In fact, tourism made little or no impact until the ascent of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Sherpa Norgay in 1953. And Khumbhu, where the existence of Europe was unknown a few decades back, today draws the largest number of tourists from all over the world. In 1998 alone, nearly 19,000 visitors came to Khumbu, as per the record of Sagarmatha National Park headquarters, Namche.

Visitors to this land can be categorised into four groups. The first being the expedition team whose sole purpose is to conquer Everest and other higher peaks of this region. The most popular destination of the second category, ie. trekking peak tourism, are Island peak (Imjatse- 6160 mts) and Mera peak (6654 mts). However, khumbu draws the largest number of people for general trekking. (General trekkers do not meet the physical requirement and technical climbing skills to explore the higher reaches). The sorrounding mountain ranges like Kalapatthar (5545 mts) and Gokyo-re (5360 mts) provide the general trekker with the rare experience of being closer to mountains and the charms that go with it. It also provides them classic views of Everest, Amadablam, Cho-oyo and other peaks above 7000 mts. Visitors who come under the banner of cultural tourism, are mainly study team/research scholars from various fields, eg. Environmental, Socio-economic and Cultural studies etc. Most of them come equipped with cameras and study materials. It is observed that equally enticing for the tourist has been the sight of the incredibly hardy sherpas, noted for their superb mountaineering skills and friendliness.

During the festival season, tourists of all types converge in the village monastries, particularly to witness the age old rituals of Sherpas inherited from their forefathers of Nyingmapa lineage ie. the oldest sect of Buddhism expounded by Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche.

In the Bhuddist community, except for one monastery in Tibet, these festivals are celebrated both in intent and purpose. Apart from its religious importance, cooking and common dinning, known as Dumje, forms an important item of this most popular festival. Cooking which provides a greater level of interaction has proved instrumental in building inter-village and inter-country solidarity. But, however, in the recent past due to the heavy engagement of able-bodied men in trekking/mountaineering ventures, the number of Sherpa participants has gone down tremendously. If this trend continues, it would lead to a total breakdown of cultural transmission. On the other hand, there has been a steady rise in the number of tourist guests. They also enjoy a feeling of good will among locals as the lamas shower much attention on them. It would be correct to say that if our tourist guests lack devotion and regard for the religious sentiment of the great prophet, then for them dumje is no more than a commercialised entertainment programme. But keeping these festivals away from the tourist gaze will not serve their purpose, as their presence is inevitable not only for adding colour to the festival, but also for donation, which many monateries thrive on.

Popular rites/festivals

Dumje: Dumje is designed to hold in honour Lama Sangwa Dorjee, the founder of the earliest monasteries of Khumbu. It also coincides with the birth anniversary of Guru Rimpoche.

On a rotation basis, four lawas are chosen to undertake the responsibility of conducting dumje and sometimes it leads a family to bankruptcy.

Mani-Rimdu: Mani-Rimdu is a spectacular dance drama, performed by lamas (monks) wearing the masks of deities. The lamas invoke ‘Pawa Chenresing’, the god of compassion which assures the village a long life, peace and good fortune.

Chirm: Chirm is a rite through which “Khumby Yulha”, a guardian deity of the Sherpas is soothed and is said that even a slight deviation in the manner of conducting this rite would invite epidemics into the village.

Worshow: While supervising the newly sown fields, the lamas with the help of three Virgin girls announce “Yulthim” ie. village law for a maximum period of three months. During this period, the villagers are prohibited to keep their cattle in the main village as the cattle might end up eating the seedlings.

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