About

Indigenous rights to self-determination, well-being, traditional knowledge, and a healthy environment

This website provides information about the culture, customs, rituals and traditions of the indigenous tribal people of the Himalayas. It also presents their history, ideas and opinions that surround and influence their ethnic identity and languages. For indigenous communities their culture is the crux of their identity, their sense of belonging, where it leads them, how they connect to each another. Culture is the accumulated wisdom of ancestors. It holds centuries of wisdom, values, languages and connections to nature and the earth.

Indigenous rights to self-determination, well-being, traditional knowledge, and a healthy environment is articulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but it also important for the tribal populace to learn about their own history and culture. In modern schools, most children are still taught that their home cultures, customs, traditions, spirituality, everything that defined their forefathers are all wrong and that only the modern way is important to the world. It should be known that while Indigenous Peoples own, occupy, or use only a quarter of the world’s surface area, they safeguard 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. The world needs indigenous wisdom.

The Writer

My name is Pradip Khambu and I’m from Kurseong. India. But I shuffle my stay between Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri and Kathmandu. This is the privilege I hang on to, deeply. I have been studying the culture and history of various ethnic tribes of the Himalayan region. During my interactions with various people, I have understood that there are many like me-with a deep sense of curiosity about our traditions, customs and history. Not many people share my privilege of travel, interaction and research and not many books are published for those who want to read and learn. This is why this website was launched. To make knowledge easily accessible to those with a sense of curiosity. I believe that learning about our own cultures is an important precondition for attaining semblance in our society. If people can nurture the curiosity and appreciation of why cultures are different, it will help cultivate empathy and admiration for diversity, and hopefully, bring happiness and fulfilment to society and the world.

Do you want to contribute to Himalayan Cultures?

If you have articles or are interested to write about the cultural heritage of the indigenous tribes of the Himalayas:

himcultures@gmail.com

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Indigenous Cultures of the Himalayas.
Traditions, rituals, languages & philosophies