Making of cultural landscape of the Kullu valley

Abstract

Recently, in the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, the religious rituals and practices have resurfaced to counter environmental impacts of large-scale projects. Sacred interventions have demonstrated the power to intervene into policy-level matters at the regional level and hence needs close examination. This study is situated in the Kullu Valley aptly known as Land of Gods in Himachal Pradesh. Debta reigns supremacy and commands the religious authority in the Kullu Valley. This is institutionalized by a system of debtakshetra , an ancient model for village administration that monitors the religious activities like rituals, sacred yatras, systems associated with sacred geography elements such as sacred groves, sacred waters, etc. The religious activities are rooted in the environmental context and have helped to regulate the use of resources for their livelihoods. With the advent of tourism, agriculture and hydropower project developments, this fragile landscape is getting affected rapidly. With this, once again some rituals have resurfaced in mobilizing the local communities. One such is the jagti-puchch , the assembly of debtas to give verdict through oracles. This verdict has declined the Himalayan Ski Resort proposal in order to safeguard environment, land, local rights, and use of natural resources. The debta has taken the side of the environment and won against harmful development. Thus, the question arises, what is the role of religious activities in making of cultural landscape? This study examines a cultural landscape of the Kullu Valley, where nature-sacred interactions are mediated through religious rituals and cultural practices, which are rooted in religious beliefs and are monitored by religious institutions and how they help in meeting the current environmental challenges. This study aims at understanding the role of religious activities in making of the cultural landscape of the Kullu Valley. The study attempts to achieve smaller objectives such as to map the sacred territory comprising.