Intro to Cultural Anthropology - Sherpas and Sahibs Books Notes

Book about changing Sherpa identities. Perspective: Sherpa’s point of view (especially mountaineers).

Mountaineering Literature (perspective of the sahibs) –reading expedition notes from 1920s and 1930s to present. Interviews with Sherpa climbers (perspective of the Sherpas themselves)

Focus in on Tibetan plateau area – Sherpas come from eastern Tibet, made migration over to Khumbu some time during 1400s (migrated due to strife), speak eastern dialect of Tibetan languageSettled in high altitude area of Nepal, became farmers/herders to survive Ethnicity – Tibetan origin Language – dialect of Tibetan Religion - Buddhism Economy Pre 1870s - farming, herding and trade 1970-1950s – added wage labor and porters 1960s – present – mountaineering and tourism added

Countries = India, Nepal, Tibet, China Solu Khumbu (Sherpa homeland) Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) Darjeeling (British hill station, facilitate trade between British India, China, developed into important place during control of British) *Area of British India between Kingdom of Nepal and Butan is the Sherpa homeland Solu = lower part of the area Khumbu = higher, mountainous area Connected by Pharak Villages = Khumjung, Nauje (Namche Bazaar) - main trade point for trans-Himalayan trade, Junbesi (most important village in lower area) - lush, lower lying valley area Monasteries = Rongbu (important in previous Everest explorations), Tengboche (Khumbu area), Thami (Khumbu area), Chiwong (Solu area)

Sir George Everest, surveyor General of India, in charge of massive project to map India, used triangulation to determine altitude, figured out that it was the highest peak mapped thus far in the entire world

Chomolangma = ("Residence of) the Pure Ox Goddess" Five Sisters of Long Life (Miyo Langzangma), view mountain as her residence Nuptse (Western Summit), Lhotse (Southern Summit) Kangtega (Horse Saddle Mt) Tamserkhu (Golden Horse Statue) Ama Dablam – “Mother’s Pendant,” mother with outstretched arms Sherpa Mountain Nomenclature Some associate with resident deities, some refer to geographic orientation, many are descriptive

Ne – abode of a deity, place where one goes for direct encounter with that deity or power Nechen – great abode Neri – mountain abode

Conquest of Gorkha Kings, creation of Kingdom of Nepal. British Imperialism in India, clashes with expanding Nepal, Gurkha regiments. Younghusband Expedition to Tibet (1904) – open up British relationships with Tibet (opened door for mountaineering due to right to travel in Tibet), up until that time Nepal had a monopoly on trans-Himalayan trade Prithvi Narayan Shah (reigned 1743-1775) Founder of the Kingdom of Nepal – 1769 Unification of diverse ethnic groups under single administration Contemporary borders of Nepal – Gurka in center, clashed with British India to South, Tibet to North Sent in expedition to put down Shah, bloody, difficult attempt to colonize Nepal – ultimately recognized Nepal as independent, took some territory (Darjeeling) Recognition of Nepal’s boundaries Trade relations Nepal off-limits to British (and most Europeans) until 1950s 1600s-1914 – three competing empires – China, British, Russia

Race Not significant category because sahibs can be white (from England) or Asian (from Japan) Nation Not significant category – relevant to political pride and climbing – not relevant to on the ground operations of expedition Yet Sherpas distinguish “national characters” Significant categories – gender, class Gender Significant category almost exclusively male domain, macho endeavor Class Significant category, class positioning of sahibs is important (well educated, upper middle class with financial resources)

Games as metaphor for how social life is lived Ortner’s usage – people are defined and constrained by the intersection of culture, power and history (structure) Active players in making (and sometimes remaking) those worlds that have made them (agency) Interplay between structure and agency

Physical Strength, Bravery and Courage, Authority and Leadership, Aggressiveness (within limits), Paternalistic Responsibility (for subordinates) – Sherpas are paternalistic toward sahibs?. Climbing as “Military Expedition” (“conquer” the mountain with final “assault”).

Spiritual element to mountaineering. One cannot hide “the awkward bulges and deformities in his make-up and character” under extreme conditions of mountaineering – critique of modernity. Modernity is the problem: Mountaineering is the solution. Normal life is safe, soft, routine, boring, materialistic Mountaineering – dangerous, difficult, unpredictable, transcendental

Climbers’ anti-modernism and romanticism shaped relations with Sherpas. Sherpa symbolized “all that had not been corrupted by the modern world” (part of nature, childlike). Early Discourse: Sherpas have physical attributes (strength, stamina, acclimatization) but lack the “spirit” to climb. Sherpas – good workers for this extreme endeavor Romanticizing of Sherpas Sherpas seen as lazy, need to discipline them - using military model to instill discipline, creating "childlike dependence" through paternalistic concerns and actions Sherpa reluctance in face of danger (and death) construed as lack of bravery, lack of self-control, excessive vulnerability to fear. How the British are perceiving, writing about the Sherpas When confronted with real hardships and dangers Sherpas have their tails down like other primitive people

Un – materialistic, carefree, undisciplined, childlike, innocent, happy Sahib’s power and need for authority – Sherpas in need of discipline Sahibs’ intense romanticism = Sherpas untouched and unspoiled Sahibs’ anti-materialism – Sherpas not in it for money

“If sahibs represent Sherpas in certain ways more consistent with their own fantasies and needs than with the Sherpa “reality”, and if at the same time the sahibs have power over the Sherpas, then to what extent might sahib representations come to impose themselves on Sherpa reality?” What effects do Sahibs’ representations of Sherpa culture and identity have on Sherpas’ own culture and identity? Sherpas constructed in sahib images that have little to do with reality Sherpas shaped by the images and the power behind those images, to actually conform to the sahibs’ desires (If that’s what they want us to be then that’s what they’ll get)