Book

Himalayan histories : economy, polity, religious traditions

Singh, Chetan, author

Overview

\"Himalayan Histories, by one of India's most reputed historians of the Himalaya, is essential for a more complete understanding of Indian history. Because Indian historians have mainly studied riverine belts and life in the plains, sophisticated mountain histories are relatively rare. In this book, Chetan Singh identifies essential aspects of the material, mental, and spiritual world of western Himalayan peasant society. Human enterprise and mountainous terrain long existed in a precarious balance, occasionally disrupted by natural adversity, in this large and difficult region. Small peasant communities lived in scattered environmental niches and tenaciously extracted from their harsh surroundings a rudimentary but sustainable livelihood. These communities were integral constituents of larger political economies that asserted themselves through institutions of hegemonic control, the state being one such institution. This laboriously created life-world was enlivened by myth, folklore, legend, and religious tradition. When colonial rule was established in the region during the nineteenth century, it transformed the peasants' relationship with their natural surroundings. While old political allegiances were weakened, resilient customary hierarchies retained their influence through religio-cultural practices.\"--Provided by publisher.

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Subject: Himalaya Mountains Region History. / Ethnology Himalaya Mountains Region. / Himalaya Mountains Region Social life and customs.
• ISBN: 9781438475219

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
DS485.H6 S55 2019	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE