Machapuchare, a sacred peak in the Annapurna range
Reasons I, like so many humans, like mountains:
Mountains are a powerful symbol of nature dominating over man, of endless, relentless apathetic power. The mountains don’t care, they simply exist at the will of the earth and its tectonic plates beneath. In this ancient Himalayan culture, a number of mountains are held sacred. Mt Kalish, a Tibetan peak, is sacred to the Hindus along the Ganges plains hundreds of miles south. According to Hindu myth, Shiva resides in a cave at the top of the peak. To Buddhists, Mt Kalish has a historical significance as the location of the beginnings of tantra. Machapuchare (“Fishtail”), in the Annapurna range of north-central Nepal, remains a sacred peak banned from climbing expeditions. In 1957 the British climber Wilfrid Noyce failed to reach the treacherous summit by only 50-200m (accounts vary). Nepalis banned the peak from future ascents.
Many other mountains are held sacred by locals. Often Western wanderlust is the only thing driving the Nepali guides and porters to eschew their sacred beliefs to make money to support their families that are increasingly influenced by globalization in the forms of Western clothing, cell phones, and packaged foods. These porters will leave offerings along the trails, thank-you’s to the mountain for a safe passage. In the animist Bon religion, more ancient than Buddhism, spirits are everywhere and must be placated. All along the tallest trails in the world, from Everest to Annapurna, Tibetan prayer flags, Lung Ta, drape from cairns and sway in the breeze. Both Nepalis and foreigners leave them to spread good fortune along the path, and the wind will carry this good fortune to all it touches according to Mahayana Buddhist belief.
The foreigner’s relationship to Nepal’s environment is inherently different. We don’t have thousands of years of history of spirit offerings. We cannot see them. Yet the fantastical pops up despite religious or spiritual differences. Foreigners still found the supernatural in the Yeti, findings which arose when Westerners began to explore Nepal’s mountains in the 20th century in great numbers. But what is sacred in the West? North American groups have declared many sacred spots, but the US government, in its complex relationship to Native American land management, has determined which groups have remained in their ancient homes and which have been forced to relocate, abandoning their sacred spaces to oil companies, national parks, or private land for houses. Is there a future for the sacred in the West?