Malana | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 32°03′46″N77°15′38″E / 32.06278°N 77.26056°E | |
Country | India |
State | Himachal Pradesh |
Population (July 2017 [1] ) | |
• Total | 4,700 |
Languages | |
• Official | Hindi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The only village in the Malana Nala, a side valley of the Parvati Valley northeast of the Kullu Valley, it is isolated from the rest of the world. The peaks of Chanderkhani and Deo Tibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the torrential Malana river, at a height of 2,652 metres (8,701 ft) above sea level. Malana has its own lifestyle and social structure, and people are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries, including Malana: Globalization of a Himalayan Village. [2] and Malana, A Lost Identity. [3] The existing speakers of the autochthonous language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana, number approximately 1700. According to the 1961 census, the language speakers were then 563, but today the population of Malana is at least three times as large as 40 years ago. [4] The most common route to the village is by taxi or bus from Jhari. Roads to Malana Village trekking gate are developed.
According to local legends, Jamlu rishi (sage) inhabited this place and made rules and regulations. The locals claim it was one of the oldest democracies of the world, with a well-organized parliamentary system, guided by their devta (deity) Jamlu rishi. [5] Although Jamlu is currently identified with a sage from the Puranas, this is a relatively recent development. Jamlu is believed to have been worshipped in pre-Aryan times. Penelope Chetwood recounts a tale about an orthodox Brahmin priest, who visited Malana, and tried to educate the locals about the pedigree of their god, and what subsequently befell the hapless priest. [6]
Malana has been called ‘one of the oldest democracies’ in the world. [7] [8] The villagers believe that they are descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great who got stranded here on account of injuries. [9] [10]
A dam project, the Malana Hydro Power Station, has brought Malana much closer to the rest of the world and provides revenue for the region. A new road has shortened the walking time from several days to just 4 hours. The Hydro Malana Project has also ruined the beauty of the valley. On 5 January 2008, a raging fire in the village, which burnt for more than 5 hours, destroyed cultural structures and parts of ancient temples located in the village. [11] In 2017, the village ordered the closure of approximately a dozen guest houses and restaurants, ostensibly on the orders of the deity Jamlu. [1]
Although the village is situated in Himachal Pradesh, India, people of this village do not consider them to be a part of India. They have their own judiciary system as well. The village is governed by a bicameral parliament, consisting of lower house called the Kanishthang and an upper house called the Jayeshthang. [1] The current panchayat is Bhagi Ram. [1]
The residents of Malana speak Kanashi/Raksh (supposedly the dialect of people residing there long ago), [12] which is understood only by the villagers. "Kanashi, the language of Malana, does not resemble any of the dialects spoken in its neighbourhood but seems to be a mixture of Sanskrit and several Tibetan dialects." [13] Ethnologue classifies Malana as a Tibetan-Burmese language, rather than as a member of the Indo-European languages, [14] and notes that Kanashi has no intelligibility with any Tibeto-Burman language of Kinnaur" [14] although Malana is surrounded by Indo-Aryan language speaking populations.[ citation needed ]
The economy of Malana was traditionally based on making baskets, ropes and slippers from hemp. [1] Marijuana was cultivated as a legal cash crop for centuries. [15] Beginning in the 1980s, Malana became a destination for recreational drug tourism. [1] The village also produces maize and potatoes. [1] While tourism is now a major source of income for the village, tourists can only stay outside of the village in cafes like The Marley Shed, Baba Cafe, Cafe Rudra, and more, but not inside the village or in homesteads which was previously allowed.
The village administration is democratic and is believed, by locals, to be the oldest republic of the world. [16]
Despite being a part of the Kullu valley, there is a myth that the Malanis have very distinct physical features, and a dialect which is different from the rest of the valley. However, in the valleys of Himachal, there are a significant number of distinct Pahadi dialects, some of them totally different from each other. Hence the physical/lingual uniqueness cannot be proven, given the inaccessibility of the Malana people, except for the trade of Marijuana / Hashish in the Parvati valley.
The social structure of Malana in fact rests on villagers' unshaken faith in their powerful deity, Jamblu Devta. The entire administration of the village is controlled by him through a village council. This council has eleven members and they are believed to be delegates of Jamblu who govern the village in his name. His decision is ultimate in any dispute and any outsider authority is never required. Thus Malana has been named the Athens of the Himalayas. [17] [ better source needed ]
Jamlu is invoked through a villager serving as an oracle. [1] The deity Jamalu is known as Rishi Jamdagni.
There are various legends about their origin. According to one of them, it is believed that they are the descendants of Greek soldiers of Alexander's army. As the legend goes, some soldiers took refuge in this remote land after Alexander left the country and later settled there permanently. This myth is however disputed because there are those who claim that it is the valley of Kalash, in Pakistan that is actually the area in which Alexander the Great's soldiers took refuge. This legend is also inconsistent with the legendary descent of the local people from Indo-Aryans who would pre-date Alexander the Great's soldiers by approximately a thousand years. Recent genetic typing of the Malani population is much more consistent with an Indo-Aryan origin with a large proportion of Y-DNA haplotypes J2 and R1a which are the haplotypes of majority of Indians, North or South in South Asia rather than with a Greek origin which would have a different characteristic mix of Y-DNA haplotypes such as R2b. [16] J2 and R1a are paternal lineages found in more than 20% and 40% of population of North/South India but are rare in Mediterranean societies like Greece.
The village has several ancient temples. (1) Jamlu temple, built in Kathkuni style, with wooden carving and deer heads [11] (2) Rukmini temple
Malana is famous for its “Malana Cream”, a product made from cannabis plants which grow in the Parvati valley. [18] [1] Malana cream is regarded as high purity hash. [19] In order to make Malana Cream the live cannabis flower is rubbed between the hands repeatedly, pulling out the resin to generate a layer of sticky hashish across the palm. [20]
Himachal Pradesh is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as Dev Bhoomi or Dev Bhumi, meaning 'Land of Gods' and Veer Bhoomi which means 'Land of the Brave'.
Kullu is a district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Shimla district to the south, Mandi and Kangra districts to the west, and the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north and east. The largest valley in this mountainous district is the Kullu Valley. The Kullu valley follows the course of the Beas River, and ranges from an elevation of 833m above sea level at Aut to 3330m above sea level at the Atal Tunnel South Portal, below the Rohtang Pass. The town of Kullu, located on the right side of the Beas River, serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district. The Kullu district also incorporates several riverine tributary valleys of the Beas, including those of the Parvati, Sainj, and Tirthan rivers, and thus some regions somewhat distant from the Kullu valley. The economy of the district relies mainly on horticulture, agriculture, tourism, and traditional handicrafts.
The Northern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Pahāṛi languages, are a proposed group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal in the east, through the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab(not to be confused with the various other languages with that name) was coined by G. A. Grierson.
Mandi district is one of the central districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Mandi is the headquarters of the district.
Charas is a cannabis concentrate made from the resin of a live cannabis plant and is handmade in the Indian subcontinent and Jamaica. The plant grows wild throughout Northern India along the stretch of the Himalayas and is an important cash crop for the local people. The difference between charas and hashish is that hashish is made from a dead cannabis plant and charas is made from a live one.
Kinnauri, also known as Kanauri, Kanor, Koonawur, Kanawari or Kunawar, is a Sino-Tibetan dialect cluster centered on the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Parvati Valley is situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. From the confluence of the Parvati River with the River Beas, the Parvati Valley runs eastwards, through a steep-sided valley from the town of Bhuntar, in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.
Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the airport at Bhuntar, Kullu.
The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is a national park in India, located in Kullu region in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The park was established in 1984 and is spread over an area of 1171 km2; elevations within the park range between 1500 and 6000 m. The Great Himalayan National Park is a habitat to numerous flora and more than 375 fauna species, including approximately 31 mammals, 181 birds, 3 reptiles, 9 amphibians, 11 annelids, 17 mollusks and 127 insects. They are protected under the strict guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972; hence any sort of hunting is not permitted.
The state of Himachal Pradesh is spread over an area 55,673 km2 (21,495 sq mi) and is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on the north, Punjab on the southwest, Haryana on the south, Uttarakhand on the southeast, a small border with Uttar Pradesh in the south, and Tibet on the east. Entire Himachal Pradesh lies in the mountainous Himalaya region, rich in natural resources
Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple orchards. The course of the Beas river presents a succession of magnificent, clad with forests of deodar, towering above trees of pine on the lower rocky ridges. Kullu valley is sandwiched between the Pir Panjal, Lower Himalayan and Great Himalayan Ranges. Ski touring is a sport growing in popularity in the Himilayan peaks surrounding the valley.
Kasol is a hamlet in the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated in Parvati Valley, on the banks of the Parvati River, Between Bhuntar and Manikaran, it is located 30 km (19 mi) from Bhuntar and 36 km (22 mi) from Kullu town, the district headquarters, 3.5 km from Manikaran. Kasol is the Himalayan hotspot for backpackers and acts as a base for nearby treks to Malana and Kheerganga. It is called Mini Israel of India due to a high percentage of Israeli tourists here.
Kanashi is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the isolated Malana (Malani) village area in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is, to some extent mutually intelligible with other Sino-Tibetan language like Kinnauri.
Tourism in Himachal Pradesh relates to tourism in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. This is popularly renowned for its Himalayan landscapes and popular hill-stations. Many outdoor activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, ice-skating, trekking, rafting, and heli-skiing are popular tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh.
Way Back Home is an Indian travelogue series by filmmaker Rohan Thakur, produced by Asad Abid from Shoelace Films, a subsidiary of Gut and Flow Media Pvt.Ltd.
Chanderkhani Pass is a pass located in the Kullu District of India at a height of 3,660 metres. It forms a way (pass) between the villages of Rumsu and Pulag to the well known village of Malana, which indirectly forms a trekking route from Naggar to Malana across the Chanderkhani Pass.
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Local lawmakers and officials say the plant is part of their tradition and empathize with people in steep, remote villages who consider cannabis the only cash crop they can grow in harsh weather and geographic conditions. Maheshwar Singh, a local lawmaker and the descendant head of the royal family of Kullu, said a look at the old tax books shows that the plant was legally cultivated and sold for decades before India's drug law.
Other photos had an entry gate of Malana, considered to have the best quality of cannabis in the world.
An isolated village nestled in the Himalayas, Malana is popular for Malana Cream, a strain of cannabis with a high oil content and intense aroma [...] Malana Cream is among the most expensive hashish on the famed cannabis menus of Amsterdam. A tola, or 11.66 grams, sells for over $250 there and over Rs4,000 ($60) in India.