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    Enchanting Tawang
    Enchanting Tawang
    Enchanting Tawang
    Ebook226 pages1 hour

    Enchanting Tawang

    By Abhishek Dev

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    About this ebook

    Enchanting Tawang is an informative and comprehensive guide to the fascinating and beautiful district of Tawang, the land of the Monpas, also referred to as the ‘hidden paradise’ and the 'last Shangri La'.
    Tawang is a small & remote, district blessed with breath-taking natural beauty, situated in the north-western extremity of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Not much is known about its extraordinary culture or unique heritage in mainland India. The book is an attempt to correct this omission and provide information on the place, how to get there, and what to expect once you’re there.
    Tawang is the cradle of Buddhism in the north-eastern part of the country, being the birthplace of His Holiness the Sixth Lama and home to the world famous Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, popularly known as the Tawang Monastery, the largest monastery of India and perhaps the second largest in Asia. Its other claim to fame is that when the present His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama left Tibet in 1959, he chose Tawang as the place to enter into India. The Monpa, the inhabitants of the district, are an ancient tribe practising Buddhism that have a unique culture that has been influenced by the traditions and practices of the neighbouring areas of Tibet and Bhutan.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbhishek Dev
    Release dateJul 21, 2015
    ISBN9789385020193
    Enchanting Tawang

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      Book preview

      Enchanting Tawang - Abhishek Dev

      A view of Gorzam Stupa in Zemithang. Towering at ninety-three feet with a base of about hundred and eighty-six feet, this Stupa was constructed in the thirteenth century by Lama Prathar.

      Introduction

      Land of the Monpas

      Enchanting Tawang, the land of the Monpas, is a small district blessed with breath-taking natural beauty, situated in the north-western extremity of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Tawang was initially a sub-division of the neighbouring West Kameng district and became a full-fledged district with its headquarters at Tawang town on 6 October 1984. It is bounded by Tibet (China) in the North, Bhutan on the West and the Southwest and West Kameng district on the Eastern and South-eastern side. It is the cradle of Buddhism in this part of the country, being the birthplace of His Holiness the Sixth Dalai Lama and home to the world famous Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, popularly known as Tawang Monastery, the largest monastery of India and perhaps the second largest in Asia.

      Buddhist prayer flags with pious prayers are believed to bring good luck and are a common sight in Tawang.

      Home to the mild, good-humoured and the industrious Monpa people, the region was previously known as Monyul meaning the land of the Monpas. As to how the place later came to be known as Tawang, there are varying versions among scholars. The most popular version is that, in late 1681, Merag Lama travelled to this area in search of a site for building a new monastery for the Gelugpa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. While he was meditating, his horse wandered away and came upon this spot which was considered as a good omen to build the monastery and, therefore, Merag Lama called it ‘Ta (Horse) Wang (Chosen)’ ‘Tawang’. Another source reflects that the great treasure master, Padma Lingpa from Bhumthang, gave initiations such as of Kagyad and Tamdring Tantras here and, hence, the place came to be known as Tawang, Ta being the abbreviation of Tamdring, and Wang meaning initiation.

      The district is entirely located amongst the mighty Himalayas and has a rugged terrain with deep valleys and an altitude ranging between 3,500 to 22,500 feet from mean sea level. Due to its elevation and geographic location, the district generally has a cold climate for most of the year though there are significant climatic variations based on altitude and location. The main rivers of the district are the Tawang Chu and Nyamjang Chu. The Tawang Chu originates from the Gorichen mountain ranges and flows westward along the valleys of Tawang and Lumla. The Nyamjang Chu originates from the Tibetan plateau and enters India at Khinze-mani (the point of entry of the fourteenth Dalai Lama into India) flowing down through the Zimithang valley and ultimately meeting with the Tawang Chu at Kungba village before entering Bhutan.

      Owing to its rich and unique culture and beautiful locales, the district is a premier tourist destination of the state and North-eastern India, attracting thousands of tourists annually. Apart from this, the Tawang Monastery and other important religious sites and monasteries of the district attract a large number of Indian and Bhutanese pilgrims every year.

      Sela Gate, the gateway to Tawang.

      CHAPTER 1

      HISTORY

      From Monyul to Tawang

      It is believed that the Monpas of Tawang, Kalaktang and Dirang (West Kameng district) share a common tradition of having migrated from Tibet and Bhutan though there is no written record or account to ascertain the exact period of their migration here. It is, however, certain that they did not migrate to their present habitat in a single wave; most probably, the migration must have taken place in waves over centuries.

      Namchu Wangden, hung at the entrance of houses to bring good luck and positive energy.

      The term Monpa means one from Mon or from the Land of Mon. The term Mon in the local context refers to an area traditionally known as Monyul, a geographic zone encompassing the present day Tawang and West Kameng districts in Arunachal Pradesh. In the wider sense though, the term Mon refers to almost all the Himalayan region south of Tibet. However, the term southern Mon (Lhomon) is generally a specific term referring to the Eastern Himalayan region, including Sikkim, Bhutan and Monyul. The oldest record wherein we find mention of this land is the Tibetan epic of the legendary King Ling Gesar who is placed in the fourth century A.D. and is said to have fought and defeated King Shingtri of Southern Mon. The land also finds mention in the biography of Khando Drowa Sangmo dating back to the seventh century. In the biography, there is a mention of a place called "Tana Mandegang" from where a king named Kalawangpo ruled. The location of that place is said to be the same as to the location of the famous Tawang Monastery. The hillside above the smiling valley where hermit Damse Lodoe lived with his wife, Damse Zema, is identified with the villages of Domko-Morshing in the neighbouring West Kameng district. The ruin below the Yui-sum village is believed to be the remains of the parental house of king Kala Wangpo’s first queen, Duemo Hashang. In the Morshing-Khalaktang area where the Lha Gyal Lo gompa stands today is said to be the birth place of Khando Drowa Sangmo, the second queen of Kala Wangpo. The black stupa of Dham Gonchung near Merak in Bhutan is believed to be tomb of the first queen, Duemo Hashang.

      It is said that during the reign of King Tri Ralpachen (reign during 815-838 A.D.), Lang Dharma, the apostate brother of the King, and some of the ministers who were opposed to Buddhism conspired to assassinate the King. However, the assassination plan was dropped on realising that the King’s other brother, Lhase Tsangma, had a better chance of being enthroned in the event of the death of the King. Instead, a plan was hatched to remove Lhase Tsangma from the scene. In this pursuit, they bribed royal god men and soothsayers to poison the mind of the King. They falsely predicted that misfortune would befall the royal family and country, and to avert the imminent misfortune, Lhase Tsangma needed to be exiled from the country for a while. The King believed in the prediction and ordered Lhase Tsangma to leave the country for Monyul in the interest of the kingdom. He was also instructed by the King to take stock of the welfare of the people of Monyul during his stay there. So, Lhase Tsangma and his retinue came to Monyul as refugees in 836 A.D. According to local legend, six other such groups came to Monyul in the same fashion. The first group, it is said, settled at Bomba; the second at Khrimo; the third at Lhou; the fourth at Thrillam; the fifth at Dodhong Bumpa; and, finally, the sixth at Ngashang Pang-gyen.

      Michael Aris in his book, Hidden Treasures and Secret Lives, writes: …. there is a passage in Pemalingpa’s autobiography which describes the marriage of his youngest brother Ugyen Zangpo from whom the sixth Dalai Lama descended. In the first month of the year of the Earth Bird (1483) Pemalingpa made a journey eastward from Bumthang to accept an invitation from Ugyen Zangpo, who had settled at a temple approximately called Ugyenling located at the centre of the Monyul region. It is evident that people also migrated from Bhutan to Monyul.

      Gyetongpa (Prajnaparamita in 8000 verses) written in gold.

      Coming to more recent times, two treaties were signed between the East India Company and Tawang in 1844 and 1853. The Shimla conference of 1913-14 was the most important event in Tawang’s contemporary history. In the conference, representatives of Great Britain, China and Tibet sat together to resolve the border issue between Tibet, China and British India. Whilst all three representatives initialled the agreement, Peking later objected to the proposed boundary between the regions of outer Tibet and inner Tibet, and did not ratify it. The Foreign Secretary of the British Indian government, Sir Henry McMahon, who had drawn up the proposal, decided to bypass the Chinese and settle the border bilaterally by negotiating directly with Tibet and, thus, the McMahon Line came into being.

      Post-independence, on 6 February 1951, Major R. Khating of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service (IFAS), established regular Indian administration in Tawang with it formally becoming a part of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). With the promulgation of the North East Frontier (Administration) Regulation, 1954, it became a part of the Kameng Frontier Division. The Kameng Frontier Division was renamed as the Kameng district in 1965. On 1 June 1980, Kameng district was divided into West Kameng and East Kameng districts with Tawang being a part of the former. On 6 October 1984, the sub-division of Tawang was declared a full-fledged district, with headquarters at Tawang

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