Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Brenda Helleberg
Burncoat High School
Worcester, MA
Horticulture/ Agriculture

Bees

Map & GIS

Tea

Salt

Agricultural production and trade in the Himalayan region as well as the ecology of this area the focus of my web project. The Institute provided all of the participants with wonderful first person accounts of anthropological studies in this region and gave us a rich feel for the varied cultures, religions and geography of this area of the world. We also are more aware of the travel and living conditions throughout history into the current day of many of the people.

Subsistence farming practices have supported most of the population of the Himalayan people. Gathering and hunting were important to many groups there as well although this has diminished more recently due to land restrictions and ecological changes.

The niches in food production and trade of these different groups of people helped to created and supported their villages. Looking at the region, its crops, ecology, and people can provide various ways that teachers can use the information in studying this region of the world. Either in a unit study or to incorporate this material in comparative studies with other parts of the world. Most of these sites would be suitable for use in grades 6-12.

Mountain climate and terrain require many types of adaptations by the people living there. The crops and animals raised are closely tied to soil conditions, water resources, and growing seasons at different elevations and sites in the high, mid and low land areas settled by different groups of people.

Mountains are among the most fragile environments in world. The United Nations has declared 2002 the International Year of Mountains in order to raise awareness of the importance of mountain ecosystems and the threats many mountains including the Himalayan Mountains are experiencing.

I hope to cover 12 areas of interest to me here and will begin with Maps and GIS, Bees, Tea, and Salt initially. Each section will begin with a short narrative description of the topic followed by questions raised, a list of resources (books, movies, lessons, etc.), pictures and links were possible.

I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who presented and participated in this NEH Institute. Special thanks to Mimi Stephens for her wonderful presentations and sources of resources, Mary Morrisard-Larkin and the computer lab staff for their training and assistance with the web page projects, and Professor Todd Lewis and Professor Leonard van der Kuijp for there planning and teaching of this outstanding institute.