विसरलेले समाज - २ : टुलोर

 चिले देशातील अटाकामा असा प्रदेश आहे जिथे अनेक ठिकाणी गेल्या ५०० वर्षात पाऊसच पडलेला नाही. आणि जेथे पडतो तेथेही संपूर्ण वर्षभरात सरासरी फक्त १०-१५ मि.मी. एव्हढाच पडतो. सहारा सारख्या वाळवंटातही अटाकामापेक्षा दसपट अधिक पाऊस पडतो. पण अश्या ह्या रखरखाटात सुद्धा जीवन आपला पाय रोवून राहिलेलं आढळतं. ५०० हून अधिक जातीच्या वनस्पती, आणि त्यांच्या आधाराने जगणारे  ग्वानाको आणि वायकुनिया सारखे शाकाहारी प्राणी, टोळ, फुलपाखरं, गांधीलमाशांसारखे कीटक, त्यांच्यावर जगणारे विविध पक्षी, आणि कोल्ह्यासारखे शिकारी प्राणी अशी एक संपूर्ण जीवन-साखळीच पिढ्यानु-पिढ्या ह्या वैराण वाळवंटात नांदते आहे. अर्थातच ह्या जीवन साखळीत सर्वात वरच्या स्थानावर मनुष्य प्राणीही आलाच.

आज अस्तित्वात असलेले जे १० विविध मानवी समुदाय चिले देशातील मूळ रहिवासी मानले जातात, त्यातील अटाकामेनो किंवा लिकान अंताई वंशाचे लोकं आज सध्या जिथे सान पेद्रो द अटाकामा हे शहर आहे त्या परिसरात राहतात. मात्र ह्या अटाकामेनो समाजाचा ज्ञात इतिहास ख्रिस्तोत्तर ७व्या /८व्या शतकांपर्यंतच जातो, म्हणजे ह्या भागातील प्रसिद्ध टिवानाकू साम्राज्याच्या सुवर्णकाळापर्यंत. आणि अटाकामेनो संस्कृतीच्या इतिहासात ह्या टिवानाकूच्या प्रभावाच्या स्पष्ट खुणा आजही दिसतात. पण मग ख्रिस्तपूर्व सु. ८००० (अटाकामा मधील मानवी वास्तव्याच्या पहिल्या खुणांचा काळ) ते  टिवानाकू ह्या मधल्या काळात इथे काय घडलं?

 

मी मुळात अटाकामामध्ये गेलो होतो ते एका संपूर्णपणे वेगळ्या प्रदेशातील कधी न अनुभवलेला निसर्ग पाहायला - मून व्हॅली, तातिओ गायझर, रेनबो माउंटन सारखे, आपण चंद्र किंवा मंगळासारख्या परग्रहावरच आहो की काय असं भासविणारे भूप्रदेश (पहा पहिला फोटो - अटाकामाच्या वाळवंटातील काही दृश्यं) पाहून परतताना आमचा वाटाड्या आम्हाला मून व्हॅली जवळच टुलोर गावाजवळील पुरातन भग्नावषेशांकडे घेऊन गेला. आणि निसर्गयात्रे बरोबरच एक वेगळीच सांस्कृतिक सफरही पदरी पडली.

मून व्हॅली नजीकच्या आजच्या वैराण वाळवंटात १० हजार वर्षांपूर्वी मात्र फार वेगळी परिस्थिती होती. सान पेद्रो आणि वियामा नद्यांमुळे येथे निर्माण झालेल्या ओऍसिस सारख्या भागात प्राचीन मानवी टोळ्यांनी आपली भटकी/शिकारी (hunter-gatherer) जीवनशैली त्यागून एका जागी स्थिर राहून शेतीवर जगण्याचा मार्ग स्वीकारला. सुमारे ८ ते ९ हजार वर्षांपूर्वी रानटी मका दक्षिण मेक्सिकोमध्ये माणसाळवला (domesticated) गेला आणि पुढील काही शतकात अँडीज पर्वतराजीच्या आश्रयाने राहणाऱ्या टुलोर सारख्या अनेक समाजाचं मुख्य पीक बनला (आजमितीला ह्या भागात ५५ वेगवेगळ्या जातीचे मके पिकतात!). ह्या शिवाय एतद्देशीय उंटसदृश वंशातील (Camelids) रानटी प्रजाती माणसाळवून त्यांचा शेतीसाठी (किंवा त्यांच्या मांसाचा आणि दुधाचा आपल्या आहारात) उपयोगही टुलोर समाजाने केला असावा. आज दक्षिण अमेरिकेत दिसणारे लामा, किंवा वायकुनिया सारखे प्राणी त्यांचेच सध्याचे वंशज.

 

टुलोरच्या अवशेषांचं सर्वप्रथम नजरेत भरणारं वैशिष्ठय म्हणजे, त्यांची स्थापत्य-शैली. ह्या आधीही मी अनेक प्राचीन संस्कृतींचे अवशेष पहिले होते - भारतातील धोलावीरा/लोथल, कंबोडियामधील ख्मेर साम्राज्य, ईजिप्त, सँटोरिनी बेटावरील अक्रोटीरी, अगदी दक्षिण अमेरिकेतीलही नाझका, चावीन, वारी, टिवानाकू सारखे अनेक. पण असं, जिथे वर्तुळ हा एकच आकृतिबंध वापरून बांधलेलं सर्व काही आहे - घरं, धान्य साठविण्याची वखार, सभागृह सर्वकाही वर्तुळाकृती, मी कधीच पाहिलं नव्हतं. 

साबणाचं पाणी खळबळून त्यावर भरपूर सारा फेस काढल्यावर त्या फेसात जसा एकमेकाला चिकटलेल्या वेगवेगळ्या मापाच्या पण फक्त वर्तुळाकृती बुडबुड्यांचा समूह दिसेल अगदी तसंच हे गाव दिसत असलं पाहिजे. 

पहा दुसरा फोटो (मी काढलेला) आणि  तिसरा, ह्या गावाच्या नकाशाचा फोटो (ह्याठिकाणी उत्खनन करणाऱ्या शात्रज्ञांनी बनविलेला). पण हे गाव नांदतं असताना कसं दिसत असेल? पहा चौथा फोटो, उत्खननात सापडलेल्या भग्नावशेषांचा वापर करून बनविलेल्या घरांच्या प्रतिकृतीचा. तिसरा (नकाशाचा) आणि हा चौथा फोटो जर एकत्रित निरखून पहिला तर येथील स्थापत्याचं आणखी एक वैशिष्ठय तुमच्या लक्षात येईल - गावातील बहुतेक इमारती, आच्छादित बोळकांड्यानी एकमेकाला थेट जोडलेल्या होत्या. आपल्या घरातून गावाच्या चावडीवर जायचं असेल तर घराबाहेर रस्त्यावर जायला नको! ह्या बोळकांड्या वापरून शेजाऱ्यांच्या घरातून थेट जायचं!

 

संपूर्ण गावही उंच तटबंदीने वेढलेलं असणार. मात्र ही तटबंदी वायव्येकडील वाळवंटावरून वाहत येणाऱ्या वावधुळीपासून गावाचं संरक्षण करण्याकरिता बांधलेली असावी. कारण ह्या प्रदेशात ज्यांच्यापासून संरक्षणाची गरज भासावी असे कुठलेही हिंस्र प्राणी कधीच नव्हते.

 

एकूणच टुलोरचं स्थापत्य आणि बांधकामाचं तंत्र (मातीच्या विटा आणि घुमट (Self-Supporting vaults)) पाहून एक अंदाज असा आहे की बोलिव्हियातील ओरुरो विभागातील वांकारानी टोळ्या सुमारे ख्रिस्तपूर्व ५ - ६व्या शतकात टुलोर येथे स्थलांतरीत झाल्या असाव्या. कारण त्यांच्याही घरं /गावांची रचना टुलोरशी मिळतीजुळती होती - आजही ओरुरो प्रांतात ग्रामीण भागात अश्या प्रकारची घरं दिसतात.

टुलोर मध्ये साधारण ख्रिस्तपूर्व ४०० ते ख्रिस्तोत्तर २०० वर्षांपर्यंत वस्ती असावी असं आजपर्यंत मिळालेल्या अवशेषांवरून वाटतं. पण त्यावरून ह्या समाजाबद्दल - त्यांच्या चालीरीती, तंत्रज्ञान, धर्मविचार, राजकीय संस्था अश्या कुठलीही बाबतीत नक्की अनुमान काढता येत नाही. उत्तम दर्जाच्या कुंभारकामाचे नमुने ह्या अवशेषांत मिळाले आहेत (पहा पाचवा फोटो), तसंच दगडांपासून बनविलेली अवजारं - धान्य दळायची जाती, जमीन खणायची फावडी, सुऱ्या इत्यादी जरी मिळाली असली तरी धातूच्या वस्तू बनविण्याची कला त्यांना कितपत अवगत होती ते नक्की सांगता येत नाही. मिळालेल्या काही थडग्यातील अवशेषांवरून मुद्दाम कृत्रिम रित्या (उदाहरणार्थ, डोक्याच्या दोन्ही बाजूला कायम घट्ट फळ्या बांधून) डोक्याच्या कवटीचा आकार निमुळता बनवण्याची पद्धत प्रचलित होती असं दिसतं. मात्र ह्या मागे काही धार्मिक कारण होतं की काही सौन्दर्य विचार होता (जसं ब्रह्मदेशातील काही आदिवासी समाजात स्त्रियांची मान मुद्दाम धातूच्या कड्या लहानपणापासून घालून लांब केली जात असे) ते सांगता येत नाही. 

येथे सापडलेल्या वस्तू (उदाहरणार्थ ऑब्सिडीयन किंवा मॅलाकाइट सारख्या ह्या परिसरात न मिळणाऱ्या दगडांच्या वस्तू, धातूची अवजारे, टुलोरच्या कुंभारकामा पेक्षा वेगळे तंत्र वापरून केल्यासारखी वाटणारी भांडी इ.) पाहून येथील उत्खनन करणाऱ्या शात्रज्ञांच्या मते टुलोरकरांचा व्यापारी/सामाजिक संबंध चिलेचा समुद्रकिनारा, बोलिव्हियातील पठारं किंवा अँडीज पर्वतराजी पलीकडला आजचा अर्जेन्टिना अशा दूर दूर च्या समाजांशी असला पाहिजे.

साधारण ख्रिस्तोत्तर २०० च्या सुमारास  सान पेद्रो नदीचा मार्ग झपाट्याने बदलत गेला आणि त्यामुळे येथे पाण्याचं दुर्भिक्ष निर्माण होऊन, तसंच वायव्येला पूर्वीपासूनच असलेल्या वाळवंटाचं आक्रमण वाढून हा सारा परिसर बहुधा शेतीला आणि म्हणून मनुष्य वस्तीला निकामी झाला असावा. प्रचलित समजुतीनुसार येथील समाज येथून परागंदा होऊन दुसरी कडे स्थायिक झाला आणि आजचा अटाकामेनो समाज हे त्यांचेच वंशज आहेत. 

मात्र १९५६ साली रेव्ह. गस्टावो ल पेज ह्या पुरातत्वशास्त्रज्ञाने टुलोरचे अवशेष शोधून काढेपर्यंत, ह्या पूर्वसूरींची स्मृती पूर्णपणे पुसून गेली होती!

प्रत्यक्ष भेटीत स्थानिकांकडून जे मी ऐकलं त्याला पूरक म्हणून ज्या दोन शोधनिबंधांचा मी मुख्यतः आधार हे लिहिण्यासाठी घेतला त्यांच्या  links खाली दिल्या आहेत. त्यातील पहिला स्पॅनिश भाषेत असल्यामुळे वाचण्या आधी तुम्हाला Google Translate च्या मदतीने त्याचं इंग्रजीत भाषांतर करून घ्यावं लागेल.

1. http://www.chungara.cl/Vols/1986/Vol16-17/Tulor_posibilidades_y_limitaciones_de_un_ecosistema.pdf

2.   http://www.chungara.cl/Vols/2010/Vol42-2/02-NUNEZ-CHUNGARA-42-2.pdf

 

विसरलेले समाज - १ : नाझका 

आज “लुप्त झालेले प्राचीन समाज किंवा संस्कृती”, असं म्हटल्यावर चटकन डोळ्यापुढे ३-४ ठराविक नावं येतात - हराप्पा, धोलावीरा इ. भोवतालची सिंधू संस्कृती किंवा प्राचीन इजिप्त अथवा मेसोपोटेमिया (सुमेर, बाबिलॉन इ.). मी मुद्दामच ह्या यादीत भारतीय आणि चिनी संस्कृतीचं नाव घेतलं नाही कारण जरी दोन्ही प्राचीन असल्या आणि त्यांच्या स्वरूपात काळाच्या ओघात जमीन-अस्मानाचा बदल झाला असला तरी दोन्ही संस्कृती अजून जिवंतच आहेत. 

 माझ्या दुनियाभराच्या भटकंतीत, अनेक, तुलनेने अप्रसिद्ध अश्या प्राचीन समाजांचे चकित करणारे अवशेष सामोरे आले. त्यातील काही समाज उगम-समृद्धी-विनाश अश्या नैसर्गिक चक्रात लुप्त झाले असतील, तर काही एखाद्या दुर्दैवी उत्पातात उध्वस्त झाले असतील. परंतु अगदी आधुनिक काळापर्यंत, ते संपूर्णपणे विस्मृतीच्या पडद्याआड गेले होते आणि गेल्या केवळ एक-दोन शतकांमध्येच पुरातत्वशास्त्रज्ञांच्या प्रयासांमुळे पुन्हा एकदा ते जगासमोर आले. आजही त्यांच्याबद्दल सांगोपांग माहिती मिळाली आहे असं नाही. त्यांनी मागे ठेवलेल्या अवशेषांवरून ते समाज आणि त्यांचे सभासद कसे दिसत असतील, कसे राहत असतील, काय भाषा बोलत असतील, त्यांची समाजव्यवस्था आणि राजकीय यंत्रणा कशी असेल, धार्मिक आचार-विचार काय असतील ह्याबद्दल फक्त कल्पनाच आपण करू शकतो. 

 ह्या मालिकेतल्या पहिल्या लेखात आपण जाणार आहोत पेरू मध्ये नाझका शहराजवळील वैराण प्रदेशात. नाझका आज जगप्रसिद्ध आहे ते १५००-२००० वर्षांपूर्वी त्यांनी रेखाटलेल्या कातळ-चित्रांसाठी. वाळवंटात मैलोन्मैल पसरलेल्या चित्रांतील काही तर इतकी विस्तृत आहेत की त्यांची पूर्ण कल्पना फक्त विमानात बसून १००० फूट उंचावर गेल्यावरच येउ शकते. पहा पहिले दोन फोटो. मात्र ही कातळ-चित्रं आश्चर्याने तोंडात बोट घालायला लावणारी असली तरी, ज्या समाजाची ती मागे राहिलेली खूण आहे त्यांच्या बद्दल उपलब्ध माहिती आजही फारच तुटपुंजी आहे. 

 

हा नाझका समाज बहरला पेरूतील आजच्या पराकास आणि नाझका ह्या शहरांमधील वैराण भागात (पहा तिसरा फोटो - नाझका नदीच्या खोऱ्याचा) ख्रिस्तपूर्व १००-२०० ते ख्रिस्तोत्तर ७००-८०० ह्या सुमारे आठ-नऊ शतकांमध्ये. त्याच्या सामाजिक/सांस्कृतिक वैशिष्ठ्यांबद्दल आज आपण फक्त थोडाफार अंदाजच करु शकतो - त्यांची अजून अस्तित्वात राहिलेली भांडी-कुंडी, कापड-चोपड, कबरस्थानं आणि अर्थातच कातळ-चित्रं ह्यांवरून. 

त्यांनी स्वतः बद्दल एक अक्षरही लिहून ठेवलेलं नाही. किंबहुना त्यांना कुठल्याही स्वरूपात लेखन कला अवगत होती असं वाटत नाही. 

 पण उपलब्ध अवशेषांवरून असं दिसतं कि ह्या समाजाची दोन प्रमुख केंद्रं होती. काहुआची (Cahuachi) हे अध्यात्मिक केंद्र तर व्हेंटीया (Ventilla) हे नागरी व्यवहाराचं केंद्र. अर्थात व्हेंटीया जरी नागरी केंद्र असलं तरी ते राजकीय सत्ता-केंद्रही होतं असं मात्र ठामपणे म्हणता येणार नाही. कारण नाझका नदीचं  खोरं, पिस्को खोरं आणि अकारी खोरं ह्या विभागात पसरलेला हा समाज जरी एकाच सामायिक संस्कृतीने बांधला गेला असला तरी तो अनेक स्थानिक नेते आणि त्यांचे अनुयायी ह्यामध्ये राजकीय दृष्ट्या विखुरलेला असावा.  

निर्जल वाळवंटी प्रदेशात वसलेला असल्यामुळे पाणी आणि शेती उत्पादन हा त्यांच्या जीवन-मरणाचा प्रश्न होता. काहुआची हे त्यांचं धार्मिक उत्सव साजरे करण्याचं प्रमुख तीर्थस्थान बनण्याचं कारणही  तिथे असलेलं पाण्याचं वैपुल्य हेच असावं. काहुआचीच्या परिसरात (सुमारे २५०० एकर क्षेत्रात) आढळलेले ४०-४५ ढिगारे त्यामध्ये मिळालेल्या अवशेषांवरून जेथे धार्मिक कर्मकांडं केली जात अश्या देवळांस्वरूप असावेत. आणि एकूणच काहुआचीची व्याप्ती आणि नाझकांच्या अंदाजी लोकसंख्येची तुलना केली असता, बहुसंख्य नागरिक दूर दूरच्या वस्त्यांवरूनही काहुआचीला दर वर्षी सुगीच्या हंगामात धार्मिक उत्सव साजरा करण्यासाठी येत असावेत असं म्हणता येईल. 

नक्की ह्या उत्सवाचं स्वरूप काय होतं ते जरी सांगता येत नसलं तरी भांड्या-कुंड्यावर रेखाटलेल्या चित्रांवरून निसर्गपूजा त्यांच्या धार्मिक विचार आणि विधींच्या केंद्रस्थानी असावी. देवतांना बळी प्रदान करण्याची प्रथाही प्रचलित असावी - फक्त लामा किंवा गिनिपिग सारखे प्राणीच नव्हे तर माणसे सुद्धा.  पहा चौथा फोटो, नाझका अवशेषांमध्ये मिळालेल्या एका भित्ती-चित्राचा. इतकंच नव्हे तर मानवी कवट्यांच्या माळा त्यांच्या देवतांना वाहायची पद्धत होती असंही म्हणायला जागा आहे.  कारण उत्खननात सापडलेल्या भांडयावरच्या चित्रात तसे देखावे आहेत. आणि अनेक पूजास्थानी कपाळावर मध्यभागी भोकं पाडलेल्या कवट्या आणि कित्येक थडग्यांमध्ये शिरविरहित प्रेतंही पुरलेली आढळली आहेत. 

असो. त्याच्या प्रसिद्ध कातळ-चित्रांखेरीज आणखी तीन गोष्टी चकित करणाऱ्या आहेत. 

एक - पाण्याचं दुर्भिक्ष असलेल्या प्रदेशात जमिनीखालील खोलवरच्या झऱ्यांचं पाणी दूर पर्यंत खेळविण्यासाठी केलेली कालव्यांची यंत्रणा. त्यांचा कालखंड लक्ष्यात घेता ह्या यंत्रणेची संकल्पना, रचना, व्याप्ती आणि कार्यक्षमता आश्चर्य वाटावी अशी आहे. 

दोन - त्यांची विणकामातील प्रगल्भता. कापूस, लोकर, पक्षांची पिसं अश्या विविध गोष्टी वापरून केलेली विस्तृत आकाराची कापडं, शवाच्छादने, अंगरखे इत्यादी आणि त्यावरील  ६ ते १० रंगात  विणून किंवा भरतकाम करून चितारलेली गुंतागुंतीची चित्रं आणि आकृतिबंध, त्यांच्या कलाकौशल्याची साक्ष आहेत. पहा पाचवा फोटो - थडग्यातील शवावर पांघरलेल्या चादरीचा. 

तीन - पॉटरी : रोजच्या वापरातील आणि धार्मिक कर्मकांडात वापरण्याची मातीची भांडी. मातीची भांडी रंगीत चित्रांनी सजवायची सोपी पद्धत म्हणजे, भांडं भट्टीत भाजून काढल्यावर, त्या वर चित्रे रेखाटणे. मात्र कच्च्या मातीच्या भांड्यावर प्रथम विविध रंगी (१२ ते १४ वेगवेगळे रंग) चित्रं रेखाटायची. नंतर ती भट्टीत भाजून काढायची. ह्या भाजण्याच्या प्रक्रियेत ती चित्रं आणि त्यांचे रंग नुसते अबाधितच ठेवायचे नाही तर त्यांना अधिक झिलई आणायची, ही उच्च दर्जाची कलाही त्यांनी विकसित केली होती. पहा सहावा आणि सातवा फोटो.   

 

नाझकांच्या ह्या  अवशेषांत सर्वात वादग्रस्त गोष्ट आहे अर्थातच त्यांची कातळ-चित्रं!  नाझका वाळवंटाचा  पृष्ठभाग दोन थरांत आहे. एका अरुंद (५० ते १०० से.मी. रुंद) रेषेत जर सर्वात वरच्या थरातले लाल खडे काढून टाकले, तर त्या खालील थरातील फिक्या पिवळट रंगाच्या माती-वाळूमुळे नजरेत भरणारी रेषा आपोआप तयार होते. नाझका लाईन्स नावाने प्रसिद्ध झालेली ही चित्रं हेच साधं तंत्र वापरून चितारण्यात आली आहेत. आणि ती इथे पाऊस जवळजवळ पडतच नसल्यामुळे आज १५०० वर्षांनंतरही मूळ स्वरूपात पाहायला मिळतात. त्यातील काही चित्रं एव्हढी प्रचन्ड आहेत की जमिनीवर उभं राहून ते संपूर्ण चित्रं काय असेल ह्याचा अंदाज करता येत नाही. उदाहरणार्थ वरील फोटोंपैकी Condor पक्ष्याचं चित्र १३० मी (४२५ फूट) लांब आणि ११५ मी. (३७५ फूट) रुंद आहे! 

ते पूर्णपणे पाहण्यासाठी जमिनीपासून ८००-१००० फूट उंचीवर जावं लागतं. त्यामुळेच ह्या चित्रांभोवती अनेक अतिरंजित कथा रचल्या गेल्या. वास्तव हे आहे की ही चित्रं नक्की का काढली गेली ह्या बद्दल काहीही ठोस पुरावा आज तरी उपलब्ध नाही. परंतु नाझकांच्या धर्माशी त्यांचा संबंध असावा असं म्हणायला जागा आहे. एक तर त्यांच्या निसर्गपूजेत वापरल्या जाणाऱ्या अनेक आकृती येथे दिसतात. उदाहरणार्थ Condor पक्षी किंवा देवमासा. दुसरं म्हणजे ह्यातील कित्येक आकृतींच्या आजूबाजूला काहुआची सारख्या जागी धार्मिक विधींमध्ये वापरल्या जाणाऱ्या भांड्यांचे अवशेषही सापडले आहेत. 

मी पराकास, नाझका भागला भेट दिली २०१९ च्या मे महिन्यात. जाण्याआधी तेथे कातळ-चित्रांखेरीज इतर काही पाहण्या-अनुभवण्यासारखं असेल ह्याची मला अजिबात कल्पना नव्हती. माझे डोळे उघडले प्रथम लिमा (पेरू देशाची राजधानी) येथील लार्को म्युझियम पाहिल्यावर. लार्को म्युझियममध्ये नाझकांसहित पेरूतील अनेक प्राचीन संस्कृतींचे अवशेष - पॉटरी, कापडं, चित्रं, पुतळे, दागिने बघायला मिळतात, त्यातून प्रतीत होणारी प्राचीन कला, तंत्रज्ञान आणि समाज-जीवन आश्चर्याने थक्क करणार आहे. 

ह्या लेखात नाझकांच्या सर्वच वैशिष्ठ्यांचं तपशीलवार वर्णन करणं शक्य नाही. परंतु त्यांच्याबद्दल अधिक माहिती करून घ्यायची असेल तर - ज्या तीन निबंधांचा मी ह्या लेखासाठी मुख्यतः आधार घेतला, त्यांच्या online links खाली दिल्या आहेत. 

मात्र जाताजाता नाझकांचं एक वैशिष्ठ्य सांगितल्या शिवाय राहवत नाही. आपल्या पर्यावरणाचा आपल्याच हाताने विनाश करून उध्वस्त झालेला इतिहासाला माहीत असलेला हा सर्वात जुना समाज असेल. उपलब्ध खुणांवरून असं वाटतं की जास्तीत जास्त जमीन लागवडीखाली आणण्यासाठी त्यांनी ह्या प्रदेशात सर्वत्र पसरलेल्या हुरांगो (Huarango - Prosopis pallida) झुडूपांच्या अरण्याचा नाश केला. त्यामुळे आठव्या शतकात अकस्मात (El Nino ह्या वातावरणातील बदलांमुळे) जेंव्हा अतिवृष्टी आणि पूर आले तेंव्हा ह्या अरण्याअभावी नाझकांच्या संपूर्ण प्रदेशाची धूप होऊन वाताहत झाली. आणि हा संपूर्ण समाजच पुढच्या काही दशकांत कोलमडला. 

अर्थात इतिहासात अशी पर्यावरणाच्या विनाशाची अनेक उदाहरणं असली तरी आपल्या आजूबाजूची परिस्थिती पाहता, त्यावरून आपण काही शिकलो असं काही म्हणता येणार नाही! 

संदर्भ: 

 https://people.umass.edu/proulx/online_pubs/Nasca_Overview_Zurich.pdf

https://people.umass.edu/proulx/online_pubs/Nasca_Headhunting_Zurich.pdf

https://people.umass.edu/proulx/online_pubs/Nasca_Ceramic_Iconography_Overview.pdf

Until the Sutlej goes dry

"Until the Sutlej goes dry, crows become white, horses get horns, and stones produce hair or wool"

This this is how long Raja Kehar (or Kehri) Singh and the 5th Dalai Lama expected the trade treaty to last which they signed in the 17th century between the Kingdoms of Bushahr in the Himalayan foothills and Tibet. 

Of course neither ruler anticipated the political upheavals that were to follow.  First, the Bushahr kingdom was occupied by the Gorkha kings of Nepal and then after the Treaty of Sugauli between the British and the Nepalis, the Bushahr kings retained their throne only as a token under British rule. Then in 1948 the kingdom formally got assimilated in independent India. And while Sutlej continued to flow, crows remained black and stones had not yet sprouted wool, on the other side of the Himalayas the rulers of Tibet had to flee to India in the face of the advancing Chinese armies.

However, although legally the 17th century trade treaty became null and void within a century of its signing, the commercial interests of all parties involved in these events kept the spirit of the treaty alive. The most important outcome of the treaty had been the Lavi International trade fair. Well, "International trade fairs" is a modern concept but that is what effectively the annual gathering of "Lavi Mela" was, which still happens even today every November. Traders from Tibet, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and the central Asian states used to come here especially with horses, dry fruit, wool, pashmin and sheep. In return, these traders used to take salt, jaggery and other rations from Rampur. Today ofcourse its complexion has changed completely, horses and swords and sheep are no longer the primary items of trade, they have been replaced by more modern goods but the Trade Fair is just as if not more boisterous and colorful as it once must have been.

Rampur Bushahr (which was the winter capital of the mountain kingdom) enjoyed a strategically important location on several important ancient trade routes which connected Tibet, Afghanistan and the lowlands of northern India. As it happened Rampur was also located on the ancient pilgrimage routes to sacred sites in western Tibet shared by Hindus, Bön (the ancient religion of Tibet) and Buddhists alike, i.e., Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, through the Shipki pass near present day Kinnaur. All this trading activity and tax revenue (that must have been considerable in those days because in the Bushahr-Tibet trade treaty there is a specific exemption from taxes granted by both states to the other's citizens) made Bushahr the richest of the mountain kingdoms! 

We passed through Rampur Bushahr twice - on our way to Kibbar, Spiti and then on our way back from Spiti to Chandigarh, both times spending a night at the hotel which stands on the grounds of the beautiful palace. The town itself looked like any other small north Indian town - crowded, disorganised, dusty, dirty and uninteresting. 

I wish I had known of the importance of its "commercial" history then, I would have roamed around in the town a bit more and taken a few more photos before dismissing it as "uninteresting". Given its history I am sure besides the  palace itself, I would have found other interesting footprints of its past! As it happens all I have are these photos of the palace and its grounds!

Hyper Local Drinks

One of the greatest delights of travelling to places one had not been to before is discovering things you have never eaten or drunk before - and especially finding very local and very traditional specialties which you might never find again anywhere else.

I thought I will share my experiences with some (mostly non-alcoholic) unique drinks, I have had the good fortune to partake over the years! The problem that I am going to face though while describing these is - since these are one-of-a-kind concoctions, it becomes very difficult to explain to someone else who hasn't experienced them, what these really taste like - because it is hard to think of something that I can use as a common reference to compare them with!

Hyper Local drinks 1 - Hajma-hajam

Let me start at home (or not too far away from home) - Ahmedabad, Gujrat, India!

A few years ago an uncle of mine used to live in Ahmedabad, close to the Indian Institute of Management campus. We used to go and visit him many times. In the evening after dinner, we would all go in has car to a spot close to the campus gate. A guy with a hand cart used to be there only at night (and this was many years ago, so I don't know if it's still there) surrounded by a large throng of people and a long line of cars and scooters by the road-side. Apparently people used to come a long way to buy a drink called Hajma-hajam (Pronounced as हजम Not हजाम 😂😂 - just clarifying).

I have never been able to find this drink anywhere else - not even in Surat. What it contained I do not know - it had rock salt salt, black pepper, perhaps ground tamarind (or something else with a sour-sweet taste) and may be Dates as sweetener and god knows what else. That guy always refused to reveal the contents and also refused to sell only the "masala" which he used to mix in Soda to make his Hajma-hajam. But it's taste is still on my tongue. Even after my uncle left Ahmedabad, if I happened to be in Ahmedabad for other work (and our office was in Gandhinagar so I would general stay somewhere there) if I was spending the night there, I would hop into a taxi and go to IIM just for a glass of Hajma-Hajam!

One problem with such unique hyper local specialties is - describing their taste in terms someone else can relate to! because the taste is unlike anything that you can compare it with. That is why they are specialties!

So imagine powdered Hajmola tablets + dates + mint + panipuri-ka-pani + Rooh Afza sherbet all together and think what that might taste like? But even that will give you only a partial hint of what Hajma-hajam tasted like.

I hope someone creates a bottled version of it and distributes it outside Ahmadabad too.

But on second thoughts that may not be such a good idea because such industrialization will require standardization of the recipe and that always makes the true "mystique" of such unique concoctions disappear.

Hyper Local Drinks 2 - Tongba

One delightful discovery of my visit to Sikkim a couple of years ago was this drink called "Tongba" made from fermented whole grain Millet.

I don't know whether it is appropriate to call is a Millet "beer" or a Millet "wine". To me the process of making it, sounded in fact like a that of "Sake" (using Millet instead of the rice from which Sake is made). Just as in case of Sake the "secret" ingredient khesung - the mold that is used to start the fermentation - can be obtained from only a handful of experts to whom you must apply if you want to start your own batch of Tongba. Only the experts know how to make khesung and that knowledge is handed down from generation to generation (just like the strains of Sake mold which run in the family of the Sake maker for generations). Just like in the best of the best "Junmai Daiginjo" Sake, no alcohol is added externally so is the case with the genuine Tongba. Ofcourse the step of polishing the rice is missing in the preparation of Tongba (so one could say real high quality Tongba is only "Junmai").

Anyway, so the process as I understood (and I could be mistaken in some of the detail) is = You select the best quality Millet and cook it. Then mix the khesung obtained from the expert you trust, with the cooked Millet. Leave it covered for a few days in a bamboo basket. Then once the fermentation is complete, transfer the fermented mass to a tightly sealed earthen pot and keep for about 6 months. During which the fermented mass matures and mellows. After that it is ready to drink BUT there is a peculiar way to drink it.

You pack a hollow bamboo container (See the photo above) with the fermented Millet mass, stick a bamboo straw made from a specific bamboo called Malinggo (the straw is also peculiar - the bottom end is blocked off but slits are made on the side!) and then pour boiling water over it. In about 5 minutes the water seeps through the fermented mass and your drink is ready!

See the photo of a Tongba ready to drink. And you can replenish your "glass" 3 or 4 times like this before you must change your millet.

The taste is like nothing else I have ever tasted before - the aroma of freshly cut wood, earthy smells which emanate from parched ground after the first rain, with the exhilarating non-smells of unpolluted fresh air in the early morning in a forest just beginning to wake up? I don't know how exactly to describe it.

And ofcourse it is alcoholic but you get more intoxicated by the unusual flavors than by the alcohol in it (which is usually very low - 2 or 3%).

I even bought a Bamboo container and straws - planning to give it a try after returning home BUT that was before I was told about this Khesung - the secret mold that only the experts in Sikkim (or perhaps Nepal) can supply! So I guess I will just use it to drink water from I guess!

Local drinks 3 - Yerba Mate

Mate is really not quite as Hyper local as Tongba or Haajamaa-hajam. It's drunk in many places in South America. It is supposed to have originated in Paraguay. But besides Paraguay where Mate is the national drink, it is also the staple drink in Argentina and Uruguay.

Mate seems to have strong cultural significance both as a part of the national identity as well as in social terms. Drinking mate is a social activity. It is considered bad hospitality if you don't offer Mate to a guest. People closely related or otherwise close to each other may actually drink Mate from the same cup (perhaps something like the Native American tribes sharing a pipe?? I don't know),

Mate is made from the leaves of the Yerba mate plant (a member of the Holly family), which are dried and ground into a coarse powder. The terminology here gets a little confusing, at least for a foreigner like me - Yerba refers to the plant as well as this powder. And Mate refers to the drink as well as a peculiar container or cup from which it is drunk.

Preparing the drink is simple, Yerba (the powder) is put in a container and hot (75-80 degrees Celsius but not boiling) water is poured over it. Mate drinking is so entrenched in the habits that if you buy a water heater or an electric kettle in Argentina, it will have a setting simply named Mate. So after pouring the hot water, you allow the Yerba powder to settle down slowly so the clear liquid remains on the top. But this whole process is almost a ceremony and often there are heated debates about the best method to be adopted for the powder to settle down - tilting, slowly shaking etc. It is said that the ideal process is the one in which the sediment forms a kind of conical shape at the bottom of the container with a flat instead of the more usual pointed top !!! Of course whether that makes any difference to the ultimate taste, I cannot comment on.

What does it taste like? A bit like green tea, but more woody like freshly cut branches of a tree and earthy. For example, like the smell you will get if you boil water in a brand new earthen kulhad or somewhat like a black roasted but little bitter water chestnut, that's the closest I can describe it.

The method of drinking it is peculiar - Mate is traditionally prepared in a dried Calabash cup and drunk directly from it using a real silver straw. This cup is also called Mate as is the drink inside!

Of course in modern times people use all kinds of non-traditional containers - Ceramic cups, Thermos bottles, Metal utensils and also other white metal alloys or ceramic or other materials for straws instead of silver.

The straw has holes on the side (like the Tongba straw) not at the bottom. See the Photo.

And did I mention that it has a LOT of caffeine - some say, more caffeine per cup than even the darkest of coffees! And no wonder i saw people in Argentina sipping it all the time!!

Hyper Local drinks 4 - Chicha Morada

Since the last one I talked about was Mate from Argentina, I thought I will just jump across the Andes mountains and hop over to Peru to talk about an absolutely delightful, refreshing and unique drink called Chicha Morada (see the photo) which is known to have been consumed in Peru for thousands of years.

The Peruvians have gifted the world two important staple foods which are now consumed in large quantities everywhere in the world - Potato and Corn, The ancient Peruvians through selective breeding created edible and nutritious versions of both from their wild ancestors. As a result Peru today grows 4000 kinds of potatoes and 55 kinds of corn!

One of the most widely grown variety of these 55 types is the purple corn (see the photo below).

Basic Chicha Morada is made by boiling the purple corn with pineapple peels and Quince - a cousin of apples and pears, with bits of cinnamon and cloves. Once boiled the clear juice us strained and a sweet sauce called Chancaca is added to it. Then it's cooled before being served. Of course there are infinite variations of this basic recipe created by adding orange peels, other spices like rosemary, grated apple etc. Every family has its own "secret recipe".

Now a days, of course you get ready to drink bottles or ready-to-mix powders of Chicha Morada but these prefabricated versions never taste so good as freshly brewed kinds - and restaurants compete with each other by advertising their special variations of the standard Chicha Morada. So every time you go to a new restaurant you must always check whether they are serving bottled Chicha Morada or their own brew.

It's one of the most "refreshing drinks" I have tasted. After a hot, long walk at the Maras salt mines or a breath-taking (literally so because of the high altitude) short climb up the steep terraces of Ollantaytambo, a swig of ice-cold Chicha Morada instantly brings life back into your tired legs and lungs and brings the color back into you cheeks!

Chicha Morada is non-alcoholic and non-caffeinated, full of antioxidants - healthy like Amrut Kokam (except for the sugar in it), and as refreshing as Amrut Kokam and even tastes a bit like Amrut Kokam (But that may be purely an illusion created by my mind because both have identical deep purple color), It's sweet and sour with a hint of grapes and apples in it perhaps and a bit of sharpness due to the cloves. It's just divine.

Local Drinks 5 - Kvass

Again it's not strictly correct to call Kvass hyper local. It has been a very popular household drink for more than 6 centuries all over the Slavic countries - Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. It's said that Tzar Peter the Great loved Kvass and it was the most widely drunk beverage in imperial Russia. In modern times though it has been industrialized which has taken it's originality and vivacity away and made it into a tame, standardized soft drink but on the positive side, this also made it available all over the world. Even in Mumbai I found a shop called Zam Zam Sweets advertising Kvass.

But like many of these traditional drinks (Chicha Morada from Peru or Ginja from Portugal for example) while the bottled versions are quite good, the traditionally hand made brews are just a world apart.

I first tasted Kvass in Ekaterinburg - the city that straddles the boundary between the European and Asian parts of Russia. After a hot afternoon's walk, we sat down at a road side café for a coffee and I saw the guy at the next table drinking this golden liquid from a mug (see the photo above). I thought it was beer, so I asked the waiter but the only English word he knew was "Yes". Luckily he saw what I was pointing at and brought me a mug and tapped on the menu to tell me what he had brought for me. But the menu was in Russian so I didn't learn anything anyway. So I took a photo of the menu to figure it out later.

The beverage did not feel alcoholic although it tasted like a sweet beer. But it was absolutely refreshing to my parched throat and I just loved it. Later in St. Petersburg we had hired a guide to take us around the city. I showed her the menu and she explained that what I had had was called Kvass - a very traditional Russian drink. But she also wrinkled her nose at the menu and said "that's the bottled Kvass - except as a last resort I wouldn't ever drink that". She then took us to a restaurant where they served the traditional home-made drink to show us what in her view was the "real" Kvass and boy was she right! This was just divine and no comparison with the bottled version - it was still tasting like a sweet beer but somehow far richer in taste, with a hint of bitter lemon and raisins and some unknown spice, or perhaps just mint.

I asked how it is made. And surprise surprise, it's made from rye bread - even stale rye bread is fine. The bread is toasted and mixed in boiled hot water with raisins and the sap of Birch tree as a sweetener (these days many just use sugar but that doesn't taste as good). The sediments left over from the last batch of Kvass are added to this mix as a starter to initiate the fermentation process. Sometimes spices too are added to the mix and it is left alone to ferment by itself. These days people also add yeast to expedite the fermentation but that again results into an inferior taste. Also now a days people add all sorts of other things like beet or orange peels etc to create variations in taste.

But the traditionalists like our guide frown on such adulterations! To be fair I did not taste any of these modern versions, so I can't say from first hand experience whether these modern innovations in fact are better or worse. So after fermentation is complete the clear liquid is filtered out and refrigerated. Ideally it is consumed within a couple of days for the best experience. Because although it is classified as non- alcoholic and even children drink it, it does contain a very small amount, usually about 0.5% of alcohol. And if you let it stand more more than 2-3 days, more alcohol is formed due to natural processes and the taste becomes bad.

But Kvass like Chicha Morada or Tongba has this unique taste that is just unforgettable.

And this is the last for some time. There are many more especially alcoholic drinks like Ginja, Umeshu or Cachaça which are worth talking about but perhaps after some time.

Chakana, The Andean Cross

When I travelled down the Andean high plateau from Peru to Chile and the regions west of the Andes, one particular symbol kept cropping up everywhere in the ruins and artefacts left behind by the pre-Colombian civilizations which dwelt there for several thousands of years. See the first photo. I have forgotten the exact spot where I took this photo but it was in the Atacama region in Chile, either at the spot where a track that takes you to the Moon Valley in the desert branches off the main road OR near the entrance of the archeological complex called "The Tulor ruins" where the remains of a prehistoric town were found.

It's a cross formed with equal length arms pointing in the four cardinal directions with a square superimposed on it and a circle in the center. The geometry and the method of constructing it has been precisely defined (see the second graphic I picked from a brochure our guide gave).

I had heard our guides while in Peru call it an "Inca Cross". And it does appear in several Inca artefacts and religious decorations (see the third photo of a medallion found at the ruins of an Inca temple in Racqui in Peru). However it's oldest known appearance pre-dates the Incas by several centuries. The oldest known use of this symbol has been dated to somewhere around 1000BCE to 800BCE in the remains of the Chavin culture.

The Akapana - a large terraced structure close to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, which perhaps was the main religious center of the Tiwanaku culture that preceded the Incas, is in fact shaped like this "Inca" Cross. (See the fourth photo of the ruins of Akapana)

And the fifth photo showing the Cross, etched into a stone slab. This is actually a type of "fastener" used in the Tiwnaku architecture where two stone slabs could be fitted together by fitting the projections on one into the depression of the other)

In fact, in the language of the indigenous Quechua people (one of the native tribes of the Andean altiplano - high plateau) this shape is called Chakana - meaning a "bridge" or a "Way to cross over".

BUT a "bridge" between what? "Cross over" to where?

Every culture has such symbols which have an important place in its beliefs and customs.

The ancient Egyptians for example had an idealized graphic of the Papyrus plant - every old Egyptian temple you visit, you will find this graphic everywhere you look and it did carry a deep meaning for them.

(See my writeup about that in Marathi

https://wherenonehavegonebefore.blogspot.com/2022/12/blog-post_37.html

or in English

https://www.facebook.com/satish.joshi.161/posts/pfbid0S2SE6qux3oD31417wLGGk1fwYGAathCvbgNWZ5cQxHoQAvtmsgYLtF8QXtrLsADdl)

We have our own Swastik (and I mean the symbol of well-being, purity, prosperity, good fortune in Indian culture. And NOT it's distortion by Hitler and his Nazis into a symbol of hate, oppression and genocide).

What was the meaning of the Chakana for the pre-historic cultures of South America? That's where there has been a fair amount of disagreement - largely because none of these societies who revered this symbol wrote anything down and when the Spanish conquered them, they never bothered to learn anything about the cultures of those who they massacred.

According to some this symbol actually represents the constellation of the Southern Cross which is one of the brightest asterisms visible everywhere in the southern hemisphere. And the Southern cross does appear on many Inca religious artefacts (for example see the 6th Photo of a gold plate that was found in the Inca temple of Koricancha in Cusco with the Southern Cross at the center). The southern cross was the symbol of the domain where the gods like the Sun god Inti or the Moon god Qilla reigned (See the grpahics in the upper left and upper right corners of the plate).

According to others the Chakana represents the 3 worlds. Hana (or Hanan) Pacha : The domain of the gods, Kay Pacha : Where the humans, animals, trees etc dwelt and the Uku Pacha : The nether world, The kingdom of Mamapacha, the mother of everything - crops, soil, trees , all living things. And the circle in the center represents, a way for a Shaman to cross into these other worlds or planes of existence!

In any case it is said that the similarity between the Chakana revered by the Incas and their subject tribes and the Christian Cross was capitalized on by the Christian missionaries who went to South America after the Spanish Conquest. That and the similarity in appearance of the supreme God of the Incas Viracocha (see the picture of Viracocha carved on the mountainside in Ollantaytambo) to the pictures of a bearded Jesus, were two powerful tools which helped the missionaries to convince the population to convert to Christianity!