Sacred Mountains

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Sacred Mountains of the Himalaya and Native
America
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Khumbila, Nepal
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look
behind the Ranges- Something lost behind the
Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
The Explorer- Rudyard Kipling, 1898
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Chomolhari, Bhutan
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Nanda Devi, India
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Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
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Nanda Devi, India
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Pilgrimage

• They return to their country with shining eyes,
  enriched by an experience which all through their
  life will be a source of strength and
  inspiration, because they have been face to face
  with the Eternal, they have seen the Land of the
  Gods.
• Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1948

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Mount Kailas, Tibet
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Mount Kailas

• Sacred mountain for more than half a billion
  people in India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan.
• Rises to 28,028 feet near the sources of 4 major
  rivers of the Indian subcontinent- the Indus,
  the Brahmaputra, the Sutlej, and the Karnali.

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Home of the gods

• Hindus view Mt. Kailas as the divine dwelling
  place of Shiva and his wife, the goddess,
  Parvati.
• Buddhists compare the peak to a pagoda-like
  palace of the deity, Demchog, who with his
  consort, Dorje Phagmo, represent the ecstatic
  union of compassion and wisdom.

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Mount Kailas

• The gully descending from its face is regarded by
  Hindus as Shivas route to the summit- a literal
  stairway to heaven.
• And by Buddhists as the track left by the drum of
  a falling Bon priest.

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Chomolhari, Bhutan
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Chomolhari, Bhutan

• Chomolhari is a peak of the main Himalayan crest
  and is on the border of Bhutan and Tibet.
• The peak itself is 7314m, and the north face is a
  sheer 9,000-foot wall.
• The name Chomolhari means Mountain of the Goddess
  and the mountain is sacred to Bhutanese and
  Tibetan Buddhists.

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Nanda Devi, India
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Nandi Devi, India

• Known to Hindus as the Goddess of Bliss, Nanda
  Devi attracts many pilgrims and mountain
  climbers.

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Nanda Devi Unsoeld

• Willi Unsoeld named his daughter Nanda Devi who
  at 21 decided to climb the 25,645-ft. peak with
  her father.
• Feeling ill and preparing to descend from camp at
  24,000 feet, she suddenly sat up and said, very
  calmly, I am going to die- and she died in her
  fathers arms.

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New Myth of Sacred Lore

• Nandi Devis natural warmth and ability to speak
  Nepali (which is closely related to local
  Garhwali) and her striking golden hair elicited
  comparisons to Gauri, the golden form of the
  goddess Parvati.
• Villagers concluded that fathers vow to name her
  Nanda Devi caused deity to enter her body and
  become incarnate that was goddesss way of coming
  home.

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Kangchenjunga, Sikkim
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Kangchenjunga, Sikkim

• Over 28,000 ft, 3rd highest peak in world.
• Known to Lepchas- the original inhabitants of
  Sikkim- as Kongo Chu, the Highest Veil of Ice,
  where behind this great wall lies the kingdom of
  the dead to which they go when they die.
• British climbing team in 1955 stopped 20 feet
  short of summit out of respect.

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Mount Shasta, California
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Mount Shasta, California

• Modoc story about the creation of the mountain
  and the origin of their people.
• The Great Spirit that lives inside the mountain
  is responsible for the fire and smoke that erupts
  from the volcano- its his fireplace that he uses
  to keep his family warm.

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San Francisco Peaks, Arizona
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San Francisco Peaks, Arizona

• Hopi revere the peaks as the dwelling place of
  the katsinas whose goodwill they depend on for
  their livelihood and survival.
• The katsinas take the shape of clouds on the
  mountain top that soar over the desert with rain.
• Katsinas also appear in human forms which are
  impersonated by masked Hopi dancers in ceremonies
  on the mesas.

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Mount Katahdin, Maine
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Mountain Katahdin, Maine

• According to the Abenaki Indians, Mt. Katahdin is
  guarded by Pomola who has a human body with a
  head of a moose and the wings of an eagle.
• Pomola commands the weather using a storm bird
  spirit helper which appears as tiny birds who can
  foretell storms if you watch and know how to
  listen to them.

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Bear Butte, South Dakota
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Bear Butte, South Dakota

• Known to the plains Sioux as Mato Paha or Bear
  Mountain.
• Used by Crazy Horse on a vision quest where he
  obtained remarkable powers.
• Custer died because he had offended the spirit of
  the mountain by climbing it just before the
  battle of the Little Big Horn.

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Chief Mountain, Montana
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Mount Rainier, Washington
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Denali, Alaska
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