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The original Dolpo people were a pure Tibetan race,
who came from three areas of the upper Ngari region of
western Tibet. Little is known about its early history,
but Dolpo was originally administered as a part of
Ngari.
Later it came under the jurisdiction of the King of
Mustang, acting as regional administrator for the Lama
ruler of Ngari. During other preiods, both the great
King of Jumla, the district west of Dolpo, and the Ranag
King of Nangkong valley in Upper Dolpo ruled the area.
At one time, Upper Dolpo remaining under the rule of the
Ranag family and Lower Dolpo under the Jumla King. All
that remains of the Ranag rule is a ruin in the Panzang
valley of Upper Dolpo, believed to the remains of a
three-storey stupa or palace. The Mustang and Ranag
Kings shared a close and long-lasting relationship, and
in the ancient texts, it is written that the Mustang
King presented his eldest daughter in mariage to the
Ranag King.
The Hindu King Bikram Shahi of Jumlar ruled Lower Dolpo
around four hundred years ago, as part of the Sinja
Empire. Despite his Hindu beliefs, the King allowed five
lamas to come from Tibet to promote Buddhism in Dolpo,
following the earlier work of four Tibetan lamas in
Upper Dolpo.
Many of the gonpas founded by these lamas, who settled
in Dolpo to fulfil their commitment to religious work.
Over the centuries, other dedicated lamas and village
leaders built many other fine chortens and gonpas, in
which beautiful statues and learned texts recording
philosophies and mythologies of the area have been
preserved and handed down.
Before the area was unified with Nepal, the people of
Dolpo were self-governing, with the land devided in
seven parts, each under a local leader. Now there are 45
named villages, although more then half of the
population lives in scattered houses among the hills and
the mountains. Most of the villages are in Lower Dolpo
and have grown out of ancient settlements where farming
was possible.
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Beyond the boudaries of "Ngari " (so called
because the original Dolpo people came from an area
called Ngari in Tibet) lie many significant holy places.
Far to the south, in neighbouring India, is Bodh Gaya
(Dorje Den in Tibetan) place where the Sakyamuni
Buddha received enlightment.
To the north are the ancient Tibetan cities of Lhasa
(now the capital of Tibet) and Samye, site of one of the
first great temples of Tibet, constructed by the 35th
Tibetan King Trisong Deutsan around 775 A.D. to promote
the expansion of Buddhism troughout
the Himalayan region.
To the north-west is the holy Lake Manasarovar, and
nearby Mount Kailash (Mount Tise in Tibetan), whose
flanks are said to have extented out to form the peaks
and valleys of Ngari Dolpo.
According to the historical text on Tibetan history by Dudjom Rinpoche,
"within the region of Ngari Dolpo there are the upper
and lower parts; the boundry of each is nearly
limitless, because of the immensity of the area; the
upper and lower parts contain four great valleys, as
though they were cut by a sword. The Dho Tarap valley,
possessing nine doors (avenues of entrance), is the
central gathering place for the whole region". |
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DHO TARAP: In the beginning,
the valley of Dho Tarap was filled with water and was
the confuence of the rivers of the whole area of Dolpo.
At the time when the villages came into existence, the
spirit of the lake controlled the area. Our of the water
came a horse "ta" of the most excellent quality "rap".
The place became known as Tarap.
SALDANG: At the time when the place known as Saldang
came to be, there was not enough water but there was
enough land "sa". Since the land seemed to rise up
"dang", the area came to be known as risen land,
Saldang. The name for the whole valley is Nangkong.
BIJER: Once upon a time, a mouse "byi" owned and
occupied the land in the area that is now called Bijer.
There was alama who had a plan to make the area
peaceful. The lama crushed "jer" the mouse against the
cliff killing him. The place became to be known as
Bijer.
TINGKYU: The region of Tingkyu is shaped like the heel
of a person's foot "tingba", thus the village was called
Tingkyu. The name of the whole valley is Bantshang,
which came from a group of Buddhist monks "Bande", who
made their home "tshang" in the area, thus it became
known as the monk's home Bantshang.
SAKARPO and TSHARKHA: The area has white "karpo" ground
"sa", and so is called Sakarpo. From the mouth
"kha" speech comes and at that place there are salt
"tsha" deposits. The village at the mouth of the river
thus became Tsharkha.
BARRONG:
The boundary "bar" between Tibet and the lower valley
"rong" came to be called Barrong. In Barrong is a place
called Mukor, named after one of the great snow-capped
peaks, called Mule Gangri (Mt. Dhaulagiri), which was
said to possess the qualities of Guru Rinpoche.
RONG TSHO PUNGMO:
Between Tibet and the lower valleys, there is an area of
dense timber. Long ago, there were one hundred houses
there. A demoness destroyed nearly all of these by
covering them with a lake "tsho". The remaining houses
were heaped up "pungba" on the banks of the lake,
forming a village that came to be called Tsho Pungmo.
The whole area or valley "rong" of the lake is now
called Shey Phoksumdo.
TISERONG:
The village of Tiserong acquired its name from Gang
Tise, better known as Mount Kailash. The flanks of this
sacred mountain in Western Tibet continue without a
break to the valley "rong" in southern Dolpo. Thus, the
area became known as Tiserong. |
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