UNESCO and Royal Enfield joined hands in 2022 to discover, document and promote the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India — a journey that began in the Himalayas with “The Great Himalayan Exploration”.
According to UNESCO, the ICH of a country can be defined as “practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, recognise as part of their cultural heritage.” With this project, we invite you to ride along and experience the culturally charged atmosphere of pristine lands as we navigate our way around their wealth of ICH practices. The collaborative effort aims to be a platform for the Himalayan communities to tell their own stories and create an alternative repository for their living and intangible legacies — some of which may soon be lost in the face of modernity.
/-
We invite you to be a part of this journey, engage with the Himalayan communities, and document their Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) practices for UNESCO and Royal Enfield. Post your details with us and we will be in touch to share our screening process. Participate today and get a chance to work from the mountains, for the mountains.
The highways in Mizoram are dotted with several Ngah Loh Dawr or “shopkeeper-less shops.” The price for each item on sale is mentioned on chalkboards; passers-by are trusted to pick up what they need and put the listed amount in a box. These stalls represent how honesty and mutual respect remain the pillars of Mizo society.
According to legend, the higher slopes of Mt. Khangchendzonga are guarded by supernatural forces, including big-footed yetis and demon guards. Historically, many mountaineers stop short of the summit out of deference for local beliefs. Nevertheless, the thin ice, bitter cold, and lack of sherpas make it a deadly climb with a fatality rate that surpasses that of Mt. Everest.
In mid-January, or the month of Magh of the Assamese calendar, the banks of Jonbeel Wetland in Assam are ripe with rich colours, smells and jubilant sounds, for the Jon Beel Mela is underway. The centuries-old community fair is a three-day event and strikingly unique for the fact that it still implements the age-old tradition of a barter system for trading goods.
In Kongthong, whistling is a way of communication, especially between the mother and her children. According to this tradition, each newborn is assigned both a regular name and a distinct melodious tune by the mother. The tune becomes their identity and the sound to which they respond throughout their lives. No two persons share the same "name".
School-going children sweeping the school grounds is a common sight in Mizoram. This tradition is practised in Mizo schools to instil the spirit of tlawm-ngaih-na among the younger generations — tlawm-ngaih-na being the Mizo ethic of altruism, discipline, and community responsibility.
Meghalaya is home to about 125 sacred groves. It is believed that cutting of trees, and plucking of flowers, fruits, and twigs can anger the guardian deity and misfortune would befall transgressors. According to local legend, army officers have tried to take out wooden logs from the forest, but their trucks refused to move until the logs were unloaded and put back.
In North Sikkim, the yak herders, known as the Drokpas, do not bring down the yaks from higher altitudes to the lower valleys for grazing during the winters. It’s easier for them to take their herd up to the higher slopes, where the wind blows hard and clears away the snow and frost from the ground, exposing grass on which the animals can graze.
Unlike in the dowry system, the groom’s family pays the bride’s family as part of marriage rituals across various communities in the North East region. Among many tribes of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland, payment would traditionally include mithuns (gayal), copper gongs, silver earrings, cornelian bead necklaces, and traditional woven shawls.
According to legend, Apatani women would tattoo their faces to "cover" their beauty so as to discourage abductors. Others believe it was a marker of their strength — the process of tattooing being a painful process. For the Wancho men, tattoos were a sign of manhood. The right to be tattooed was earned on the battlefield through the capturing of enemy heads.
Maa Kamakhya Devi temple in Guwahati celebrates the yearly menstruation course of Goddess Kamakhya during the four-day festival of the Ambuchi Mela. Lakhs and lakhs of worshippers visit the temple to consult sadhus and aghoris or tantrics believed to have powers that can ward away negative energies through the use of rituals usually involving gory animal sacrifices.
