The Moravian missionary scholar August Hermann Francke (1870-1930) left a rich legacy of research on Ladakh and the neighbouring regions of the Western Himalaya. His contributions include his two-volume Antiquities of Indian Tibet as well... more
The Moravian missionary scholar August Hermann Francke (1870-1930) left a rich legacy of research on Ladakh and the neighbouring regions of the Western Himalaya. His contributions include his two-volume Antiquities of Indian Tibet as well as A Lower Ladakhi Version of the Kesar Saga (1905-1941) and dozens of shorter publications on topics ranging from rock inscriptions to music and folk songs. Francke of course did not work alone. By the nature of his research interests he drew on indigenous sources of knowledge, both written and oral. He therefore needed the assistance of Ladakhi and Lahuli colleagues to locate, transcribe and interpret the texts that he required. In this essay, I place Francke’s researches in a wider social context. The essay is arranged chronologically, with sections on the different phases of Francke’s activity, beginning with his apprentice years in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. The objective is to show how his interactions with local colleagues informed and enriched Francke’s development as a scholar, and to celebrate their contributions.
In 1933 the Indian scholar and social activist Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963) compiled a set of four Tibetan-language readers and a grammar for use in Ladakhi schools, together with his Ladakhi colleague Tsetan Phuntsog. The readers... more
In 1933 the Indian scholar and social activist Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963) compiled a set of four Tibetan-language readers and a grammar for use in Ladakhi schools, together with his Ladakhi colleague Tsetan Phuntsog. The readers contain a mix of material from Western, Indian, Ladakhi and Tibetan sources. This includes simple essays about ‘air’ and ‘water’, selections from Aesop’s fables, Indian folk stories, biographies of famous people in Ladakhi and Tibetan history, poems by Ladakhi authors, and extracts from the Treasury of Elegant Sayings by Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182-1251). This essay begins with a review of earlier Tibetan-language schoolbooks published in British India, and then discusses the circumstances that led to Sankrityayan’s involvement in the Ladakh project. The second part of the essay examines the contents of the readers and the grammar, including—where possible—the authorship of particular sections. Finally, the essay briefly reviews linguistic developments in Ladakh since the publication of the textbooks.
Ladakh's first weather station was set up in the late 19th century under the auspices of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Henry Francis Blanford, the founder of the IMD, wrote an influential paper on Indian weather patterns,... more
Ladakh's first weather station was set up in the late 19th century under the auspices of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Henry Francis Blanford, the founder of the IMD, wrote an influential paper on Indian weather patterns, citing data from Ladakh. A series of Ladakhi Christians served as meteorological observers until the 1960s.
A new study about the war between Mustang and Jumla in the year 1723, written from the background of two legal documents issued by the 7th Dalai Lama in the year 1724 und Khang-chen nas in 1726.
