Suzy

'So by trade, I am a lawyer. I live and work in San Francisco. But my passion are these valleys. I help run a Gallery and give talks on the art and material culture of Himachal Pradesh. I come over every year for a month and explore and record the culture of these hills.' I butted in, 'a kind of aesthetic anthropologist then'. 'Yes, thats it exactly. I like that, an aesthetic anthropologist.

'I have been here for a month, travelling with a guide, driver and cook. I have a friend in the Government, actually the Deputy Commissioner, who arranges for me to stay in the Government lodges. This ones a a palace compared to some of the shitholes we have stayed in. Its really the only way I can do what I do, there is no infrastructure in some of the valleys.

'Have you seen the towers temples? No? Oh my goodness, they are amazing and all over this area. I mean I call them temples, but thats not really what they are. This valleys used to be run by war lords, and these were their watch towers.

'And what about the real temples? I mean there are so many layers of religion here, that the temples are just fascinating. For instance, each valley has a God or Goddess. They are great big effigies, that are covered in these metal masks. And they visit each other on Palanquins. And each one has an Oracle, that interprets the movements if the Palanquin. They go into deep trances and wave their heads around and shriek and wail.

The people believe that they are descended from the seven brothers from the Mahabarat. Beamer, and Arjuna and the others, you know'. I shook my head, 'No, well its too long a story to go into now. But they have temples here too'.

'Then there are the parts of Hinduism that they don't want you to know about - the Yoginis. They were a cult of a holy women, but who were wild, and untamed, and worshipped by drink and dance. A bit like the Maenads. They were really wild. One of their number was ordered to start a temple here.

Suzy dropped her voice to a whisper, 'there are even remnants of human sacrifice here. They do this thing with ropes and dragging a volunteer...' she trailed off.

'And there is a Snake temple at Bachoonch, apparently this is where they were taught the indian Rope trick by the Gods, and its not just a tourist gimmick, I can tell you.

'You MUST go to the Sikhari Devi temple near Janjehill, and Pangi Sringar there is a Cheshnarg temple that us UNBELIEVABLE. In Dattenagar they have a row of the metal masks that are over a thousand years old. And the Temple at Nirmaund is creepy, I cant describe why.

'The wooden temples at Sungra and Nichar are out of this world, and you simply have to see the Nirat Surya temple'

'You are going over the Jelori Pass? Well just off the road, there is a a small lake with a big grease stain round the side. Once a year they have a pilgrimage there, and they offer ghee. There is a gutter for it, but apparently as the devotees walk round with offerings, it can get up to ankle deep.

'Its not a poor area, and despite everyone being quite modern and rational, scratch the surface and the belief in the old ways and the local gods is as deep as ever.

'For instance yesterday, I met a family at a temple. THey were a rich modern family, the father a Government official, the son training to be a doctor at Shimla. But they felt that there was a spirit in the house, so they came to find out why at the temple. The oracles went into a trance, and revealed that their Grandfather had promised some gold ot the temple 70 years before and had never made good. They were now being haunted and had to make good that debt. They sacrificed three goats!'

'Animal sacrifice! In Hunduism! I thought they didn't eat meat, let alone sacrifice!'.

'Are you kidding!' Suzy cackled. 'I have seen more bulls and goats sacrificed that you can imagine. And thats not even countering chickens!

'They are not a poor people in this area. They make a lot of money from apples. It was actually William Stokes, the son of Otis, the Elevator man, who came here and introduced them. He was a big philanthropist.

'But they are really caste conscious. I mean really. Most of them are Rajputs, you know the warrior caste. One time I was invited up to a village, and it was raining. They wouldn't invite me in because I was a 'ferenghi', and without caste'.

There is only one anthropologist that I know of who comes round here. Saks is his name, from the University of Chicago. Some of the places I have been to have only been visited by him and me. But I am not an academic. I cant understand a lot of what they talk about. They seem to make up words to deliberately obfuscate the meaning.

This was just a snapshot of the conversation we had on the first night. Suzy had so much passion for the Valleys of Himachel Pradesh, the people and the culture, that she couldn't help gushing, almost exploding with information about it. Her enthusiasm made it come alive in a way that most anthropologists can't. I felt a new understanding and respect for the people here.