Malana village is one of the oldest democracies in the world. It is an isolated village that still follows a lifestyle way different from mainland India. Most people know Malana for their award winning hash cream-Malana cream. I am more interested to experience the culture and the place.
Coincidently, there were a lot of people on the trail dressed in traditional clothes. Turns out, I've reached on the birthday of the God here and also there's another Goddess visiting the village.
(they are visiting Malana from another village)
I was a bit confused about taking pictures since it is restricted along with the untouchability rules in place. But, everyone was pretty friendly even though I was told not to focus on the people and inside of the houses.
First things first; you can’t touch anything inside the village. This is applicable to everyone outside of their village. The first thing I noticed entering the village is the sign board that says touching holy place is a punishable offence. This extends to pretty much everything, people, walls, houses, pets and so on.
There is defined routes outsiders can take inside the village. If you are buying something from a store, you need to put the cash down and they’ll also put the item you bought down. This extends to many other areas. Malani people can’t eat anything cooked by outsiders. They need to follow purification rituals if they break these rules.
I knew about the untouchability in Malana but I was a bit scared how it works! However, the villagers take that responsibility on themselves instead of imposing it on you. I mean, they’ll move away and give you the way if we come across on the trail. Even the kids over there are aware of their customs and will keep the distance.
Some online sources attribute this to the caste system. However, from my interactions with the locals and the outsiders who have lived there for a long time, I got different perspectives. In fact, they don’t follow the rituals of other mainstream religion.
The temples here are made of wood and stones. On the other side, there were skulls and horns of animals as well.
It was surprising to know they don’t even do any Puja or services like other religions. They only follow the rules and messages of Jamdagni rishi; a great sage from the Tretayuga. This includes the administration of the village to the justice system.
The concept of Devata or God-like figures is very common in Himachal Pradesh. The whole state is also known as Dev-Boomi or land of Devatas/Gods. It is a very common sight to see deities being carried on shoulders with unique musical instruments and men making a procession. They walk for days or months sometimes, takes the mountain trails and reach other villages where the deity meets the deity of the hosting village.
The day I reached Malana, it was Jamdagni rishi’s birthday. He is also called as Jamlu rishi by the locals. Another deity from a village called Pini was also visiting the village. So, the whole place was crowded. There were around 1000 people who came to attend this event.
Accommodation for outsiders are built a bit far from the village. There are a few hotels, cafes and tents. Nothing fancy but just basic facilities are covered. Once I entered the village, I was approached by people selling weed and accommodation. I wasn’t feeling good about the places though.
Luckily, I met a couple who came to the village to attend a wedding. They had a local contact who arranged a stay for them. I booked a room next to them. Later, another couple of doctors also joined us for dinner. They’d also offered a ride while I was climbing up the road alone in the morning.
We spent the whole night talking to the teenagers from the village.
Food you get here is also very basic. But, the view compensates for that. There were many people from Pini walking around in the morning here. These are the people who came with the devata. Their outfits were interesting with leaves and flowers on the hats and ladies in traditional attire and silver jewelries.
With all the rules and rituals, the last thing I expected was to interact with the locals. However, the owner of the place we stayed is one of the hangout spots for the local teenage guys. They came there to chill and ended up spending time with us through midnight.
They were the most fun and happy people I’ve ever met. These kids were 18 and less. However, they were more mature than most people I know at my age. I was also surprised to know these kids get married way too young.
One of the 18 year among them just got engaged and everyone was teasing him. Turns out it is quite normal for them to find a partner and get married that young. Plus, they were happy with it and didn’t feel compelled to do it either.
Also, these kids start to smoke up very early in life, it’s very normal for them. They also told the real stories of their lives. Such stories demystified all the rumors about the village. Our conversations went from their fines for alcohol, to their lives to hunting and petting a snow leopard cub.
Living in the remotest place and among all the ancient rules, one would expect them to be far away from the modern world. However, these kids do use Instagram and internet. Few of them have their rap songs posted and used in reels. They do have schools and most of them drop out as well. After going to cities, experiencing everything around them, many of them still want to be living in their culture. They are also happy and proud about their homeland and traditions.
The main income for the village is from the cannabis cream they make yearly. Malana cream is the finest in the world and they spent few months cultivating the plant and making the cream by hand.
I’m told they’re not allowed to do any other businesses. So, the cafes and hotels here are run by people from other places. And, these days, there are a few people who go for normal jobs in the cities.
Malani people speak a unique language only they know. It is called Kanashi and it’s believed to have be the language of demons. In fact, with all the reference to the ancient times which dates back to the Hindu scripts, Malana people get a reputation of descendants of Asuras among other villages in the state.
The next day, I was leaving in the morning itself since there was no water in the washrooms. It was so cold at night. I couldn’t sleep as well. With all the treks I thought I would be dead by night. Plus, the weather was getting cloudy. So, if it rains, it would be difficult to go down the trail.
Since Malana is at an altitude of 8000m, it starts to snow instead of raining. While I was leaving, I was trying to take pictures of the public places. Since photography was also restricted, I was a bit scared to take the photos. If something goes wrong, I was alone and the police doesn’t come to the village. Monetary Fine was just simple thing.
However, the guys from Pini asked me to click their pictures and made profile pictures. When they came to know I was leaving before the festivities, they asked if I went to the highest point from where I can see the whole village.
Then three of them took me through the village to this place from where you can see the whole village and another place called Rasol on the other side. They were so careful taking me through the lanes of the villages I was avoiding. At some point we stopped and they checked with the villagers if I can go through those routes.
They were really sweet to take me to the place where the deity-Bagasidh was placed and surrounded by people.
Since I was carrying a DSLR around my neck, one of the Malani kid got interested and started following us. He might be around 4 or 5. He asked what it was and I showed how camera works, definitely from a distance. When I asked if I can click his picture, he refused.
But, he kept following us and the guys with me talked to him in the local language. So, finally, one of the guys stood with the kid at a distance and I took the picture. I’m impressed with how even the kids knows the rules of the village. I think I’ll cherish these photographs!
Another interesting moment was meeting this girl and she posed for the photo with two of her friends. I was showing the pictures and she took my phone directly from my hand. That was also a bit surprising given all the rules.
When I left, the feast or the dham was just starting. There were blood stains at different places, probably from the sacrifice or slaughtering of the goats.
It almost started drizzling and it took me around 2 hours to reach the entrance gate of Malana. Once I was at the gate, it as pouring and I left in a taxi reliving the whole 10kms I walked up the previous day!
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