Dah Hanu

Dah Hanu

LAND OF THE DARD SURVIVORS

October. The Indus has changed colour. Its brown summer fury has dimmed into an emerald green which, merging into the fiery rainbow hues of the various elements of the Ladakhi east, decorates the sun-drenched slopes and the shady and mountains, fills the icy air with incense, illumines the himalayan space. The nearer we approach winter, the more Ladakh becomes powerful, entire, disturbing for some, magical for the mountain folk. This is truly the best time to meet the Dard people and to live through a meeting with Time which has taken refuge in the villages still unknown to the foreign gaze.

The road from Leh is simple. All one has to do is to follow the river for 150'kms. On the right bank, some patches of green (children of the Indus?) shelter the Dards. Dah is their best preserved village. Are we still in Ladakh? Tomato fields, a thousand varieties of flowers, apricot trees, walnut trees, grape vines climbing over poplar trees, green fields...
Contrary to the Tibetomongoloid Ladakhis, the Dards are Aryan. In the 5th century, they were the first to settle down in Ladakh. Archaeological evidence is found of their presence up to Chantang and along the present Srinagar-Leh road. But the major part of this people has been swallowed up in the Tibeto-Buddhist and Islamic waves. It is a miracle of history that about 2,000 to 3,000 Dards still continue their traditions, their customs and their unique religion.
It is the time for harvesting. The dzos and the cows go round in circles over the barley. Their circumambulations crush the harvest. Then the men and women, armed with rakes and the wind, their ally whom they call out to by whistling, separate the chaff from the grain while colouring the sky with golden powder.

It is also the moment for gathering the tomatoes, then drying them on the roofs. It will be their main winter vegetable. The Dard dress is simple but enriched with a strange peculiarity. All the men and women wear a flowery headgear. The alkekengi (a wild strawberry) brings wealth and protection against demons, the others have a more decorative purpose. In the fields, on the roads, bunches of smiling human beings. The Dards are always smiling, conscious of the wealth of their land, proud of their survival, of their liberty between two giants.

Even though officially they are Buddhists, their faith is still directed towards their own gods. Their pantheon which is far less abundant than that of the Hindus, is nevertheless large. Their concept of creation is interesting. Gods and men lived together in the beginning, but there was some lack of harmony between them. Together they decided to put an end to this cohabitation. The gods then took the direction of the skies. To celebrate this separation, they dance, every three years in the square at Dah. And the Gods join them in the dance.
Another valley, flirting with the Pakistani border is also Dard territory. Hanu is much poorer than the Indus villages, the houses seem to form part of the mountain, only the terraced fields indicate some human presence. To reach the villages of Yogma and Gongma, you have to walk a few nours by following the course of a slim river with wooded banks. Still further, around a dozen scattered habitations shelter the shepherds and some permanent residents.

While a family invites us in around their hearth, after having brought in their cattle, one cannot assert in what century and to which country they belong. Cut off from all points of normal reference, time seems to have stopped. We discover one of the roots of humanity, not aware of the tree it has generated. It is perhaps better thus.

Dah-Hanu is now open to all. It is important that each traveller be made aware of the influence he has over these regions, particularly over their unique people who are in great danger. We know the astronomical speed with which traditions and techniques can disappear when confronted with other modes of life. We tourists have a basic responsibility when we go out to encounter virgin lands. We should not in any event impose on them our world view but try to understand theirs.