Tradition and Modernity in Tibet and the Himalayas
Principal investigator: Prof. Hildegard Diemberger – University of Cambridge, Mongolian and Inner Asia Studies Unit.

The project aims to make a detailed study on the tradition and modernity concept, through the analysis of the social, cultural and environmental life in the remote areas of Tibet and Himalaya. The project focuses on two strands of work: the study of a Tibetan woman-lama (Samding Dorje Phagmo) and her reincarnations, and the preservation of Tibetan-Mongolian rare books and manuscripts.  Both projects address key aspects of the preservation of Tibetan cultural heritage. In 2007 Hildegard Diemberger carried out two research campaigns in Tibet and Bhutan that led to the acquisition of new materials concerning the Dorje Phagmo tradition and also published a monograph on the Dorje Phagmo female reincarnation line. She now envisages a new publication on the life of Chokyi Dronma (1422-1455), the first of the female reincarnations, focused on unique and unknown sources of the Bodongpa tradition and on the reproduction of ancient mural paintings. To this, a study on the relationship between sacred landscape and mountaineering (Chinese and Tibetan) linked to the Samding Dorje Pagmo project has been added, since the deity Dorje Phagmo has been identified in many different elements of the sacred landscape in Tibet.

Aestethics and ritual in the Himalayas
Principal investigator: Dr. Martino Nicoletti.

The project has, since 2006, launched several research linked to the following fields: publication of 3 works in the collection Cinnabaris – Series of Oriental Studies, launch of the new series Liminalia – Sketches of Visual Anthropology and Aesthetics and  research aimed to the publication of the first two works, launch of the ethnomusicological project Sound’s Seeds and printing of the first CD of the series: The Path of Light: The Ritual Music of the Tibetan Bon.  Research activity will be aimed to the realization of a second CD devoted to the Newari liturgical musical tradition of charya and professional recording of songs belonging to the musical traditions of the Chitral (Pakistan), editing and publication of the fourth volume of the "Cinnabaris" by Gisele Krauskopff (CNRS Paris) devoted to the Tharu civilisation.

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Aesthetics of body. Performance and religion in Himalaya
Principal investigator: Dr. Alessandra Campoli

Literature research will be performed on iconography and rituals connected to divinities in the Dolpo region to back up and complete testimonies collected on the field in 2007.  The Tibetan language texts Klu Bum and Klum Chod are particularly interesting in this sense.  A new book set for publication in 2008, A. Campoli, Ritual Art oh the Kingdom of Mithila. Traditional Paintings by Janakpur Women in Nepal, will receive final editing. Finally, research on traditional music begun in 2007 will be continued, and specific data and artifacts will be collected for exhibition of the results of these studies to the public.

Intimate glance through the sacred Himalayan path
Principal investigator: Dr. Riccardo Vrech.

The aim of the project is to complete the collection of data regarding the Bon tradition and the publication of the results in a book.  The data will be collected during meetings with some of the most important masters of the Bon tradition, sacred pre-Buddhist doctrine, concerning the historical nexus of the Gcod ritual. 

Gender Identity, Agri-cultures and Development in Uttarakhand
Principal investigator: Dr. Federica Riva.

The research, which begins with an anthropological analysis of agricultural rituals, is focused on the symbolic meaning linked to gender roles in the Himalayan rural environment: spaces, images, taboo that define the social values and cultural restriction to the female intervention in agriculture. In fact, a deeper comprehension of the social and cultural dimension of the agricultural practices in the mountainous environment could be useful in order to better understand the material and symbolic gender dynamics at the local level that restrict female participation to the process of agricultural transformation in the Himalaya. Indeed, it will help in identifying the socio-cultural constraints which prevent women’s access to control and/or ownership of the means of agricultural production.

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