Josh Antonio Dr. Julie Tate Anthropology 220, Cross Cultural Studies 5/10//2024 Navigating Cultural Transformations Throughout human history, sacred mountains have played a pivotal role as centers of spirituality, admiration, and cultural identity. In the chapter "Century of the Wind," Wade Davis explores the complex system of sacred mountain worship in the Himalayas, revealing the timeless reasons behind this age-old culture. The nature of mountain worship, its roots to the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, and the ways in which Himalayan people display a shared faith. Through their majestic presence and obvious spiritual forces, mountains are worshipped. Mountains are viewed as bridges between the divine and earthly realms, especially in the context of the Himalayas, and are associated with aspirations for knowledge and higher truths. Travelers to sacred summits like Mount Kailash or Amarnath represent spiritual aspirations and communion with the heavenly energies thought to be housed inside these natural wonders (Page 158). These mountains have a spiritual as well as physical attraction that draws followers looking for spiritual uplift. Along mountain pilgrim routes, pilgrims frequently perform rituals including lighting butter lamps, praying flags, and leaving symbolic offerings of food, cash, or priceless objects at hallowed spots. These deeds have great …show more content…
Mountains are regarded in Bon cosmology as cosmic points that unite several dimensions of existence, or axis Mundi. They are holy places deserving of worship since they are inhabited by guardian spirits and gods. Bon customs, like walking around holy mountains and praying to mountain spirits, demonstrate the rooted conviction that these natural formations are holy. The Himalayan region's cultural customs and spiritual perspectives have been shaped by the centuries-old admiration for mountains held by the Bon tradition (Page