The Last Lost Kingdom

Text and Photos David Rengel

intersecting territories, the Silk Road also brought about the exchange of ideas: scientific knowledge, craft and architectural techniques, and the interchange of religious views. The stories of explorers who ventured along these routes were formative to the discovery of sections of Asia that were once thought to be completely inaccessible.

The Land the Road Forgot

One such place along the old salt road (and quite possibly, owing to recent archaeological evidence, along the old Silk Road) has, until recently, remained relatively unreachable.

This is the district of Mustang, or the “Land of Lo” – a rarely visited remote area located between the Tibetan Plateau on the one side, and the Dolpa and Manang Districts of Nepal on the other. The ancient kingdom, which is now annexed to Nepal, is occasionally mistaken as the mythical Shangri-la. The walled capital, Lo Manthang, is widely considered one of the most well-preserved historical fortresses on Earth, and is currently being considered by UNESCO as a candidate to be declared a World Heritage Site.

The homes located on the lower levels also have small barns and stables. Firewood is scarce in this arid land, and so the Loba burn dried yak and goat dung for fuel and warmth.

Mustang is scattered with crumbling buildings nestled between promontories: defence forts, chortens (stupas) and funerary monuments decorated with iconographic paintings and mandalas. One of the most important Loba legends recalls an invasion of demons who intimidated the kingdom’s people until the eighth century, when Guru Padmasambhava Rinpoche, founder of the Tibetan Nyingma school of Buddhism, overthrew the demons. The myth has it that the blood from the battle dyed the cliffs of Drakmar red, and that the heart of the devil was locked away under the foundations of the Lo Gekar Monastery.

Archaeological Exploration

One of the great secrets of Mustang is the numerous caves carved out by people in the mountains. Some of these caves are isolated, whereas others appear in groups, sometimes forming eight or nine tiers. These caves are thought to be at least 2,000 years old.

The total number of caves in Mustang is around 10,000. Remarkably, there are still Loba families living in some of them today. Excavations in these caves have yielded several important findings. In one expedition to Alto Mustang in Samdzong village in 2009, archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer discovered materials in a tomb that suggested changes to the geographic reach of the Silk Road. According to Margarita Gleba from the Mcdonald Institute of Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, they found evidence of silk fibres and Indian dyes in the caves. As these materials were not produced in the Mustang area, they had to be imported from China and India.

A year later, a team of archaeologists found 27 human remains with cut marks into the bones in Samdzong’s two biggest caves; the skeletons date back to between the third and the eighth centuries. Scientists concluded that the cuts into the bones relate to the Buddhist sky burial. Even today, when a member of the Loba tribe dies in Mustang, the body is cut up so that the remains can be taken away by vultures.

The Origins of Mustang

Legend has it that a fierce soldier named Ame Pal founded the Kingdom of Lo in 1380, and built Lo Manthang on “the plain of prayers”. He was on a pilgrimage from Tibet to India when an old man in the area had a prophetic dream that a man from the north would become the ruler of the Mustang territory. Ame Pal chose to fulfil this prophecy, and stayed to build the Ketcher Dzong fortress, from which he launched numerous attacks to unify the various tribes within the Mustang region.

Archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer discovered materials in a tomb that suggested changes to the geographic reach of the Silk Road

Before he died, he said that “the road would be very useful for the local population because all their supplies come from the Tibetan region”. The king added: “People get sick and die because they cannot get treatment in time, and the road can change this.”

While the king acknowledged the possible benefits that the new road would bring, he also expressed his fear that the development could have negative consequences, such as damage to the ancient monasteries and Buddhist monuments that are scattered throughout the kingdom. He added that a road in and out of the area could also bring about illegal trade in valuable historical objects that have been kept safe in secluded Mustang for hundreds of years. The movement to build the road “has to be studied very carefully”, he warned.

The Nepalese government says the road will yield more opportunities to strengthen trade between India and China, and benefit Nepal economically. Bijaya Shrestha, an economics professor at Tribhuvan University, commented: “Much of the younger generation have migrated to other regions to seek employment and study, so the road will bring more opportunities for education and employment, and could also promote tourism in the region, since it is difficult to reach Mustang.” Shrestha adds that the new generation wants Internet and access to Western medicine, but that the community elders fear that the traditions and heritage of the people will disappear as more and more people leave the community.

The building of the new road has been greeted with enthusiasm by some locals, as the arrival of motor vehicles and more visitors offers an opportunity for them to improve their economic and educational situations. The local economy is increasingly reliant on trade with Tibet as well as tourism, and so many Loba people welcome increased accessibility. They add that their more traditional modes of transport will not disappear, as the area is still easier to navigate in the traditional way – on horseback. ag