Introduction
A caterpillar that changes into a plant, and if consumed provides powers of an aphrodisiac and amazing athletic abilities that provide an athlete the capability of breaking world records. To many Western ears, this sounds like a fantasy, but to many small Himalayan communities, the animal-plant hybrid is real, and has recently made a huge impact on day-to-day life. This pivotal moment in time for many of these small communities provides an opportunity to effectively and radically change and shape the people and preserve the culture of the Annapurna region in the Himalayas.
Yartsa Gunbu
The plant described is called དབྱར་རྩྭ་དགུན་འབུ (yartsa gunbu) in Tibetan. This is roughly translated as summer herb winter herb. In the Western world, it is known as the caterpillar fungus or cordyceps sinensis. The small communities of the Annapurna region within the Himalayas in Nepal, have been quiet and secluded for centuries, but due to demand of a newly re-discovered all-natural wonder drug, these communities have been inundated with scavengers looking for a harvest of yartsa gunbu. Within the last 15 years the prices has increased by more than 429%. This has had a radical impact on the culture and life of many Himalayan tribes in the Annapurna region.
Yartsa Gunbu is basically a dried caterpillar that serves as a host to a fungus that grows from its head. This is why it appears as though this creature transforms from an animal into a plant. The powers of this plant have been known for centuries to the local region, but it has recently sky-rocketed in popularity, which is causing radical shifts in culture and economies for the small communities, secluded communities in which this a...
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the name of a poisonous plant. This is quite scary as the home of the
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The subjects of Bierstadt’s Sierra Nevada Mountains (1868) are the mountains. The viewer is separated from the mountains by a valley. Positioned high above the valley, the viewer can see all it contains, this
The multiple use of plants used for nourishment, medicinal purposes and practical use were ignored by Lewis and Clark during their monumental trek across the United States. Rather than consider the Native Indian’s use of native plants they persisted on using Dr. Rush’s Thunderbolt pills that probably caused more problems than the condition that inflicted them. Many modern day cultures continue to ignore native remedies and have come to depend on synthetic pharmaceutical drug production. In recent years the wealth of indigenous knowledge has been acknowledged revealing the use of native plants and the importance it had in the survival of indigenous people.. Pharmaceutical companies have utilized the immense knowledge of the indigenous people and their use of natural plants. The application of natural plant species have revealed the main reasons mankind has survived into present day. Following is a few of the plants, their application and their specific purposes.
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1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.
... environmental degradation. In this paper the impacts of human activity on the communities of the Himalayas and Mt. Everest proved to increase environmental degradation at the cost of the Himalayan communities. The World-Systems Theory was used to explain the issue of core countries and peripheral countries and how their different roles in the world system have shaped environmental impacts. There is great certainty that our growing population has disrupted the ecosystem in many negative ways, it is just a matter of time before the majestic Mt. Everest is destroyed forever. But for now, as the world continues to grow and Mount Everest continues to be a beacon for those who seek adventure or thrill it will continue to be degraded unless regulation is developed. Until then Mount Everest will continue to be “the highest junkyard on the face of the Earth.” (Barry Bishop)
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Wedged between the high wall of the Himalaya and the steamy jungles of the Indian plains, a small land-locked country Nepal is a land of snow peaks and Sherpas, yaks and yetis, monasteries and mantras, situated between India and China. Eight of the world’s ten highest mountain peaks are in Nepal, including Mount Everest. Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. And, most importantly, Nepal was never ruled by any country, never ever.
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