Pahari Culture of the Himalayas. The Kullu Valley lies within the Western Himalayan range, with the Beas River originating at the head of the Kullu Valley and flowing out into the Punjab plains. Close by, to the northeast of the valley lies the Rohtang Pass which crosses between Kullu Valley and Lahaul and Spiti, and forms a traditional and ancient trade route to the Greater Himalaya regions of Tibet and Ladakh (Gardner 1995). Crossing over the Rohtang pass into Lahaul and Spiti, one crosses into an area more characterized by Tibeto-Burmese peoples and Lamanistic Buddhism, broadly termed Bhotiyas from the High Himalaya (Berreman 1963).

The lower Himalayas form a cultural tradition that spreads from eastern Nepal to western Kashmir (Berreman 1972), embracing the Kullu Valley (Figure 1). The different cultures of the lower Himalaya are collectively termed Pahari (literally, ‘of the mountains’) (Berreman 1970), referring to both the cultures and languages within the area. Pahari languages are derived

Figure 1.

from Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language (Harcourt 1869; Berreman 1963, 1972). The classification of Pahari culture serves to distinguish it from North Indian culture and from the High Himalayan Bhotian culture. Pahari as a Hinduized Himalayan culture is both similar to, and unique from, the North Indian culture, although the two share a common history.

Pahari culture is most characterized by a unique, or ‘unorthodox’, Hinduism (Berreman 1972) and a equally distinct caste organization from that of the plains. Pahari culture is also marked by a small-holder, terrace agriculture in which women play a central role. In a related manner, seclusion or purdah are not a part of the cultural system, nor is dowry traditionally practiced. Caste organization is developed around a basic division between higher castes and lower castes (Scheduled Castes, so called ‘untouchables’, or Harijans). The Rajput caste, and to a lesser extent Brahmins, represent the higher-castes, but the Rajput caste is dominant both in numbers and wealth (Berreman 1970:75). The Scheduled Castes (untouchables) form the other sector of the population, and are largely service castes with either an indigenous history in the area, or immigrating into the area as laborers, but likely a mix of both. Farm lands are small-scale in nature and dependent upon inputs from common property forest resources, as is the rearing of cattle. In the 1980/81 census, 80% of land holdings in the Kullu Valley were less than two hectares (24 bighas) while 58% were below one hectare (ODA report 1994; Vol II, Annex I).

History of the Kullu Valley. Historically, at least back to the first century AD the Thakurs, who now form part of the Rajput caste, and are predominant throughout the Manali area, were the aboriginal rulers of the Kullu Valley². The Rajput caste in the hills has a long history of land ownership and rule. Berreman refers to the two major ancestral stocks of the area; the lower caste, early indigenous groups and the Indo-Aryan speaking group of the Khasa (or Khasiya, the ancient Thakurs and present Rajputs in the Kullu Valley) who form the higher castes. The Scheduled Castes are associated with occupational specialties while the Khasas were the invading dominant agricultural groups. It is assumed by most, however, that the Scheduled Castes were the "indigenous" peoples of the area, previous to the Thakurian period when the Thakurs (or Khasas) became the local chiefs in the First Century AD (Hutchison and Vogel 1933). Hutchison and Vogel state that:

An historical understanding of the two major caste distinctions of the area, the upper caste Rajputs and lower caste Harijans (Scheduled Castes), brings some of the present dynamics into historical context. The reference to "agricultural tribes in the Panjab Hills" puts into perspective the predominance of land ownership and forest-agricultural livelihoods amongst the Rajput caste, while wage labor and landlessness (until recent land reforms in Himachal Pradesh), is more characteristic of the Scheduled Castes of the area. The household interviews in two villages of the Kullu Valley suggest a strong pattern of wage labor (agricultural labor, service sector such as carpenters, blacksmiths) amongst the Scheduled Castes especially in the poorer village of Chichoga, while the Rajputs enter very little into wage labor and dedicate themselves to agriculture.

Forest use is also linked traditionally to caste in that forest usufructory rights were given in the 1886 settlement report by the pre-Independence colonial government to landholders who were, in the Kullu Valley, from the Rajput caste. Thus, the forest and agricultural cycle is one that has been developed historically among landowners within primarily the Rajput caste, and only with the Scheduled Castes of the area in recent history due to periods of land reform in the 1950’s and 1970’s (ODA 1993, vol. II, Annex II).

The Changing Landscape. In recent decades, an increasingly important part of rural household livelihoods and economies has been the establishment of apple orchards. The Kullu Valley has been transformed from a mixed field crop agricultural landscape to a fruit belt, with apple trees sprawling upwards on the mountainsides, and even within once irrigated rice fields. The area has observed the slow development of orchards over the last 30 years, with apple trees having been planted by almost all agricultural households over the past 10 years. The existence and transformation to orchards brings in a largely unknown element to the use of common property resources and to women’s roles within orcharding livelihoods. Orchards are almost entirely men’s responsibility in terms of much of the care of the trees, and although women are involved in some of the labor as well, men control the income from the apple crop. In a meeting with eight mahila mandals of the Kullu Valley, the question was asked to a group of over 20 women how they felt about the transition to orchards, considering the male-controlled nature of apple production. One woman responded, "We’ll still have to do all the work!!" The rest of the women agreed, and there was no concern on the part of the women that they were losing ‘control’ or ‘influence’ by a switch to a male dominated activity. One woman explained that agricultural decisions were made by both the man and the woman, and apple orcharding would be no different.

The changes occurring in the Kullu Valley bring an entirely new dimension into women’s negotiations of livelihood strategies based on common property forest use. The area is within a gradual process of change where most households have planted apple trees in the same plots of land where women are still fertilizing and planting crops in the ‘traditional’ way although eventually crops will be crowded out by large apple trees³. When women were asked what they would do without the crops they are presently producing, they responded that they could buy all their food with the cash income from the apple harvest. They also responded that grass still grows below large apples trees, and makes good animal fodder. This suggests women still see animal husbandry as a viable part of their future livelihood negotiations.

The next few years will be interesting in terms of some of women’s negotiations in private as well as common property land use. It will also be of interest to watch the development of women’s organizations in the face of changing livelihood strategies. It would be prudent to note, however, that this is not the first livelihood shift, and probably not the last, to occur in the valley. During the 1800’s, the Kullu Valley was deeply involved in the production of opium and tobacco for national and foreign markets (Harcourt 1869). At present, the ‘traditional’ system looks much more oriented towards household consumption of beans, corn, millets, amaranth, rice and vegetables. Yet, this was not always the system and clearly the agricultural system of the Kullu Valley has been a dynamic one, responding and continually negotiating with new influences throughout history.