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Dakpa Sheri (, ), explained as "Pure Crystal Mountain" and also known as Tsari, is a mountain in the eponymously named Tsari region in Lhöntse County of Tibet's
Shannan Prefecture ShannanThe official spelling according to (), also romanized from Tibetan as Lhoka (; ), is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö Mon ...
. The mountain is considered sacred for Tibetans and the pilgrimage route circumambulates the mountain. Takpa Siri ridge consists of four hills/ passes and four water bodies. Following border tensions between China and India, the pilgrimage was stopped after 1956.''''


Etymology

Dakpa Sheri is usually classified as a ''néri (né–ri,'' abode–mountain'')'' with the word "abode" being used in reference to deities. The ''Néri'' can be seen as the focus of Tibetan worship or ''kora''. The word Tsari (''Tsa-ri'') has been used for both the geographical area surrounding Dakpa Sheri as well as the mountain itself. ''Tsa'' is a consonant of the
Tibetan script The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system (''abugida'') of Brahmic scripts, Indic origin used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese language, Sikkimese, Ladakhi language, Ladakhi, Jire ...
while ''ri'' means 'mountain'. Variations include ''rTsá-ri'' which is explained as "Psychic Energy Channel Mountain", ''rTsa-ba'' which is explained as ''Foundation Mountain", ''Tswa-ri'' is explained as "Herb Mountain" and ''Tsa-ri rTswa-gon'' is "Superior Herb Psychic Energy Channel Mountain". The variation ''Tsa-ri-tra'' is a
transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
of the Sanskrit word ''Cáritra''.


Exploration

F. M.Bailey, H. T. Morshead, F. Ludlow, F. Kingdon-Ward have written about the mountain and the pilgrimage. In 1999, Toni Huber published his thesis on ''The Cult of the Pure Crystal Mountain.''


Geography

According to the Indian official T. S. Murty, Dakpa Sheri is located on the water-parting line of the
Yume Chu Yume or Yümé, also spelt Yümai (), is a township in the Lhuntse County in Tibet region of China. Yume is on the bank of the Yume Chu river, a tributary of the Subansiri River, which it joins the China–India border close to Taksing. The to ...
and Pindigo rivers. Both the rivers are tributaries of the
Subansiri River The Subansiri River; is a trans- Himalayan river and a tributary of the Brahmaputra River that flows through Tibet's Lhünzê County, Shannan Prefecture and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The Subansiri is long, with a draina ...
near the China–India
Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
, with Yume Chu being on the Chinese side and the Pindigo river on the Indian side.


Ningkor and Ringkor pilgrimages

Tibetan Buddhists consider Tsari sacred, in the same league with
Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It h ...
. Dakpa Sheri is regarded so sacred that its circumambulation is believed to derive as much merit as the circumambulation of
Mount Kailas Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
.
Claude Arpi Claude Arpi is French-born author, journalist, historian and tibetologist born in 1949 in Angoulême who lives in Auroville, India. He is the author of several books including ''The Fate of Tibet: When Big Insects Eat Small Insects'', and severa ...
, The Pure Crystal Mountain Pilgrimage of Tsari, extract from ''1962: The McMahon Line Saga'', posted 25 June 2014.
The
circumambulation Circumambulation (from Latin ''circum'' around and ''ambulātus ''to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practice (known in S ...
of the Dakpa Sheri (Takpa Siri or Tsari) is of two types: the Tsari Ningkor () and the Tsari Ringkor. Tsari Ningkor is annual while the longer Tsari Ringkor (also called the Rongkor Chenmo) is twelve yearly. The Dakpa Sheri mountain attracts annual pilgrims who circle it over 3 days, passing through seven steep mountain passes. In addition, there is a larger pilgrimage that takes place once every 12 years that goes through the tribal territory of Assam Himalaya. It goes down to the confluence with the
Subansiri river The Subansiri River; is a trans- Himalayan river and a tributary of the Brahmaputra River that flows through Tibet's Lhünzê County, Shannan Prefecture and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The Subansiri is long, with a draina ...
(Chayul Chu river). Then it follows Chayul Chu upstream and later
Yume Chu Yume or Yümé, also spelt Yümai (), is a township in the Lhuntse County in Tibet region of China. Yume is on the bank of the Yume Chu river, a tributary of the Subansiri River, which it joins the China–India border close to Taksing. The to ...
, to return to the starting point at Chösam. The last Ringkor was in 1956. The next one due in 1968 as well as successive pilgrimages have not occurred due to border tensions between China and India. The pilgrimage is sometimes done along with a visit to the Tso Karpo or the Tsari Sarpa. These are respectively called the Tsari Nyingpa () and the Tsari Sarpa (). Before Tibet was anneed by China, the Migyitun (presently administered by China) town use to play a central role in the longer 12 year-pilgrimage. Tibetan officials and pilgrims numbering about 20,000 assembled in the town to make arrangements for the pilgrimage. In order to induce the Assam Himalayan tribes ( Tagin tribe) to allow unmolested passage to the pilgrims, the Tibetan government use to give lavish presents to them. Before the annexation of Tibet by China,
Longju Longju or Longzu () is a disputed area in the eastern sector of the China–India border, controlled by China but claimed by India. The village of Longju is located in the Tsari Chu valley south of the town of Migyitun, considered the histori ...
was outside of Tibet, it was south of the Tibetan frontier town of Migyitun, along the
Tsari Chu The Subansiri River; is a trans- Himalayan river and a tributary of the Brahmaputra River that flows through Tibet's Lhünzê County, Shannan Prefecture and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The Subansiri is long, with a dra ...
river valley. The area was historically populated by the Mara clan of the Tagin tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. The border between Tibet and tribal territory was at the Mandala Plain just outside the town of Migyitun.: "It was there on August 26, 1959, that the very first violent conflict in the Sino-Indian dispute over the McMahon line erupted, as a Chinese force of two to three hundred crossed the traditional border at mandala Plain and drove out Indian frontier troops stationed at the advance post of Longju in the lower Tsari valley." There was a crossing on the river from its left bank to the right bank near Longju, which was needed to enter the Tagir tribal territory from the Tibetan. When Bailey and Morshead visited the area in 1905, they found the bridge broken. The Tibetans were unable to repair it because it was built using the tribal materials and techniques. Evidently the Tibetan authority stopped at Migyitun.: "Bailey has left no doubt that Tibetan authority stopped at the frontier town of Migyitun. He wished to cross to the Indian side but was unable to do so. The cane bridge across the Tsari had been destroyed, and when he asked the Tibetans to rebuild it, they insisted that they lacked the skill for a bridge of that type" : "Morshead went further down the river to see what prospect there was of exploring the No Man's Land. But four miles down he came on the ruins of a foot-bridge over to the right bank and could get no further. It was one of the Mishmi type, five long strands of cane bound at intervals with hoops. The Tibetans had tried to build another, but they lacked the skill of the Lopas."


Notes


References

; Bibliography * * * * * * * {{citation , last1=Rose , first1=Leo E. , last2=Fisher , first2=Margaret W. , title=The North-East Frontier Agency of India , series=Near and Middle Eastern Series , volume=76 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=skxH_wsvqtUC&pg=PA9 , year=1967 , publisher=Office of Public Affairs, Department of State , ref={{sfnref, Rose & Fisher, The North-East Frontier Agency of India, 1967


External links


Dakpa Sheri mountain marked on OpenStreetMap

Tsari
'' Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary''. Shannan, Tibet China–India border Upper Subansiri district China–India relations