With the generosity of The British Library’s Endangered Archive Programme and Arcadia, this project is preserving, cataloguing, and digitally reproducing 100,000+ pages of the Sikkim Palace Archives, 1875-1975, making a cache of primary source material universally accessible, free of copyright.
Discussions concerning historical aspects of Sikkim suffer from a paucity of sources, exacerbated by the sensitivities of subsumption by India in 1975. As a result, its academic study is restricted, a balanced understanding of the history of this region is impossible, no Sikkim history is taught in any local school, and not a single museum exists in the state.
This collection which numbers 100,000+ pages will provide an overview of—and a rare insight into—late 19th and 20th century Sikkim, introducing the characters and events that shaped the development of the kingdom and its eventual integration into India. Until now, the history of Sikkim and of the region has only been told using British imperial sources: This digitised archive will represent the first collection of local origin to be made freely accessible.
Its contents are powerful, never-before-seen documents, which breathe life into a series of engaging stories about the people, the land, and its complex history at the crosswords of British India and Tibetan Buddhism. They contain a unique and priceless record of the region that will be of interest to scholars of both this Himalayan state and the wider region of South and Central Asia, and they harbour the potential to guide Sikkimese, visitors, and scholars alike in discovering the richness of this forgotten kingdom, and in giving voice to the untold histories of one of India’s youngest states.
Preserving Perspectives
Preserving Perspectives aspires to document quotidian life in the Himalayan region through the creation of an ambitious digital image library.
Starting with glass-plate negatives, medium format prints, and transparencies from the Palace’s own collection, Preserving Perspectives encourages individuals and families to contribute their photographs to help create a digital resource that will be of interest and value to researchers, scholars, and the inquisitive individual.
If you have photo collections at risk of decay due to weather conditions or neglect, having your collection digitised is one way to ensure your family memories – and Sikkim’s intangible culture – are preserved. Project Denjong’s Ambassadors can assess your collection and let you know how long it will take, and how much it will cost. BUT..If you are willing to contribute a set of digital copies of your photos to Preserving Perspectives’ Digital Image Library, digitization and archiving facilities will be provided absolutely free of charge (and copyright will remain with you).
If you would like more details about contributing to Preserving Perspectives, please send us an email or come in to see us!
Preservation of Sikkim Tsuklakhang thangkas
This project will catalogue, digitise, and preserve the approximately 100 thangkas of the Sikkim Tsuklakhang: a collection of 17th – 20th century thangkas that once belonged to the royal family of the former Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim.
Abruptly integrated with India in 1975, there is a dearth of local historical documentation, and a sharp decline in both knowledge of, and interest in, its unique Buddhist heritage.
Perhaps more so than political and social histories, spiritual history and associated records (thangkas, ritual texts and objects) are often neglected and lost as youths’ aspirations are captured by mainstream pop culture; or as objects are stolen, for their monetary value as antiques; or damaged by weather and time. With the loss of this tangible heritage, soon intangible associated spiritual knowledge will also disappear. This intangible heritage is what has informed almost all of our cultural practices, which will then have very little hope for authentic or sustainable survival.
Furthermore, thangkas –by definition, illustrations of imagery described in detailed ritual texts – display contemporaneous stylistic and contextual references that have the potential to speak volumes about the socio-cultural and political contexts of the times, and the intellectual and creative exchange of ideas across the Buddhist world. It is clear that rich cultural heritage is embedded in every scroll.
Over the past 40 years, these thangkas have deteriorated rapidly, and many require conservation. At severe risk of further decay, this project will make available to historians, Sikkimese, Buddhist scholars, and practitioners, a unique resource for future enquiry into the spiritual and cultural traditions of Sikkim.
Fearless Like Sky
Fearless Like Sky is a long-term programme that seeks to revitalize Sikkim’s wisdom heritage, by placing emphasis on a living Buddhist culture. It aims to engage youth by encouraging them to question what it means to be Buddhist, and to provide them opportunities to see – away from the traditional cultural trappings of their own lakhangs – how thousands continue to interact with Buddhism in the contemporary world,
In the 2500 years since the Buddha Shakyamuni walked this earth, his words have formed the basis of cultures from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and across Southeast Asia to China, Korea, and Japan. One of the most unique characteristics of Buddha’s words are their ability to remain true, to stand up to scrutiny and debate, and to inspire practitioners, without demanding any specific outer representations: Buddhism allows itself to be wrapped up in the appearance of local cultures, and this is what allows so many people to feel a sense of ownership. But then, when cultures fade, we must ensure that we are not also losing some far more precious than just a piece of silk.
Lhatsun Namkha Jigme – a well-respected, academic from Tibet who excelled in Buddhist philosophy, and who later shed societal conventions to become a wandering yogi practitioner – was perhaps the greatest teacher to have come to Sikkim since Guru Rinpoche. It was in Namkha Jigme’s time that the first Chogyal was enthroned and Buddhism took root here with our first monasteries.
Fearless Like Sky is a tribute to Lhatsun Namkha Jigme’s profound wisdom and accomplishment, and is led by the aspiration for the dharma to once again flourish in Sikkim, and to continue to flourish around the world, for all sentient beings.