The Digital Himalaya project was established in December 2000 by Mark Turin,

Alan Macfarlane Alan Donald James Macfarlane (born 20 December 1941 in Shillong, Meghalaya, India) is an anthropologist and historian, and a Professor Emeritus of King's College, Cambridge. He is the author or editor of 20 books and numerous articles o ...

, Sara Shneiderman, and Sarah Harrison. The project's principal goal is to collect and preserve historical multimedia materials relating to the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, such as photographs, recordings, and journals, and make those resources available over the internet and offline, on external storage media. The project team have digitized older ethnographic collections and data sets that were deteriorating in their analogue formats, so as to protect them from deterioration and make them available and accessible to originating communities in the Himalayan region and a global community of scholars. The project was founded at the Department of Anthropology of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, moved to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 2002 (when a collaboration with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

was initiated), and then back to the University of Cambridge in 2005. From 2011 to 2014, the project was jointly hosted between the University of Cambridge and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

. In 2014, the project moved to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

, where it is presently located, and maintains a distant collaboration with Sichuan University.cf Digital Himalaya website http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/overview.php

Project Team

Digital Himalaya has a team of 9 individuals who work together to develop user-friendly and accessible online resources: * Sarah Harrison * Daniel Ho * Hikmat Khadka * Wachiraporn Klungthanaboon *

* Pragyajan Rai (Yalamber) * Sara Shneiderman * Komintal Thami * Mark Turin The project is supported by an active international Advisory Board, including the following individuals: * General Sir Sam Cowan * Richard Feldman * artin_Gaenszle *_Ann_Gammie *_David_Germano *_Mark_Goodridge *_David_Holmberg *_Michael_Hutt_(academic_and_translator).html" ;"title="David_Germano.html" ;"title="artin Gaenszle * Ann Gammie *

artin_Gaenszle *_Ann_Gammie *_David_Germano *_Mark_Goodridge *_David_Holmberg *_Michael_Hutt_(academic_and_translator)">Michael_Hutt *_Kathryn_March *_Christina_Monson Since_its_establishment,_the_Digital_Himalaya_project_has_benefited_from_skilled_student_interns_and_research_assistants_in_Canada,_Nepal,_the_United_Kingdom,_and_the_United_States.

__Funding_

For_the_first_five_years_of_active_development,_Digital_Himalaya_was_successful_in_receiving_competitive_grants_from_many_organizations._Once_the_site_was_launched_and_most_of_the_collections_were_digitized_and_accessible,_it_became_increasingly_difficult_to_find_resources_to_maintain_the_online_collections._The_project_still_receives_support_through_donations_from_individuals_and_foundations,_in_addition_to_experimenting_with_small_referral_commissions_through_ artin_Gaenszle *_Ann_Gammie *_David_Germano *_Mark_Goodridge *_David_Holmberg *_Michael_Hutt_(academic_and_translator)">Michael_Hutt *_Kathryn_March *_Christina_Monson Since_its_establishment,_the_Digital_Himalaya_project_has_benefited_from_skilled_student_interns_and_research_assistants_in_Canada,_Nepal,_the_United_Kingdom,_and_the_United_States.

__Funding_

For_the_first_five_years_of_active_development,_Digital_Himalaya_was_successful_in_receiving_competitive_grants_from_many_organizations._Once_the_site_was_launched_and_most_of_the_collections_were_digitized_and_accessible,_it_became_increasingly_difficult_to_find_resources_to_maintain_the_online_collections._The_project_still_receives_support_through_donations_from_individuals_and_foundations,_in_addition_to_experimenting_with_small_referral_commissions_through_Amazon_(company)">Amazon_ Amazon_most_often_refers_to: *__Amazons,_a_tribe_of_female_warriors_in_Greek_mythology *__Amazon_rainforest,_a_rainforest_covering_most_of_the_Amazon_basin *__Amazon_River,_in_South_America *__Amazon_(company),_an_American_multinational_technolog_...

. Financial_and_institutional_partners: *Technological_Innovation_and_Cooperation_for_Foreign_Information_Access_(TICFIA).html" ;"title="Amazon_(company).html" "title="David Germano">artin Gaenszle * Ann Gammie *

Michael_Hutt *_Kathryn_March *_Christina_Monson Since_its_establishment,_the_Digital_Himalaya_project_has_benefited_from_skilled_student_interns_and_research_assistants_in_Canada,_Nepal,_the_United_Kingdom,_and_the_United_States.

__Funding_

For_the_first_five_years_of_active_development,_Digital_Himalaya_was_successful_in_receiving_competitive_grants_from_many_organizations._Once_the_site_was_launched_and_most_of_the_collections_were_digitized_and_accessible,_it_became_increasingly_difficult_to_find_resources_to_maintain_the_online_collections._The_project_still_receives_support_through_donations_from_individuals_and_foundations,_in_addition_to_experimenting_with_small_referral_commissions_through_Amazon_(company)">Amazon_ Amazon_most_often_refers_to: *__Amazons,_a_tribe_of_female_warriors_in_Greek_mythology *__Amazon_rainforest,_a_rainforest_covering_most_of_the_Amazon_basin *__Amazon_River,_in_South_America *__Amazon_(company),_an_American_multinational_technolog_...

__Funding_

For_the_first_five_years_of_active_development,_Digital_Himalaya_was_successful_in_receiving_competitive_grants_from_many_organizations._Once_the_site_was_launched_and_most_of_the_collections_were_digitized_and_accessible,_it_became_increasingly_difficult_to_find_resources_to_maintain_the_online_collections._The_project_still_receives_support_through_donations_from_individuals_and_foundations,_in_addition_to_experimenting_with_small_referral_commissions_through_Amazon_(company)">Amazon_ Amazon_most_often_refers_to: *__Amazons,_a_tribe_of_female_warriors_in_Greek_mythology *__Amazon_rainforest,_a_rainforest_covering_most_of_the_Amazon_basin *__Amazon_River,_in_South_America *__Amazon_(company),_an_American_multinational_technolog_...

. Financial_and_institutional_partners: *Technological_Innovation_and_Cooperation_for_Foreign_Information_Access_(TICFIA)">The_Technological_Innovation_and_Cooperation_for_Foreign_Information_Access_(TICFIA)_Program,_US_Department_of_Education *Cornell_Institute_for_Digital_Collections,_Cornell_University *East_Asia_Program,_Cornell_University *Department_of_Asian_Studies,_Cornell_University_with_supplemental_support_through_the_Freeman_Foundation_Undergraduate_Initiative *Department_of_Anthropology,_Cornell_University *The_Oxford_Bön_Project *British_Academy">The_British_Academy_ The_British_Academy_is_the_United_Kingdom's_national_academy_for_the_humanities_and_the_social_sciences. It_was_established_in_1902_and_received_its_royal_charter_in_the_same_year._It_is_now_a_fellowship_of_more_than_1,000_leading_scholars_span_...

__Funding_

_ Amazon_most_often_refers_to: *__Amazons,_a_tribe_of_female_warriors_in_Greek_mythology *__Amazon_rainforest,_a_rainforest_covering_most_of_the_Amazon_basin *__Amazon_River,_in_South_America *__Amazon_(company),_an_American_multinational_technolog_...
. Financial_and_institutional_partners: *Technological_Innovation_and_Cooperation_for_Foreign_Information_Access_(TICFIA)">The_Technological_Innovation_and_Cooperation_for_Foreign_Information_Access_(TICFIA)_Program,_US_Department_of_Education *Cornell_Institute_for_Digital_Collections,_Cornell_University *East_Asia_Program,_Cornell_University *Department_of_Asian_Studies,_Cornell_University_with_supplemental_support_through_the_Freeman_Foundation_Undergraduate_Initiative *Department_of_Anthropology,_Cornell_University *The_Oxford_Bön_Project *British_Academy">The_British_Academy_ The_British_Academy_is_the_United_Kingdom's_national_academy_for_the_humanities_and_the_social_sciences. It_was_established_in_1902_and_received_its_royal_charter_in_the_same_year._It_is_now_a_fellowship_of_more_than_1,000_leading_scholars_span_...
_(Small_Research_Grant) *Anthropologists'_Fund_for_Urgent_Anthropological_Research_at_the_Royal_Anthropological_Institute_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland">Royal_Anthropological_Institute_ The_Royal_Anthropological_Institute_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland_(RAI)_is_a_long-established_anthropological_organisation,_and_Learned_Society,_with_a_global_membership._Its_remit_includes_all_the_component_fields_of_anthropology,_such_as__biol_...
*Frederick_Williamson_Memorial_Fund *The_Crowther_Beynon_Fund,_Museum_of_Archaeology_and_Anthropology,_University_of_Cambridge.html" ;"title="Michael Hutt (academic and translator)">Michael Hutt * Kathryn March * Christina Monson Since its establishment, the Digital Himalaya project has benefited from skilled student interns and research assistants in Canada, Nepal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Funding

For the first five years of active development, Digital Himalaya was successful in receiving competitive grants from many organizations. Once the site was launched and most of the collections were digitized and accessible, it became increasingly difficult to find resources to maintain the online collections. The project still receives support through donations from individuals and foundations, in addition to experimenting with small referral commissions through Amazon (company)">Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
. Financial and institutional partners: *Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access (TICFIA)">The Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access (TICFIA) Program, US Department of Education *Cornell Institute for Digital Collections, Cornell University *East Asia Program, Cornell University *Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University with supplemental support through the Freeman Foundation Undergraduate Initiative *Department of Anthropology, Cornell University *The Oxford Bön Project *British Academy">The British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
(Small Research Grant) *Anthropologists' Fund for Urgent Anthropological Research at the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland">Royal Anthropological Institute The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biol ...
*Frederick Williamson Memorial Fund *The Crowther Beynon Fund, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology *The Renaissance Trust *The Brendish Family Foundation *The Sager Family Traveling Foundation and Roadshow *The Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge *SIT Study Abroad *Rashmi and Sanjay Shrestha *Andrew Clark and Mary Cobb *John R. Sanderson *Christina Monson *Dr. Mary Shepherd Slusser *venturethree

Collections

The Digital Himalaya archive has more than 200,000 pages of scanned texts, hundreds of hours of video and audio, over 1,000 maps, and a large collection of original ethnographic content. The project has digitised an extensive set of back issues of Himalayan journals and maps. There are currently 13 collections available, and the newest addition to the archive is a collection of bird reports from Nepal.

Birds of Nepal

Thanks to Tim Inskipp and Carol Inskipp, this collection has 2,155 references on birds in Nepal available to the public, dated from 1975 to 1999. The archive contains multiple sources, from books and scientific papers to published and unpublished reports, offering a valuable source for researchers interested in Himalayan bird populations.

Census of Nepal 2001

This collection contains census data from the National Census of Nepal 2001. The Digital Himalaya team sorted the data for Nepal's 75 districts and their VDCs (Village Development Committee) making this public data available for any user to search and download.

Fürer-Haimendorf Film Collection

This collection contains interviews with Professor Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and footage of his research in the Himalaya. Fürer-Haimendorf was an Austrian anthropologist based at the University of London who travelled across much of the Himalayan region, and conducted field research with Naga communities in India, and Sherpa communities in Nepal. The full collection is hosted at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Films

Digital Himalaya is continuously expanding its online collections to include both historical and contemporary film and video. Below is a list of films available through the project's archive:

Journals of Himalayan Studies

Digital Himalaya archives contain scanned copies of many journals, magazines and publications of Himalayan studies for free download. Here is a list of available titles:

Maps

The web-based map collection includes:

Music and Audio from the Himalayas

The Digital Himalaya music and audio archive includes:

Naga Videodisc

The Naga Videodisc is a multimedia resource created by Alan Macfarlane at Cambridge University in the late 1980s. It includes a large amount of ethnographic material about Naga communities. With the support of Sarrah Harrison, the contents of the videodisc were converted into an online database that uses Bamboo as a retrieval system, with easily searchable XML files. Some film clips can be downloaded directly from the Digital Himalaya page, but the full collection can be seen on the Shanti Database at the University of Virginia.

Rare Books & Manuscripts

This collection offers digitized versions of multiple rare books and manuscripts that are in the public domain. The archive contains files in PDF format, and are free to download.

Thak Archive

This is a multimedia archive with photographs, films, census data, and economic and social data of the Gurung village of Thak in central western Nepal. These ethnographic records cover more than 30 years of work, and were collected by Alan Macfarlane and Sarah Harrison. The archive is regularly updated.

Thangmi Archive

This is an emerging collection of linguistic and cultural data relating to the Thangmi community of northeastern Nepal. These collections were deposited by Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman, who have been working in partnership with Thangmi communities in Nepal and India since 1997. This archive gives users access to an online trilingual Thangmi - Nepali - English dictionary (in PDF format), recordings of Thangmi songs from the Reng Patangko collection, and film clips of Thangmi rituals, all available for streaming and download.

Williamson Collection

This collection contains films and photographs from

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

, and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, in the 1930s. The films and photographs were taken by Frederick Williamson, a British Political Officer who documented his travels through the region with his wife, Margaret. The full collection is located at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA), at Cambridge.

Wutu Collection

This collection contains 18 short films from 1996 showing the Wutu ritual, an exorcism ritual performed by the Monguor (Tu) people of the Gnyan thog Village. The films were shot by Zhu Yonzhong, with editing by Gerald Roche. The collection is stored in an archive at the University of Cambridge.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Digital Himalaya ProjectThe Digital Himalaya Project: Collection, Protection & Connection
Himalayan studies Himalayan culture Himalayan peoples Tibetan language Geographic region-oriented digital libraries British digital libraries Digital humanities projects Online archives Tibeto-Burman languages Digital libraries History of Nepal 2000 establishments in Nepal