Khyunglung

Khyunglung (Khyunglung Ngülkhar) is often referred to as the capital 'city' of the old Zhang Zhung Bonpo civilization.

Overview

ggg Khyunglung is an amazing complex of caves set in the hills on the north bank of the Sutlej river about 30 km west of the hotsprings and gompa of Tirthapuri and the nearby coal mining town of Moincer/Montser in the modern Chinese prefecture of Ali/Ngari in the Tibet Autonomous region (see Gyurme Dorje, Tibet 3rd ed.). There are further ancient ruins on the hilltops above the Bonpo monastery of Gurugem/Gurugyam which are only 6 km from Tirthapuri. There is very little published about these sites and virtually no archaeological investigations have been carried out.

The caves of Khyunglung are generally small (about 4 square metres) and have a small raised fireplace at the far end. However, almost without exception, they have no chimney and the blackened ceilings make it clear that the smoke exited the cave through the only entrance, making them thick with smoke when the fire was in use. There is also no obvious recess for a bed or other storage. It seems that these fires were used for sacrificial offerings and some are still in use today as the scattering of bones, feathers etc make clear.

There are no visible springs on site, no water channels or wells and it is therefore probable that water from the river was used. However the caves are downsteam of a large sulphurous hotspring and the water in the Sutlej at this point is barely potable (John Snelling, The Sacred Mountain). In addition the immediate vicinity of the caves show no signs of agriculture - there are no terraces for fields and the grazing land is very poor. All in all this seems a very strange site for a permanently occupied city.

It has been suggested (Tibet, Bradt guide 2006) therefore that this was never a city as such but more of a "convention centre for Bonpo magicians" and that the caves were used for ceremonial purposes during times when the clans gathered. Possible camping grounds for the main retinue would be around the modern village of Khyunglung a few km upstream where the valley is somewhat broader or the area between Gurugem and Tirthapuri which is still heavily used by yak and sheep herding nomads today . The ruins above Gurugem appear to be a more likely site for permanent habitation but much more study would be needed to establish this.

External links

[[1]] An article about the place.