Women’s Lives and Images: The Inner and Outer Selves of Himalayan Gaddi

Abstract

While on field research in the Gaddi villages of the Himalayas, I was wonderstruck by the women’s various roles. This community is patriarchal, but there has been a culture of women taking on many responsibilities of running the family, community, and village. Gaddi women, thus, from politics to agriculture, can be seen doing many tasks. As I explored more profoundly, most men of the hills appeared absent. They migrated to plain areas due to their jobs; some were in the army. The main reason behind this migration is the ecological conditions of the hills, where the lack of natural resources, especially agricultural lands and the domestication of sheep and goats, could not provide a livelihood for the entire population. In this visual research article of photographs, I will explore how the Gaddi women identify themselves, how they spend their daily lives in the Himalayas, and how their sense of personhood and selfhood is influenced by various spaces and their culture and ritual constructions.