Uncovering Hidden Histories: Himalayan Porters in German Archive

Presenter:

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Abstract

Dominant narratives on mountaineering histories have covered the story of German expeditions in the Himalayas between 1929 and 1939 as one of man’s attempt to conquer nature and project the power of their nation. While it captures the fascinating endeavors of German efforts in the Himalayan peaks, the labor force involved in these expeditions often remain side-lined in the peripheries of such narrative and appear as logistical appendages and anecdotes in various reports. This paper draws the attention to the German alpine club archive, which provides rich potential to trace the lives of individual laborers and also provide information on the larger workforce involved in the efforts of climbing the peak. While this paper is grounded in historical research, it presents the potential of focusing on archives of smaller institutions with links to India’s past. In doing so it attempts to show the entanglements that transcends the geographical bounds of the mountains, this paper attempts to further push the notion of the Himalayas as a trans-cultural space and retrieve hidden histories of mountaineering expedition labor.