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Editorial

Editorial

Éditorial
Tristan Bruslé, Stéphane Gros et Philippe Ramirez

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1This issue of the EBHR, the 59th, opens with a tribute to Mireille Helffer, the famous ethnomusicologist whose pioneering work has influenced many generations of researchers. It follows with a research article on Christian Nepalis, a community whose growth has been particularly notable in recent years. Studies of Christianity have often focused on conversions per se and the time has indeed come to renew our understanding of Christian communities by observations and reflections about their contemporary dynamics. This is what Victoria Dalzell does in her article by adopting the very original angle of music to analyse the identity of ‘second- or third-generation’ Christians and their insertion into global Nepali society. The article contributes a stimulating discussion of the indigenisation of Christianity and related issues of belonging that offers insights of comparative value beyond Nepal.

2Himalayan studies do not have a strong institutional presence and are often subsumed in other areal groupings. Research conducted in China – particularly when published in Chinese – is not well known to the academic community at large, whether South Asian or Western. Yinong Zhang’s overview of current research in China is the first in a series of debates that, over the next few issues, will aim to provide a more comprehensive overview of the state of Himalayan studies in different parts of the world. We trust that these contributions will put into perspective approaches and themes that make up the diversity of Himalayan studies as well as foreground institutional constraints that the development of this field of research sometimes has to face.

3Nitasha Kaul provides another illustration of the diversity of Himalayan studies in her report on the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS) conference held in Toronto last October. She particularly highlights the benefits of cross-disciplinary dialogue and of the continuing broadening of areas of interest and points to the necessity of keeping our field of research alive among other better-endowed fields.

4The photo essay in this issue is a multi-authored collection that was originally put together for an exhibition organised during the international conference ‘Himalayan journeys: circulations and transformations’ convened by the CNRS’s Centre for Himalayan Studies on 22–24 June 2022. The photographs and short texts accompanying them aim to illustrate movement in the Himalayan region: what makes it possible and what hinders it. They represent and describe the ways in which people travel across the Himalayan range and the various experiences linked to these movements, whether individual or collective, and how they punctuate social life according to the seasons, economic exchanges or the labour market.

5We are pleased to be able to offer non-French speaking readers a translation of a landmark study by Anne-Marie Blondeau of the enigmatic mdo rites in which she explores their possible origin and relation to other rituals found in Bon and Buddhism, with many parallels in other traditions of the Himalayan region. This translation is preceded by an introduction penned by Charles Ramble who highlights the importance and significance of Blondeau’s article and puts it into perspective using both sources that have since been discovered and ethnographic material.

6Lastly, this issue offers a new series of recently defended PhD dissertation abstracts which attest to the vitality of Himalayan studies and give us hope for their future development.

7A year ago, we successfully transitioned the EBHR to a fully online publication model. As most of our readers know, past issues of the EBHR have long been hosted on the Digital Himalaya website, and we are particularly grateful to Mark Turin for his pioneering work in making the journal available online. Today, we are delighted to announce that all past issues of the journal will be digitised and indexed via the well-known Persée portal. They will be freely accessible via this portal and will be searchable alongside such prestigious journals as L’Homme and the Annales. The content of the bulletin will thus be archived in accordance with the best standards and will be more readily findable by search engines and by the scientific community, especially students. This will ensure easy access to the full collection to anyone with an internet connection, to the benefit of both readers and authors. For those who continue to have access to print copies of the journal, either in their private collection or through their institution, we are currently finalising a fully comprehensive index of all past issues: we will make it available in print format to serve as a tool for research, especially for use in libraries.

8After 18 issues and 9 years of unwavering commitment to the Book Review section, Arik Moran has decided to hand over the reins. The bulletin is greatly indebted to him and all the editors who have collaborated with him join us in thanking him most warmly. We are pleased to welcome Tina Shrestha, doctor in Socio-cultural Anthropology from Cornell University and currently assistant professor at the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, who is known for her work on migrants and asylum seekers. With the increasing number of books published on our geographical areas of interest, the task of the book review editor is more essential than ever. We are very fortunate that Tina has agreed to take it on.

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Référence électronique

Tristan Bruslé, Stéphane Gros et Philippe Ramirez, « Editorial »European Bulletin of Himalayan Research [En ligne], 59 | 2022, mis en ligne le 21 décembre 2022, consulté le 12 février 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/645 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/ebhr.645

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Auteurs

Tristan Bruslé

Editor, Himalayan Bulletin of Himalayan Research

Articles du même auteur

Stéphane Gros

Editor, Himalayan Bulletin of Himalayan Research

Articles du même auteur

Philippe Ramirez

Editor, Himalayan Bulletin of Himalayan Research

Articles du même auteur

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