ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how tourism influences Khumbu Sherpa place-based spiritual values inside Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. The Khumbu Sherpa, who live inside the protected area, are Nyingma Buddhists who consider their homeland to be a beyul or sacred hidden valley and to contain yul-lha or protector deities that live on mountains. Inside this area, certain codes of conduct govern decision-making that has some environmentally-sustainable outcomes. These include taboos on killing animals, cutting live trees and polluting water sources. Tourism began in the 1960s and intermixed with subsistence herding and farming. It is now the cornerstone of the local economy, influencing how Sherpa view and interact with their homeland. The number of visitors continues to increase, totalling more than 25,000 for 2008. To gauge the influence of tourism on these place-based spiritual values, a stratified random sample of 100 households was selected and Multiple Regression Analysis comparing select demographics to knowledge of place-based spiritual values was conducted. The results showed that tourism appears to be changing these values, including those associated with sacred sites, especially for the more market-integrated and younger generations. These individuals appear to be ontologically dividing humans from the land – changes that may be the catalysts for less sustainable decision-making. Other values, such as the veneration of yul-lha and taboos on killing wildlife persist or are being transformed. This chapter concludes with a discussion on the potential causation for these market-driven changes.
