The Giu Monastery and the story of a 500-year-old Mummy

How often do you hear people mentioning the word mummy in reference to India? I think the possibility is zero percentage. The reason behind this is the fact that very few of us know that there is a monastery high up in the mountains of Ladakh, more precisely in the Spiti Valley called the Giu Monastery where a naturally preserved mummy has been kept for five hundred years.

Being one of the only few existing mummies of Tibetan descends, this place should have been more famous. Most travellers and tourists visiting the Spiti valley often do not know of its existence and solely visit here for the natural landscapes and culture that the place offers in plenty.

The interesting thing is the remote village of Giu (Ghuen, Geu) situated deep in the Spiti valley owes its little bit of fame over the years to a naturally preserved dead body. This fact is a stark difference from the images we usually conjure up when thinking of mummies due to the reason that Egyptian mummies are completely bandaged up.

Location of the village:

Giu or Gue Village Village is situated at an elevation of 10,000 ft. Tourists often ignore Giu when planning a trip to the Kinnaur / Spiti region, and most people come close to the region but never visit the place. Thanks to the famous Tabo monastery only 40 km away, Giu is, in fact, gaining a bit of attraction. It is perched between Sumdo and Tabo, falling on a sharp incline from NH22/NH05.

Giu village has some stunning views keeping in line with the region! Even though the area is challenging to reach, the 500-year-old Giu Mummy has started attracting tourism to the tiny village. It is a good stop-over during travel in the region and looking for something different and unique to experience.

About the Mummy:

The mummy is of a Buddhist monk and is believed to be over 500 years old. The mummy is being kept inside the glass in a room which is located on the outskirts of the village at a small hillock.

The mummy looks so real –nails, hair and teeth that it gives an impression of a living being. This place is no less than a wonder to witness how a human body has been preserved for so many years without any sign of decay or use of chemicals.

The body seems to have shrunk through the generations in a manner that looks like dehydration. With a chocolate brown colour, it seems the body has lived many a life cycle since the time it was alive. You’ll notice that one hand is placed in the lap seemingly in Dhyan Mudra. The other seems to be right below the chin or twisted in some manner. Villagers quickly inform you that its hair, nails continue to grow and its teeth are still intact.

You’ll come across the mummy, covered in traditional yellow and white monk clothes, inside a glass casing.

Way to reach Giu village and the Monastery:

The journey to Giu village from Shimla – Kinnaur side is a pretty long one and one will be reaching or visit this mummy village of Himachal on Day 3 if you start from Delhi.

Usually, you will be travelling from Delhi to Narkanda on Day 1, then Narkanda to Kalpa, and finally from Kalpa to Tabo, you can reach Giu on the way after crossing Sumdo and entering Spiti Valley.

Day 1: Delhi – Narkanda

Day 2: Narkanda – Reckong Peo or Kalpa or Sangla

Day 3: Reckong Peo or Kalpa or Sangla – Nako – Giu Mummy Monastery – Tabo

Best Time to visit Giu Monastery:

The roads to Spiti Valley from Shimla – Kinnaur side remain open all round the year. However, if you want to travel to visit the Giu monastery then you can travel up there all from April to December as in the winter months starting from January, the diversion road from NH05 to Giu closes due to snowfall and opens up in April.

Giu village weather remains pleasant in the season time of Spiti Valley which is from May to October and if you consider visiting Giu, then the best time is from September to October for vivid colours. Otherwise, May to mid-July for summer weather is a good time to visit as well before the rain hits the region.

Stories of the Mummy:

According to local folklore, it is believed that about half millennia ago, a Lama in his mid-forties passed away. Believed to be Sangha Tenzin, the lama was a monk from Gelugpa. The Mummy is referred to as the Mummy Lama by the villagers. Locals say that the body was stored in some tomb for many years.

However, the earthquake-prone region was devastatingly hit in the 70s by huge turbulence, and the region was heavily affected and the tomb was destructed by it. It is then, by chance, that Indo-Tibetan-Border-Police (ITBP) rediscovered the Mummy during excavation and road work.

Since then, the Himachal Pradesh Government has ensured the maintenance and security of the shrine. The Giu Mummy was found in a sitting position (which is still how the body remains to date) with rosary beads in one hand.

The use of the Carbon dating method has revealed that the Tibetan Mummy dates back to 1475. Also, through the scientific process, it was known that the age of the body when alive was in the mid-forties. Further, no chemicals, artificial embalming liquids, etc. were found in the system.

This points to the fact that the Mummy was naturally embalmed. The Monk could have died in an avalanche, and the surrounding ice would have helped in the process of depleting the body of juices, thereby completing the mummification process.

Other clues about Mummy’s history can be deduced from the Gomthak that Monks use when meditating. You will see a belt tied around the spine of the Giu Mummy.

Local Folklore:

The villagers believe that the Mummy has looked after the village for centuries. Any hardship faced by the valley, lo is believed to pass only due to the grace of Mummy Lama. Many believe that the Monk sacrificed his life to save the village from an attack of the Scorpions.

The story goes that the lama sat down for meditation, asked his disciples to entomb him. While praying for the betterment of the village, his soul left for its heavenly adobe. At this point, a rainbow appeared across the village. Since then, to this day, no scorpion is seen in the village.

Other people will tell you how the tiny village of Giu was earlier very prosperous because of its strategic location on the Indo-Tibet trading route. However, when the traders found better routes, the village suffered. The Monk prayed for the well-being of the village. To date, it is believed that he is the one who is bringing livelihood to their families merely through his presence.

Tibetian Mummification Process:

However, we know that mummification is not a common practice. Tibetans of the yester-year are known to offer their dead to the vultures or the fish, or if nothing else- they were usually cremated.

However, it is a little known fact that some of the high-priests were indeed mummified. Interestingly, while Egyptians used embalming processes, Tibetan mummies have been known to be naturally preserved, often in meditation/squatting positions by using advanced yogic postures to deprive the bodies of all juices and bacteria.

Tibetan Mummies in India

This is not the only Buddhist Mummy in existence. Monks destroyed several known Mummies in Tibet because they were fearful of an onslaught from the Chinese after the Cultural Revolution. Still, some are kept intact, thanks to the fact that they fall under the Indian Jurisdiction territory.

A total of 8 mummies are present in various monasteries of Ladakh and Spiti along with one each in Kalimpong and Dehradun. And there is the body of Kyabje Yongdzin Ling Rinpoche, tutor of the current Dalai Lama, who passed away over two decades ago and his body is preserved in McLeodganj.