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tibetan mustang

a cultural renaissance

2023

HIRMER

248 pages - 180 colour illustrations

27.9 x 35.6 cm - hardcover

author

Photographers Luigi Fieni and Kenneth Parker document the cultural revival of Tibetan Mustang “the hidden kingdom” of the Himalayas. Such kingdom, where Tibetan Buddhist tradition continues, is emerging as a beacon of community-directed art conservation and resurgent culture. Sacred temples dominate the medieval capital Lo Monthang. Following centuries of deterioration a mural restoration project has taken place over more then 20 years, directed by conservator/photographer Luigi Fieni. This included training the unskilled Lobas in Western conservation methods. This extraordinary initiative led to a vibrant cultural renaissance in the kingdom.

The arresting photographs in Tibetan Mustang, along with accompanying morsels of insightful text, illuminate the ongoing effort in a remote corner of Nepal to preserve a sublime, precariously endangered culture and the community it sustains. It’s an absolutely magnificent book.
Jon Krakauer – author of Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven
There is no secret: if this book succeeds in capturing the magical surrealism of Mustang, it’s because it’s the fruit of over 20 years of a passionate love story.
Éric Valli – Academy Award nominated film director and photographer
This is an incredible book by someone who has lived the Loba life. Luigi and team gives you an authentic picture of Mustang, its culture and people. I am immensely grateful to Luigi, American Himalayan Foundation and the team who have worked relentlessly for more than two decades in the restoration of Jampa and Thupchen monasteries. I am proud to say their work has brought life back to our monasteries and turned it back into a spiritual haven for the people of Mustang. My father, the late King Jigme Palbar Bista, dreamt of seeing Mustang in its full glory while requesting AHF to help restore the monasteries, and now seeing monks perform religious ceremonies and pilgrims coming from all over Mustang, I truly understand that my father’s dream was — a cultural renaissance. This book is special for me and my family because Luigi is a local of Lomanthang in true sense, he dances our dance, eats our food like it’s a delicacy, understands our language and culture, and most importantly understands us like a family.
Jigme Palbar Bista – Crown Prince of Mustang
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space and impermanence

landscape and art of the tibetan kingdom of mustang, nepal

2014

Wydawnictwo A

70 pages - 59 colour illustrations

21 x 29.7 cm - softcover

author

Mustang is portrayed by photographer Luigi Fieni as a land where body, soul, and heart converge. Its body lies in stark, dreamlike landscapes shaped by time—harsh yet inspiring, scarred yet alive, vast and intimate, bearing both nature’s artistry and human history. Its soul resides in deep spirituality: ancient rituals, flowing prayers, and sacred dances where monks and devotees channel enduring faith and energy. Its heart lives in its people, serene guardians of a once-forgotten culture. Farmers turned artists dedicate themselves to conserving and repainting sacred temples, reviving ancestral heritage and ensuring Mustang’s traditions, devotion, and identity endure across generations.

wonders of lo

the artistic heritage of mustang

2010

MARG

164 pages

25.4 x 31.7 cm - hardcover

contributor

"Lo", as Mustang is called by those who dwell there, is a small area in the Nepal Himalaya inhabited by people of Tibetan stock. Buddhist art flourished here, particularly between the 14th and the 16th century, in a cultural environment strongly influenced by the religious order of Sakya, the great monastic fortress in southwest Tibet. In particular, the 15th-century wall paintings in the temple of Maitreya at Montang, the traditional capital of Lo, vie with the finest in all geo-cultural Tibet, whereas the 14th-century murals in the cave temple of Luri reflect the interpretation of Indian aesthetics as transmitted to the Tibetan world by the artists of the Nepal Valley.

himalaya

personal stories of grandeur, challenge, and hope

2006

National Geographic

256 pages - 150 colour illustrations

24 x 26 cm - hardcover

contributor

Both a magnificent celebration and a call for compassion, Himalaya is a panorama of the unique history and uncertain future of the world's highest region and its colorful inhabitants. The awesome beauty of these lofty peaks, including Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Annapurna, is brought to life by gifted photographers like Steve McCurry, Art Wolfe, and many more, while such notable contributors as Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, and over two dozen others share vivid personal tales of Himalayan life, recount their efforts to encourage hope and opportunity, and emphasize the urgent need to preserve the vibrant variety of these ancient landscapes and cultures as they face the mixed blessings of the modern world.