Jalori
More actions
| Jalori | |
|---|---|
| Jalori ridge | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Gene Pool | South Asian Gene Pool |
| Regional Complex | Hindu Kush-Himalayan |
| Growing Region | Western Himalayas |
| Geography | |
| Country | India |
| Province/State | Himachal Pradesh |
| District | Kullu District |
| Coordinates | 31.54, 77.37 |
| Landscape | |
| Elevation | 3,000 m |
| Terrain | High ridge crossed by the Jalori Pass, between the Jibhi Gad to the north and the Ani Gad to the south; hamlets, fields and forest glades on both slopes |
| Climate | |
| Climate Type | Temperate, sub-alpine and alpine; heavy snow from December to March |
| Rainfall | 1,103 mm |
| Seasons | Summer (Apr–Jun), rains (mid-Jun–Sep), winter (Oct–Mar) |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 0 |
| Accessions | 1 |
| Conservation | |
| Status | Unknown |
Jalori is a landrace cannabis growing area in the Western Himalayas growing region, comprising the villages on both slopes of the Jalori ridge around the Jalori Pass in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India. The ridge crosses the south of the district from east to west. The 1897 gazetteer named it "from the name of the chief pass over it".[1]: 3 The colonial gazetteers describe it as the boundary between Inner and Outer Saraj, the two divisions of the Saraj tahsil.[1]: 2–3[2]: 5 Its northern slope drains to the Jibhi Gad, which flows north through Banjar to the Tirthan; on its southern slope, spurs run down to the Sutlej on either side of the Ani Gad.[2]: 3, 5 The valley of the Tirthan itself is documented separately as the Tirthan Valley.
The gazetteers of 1897 and 1917 recorded hemp "grown extensively in the high-lying villages on the slopes on both sides of the Jalori ridge", where the heavy rainfall was described as fatal to the plant's resin but good for its fibre, which the villagers made into rope and grass shoes.[1]: 84–85[2]: 91 A fibre-plant survey framed by its authors as covering Outer Siraj found Cannabis sativa used by 92 per cent of the people it surveyed, more than any other fibre plant.[3] A medicinal-plant survey of the valley of the Jibhi Gad, which its authors call the Banjar valley, recorded it between 1,500 and 3,000 m.[4]: 36 A population sold by Coco Genes from Mahoot, a village its listing places "near to the Jalori pass", is documented from the area as COC-IND-HIM-0120210003.[5]
Geography
The Jalori ridge continues the high range along the southern boundary of Spiti westwards across Saraj, at a diminishing height. The 1917 gazetteer calls it "the Sri Kandh, or Jalori ridge". It describes the ridge running on into Mandi as "the Bashleo-Jalori ridge".[2]: 2–3 It gives the ridge two passes, the Bashleo at 10,750 feet and the Jalori at 10,000 feet (about 3,050 m), "connecting Inner with Outer Saráj".[2]: 3 The 1897 gazetteer gives the ridge an average elevation of 12,000 feet (about 3,660 m).[1]: 3
Two spurs of the ridge enclose the Jibhi Gad on the north side.[2]: 3 The Shoja and Hirb streams meet at Ghiaghi.[4]: 25 The stream they form joins another at Jibhi to make the Jibhi Gad, a tributary of the Tirthan.[4]: 25 The medicinal-plant survey of these catchments places them in the Seraj Forest Division.[4]: 25 On the south side the ridge sends short spurs down to the Sutlej on either side of the Ani Gad.[2]: 3
The road between Ani and Banjar crosses the pass. The 1917 gazetteer traces it "up the Ani Gad by Ani and Khang to the Jalori Pass, which is closed by snow in winter, down the Jibhi Gad by Banjar to the Tirthan River".[2]: 131 Its route table puts the rest-house at Khanag, on the stage south of the crossing, at 8,300 feet. The one at Shoja, on the stage north of it, stood at 8,800 feet.[2]: 135 The district's disaster management plan records the Jalori Pass closed by the heavy snowfall of January 2017 and reopened soon after the road was cleared of snow.[6]: 37
Inner and Outer Saraj
The ridge divided the two revenue divisions (waziris) of the Saraj tahsil. The 1897 gazetteer describes Inner Saraj ("Saráj Jánib Biás") as the tract between the Sainj and the ridge. Outer Saraj ("Saráj Jánib Satlaj") stretched "southwards from the ridge to the Satlaj".[1]: 3 It gives their areas as 308 and 275 square miles; the 1917 gazetteer gives 299 and 257.[1]: 3[2]: 5 The 1917 gazetteer places Jibhi in Inner Saraj.[2]: 132 The district administration describes Outer Saraj as "consisting of Ani and Nirmand of the present times" and dates its incorporation into the Kullu kingdom to 1672.[7] Banjar and Anni now give their names to sub-divisions and tehsils of the district.[8]
Climate
Both gazetteers describe the rainfall on the slopes of the ridge as "excessive".[1]: 84[2]: 91 The medicinal-plant survey describes the climate of its study area as temperate, sub-alpine and alpine, with summer from April to June, rains from mid-June to September and winter from October to March. It recorded about 1,103 mm of rain in 2007, most of it in July and August, heavy snow from December to March and temperatures from −4 to 30 °C.[4]: 25
History
Hemp in the colonial record
The 1897 gazetteer, compiled by A. H. Diack, describes hemp on the ridge:
"Hemp is grown extensively in the high-lying villages on the slopes on both sides of the Jalori ridge where the excessive rainfall, which is fatal to the charas excretion of the plant, is favourable to the development of excellent fibre."[1]: 84
The 1917 gazetteer reprints the passage.[2]: 91 Diack records the crop sown "in the richly manured plots within, or close to, the hamlets, and also in the glades or tháches in the forest where sheep are regularly penned". He puts the yield "as high as five or even ten maunds of fibre an acre", sold at 8 to 16 pakka sers a rupee to the inhabitants of villages where hemp was not grown.[1]: 84
Most of the fibre was worked where it grew, into ropes and grass shoes, pula. The shoes were made by women, "both high and low caste, but chiefly low caste". Two pakka sers of fibre made four pairs of shoes or three ropes of 30 feet. Surplus shoes were sold in the bazaars of Sultanpur in Kulu and of Rampur in Bashahr, at two annas a pair in Diack's account and four annas in the 1917 gazetteer.[1]: 84–85[2]: 91
A report of 1880 by Alexander Anderson, printed with his evidence to the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission in 1894, describes the parched hemp seed eaten against the cold, bhangolu, as "found in largest quantity in Rupi and Seoraj". It adds that "the Seorajis sell or exchange bhangolu for wool with the Lahoulis who eat it and also sow it".[9]: 379
Traditional cultivation
The survey of fibre plants, carried out from 2010 to 2012, recorded the plant under the local name bhang and found it "used by 92.19 % people", more than any other fibre plant. It describes the stems of mature plants cut, dew-retted in the open for three to five weeks, soaked in small tanks or ponds and scutched. The dried fibre is made into ropes, tethers for cattle and the slippers "locally called 'Pula'".[3] The authors describe their localities as the "Outer Siraj area of district Kullu". Their list includes "Khnag" and also Katrain and Rumsu in the main Kullu valley. They report their results for the area as a whole.[3]
The medicinal-plant survey, which its authors place in the "Banjar valley", covered nine villages, among them Banjar, Ghiaghi, Jalora and Shoja, between 2007 and 2010.[4]: 26 It recorded Cannabis sativa, under the local name bhang, in cultivated fields and on degraded land between 1,500 and 3,000 m, with its seeds, bark and stems among the parts used.[4]: 36
Appellations
No appellation pages exist for this growing area yet.
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Locality | Elevation | Priority | Collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COC-IND-HIM-0120210003 | Mahoot General Population 2021 | Mahoot | 3,000 m;1meter;1meters;3.28084ft;3.28084foot;3.28084feet |
COC-IND-HIM-0120210003 is a population from Mahoot sold by Coco Genes in its "2021 season" category. The listing places the village "near to the Jalori pass", says it must be reached "completely by foot" and gives its "[a]verage altitude" as "3000 above sea level". It describes the village as "sparsely populated" and says that "a few families are employed in growing". The collection is credited to Rob Stone.[5]
By conservation priority
| Priority | Count |
|---|---|
| Critical | 0 |
| High | 0 |
| Medium | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Enforcement
A report of September 2019 on the state police's plans to use drones listed the "Anni-Khanag region" among the cannabis cultivation areas of Kullu district.[10] A report of 2021 named the Banjar and Anni areas among those whose charas "is known as Malana cream".[11] In April 2022 the police destroyed 160 kg of charas, 120 cannabis plants and 80 opium plants seized in 43 cases, 37 of them in Banjar and five in Anni.[12]
Conservation status
Conservation status: Unknown. The Zomia Collective's regional index lists "Jibhi Pass" among its Kullu district entries and tags it "[Status Unknown] [Undocumented]".[13]
Recent news
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Diack, A.H. (1899). Gazetteer of the Kangra District, Parts II to IV: Kulu, Lahul and Spiti, 1897. Lahore: Punjab Government – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Punjab District Gazetteers, Vol. XXX-A: Kangra District, Parts II–IV (Kulu, Lahul and Spiti). Lahore: Government of Punjab. 1918 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bhardwaj, Arvind; Rani, Savita; Rana, J.C. (June 2014). "Traditionally used common fibre plants in outer siraj area, Himachal Pradesh". Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources. 5 (2): 190–194.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Sharma, Pankaj; Kumari, Deeksha; Samant, S.S. (2024). "Threat categorization and conservation prioritization of medicinal plants in Banjar Valley, Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh". AgriBio Innovations. 1 (1): 24–52. doi:10.65041/abi.4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Mahoot Village : Robstoned Collection". Collector's Collective. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
- ↑ District Disaster Management Plan, Kullu (PDF) (Report). District Disaster Management Authority, Kullu. 2017.
- ↑ "History". District Kullu. Government of Himachal Pradesh. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Administrative Setup". District Kullu. Government of Himachal Pradesh. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (1894). Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1893–94, Vol. V: Evidence of witnesses from North-Western Provinces and Oudh and Punjab. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India. Punjab witness no. 10, Mr. Alexander Anderson, pp. 377–380 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ Lohumi, Bhanu P (24 September 2019). "Drones to spot cannabis crop in Himachal". The Tribune. Tribune News Service.
- ↑ Manta, Dipender (16 November 2021). "Despite vigil, cannabis cultivation goes on in Kullu". The Tribune. Tribune News Service.
- ↑ "Charas destroyed in Kullu". The Tribune. 30 April 2022.
- ↑ "Growing Regions". Zomia Collective. Retrieved 27 September 2026.