After a pause in documentation last year, the TMPV team was eager to resume work in the Tarap Valley, Lower Dolpo. This year’s expedition focused on documenting the manuscripts of Mekhyim Monastery, a remote institution perched high above Tarap. The monastery houses a remarkable collection of 51 manuscripts, tentatively dated to the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries. As in other institutions in the Dolpo region, the core of the collection consists of a (complete) Sūtra collection and a substantial set of the Śatasāhasrikā-Prajñāpāramitā (‘bum).
Due to time constraints, the documentation had to be scheduled slightly earlier than usual, requiring work during the final phase of Dolpo’s winter in April. Although this posed considerable challenges for both equipment and personnel, it also offered strikingly picturesque impressions of the wintry Tarap Valley. A more detailed report, along with additional visual material, is provided in the documentation section.
