Himalayan art and artifacts from the journey of a Princeton Day School family make up an exhibit at the school.
By: Susan Van Dongen
Some parents won’t let their youngsters go to the mall. In contrast, Isabella de la Houssaye and David Crane strap their kids to sturdy donkeys and sure-footed horses and trek them across the Himalayas. At least, that’s what they did last August.
Longtime enthusiastic world travelers, this couple’s globe-trotting adventures weren’t slowed by raising children (they have five). Last summer’s trip to Bhutan, Mongolia and other destinations in the Himalayas was a high point, and an opportunity to take the kids to the "rooftop of the world."
It was also a chance to add to Ms. de la Houssaye and Mr. Crane’s extensive collection of international art, antiques and artifacts. Partly to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Genghis Khan Empire, Princeton Day School is hosting an exhibit celebrating Mongolian culture, featuring items collected by Ms. de la Houssaye and Mr. Crane.
From prayer wheels to flint pouches, the exhibit includes numerous rare Himalayan objects Tantric Buddhist clothing, books and ceremonial objects. Some of the things would be precious to Tibetan Buddhists, for example the two rare yellow hats from the "yellow hat" sect, of which the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader.
"For a lama from this sect, wearing the yellow hat defines who they are," Ms. de la Houssaye says. "It’s rare to find these things for sale. I bought them in Mongolia. You’d never find them for sale in Tibet. It’s interesting that these religious items would never be sold by the monks. But when China invaded Tibet they scooped up a lot of things, warehousing many of them they didn’t destroy them, fortunately.
"What happened was, (the Chinese) went back and redistributed them to various monasteries, but often they didn’t deliver them to the proper monastery so the monks didn’t want them," she continues. "That’s how they got to the antique markets."
The sacred Tibetan objects often find their way to the market in Mongolia, where the people are not Buddhist and are therefore not aware how valued these things are. Also, the people are so desperately poor, selling the objects is one of their only ways of earning income.
"We were literally trading Skittles for some of these things," Ms. de la Houssaye says.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the exhibit of artifacts will give PDS students a better sense of the geography of the Himalayan region. Ms. de la Houssaye offers it as an introduction to Buddhism as well. A PDS parent, she plans to visit some of the classrooms and talk about the objects and their meaning.
The (faith) is so complex I don’t know how much depth I’ll be able to get into," Ms. de la Houssaye says. "I’ll try to show them visually, get them to look at the symbols and explain what they mean."
Many of the items, such as the prayer wheel and little leather drum (damaru), are used in the monks’ constant prayers. There also are Buddhist rosaries, called "mala," used for mantra recitation. Mala have 108 beads, a sacred number that predates Buddhism. As a multiple of 12 and nine, it represents the nine planets in the 12 houses of the zodiac.
One of the more unusual items is the "thod skam gyi dbu rgyan" the five-skull crown of "wrathful and yidam deities." It’s worn in the ritual of removing evil spirits from an individual.
Certain necklaces look like things you might buy at an open-air ethnic market or on the boardwalk except that the two gzi stones in one necklace are extremely valuable. Their trade value in Tibet is equivalent to a modest farmhouse or several pounds weight of silver ingots. The banded or etched agate is worn as a protective amulet against malevolent influences.
Of their trek, Ms. de la Houssaye gives some interesting tidbits.
"Mongolia was the only place I’ve ever been where outside of the capital city you weren’t able to get fruit and vegetables," she says. "The northern tip of Mongolia, where we started our trip, borders Siberia. I’ve never been so cold in August. But the ground only thaws for six weeks out of the year and it’s not enough time to grow anything. That’s why there are no fruits and vegetables there. The only thing to eat is yak meat and horsemeat.
"The kids were OK with that," she adds with a smile.
Ms. de la Houssaye says traces of the great horse-driven culture of the Khan empire can still be seen in Mongolia.
"The ratio of horses to people is 13 to one so we were there on horses," she says. "The road system is non-existent outside of the capital, it’s basically dirt roads and trails. It’s interesting to think that at one time the Mongolian empire was so strong that the Great Wall of China was built to keep the Mongols out. It’s the only country I’ve ever been in which it is still truly nomadic. People live in gers (a yurt), which they pack up at the end of the summer. Then they move to a winter site further south or further into the mountains for protection.
"Then they come out when the weather warms and move toward the lakes for a source of water," she adds. "We saw some of that process the end of summer was coming and we could see people starting to pack up."
Ms. de la Houssaye had great expectations for her Himalayan trip. In her mind, she saw the family crisscrossing Mongolia with ease, from East Govi to Uvs. She wasn’t aware that the going would be slowed to a snail’s pace by a very poor road system.
"When you’re trekking you’re either on horse and the horses are actually quite small or on foot," she says. "You can get through in a four-wheel drive but it’s not a secure method of travel because the roads are so bad. And it basically takes as long as riding or walking. I had no sense of that (before we left).
"When we were planning our trip I was talking to people saying I wanted to see 10 different parts of the country in our three weeks and folks were telling me, ‘You can’t do that,’" she continues. "There’s no road system and there are only one or two little airports outside of the capital. If you want to see the country you need a lot of time."
Himalayan artifacts from the collection of Isabella de la Houssaye and David Crane are on view in the exhibition cases of the Upper School at Princeton Day School, 650 the Great Road, Princeton, through April 13. Exhibition hours: Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or by appointment. For information, call (609) 924-6700. On the Web: www.pds.org

