The Himalayas research area focuses on Nepalese, Sikkimese, and Tibetan book culture and its distinct communities, texts, and ritual traditions. The books, connected to both the Buddhist and Indigenous cultures of the Himalayas, contain religious, astrological, philosophical, medical, language and grammar texts, as well as pilgrimage guides, ritual texts, folklore, and biographies. Himalayan book forms were influenced by early Buddhist pothi books (oblong and made of stacked palm leaves), which spread from India north to the Himalayas with the spread of Buddhism. This “pothi-style” format remained, but bookmakers made use of local materials, such as paper, to make sheets and covers, the materials of which are readily available in the fiber- and water-rich papermaking regions of the Himalayas. Paper is a primary material, but communities make use of local, vernacular materials for their book-making, including birchbark and palm-leaf for sheet material, wood for covers, and a variety of textiles for wrappers/ robes and ties/ belts. Himalayan book formats include pothi-style books (pecha), fold books, sewn codices (bound on one edge), scrolls, and other forms such as large sheets rolled or folded for transport.

Hidden Stories connects with local and global communities to share knowledge about these book traditions. The project works to connect origin communities to their books in North American collections (such as those in Toronto), as well as stabilising and imaging collections in Nepal, work on conservation issues facing Tibetan books in monastery collections, and working with traditional craftspeople in Sikkim (today in India) and throughout the Himalayas to preserve and share knowledge of traditional production and care of books.

Lead researchers include Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia (Hidden Stories) and Bidur Bhattarai (CSMC Hamburg), working in Sikkim and Nepal, respectively, with research support by Thinley Gyatso (PhD Candidate in Buddhist Studies, U of T), James Canary (Lilly Library, Indiana U), Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa (Occidental College, Los Angeles), and Tim Perry (U of T Libraries). Hidden Stories project coordination is by Melissa Moreton (IAS, Princeton) and Jessica Lockhart (U of T).