ROL history

Early history

• The Rajadom of Lo has a long, rich and complex history. Its early history is shrouded in legend, myth and mystery, but there are records of events in the Kali Kandaki Valley as early as the 8th century. According to local legend Padmasambhava, the great founder of Tibetan Buddhism came to the Kali Kandaki Valley on his way to Tibet. The first empereor of Tibet, Trisong Detsen, (742-797) was desirous of introducing Buddhism to his empire, but his desire was thwarted by evil mountain deities. Learning of the holiness of Padmasambhava, the emperor invited him to come and do battle with these evil powers. Guru Rinpoche, as he is known in Tibet, on his way through eastern Lo, in 775 built the temple of Ghar Gompa (House Temple) which still stands guard today. He arrived in Tibet 810 and used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered along the way. He founded the first monastery in the country, Samye Gompa, initiated the first monks, and introduced the people to the practice of Tantric Buddhism. It is also quite likely that the Tibetan poet Milarepa, who lived from 1040 to 1123, visited Lo.

14th Century

• It is generally believed that the warrior Ame Pal was the founder king of the Buddhist Kingdom of Lo in 1380. Shres-rab la-ma was the military commander and provincial commissioner of Lo for the Gung-thang kings. He held a semi-independent status, which allowed him to secure the government for his lineal descendants. His grandson, Ame Pal consolidated his power and extended his influence over a wide region in western Tibet, eventually establishing his own kingdom. His Gung-thang overlords recognised him as an independent ruler, with the title of chos-gyal. His kingdom remained closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. Ame Pal, or perhaps his father, conquered a large part of the territory in the upper Kali Kandaki and was responsible for the development of the city of Lo Manthang and for constructing many gompas (temples). The ancestry of the present Raja can be traced back 25 generations to Ame Pal.
  • For a time, Lo was part of Ngari, a name for far western Tibet. Ngari was not a true political entity, but rather a loose collection of feudal domains that also included parts of Dolpo (now a district of Nepal). By the 14th century, much of Ngari, as well as most of what today is western Nepal, was part of the Malla Empire governed from the capital at Sinja, near Jumla.
  • Ame Pal's successors continued to rule independently until the second quarter of the sixteenth century. After many battles and countless incursions, the neighbouring principality of Jumla established control over Lo, and for a time no paramount ruler was recognised. The Jumla rajas divided the principality amongst regional commissioners and governors, these offices being filled by various members of the Lo ruling family.

16th Century

• Gya-hor-pal-zang recovered a measure of independence from Jumla and was recognised as chogyal, about 1560. However, his brother and successor succumbed to Jumla rule once more, and his descendants continued as vassals for the next century.

18th Century

• The Malla Empire declined and split into numerous petty hill states. By the 18th century, Jumla had consolidated and reasserted its power. In an effort to develop their domain as a trading center and to obtain Tibetan goods, the rulers of Jumla turned their attention eastward. In 1740, they assumed control over Lo, from which they extracted an annual tribute.
• Since the valley was the easiest corridor through the mighty Himalaya linking the Tibetan Plateau to southern Asia, it became a major trading center. Great caravans of sheep and yaks brought loads from Tibet to Lo where theys were transferred to the mules and goats more suited to travel in the warmer lowlands. Southwards the trade was in salt, wool, musk, borax and tsampa; heading north was rice, grain, and textiles
• When he ascended the throne in 1762, Prithvi Narayan Shah, founder of the house of Gurkha, began to consolidate what is present-day Nepal. He conquered Jumla and laid claim to Lo. Although Lo was forced to pay tribute for protection, they regained a large measure of autonomy. Prithvi Narayan Shah went on to conquer much of what is now modern Nepal. At the time of his death in 1775, the kingdom extended from Gorkha eastward to the borders of Sikkim. His descendants directed their efforts westward and by 1789, Jumla had been annexed.
• The vassal rulers of Lo made several valiant, but unsuccessful, attempts to re-establish their independence. Their chance finally came in 1788 when the Nepalese Regent, Prince Bahadur Shah, requested an alliance to complete his plans for unifying Nepal. He needed the help of Anjia Dorje to subdue the Raja of Jumla, Lo’s overlod. In 1790, after the successful completion of the war, Anjia Dorje accepted Nepalese sovereignty and secured the return of lands annexed by Jumla which had been annexed outright, including lower Lo, Manang, Nyishang, Phug, Nubri, Rui, Namjar, and Dolpo. Thereafter he was recognised as a tributary ruler with the hereditary title of Raja of Lo. He received a crown recognising his new status from the Maharajadhiraja of Nepal and was granted a gold and plumed crown by the Emperor of China, which now form part of theTog-gsum or regalia of the rajadom. He was a religious and cultural reformer who renovated monasteries and monuments, built several temples and a modern palace, and invited learned lamas to settle in Lo.