The self governing land of Malana!!!

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Ghoomophiro

 Malana is a beautiful yet a secluded village in the Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Tourists from Israel and other parts of the world flock in great numbers to this quiet little Himalayan hamlet. Out of the several villages in the Parvati Valley, this village is relatively an isolated one, best known for Malana cream. It is a local variety of hashish, a purified resinous extract of cannabis which is highly valued in the international market.

Belief

The people of Malana consider cannabis as ‘shiv ji ki buti’ and do not see its production as something wrong. Apart from Shiva, they have a firm belief in their devta, Jamlu Rishi. As per the Puranas, a sage once inhabited this land and laid the foundation of democracy, which still persists. They believe in self-governance and thus have their own lower and the higher court, President and Prime Minister. The Malanese people are believed to be the descendants of Alexander, the great.

The Taboo

The set of rules they follow is absolutely unknown to the common world. To resolve a conflict their justice relies on the death of the lamb. They cut the right foreleg of lamb, stuff it with poison and then sew it back. The person whose lamb dies first fails in the judgment. It is believed to be a decision made by their Devta.

The Social Background

The locals here are unfriendly and avoid interaction with a foreigner. They do not eat any food cooked by an outsider and not even let them touch themselves. They believe that the rest of the world is inferior to them. Tourists are prescribed a set of rules to follow when in Malana.

• Do not touch the walls, houses, temples, people or any sacred stone.
• If by any case food is offered to a non-Malani, then all the utensils have to undergo a purification ritual before they can be used again.­­­

How to get there

Malana is 527 km from Delhi by road.  The easiest and shortest way to reach Malana is to go to Buntar by air (13 km from Jari) and from there to village Jari. You would have to trek for 12 km, as there are no taxis or buses available to Malana.

Best Time to visit

At an altitude of 2,652metres above the sea level, the village has an extreme climate. The best time to go is from early May to August.

Malana’s Cream

The small village of Malana is famous throughout the world for its quality hashish known as Malana cream, extracted from the Cannabis plant. The quality of hash is so fine that it has won the Best Hashish title in 1994 and 1996 at the High Times magazine’s Cannabis Cup. The Malana cream is the most expensive hashish in the Amsterdam menu. Earlier, cannabis was only used for medical treatment. It was only when foreigners started coming to this land, they taught the locals how to make hashish by rubbing the oil on the hand under sunlight. Slowly and gradually they started the business of Hashish production which eventually became their main source of income.

Travel Tip

The best time to visit this alluring valley is in summer. The famous “Malan Shuan” the summer festival takes place on 15th August.