Mysterious Mali - In words and Pictures

The travelers were returning from Mt. Kailas. It is the most sacred of all mountains to Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, and Bonpos. The mountain has an ethereal beauty. Mt. Kailas is located in one of the remotest areas of the world -- the Ngari region of Western Tibet. To many, it is the navel of the earth.

"He who performs the Parikrama [Kora], the ritual circumambulation of the holy mountain, with a perfectly devoted and concentrated mind goes through a full cycle of life and death." Lama Anagarika Govinda, The Way of the White Clouds.

The trisul (trident) is a symbol of Shiva. Shiva is one of
the most powerful of Hindu gods. As the prayer flags move in the breeze,
the blessings printed on the cloth spread over the world.

All the travelers' reasons for going to Mt. Kailas were as varied as their respective personalities. Some sought spiritual renewal and some simply enjoyed the delights associated with the outdoors.

It was during the travelers' trek back across the Himalayas that discussions about the possibility of going to Mali, Africa, started. Why Mali? For one of the travelers, it was an opportunity to answer a life-long question -- where does the road out of Tombouctou go? For others, it would be an opportunity to see various aspects of the culture of the Dogon Tribe.
For some, it was simply an opportunity to travel.

Before returning to lives of normalcy, some of the travelers had the opportunity to revel in the
wonders of Kathmandu. In the surrounding environs of Kathmandu, the traveler can easily
see the beauty inherent in the on-going cycle of life and death.
Much of what the travelers immersed themselves into was a living illustration of the birth/death/rebirth phenomenon experienced by the Tibetan pilgrims who completed their Mt. Kailas Kora.

Thoughts of Mali and its contradictions, as well as the opportunity to learn about an unknown area, were on the minds of four travelers who spent the day at an area just outside Kathmandu -- Pashupatinath. The travelers spent a portion of the day sitting on the banks of the Bagmati River watching. They watched children and baby monkeys play in the river,
watched families with loved ones who were dying on the Bagmati's banks,
and watched the never ending cremations.

These powders are for sale in Pashupatinath. Some of these
powders are used in a ritual that takes place before the
cremation pyre
is ignited

Having seen one view of the never ending birth/death/rebirth cycle, the travelers realized going to Mali would merely be an extension of the journey ending, and yet starting, by the Bagmati.
Of the four travelers, one would go to Mali, two would not, and one
would die within weeks of his return home.

What follows is only a sampling of Mali's magic. The Mt. Kailas journey
will become part of Mysterious Places later.