Bomi County, Tibet
Encyclopedia
Bomê County is a county of the Nyingchi Prefecture
in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region
.
The population was 27,169 in 1999.
Bomai (sPo smad) or Boyü (sPo yul) (Pome or Poyul in Western accounts) was the seat of a quasi-independent kingdom until the early 20th century when troops of the Dalai Lama's Lhasa government integrated it forcefully into the central Tibetan realm.
The kingdom of sPo bo, or sPo yul (“country of sPo”) was an off-shoot of the ancient dynasty of the first Tibetan kings of the Yarlung Valley. Its inhabitants had a reputation as fearsome savages which meant most travellers kept clear of it and so it was one of the least known areas in the Tibetan traditional feudal establishment.
Its isolation was also enhanced by the belief by a great number of Tibetans that in its borders was one of the 'hidden lands' or beyul
referred to in the prophecies of Guru Rinpoche. sPo ba’s area of control far exceeded the boundaries of Bomê County. The kingdom acted as a protecting power from the Klo pa
tribes for the streams of Tibetan pilgrims searching for this Promised Land in the East Himalayas from the mid-seventeenth century. Its power extended south over the Doshong La pass, to include the location of one of these earthly paradises called Padma bkod (written variously Pema köd, Pemakö and Pemako), literally 'Lotus Array', a region in the North-Eastern Province of Upper Siang of Arunachal Pradesh
. Accounts of this terrestrial paradise influenced James Hilton
's Shangri-La
.
A period of instability overtook the kingdom after Chinese incursions in 1905 and 1911. By 1931 the Lhasa government had expelled the last Ka gnam sde pa ('king') and established two garrisons.
Nyingchi Prefecture
Nyingchi Prefecture is a prefecture in southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region in western China. The Chinese government claims South Tibet, which is currently governed by India, as part of the prefecture....
in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
.
The population was 27,169 in 1999.
Bomai (sPo smad) or Boyü (sPo yul) (Pome or Poyul in Western accounts) was the seat of a quasi-independent kingdom until the early 20th century when troops of the Dalai Lama's Lhasa government integrated it forcefully into the central Tibetan realm.
The kingdom of sPo bo, or sPo yul (“country of sPo”) was an off-shoot of the ancient dynasty of the first Tibetan kings of the Yarlung Valley. Its inhabitants had a reputation as fearsome savages which meant most travellers kept clear of it and so it was one of the least known areas in the Tibetan traditional feudal establishment.
Its isolation was also enhanced by the belief by a great number of Tibetans that in its borders was one of the 'hidden lands' or beyul
Beyul
Beyul are hidden valleys, encompassing hundreds of square kilometers, which Padmasambhava blessed as refuges in the Nyingmapa Tibetan Buddhist beliefs. Terton may reveal them from terma at specific and appropriate times. Their locations were kept on scrolls hidden under rocks and inside caves,...
referred to in the prophecies of Guru Rinpoche. sPo ba’s area of control far exceeded the boundaries of Bomê County. The kingdom acted as a protecting power from the Klo pa
Lhoba
Lhoba is a term of obscure origin which has come to apply to a diverse amalgamation of Tibeto-Burman tribespeople living in and around "Pemako" , including Mainling, Medog, Zayü counties of Nyingchi Prefecture and Lhünzê County of Shannan Prefecture...
tribes for the streams of Tibetan pilgrims searching for this Promised Land in the East Himalayas from the mid-seventeenth century. Its power extended south over the Doshong La pass, to include the location of one of these earthly paradises called Padma bkod (written variously Pema köd, Pemakö and Pemako), literally 'Lotus Array', a region in the North-Eastern Province of Upper Siang of Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
. Accounts of this terrestrial paradise influenced James Hilton
James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
's Shangri-La
Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
.
A period of instability overtook the kingdom after Chinese incursions in 1905 and 1911. By 1931 the Lhasa government had expelled the last Ka gnam sde pa ('king') and established two garrisons.