THE FOLK TREASURES OF TIBET

tibetans are fond of carrying knives for different purposes such as domestic use, primary production, and self-protection as well as just for decoration. Tibetan knives have a history of over 1,000 years. It is quite difficult to produce a Tibetan knife and usually the blade is forged in steel while the knife handle is often made of either yak horn or hard wood. Tibetan knives are classified into three kinds,     

Imagination beyond THE Ancient Cemetery on Mt.Le

Most people believe that the practice of sky burial is all- pervasive in Tibet.While some people may have a passing acquaintance with the rituals regarding sky burial in Tibet,others may be curious and seek more information. Nonetheless, they may not even know that earth burial prevailed in Tibet just before Buddhism was introduced into Tibet or as early as when the Shangshung     

Taking Pictures for the Villagers

The township sent out a notice that all villagers should be photographed as part of the datacollection effort for the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme （NCMS） and it was hoped that the work team could help carry this out. We all wanted to help, but knew that it would not be easy. It was during a busy farming season, so it was difficult to gather the villagers （most of whom were busy working in the fields）. First we set up a simple photography studio in the village committee. The only piece of equipment we owned was a tripod and we used the bare wall of the committee building as a backdrop for the photos. As the day drew to a close, the villagers came in twos and threes, most of them straight from the fields. Then facilities for villagers to freshen-up were provided, including a basin of water, towels, and comb for them to tidy up before the shoot. But the villagefolks were often too shy to wash up in front of us, and even after our gentle persuasion, they would just splash some water on their faces. Sometimes, we, the photographers, had to help them with their hair and general appearance. Fortunately, they were completely at ease with that.     

Body Rainbow

Chapter Four The next morning, Phubu was awoken up by a group of monkeys fighting over peas and barley in the field. It was broad daylight. The long calls of the so-called ＂slow birds＂ came from afar. Phubu looked over to the bed to check on Phnmo and saw her sitting cross-legged and chanting sutras. Phumo saw him get up, so she got off the bed, took out a handful of dried apricots, opened the door, and threw them to the monkeys who, instead of running away when they saw her, came up to her chattering. Fearing that they would climb up and steal things, Phubu drew them away. The morning sun rose from the mountains by the Nujiang River in the east. After a good night＇s sleep, Phumo felt much better and had a nice breakfast. After the sun had reached the whole valley, they set out. Phubu carefully dowsed the fire in the stove and cleaned the Tsampa crumbs off the stove. He made sure everything was in order before leaving after fastening the door to prevent those cunning monkeys from entering and making a mess there. Having finished this, Phubu then put the ladder away in the barn on the ground floor to shield it from sun and rain, put the bags on his back and ran after Phumo. Other than a short fur jacket, Phubu was dressed in modern Chinese-style clothes that were more convenient for walking, but Phumo did not want to give up her a cumbersome long dress. Phubu was determined to make her put on the pants he prepared for her once they reach the paved road, otherwise when they start prostrating, she would most likely trip over her long dress, and bave a nasty fall. Phubu soon caught up with Phumo. She walked rather briskly through the forest with a stick picked up from by the road. They breathed in deeply the fresh air of the forest in the morning.., and gained strength from it. Phumo said, ＂Now I＇m feeling much better. I want to start prostrating.＂ Phubu objected, ＂Wait a minute. Haven＇t we already agreed on it？ We don＇t prostrate on Dosenla Mountain. The mountaintop is covered with snow now. It is hard to find a spot to spend the night up there. We＇d better get to the township today.＂ Phumo thought for a while, and agreed. They crossed the forest and climbed up to an alpine meadow. On a gentle slope facing the sun, lots of marmots were standing straight, basking in the sunshine. When the two of them got close, the marmots quickly jumped back into their burrows. Phumo and Phubu carefully avoided the holes on the snow-covered ground, and reached the mountaintop. Dosenla Mountain has a long ridge. The peak in the east is called Dosen and the one sitting five kilometres to the west is Doshong. Once they were on Dosen, a strong west wind blew straight at them. Phumo staggered, Phubu held her, and they rested in the sheltered side by the Mani stones on the peak. Phubu took out his thermos, a gift from a Chinese friend of his in Lhasa. He poured hot tea into the cap, and they enjoyed the heart-warming drink. Phumo took out the prayer banners from their luggage and was about to hang them with other prayer banners on the peak. Phubu stopped her, ＂We＇ll be passing by many mountains. If you start hanging them now, we won＇t have enough for later.＂ ＂I＇ll leave them at the right places. There＇s no such thing as ＇not enough＇.＂ Phumo replied. Phubu had no choice but to help Phumo hang the banners in the strong wind. ＂Let＇s not hang the wind-horse banners here, at least wait until we get to Doshong.＂Phubu said. ＂OK.＂Phumo strode forth. The small path from Dosen to Doshong winds along the high mountain ridge. If looked at from afar, Phumo and Phubu were like two moving exclamation marks. Then some ellipsis points appeared behind them. Those were the three sons of Gar Phuntsok of Sengo Village. They went up the mountain to collect logs, and were now coming back down. They were going to build new houses in the winter. ＂A hard trip, isn＇t it？＂ said Sonam, Gar Phuntsok＇s eldest son, when he caught up with them. Phubu didn＇t react, so Phumo answered in haste, ＂No problem＂ Not knowing what else to say, she asked, ＂Carrying logs＂ ＂Yep,＂ Sonam said, ＂Patri and his company have gone for over two months. What kept you so long＂ Sonam and his brothers had been working at their county seat; they did not know what was going on in the village. ＂We just finished the farm work at home.＂ Phumo replied. Sonata and his brothers were famous for their good looks in the village. They got that from their beautiful mother. Sonam used to be Phumo＇s childhood sweetheart, a fact the narrow-minded Phubu had never let go. The Sonam brothers were all married and had children now, but rumour had it that they were getting a divorce, because their wife was a tough woman who ran a tight ship     

An account of cultural heritage and nature conservation in Mustang,Nepal

Abstract

This article was presented as a paper to ‘World Cultural Heritage: a global challenge’, an International Symposium at Hildesheim, Germany in February 1997. The paper outlines the problems of attempting to develop a combined heritage and tourism strategy for the small, remote, Himalayan kingdom of Mustang. The development of tourism brings both opportunities and threats to local people and their identity.     

PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE FILM "NEVER GIVE UP" HELD IN BEIJING

<正>The press conference of the Tibetan themed film"Never Give up"was held in Beijing on Jan.18,2015.The film is based on the novel"Tibetan Children",written by a Tibetan young writer Yingsa Norbu Tsering.It tells stories of Tibetan kids such as Norbu Tsering who go to inland for studying and growing up.     

The Red Bird & Red Fish

正~~