Home Visits

Once the work team had settled in, we started visiting the villagers in their homes to get the lay of the land. There are four unincorporated villages in Yerpa： Gogo and Yulo are downstream on the east bank of Nujiang River; Sengo, the one in the middle, is the seat of the village committee, and Dangran Village, a hour＇s walk from Sengo （upstream and to the west） is the smallest and most remote. Accordingto old statistics, there was a population of 489 in the 78 households in Yerpa Village. That made it a relatively big administrative village. It is also typical of the eastern river valley region of Tibet, with features such as deep valleys, steep mountains, a widely dispersed population over a wide area, the shortage of arable land, a dry climate and lack of transport facilities. Currently a road runs past the village but there is still no electricity, telecommunications, schools, medical services.., or safe drinking water. In the past people had to use a cable slide to cross the Nujiang River and then walk another 10 kilometers to get to Junyong Village in Dombang Township of Dzogong County. In order to continue on to the county seat of Dzogong there was another steep mountain to climb. On looking up from Yerpa Village, the highway was like a thread hanging from the clouds. The villagers used to climb Khekela on the other side of Nujiang River to reach Temtok Town of Dzogong County. Our legs almost gave way just from looking at that narrow trail. But the villagers had to rely on it to go to the nearest town for selling produce and shopping. Sometimes they would return on the same day. Our visit started from the village of Dangran. Since it was farthest from where we were, we decided to tackle the hard stuff first. Dangran Village had sent several horses and mules to us so we could use them to carry our gifts, plus a bottle of cooking oil bought in the county seat, for each family. On the gravel road that doubled as a water channel, the horses were fine but the mules liked to head for the thorn bushes by the roadside.     

Langmar Hall in Yerpa Village

Langmar Hall is a ＂Tibetan KTV＂. As in other cities like Lhasa, it is a very crowded place and also a big draw card for tourists. Different from KTVs in the mainland, Langmar Hall does not charge admission. It makes money from beer consumption, so the waitresses are happy to open beers for customers. They often stand beside you, raise your glass and propose a toast to you. Friends from the mainland are not aware of this trick, and believe it is required etiquette, so they are happy to drink as much as they can. People in Lhasa make fun of this and say that the     

LOSANG

Losang is now 78 years old,one of the villagers who enjoy longevity.He is the former village head of Dangram Village,also a senior Party member.By right of his senior experience,he is really somebody of the village. It was Losang who sent us to Dangram in earlier times and provided horses and mules     

Rebuilding the Yerpa Primary School

There used to be a primary school between Yulo and Sengo in Yerpa Village:three classrooms in a row,plus dormitories and a canteen. In the 1990s there were three teachers at the school and about 60- 70 students distributed over the three classes.When those village-funded teachers were dismissed,the township’s central primary school sent two teachers to work for six months.Later,Yerpa Primary School merged with the town school and ever since then the old school building has fallen into disrepair.     

BODY RAINBOW

Chapter Fourteen
Phubu was in a police car traveling to Lhasa. Sitting in the backseat, Phubu was sick with nerves. He was afraid that Zhang would detect the unusual smell of the sack and find out that it contained Phumo＇s body. To Phubu, these cops had almost magical powers and he did not know how Zhang would react if he knew Phubu＇s secret…… maybe Zhang would kick him out and confiscate the sack.     

Body Rainbow简

<正>Chapter Eight It was almost dark when Phubu got to Tadrosa Village down the mountain.A light snowfall dusted the ground.Phubu was thinking about how to find ...     

THE ORCHARD

Behind the Village Committee,there is an orchard with an area of about 6,666 square meters.Though it mainly belongs to the family of Shigyal and Chojor Jinpa,(the Village Secretary),some of the trees in it are allocated to other families.It is only one of the many orchards in the village.Since the orchard lies next to the Village committee where we are stationed,it is like our backyard garden.In the morning,it is full of birds.Each orchard,fenced by walls and thorns,is a quiet and slightly forbidding place in the name of different families.     

Big Ears

Shortly after we arrived in the village, a black dog with big, erect ears appeared. This dog lying by the roadsidestartled us because her huge ears made her look more like a wolf or a fox than a dog. Later, she would often wander about in front of the village committee. My fellow team members would give her something to eat. She came to know us better and gradually became a regular visitor to the village committee.     

Body Rainbow

Editor’s Notes:Jigme Phungyel is a famous Tibetan novelist.Almost 20 years ago, his novel Tibetans in Beijing vividly recorded several Tibetan youths’ lives and their confusions in modern city in the 1980s. Later, he went to Tibet