Home VagabondJourney.com Travel Blog Travel Photos China Travel Information
The Nomads of Tibet: Beyond the Grasps of
Time
“Not wanting to enter the tent, I looked up at the sky. Brilliant sunlight shown
from above. I could see far into the distance and I enjoyed it.”
-Karma-Dondrub
“On the grazing lands of Tibet you live in the present.”
-Rangeland Ecologist, Daniel Miller
“The whole life of the nomads is organized so as to make the most of the scanty
aids to living which nature provides. At night they sleep on skins spread upon
the ground and, slipping out of the sleeves, use their sheepskin cloaks as
bedclothes. Before they get up in the morning, they blow up the still live
embers of their fire with a bellows and the first thing they do is make tea.”
“Men in sheepskin clothing and with long braided hair trotted past on stout
ponies. Sitting on high-backed saddles on top of colorful saddle carpets, with
rifles slung over their shoulders and long swords dangling from their waists,
these horsemen had a haughty air of confidence about them.”
-Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet
Since time unmemorable, the nomads of the Tibetan plateau have lived in
accordance with the ancient ways of the pastoralist. Forever in tune with the
tidings of their environment, deities, and herds they travel yearly circuits up
to the high Himalayan high planes and then back down to the fertile mountain
valleys. With lives and economies completely divested in their herd animals and
hearts fully devoted to their beloved Buddha Dharma, the Tibetan nomads continue
to mark out an existence that has long been wrought from most of the world.
Please be aware that I do not intend on producing a complete document on Tibet
nomadism, nor do I balk at the fantasy that this is even a possibility. The
externally mandated time and spatial demands of this paper decree that I err
towards brevity and conciseness. I simply want to provide the reader with a
general introduction about a way of
life that was once pan-inclusive of nearly all human societies but is now on the
verge of extinction. My sole aim in writing this is to make a (perhaps fallow)
attempt at shedding light upon the ways of the Tibetan pastoral nomad. Please
also note that I do not even make
mention of semi-nomadism, in which agriculture is engaged in for part of the
year, nor former nomads who have since become either farmers or ranchers. Take
note that the criteria by which we, who are external to Tibet, delineate nomads
(as migrants) is much different than those of Tibetans; who consider a nomad as
someone who, simply, derives their livelihood and resources from animal
husbandry.
-----------------------------------------
By Wade Shepard of http://www.VagabondJourney.com
------------------------------------------
Geography:
The region that is now known as historic Tibet encompasses the entire distance from central Sichuan province (103- 104 degrees East longitude) in the east to the Pakistani and Indian borders in the west, from mid Yunnan province (east) and the Nepal border in the south to the frontiers of Xinjiang and Gansu provinces in the north. This area was once divided between the Tibetan kingdoms of Amdu (modern Quinghai) , Kham (Yunnan, Sichuan), Chang Thang (within Tibet Autonomous Region [TAR]), Ngari (western boundary of TAR), Nagchuka (eastern TAR), and Tsaidam (located in extreme north of historic Tibet). The total area that these kingdoms encompassed was over 2.5 million square kilometers; which is roughly the size of Western Europe.
Geographically speaking, Tibet is an incredibly mountainous region; with the
Himalayas, the world’s highest mountains, and its associated ranges making up
its entire southern and eastern portions. Nearly everywhere in the region is at
an altitude above 3,000
meters, with many inhabited locales measuring up at far over the 5,000m mark.
The northern areas of the Tibetan region are vastly sprawling grasslands which
are utilized by nomads as
grazing ranges. This portion occupies approximately half of the Tibetan land
mass.
The eastern quarter of Tibet consists of dense forests which, “run the
entire breadth and length,” of the area. The southern portion is somewhat
agriculturally dominated and includes the main centers of Tibetan civilization: Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, and Tsetang.
The climate of the Tibetan region can be generalized as being harsh, arid,
temperamental, bright, dry, and, through the long winters, frigid. As the
rangeland ecologist, Daniel Miller, puts it, “Even in the height of summer, snow
and hail storms are common and when they come blowing down out of the mountains
you better have your act together. There is little room for error.” But, even
though it is very cold, precipitation over most of the Tibetan region is scarce;
which results in the extreme aridity of much of the plains areas. This also has
the effect of causing the atmosphere to be, often times, devoid of clouds, which
in turn, allows the sun to pour through unimpeded. Tibet is one of the brightest
regions on the planet, logging nearly 3,000 sunshine hours a year. In winter,
the temperatures of many areas can plummet to far below negative 16 degrees
centigrade. A testament to this extreme
cold is made by Heinrich Harrer, “. . . my thermometer showed an unvarying
temperature of -30
degrees Centigrade. There were no lower markings on the instrument. ”Owing also
to the thin highland atmosphere, there is little to absorb the heat and rays of
the sun; which results in harsh daytime ultraviolet light exposure followed up
by frigid nights. In such a parched, harsh climate of the region the communities that
live here needed to adapted ingenious mechanisms, practices, and community
initiatives just to survive.
Nomad Culture:
The culture of the Tibetan Nomads primarily revolves around the practices of
herding, trading, religious devotion, and, encompassing all three, migration.
The ways and practices of the nomads are ancient and have been shaped by the
necessities created by the harsh mountain ecosystem that is their home. The
impact that environmentally mandated necessity has on Tibetan culture can not be
under-estimated and, the impact of which, occasionally results in a manner of
light cultural amorphism- where the ideal social dichotomy is mandated by what
is environmentally possible.
The nomadic Tibetan family structure is one such social institution that lends
credentials to the above statement. Nomadic Tibetan dwellings (generally tents)
usually
contain a single family unit which often times includes grandparents. When a
couple is married it becomes a community decision as to which family (either
bride’s or groom’s) they
should live with or if they should begin their own household. This is
occasionally a matter of contestment; as issues of family pride, history, and
practical circumstance are taken into
account. An example of this is drawn out by Karma-Dondrub in his autobiographic
account of his upbringing in Tibetan Nomad Childhood:
"Metog’s parents said that Ringchen should come to live with them. Tsormo (Ringchen’s
mother) said that she would never Ringchen live under other’s control. She added
that it was better if Metog (Ringchen’s bride) came to lived with us. I asked
Ringchen his idea. He said he wanted to live with his parents. But I couldn’t
agree, since our daughter-in-law comes from a family seriously affected by
leprosy. I was afraid of ruining our claim to clean bones if she came to live
with us. What I wanted was for the new couple to set up their own family."
The harshness of environmental and social conditions also leads to many family
arrangements that can only be described as happenstancial. Polygamy and
polyandry all have places within the Tibetan Nomad’s living strategy. During his
journey through Tibet, Heinrich Harrer noted various domestic situations with
puzzlement:
"She told us that her two husbands had gone out to drive in the animals. . . We
were astonished to find polyandry practiced among the nomads. It was only when
we were in Lhasa that we came to know all the complicated reasons that led to
the simultaneous existence in Tibet of polyandry and polygamy."
The social structure of most Nomad communities are arranged hierarchically, with
a sole leader and set chain of command. But although there is a single leader
this is in no way a dictatorial system, as consensus and majority rule are often
employed within the decision
making process. In most cases, all major decisions are made during mass meetings
in which everyone is allowed to speak freely and decisions are usually made
subsequent to open
debate. It is also a regular occurrence for multiple community units to join
together into federations that are lead by a single, collectively elected,
leader. I stress that there are many different, situationally determined,
variations in the organization of Nomad communities; I
can only present a rough syntheses base upon my personal research.
The Tibetan Nomad lives and works in accordance with ebb and flow of the seasons. In summer it is time to lead the herds up to the high alpine pastures, trade with townsfolk, and prepare for the harsh season to come. In winter, the Tibetan Nomads move down into camps that are at a lower, warmer, altitude. In recent times, solid brick houses have been constructed to make the cold season a little mor bearable. The winter season is one of rest as there is not as much work to be done and, due to the extreme cold, synthesized activity is lessened to the bare essentials. As Heinrich Harrer puts it:
"In winter the men living a nomad life have not much to do. . . The women collect
yak dung and often carry their babies around with them as they work. . . As one
can imagine, the nomads have the simplest methods of cooking. In winter they eat
almost exclusively meat with as much fat as possible. They also eat different
kinds of soup- tsampa, the staple diet in agricultural districts, is a rarity
here."
Religious devotion is a central, essential, part of Tibetan life. Their belief
follows that of the Buddha Dharma with intensely strong traditional
undercurrents. Buddhism was first introduced into Tibet in the early seventh
century but did not take hold across the entire
culture until the ninth or tenth century. The Indian (and perhaps Chinese)
Mahayana, Hinayana, yogic, and Tantra traditions that were introduced into Tibet
were greatly
synthesized and assimilated into the pre-existing spiritual tradition and the
result, Tibetan Buddhism, arose as something new and pure. Tibetan Buddhist is
centered around sutra recitation, meditation, and Tantra:
"Tantric systems transform the basic human passions of desire and aversion for
the purpose of spiritual development. Rather than denying such primal urges,
tantra purifies them into wholesome and helpful forces."
Tibetan Buddhism has, ultimately, became the religion of Tibetans across the
entire plateau and has grown and expanded into multiple sects and subgroups.
The life of the Tibetan Buddhist is, ideally, one of continuous devotion,
compassion, ceremony, and role. Prior to the 1959 Chinese invasion, almost every
family had at least one son in the monastic system and would provide a hefty
portion of their family resources to the monastery. In turn, the Llamas and
monks would perform the necessary life rituals- marriage, death-rites, births,
divination, and other times in which a sage’s good wishes would be auspicious.
The Nomad populace is, almost all-inclusively, highly devoted to the tenants of
Tibetan Buddhism:
". . . one finds an alter in every tent, which usually consists of a simple chest
on which is set an amulet or a small statue of the Buddha. There is invariably a
picture of the Dalai Lama. A little butter lamp burns on the alter, and in
winter the flame is almost invisible owing to the cold and the lack of oxygen."
The Tibetan moral system is based around the accumulation of merit and the
prospects found in reincarnation. Merit can be roughly explained within the
frame of
idealized karma and reincarnation; in which deeds and actions that are
considered “good” are rewarded with the potential of a higher re-birth and deeds
that are thought to be “bad” add up to a lower reincarnation. “Taking of life,
whether human or animal, is contrary to the tenets of Buddhism, and
consequently, hunting is forbidden.” The fact that the Tibetan diet is meat
dominant presents no contradiction; as the accumulation of bad merit falls upon
the ones committing the deeds rather than whom they are doing it for (this is
another example in which Tibetan culture adapts with what is environmentally
dictated, as the Tibetan climate demands the consumption of animal products).
The worship of nature deities continues to occupy a powerful place in Tibetan
spiritual practice. Traditionally, Tibetans use mountains and their specific
deities as a way of conceiving their place in the world and cosmos. Every clan
has a local mountain that is tied to their community and it assists in allowing
them to weave themselves into the landscape and heaven.
The worship of mountain gods and other local deities is not just a minor domain
of Tibetan religion but a more general political and cultural phenomenon. The
mountain cult is an essential element in Tibetan culture and is part of
collective identities which are expressed in the form of specific local economic
and political behavior.
The religion and spirituality of the Tibetan Nomads provides the cord by which
the
major aspects of their culture, landscape, climate, and the myriad beings are
tied together. In times of celebration as well as tribulation Buddha and the
Mountains are invited to accompany and console the people by whom they are
deified.
Economics:
The economy of the Tibetan nomads is focused around pastoralism and, by
extension, the transactions that are derived from such. The lifeblood of the
Tibetan nomad’s way of life is derived from their pack and herd animals; which
require continuous adherence to seasonal
migration routes:
"Mobility is a characteristic of Tibetan nomadic production systems. Herds are
regularly moved between different pastures to maintain range land productivity.
Tents, such as yak hair tents, enable Tibetans to move easily. Without the yak
it is doubtful if people could survive in Tibet. In addition to providing hair
for tents, yaks also provide wool for clothing, bags and ropes. They are milked
and milk is made into butter and cheese. Their dung is used for fuel wood in a
land where trees can not grow. Yaks also carry supplies and are used for riding."
Much of the Nomad’s sustenance comes directly from their animals. Their food
largely consists of sheep, yak, and goat meat, tsamba, and various dairy
products. The Nomad’s produce their clothing from the hides and wool of their
sheep and yaks. Horses and yaks also serve as the predominant sources of
transportation; as the Nomad communities are nearly completely devoid of any
vehicles.
Most Nomad communities engage in at least some form of trade with other Nomads
and villagers. Certain agricultural and, contemporarily, industrial commodities
are needed by the Tibetan Nomads, which necessitates bartering with outsiders
who have access to these
resources. Often, Nomads take selected animals into village markets to sell and
then purchase various agriculturally derived produce to take back to their
communities. By
current standards a high quality yak will sell at market for 2,500 yuan.
Seasonal migration circuit:
The Tibetan nomads generally travel along arranged paths to particular pasture
lands that correspond in altitude with the season. In the summer, they usually
travel up into the mountain highlands so that their animals can feed upon the
fallow growth. In the winter, the nomads usually move down into the valley
pastures and wait out the season. In this way, the nomads of Tibet live a very
natural life; forever moving with the cycle of nature, rather than in opposition
to it. This feeling of effervescent unity is explained by Miller:
"Here is a landscape full of energy. You quickly become charged. There is simple
enjoyment in getting back to the basics. You know when the sun comes up. You
watch every sunset. You know the phases of the moon. You're on moon time out
there."
Under the traditional system (prior to the 1949 Chinese invasion) the nomads
grazed their herds on large land masses that were the property of a particular
religious leader; who would act in capacity very similar to that of an overlord
of a fiefdom. “Like peasants on agricultural estates, these nomads were
hereditarily tied to their estates and did not have the right to take their
herds and move to the estate of another lord.” But although they did not
own the land that they grazed their herds upon, they did own the animals
themselves, as well as all of their personal property. They were obliged to pay
taxes to the estate owners; which consisted of pre-arranged amounts of their
animal’s produce. In exchange for this, the property owners allowed the nomads
free range of access upon the land. The owners also did not engage in the
practice of evicting pastoralist from the grazing land that was, essentially,
their home.
The political organization of the nomad estates were drastically changed as a
result of the Communist takeover of 1949. The nomads were impeded by a barrage
of “reforms” which tried to influence them to take up the sedentary life of
ranchers or other such controllable professions. In the Phala region of Chang
Thang (as well as in many other areas) the Chinese attempted to round the nomads
up into pastoral communes, in which the nomads became “owners” of shares of the commune but in reality were simply
laborers who worked in accordance with the commune leaders’ orders. The pastoral
technology remained basically the same, but the social and political
organization were dramatically restructured by transferring ownership of the
means of production and all marketing and production decisions from the
household to the commune.
Chinese policy during this period, therefore, sought to maintain pastoral
production but destroy the social and cultural fabric of traditional nomadic
life.
As is evident from the above statement, the nomads were far more autonomous
under their traditionally created Theocratic “feudalistic” system than they ever
could be within the bounds of their Communist mandated “liberation.” Although
these Chinese “reforms”were highly invasive, many of the Tibetan nomads endured
the imperialist onslaught and now
continue on with their traditional way of life in accordance with the laws of
spirituality and nature.
Written by Wade Shepard of Vagabond Journey.com in the spring of 2006 in Hangzhou, China.
Back to China Travel InformationComment on this page by filling out the below form:
-------------------------------------------------
Copy and paste this form into an
email, fill it out with your comment, and then send it to
VagabondSong@gmail.com
URL of page for comment to go on:
Your name:
Your current location:
Link to your webpage (if you want):
Your comment or other information:
----------------------------------------------------