Ter Donoae a Date ias Palen ia de terest ase be eihigee ill Vest tsa beste ota hegre wR Ese Pet i netibes t oceans te Lee ara ise he Soci Ba hoiies ee nee haf abgs ate tae Fouks hoe dere fen oul oi nats rode fetches Lo omaianebseud Loss Vl Hilscan iy oS Mobs 4 ee Paso lta te Irae Fe de cae 8 an Sapa Mia Mean Be clos Veh bose yeia sven tbe me fir a: dann sear Plate her aee te Mieke sie Meee ke en Ps. Pe tad oe se arcnt die Biee oan sats abe take Tbe eae, et a Ta srs weasses He test bowl Mare cbee nec eb te Lost FetegeS es eee pee estes 22 lake setts ber care i hess ah bead > She Vers ae be sill al es he Fale eyuee od arabe eal bd nario ris HIE alta os bes + Lo We Los sit ah gba doe He Abe. ot ad atte ll be esd ncng sesh Lonel ait alli rast dick In tae wean oli ciled ae gore Bla Ten Sei Len fist reed odet te Mee Dace a ete ak ca aks Lean ag nee ee Fu te si Hes ole See bese rized es ee ee Pees, Desa tthe sar ae ane hecDalepecesestinelt ant staten Se tl lr a ee eb at tn otha ba vn . STE SPIES ts eee kh teh oE Pater ead Mba ds om Edt ttis Poteau ee ay 1 Fs sect td pot sae . Hertdtne te renee cul eee ee) bcos nolve bng elit hai. | Li aed PL cme tae Ei atop . " Vines inn an Fee ethane, SE eT re a Vols: 2018 __ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPBCTIVES 2018 __Volst ‘She remembered the Tibetan alphabet that she had learned in primary school, and taught it to her youngest son, and a grandson, ‘before they went to school. ‘Our WarcHpoc We also owned a vicious dog that Mother was very fond of, In our summer pasture, our neighbor had a daughter who attracted night visitors to her small tent. When this happened, our watch dog jerked on his chain with all his strength. One night, he broke his chain, and ran after a night visitor. Sadly, the visitor used his mgo skor ‘dog beater’ to kill our dog. It was a moonlit night. I didn't notice, but ‘Mother got up and chased after the night visitor. ‘When she returned home, she sad that someone had killed our dog, made several butter lamps, lit them on our altar, and chanted. Later, Mother and neighbor women said it was a pity that we had lost ‘that dog, because, he was a good dog. Mother said, "I feel as bad as ‘though I had lost several yaks. What a bad guy that killed my good og” At that time, I didn't understand why Mother said that the dog ‘was more important than several yaks KHvt RGAN ZB LE: AN OLD Dog ‘When Iwasa child, we had a very old dog, with soft matted brown hair, ‘named Khyi rgan ze le 'Messy-hair Dog’. One of my uncles often kidded “Hie, litle brother, what happened to your face? Did Kyi rgan ze le step on your face lastnight?” ‘They gave me the nickname "Ngo khyi re ‘Face as Ugly as a ‘Dog's Footprint’. Later when they asked me "What happened to your face?" I answered, "Khyi rgan ze le stepped on my face,” without hesitation. ‘They all burst into laughter when they heard my stupid answer, ‘but I didn’t fel self-conscious. 1 didn't know how old the dog was, but it was too old to walk 15 wosik Uh Salle aie pow tess sits he cae 3 Pee tabgiewe ton sips cee sta be tag et ie Whey Tabs bit cee be enlcd paca Lace thss ones Tabsaitee weer en ne oli Se pss take oe sare, ihabspes ba ie Ferg ne [ae re eater i tM ra Fee Farah ss bee bh Father seo satleoo he Tre Petit sat Pate ot blips trceled naked Phe la hee stakes se nes Tbk ae bs Legon oleh bernard acahaehdew ct Wt toe ga’ Dae be BPE seat oe Bec Bee re ot allies rhe Latertee vig iE a xg aan oT the anew Hacehe sc et aos spared ve Ws il bse ora Veatne Whe olga Peet, meee tater theless see In devel ies ua Lie beets ee Fess vba Bs bate me ge cobs nee dalle stk ae Peay fa beet eels Dele bere ab eae te aathe liven chest “ae atediagsat Eels crate pets as! Bi eerie Fore dhe Big ee deatals cal Pear re es a Bees Shee abe th eT ocak Seana asa Tapes Socal ee sat ss ord he it aed ig ain “1 Tire . eer get carPeak ot iheLs itn ade tic rhea Fa see i tests malin the al Sat ese be ty Pedal atest ociothsitlehe ie gy tee el twain Voi ator ove Miah. sy We or aa Ted Sar pear et He edhe foe Pe is PD ee he Vols: 2018 _ ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES 2018 _Volst "What a good yak she is! Her udder has so much milk that it fs a big basin.” They liked milking her. Her calves were also like her - good ‘udders and they reproduced quickly. When I was nine years old, Father took my second brother ‘and me on pilgrimage to Lha sa on behalf of my dead mother, who died at a young age. We spent several days walking from Mdo pa to Reb gong, Fortunately a truck loaded with coal let us ride inthe back to Zi Ting. One night in Gor mo, my brother and I accidentally ran in front of some army trucks. Brother ran away quiekly, but I couldn't rove quickly. A truck nearly hit me. Fortunately, I was not injured. ‘The soldiers inthe back ofthe truck chanted "Mao zhusi, Mao zhuxi Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao... it stil sounds in my ears. Maybe they thought I had been mashed under the truck wheels. ‘There were many soldiers in Lhasa. It was about 1978, 50 few rmonasteries were open to pilgrims. Dga Idan Monastery was in ruins. ‘There were no deity images or monks. There was only a small room and an old man who cleaned it. In Lhasa, we found a bell in a ruined rmonastery building, We returned home with that bell, One of Nas rdo ma's calves had grown up by the time we got ‘back home. We tied that bel around her neck and called her ‘Khrol edo 1a, because we called the bell ‘kro rif. When Iwas about sixteen, 1 could milk as well as older women. I guess fiteen of my yaks were descended from Nas rdo ma, Later, she was gored to death by another ‘yak. Her meat was delicious. We chanted ma Nias we at the meat. During the time the local monastery was rebuilt, Father sold a Dull that was one of Nas rdo ma’s calves. He sold it for 300 RMB, and then sponsored a big prayer wheel atthe monastery to commemorate "Nas rdo ma and to accumulate merit. When that bull was small, he was so strong that could not pull him away while he was nursing. Instead, he pulled me here and there. Tending the ealves was a hard job for a ‘weak child. 1 still have Nas rdo ma‘s offspring. Four years ago, sold half of zy yaks. Nag rayod ma, who was related to Nas rdo ma, reproduced a Jot. She became pregnant each year and we have about eight yaks related to her. I am deeply grateful that Nas rdo ma is the most Deneficial yak we ever had. a Volst__2018 __ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES 2018 Vol ‘AN OLD MALE YAK LIKE A HORSE liked all our livestock. ‘Ten years ago, we sold all our yaks, sheep, and horses and moved tothe township town. My black female yak without thors was the most generous, memorable yak we ever had. I chant ma ‘Nievery-time I think about her. At that time, my husband's parents gave us anew home with a few yaks, but we didn't have enough yak- ilk to raise my daughter. Then, one of my relatives gave us a black female yak that gave a lot of milk. After my daughter grew up, she called that yak ‘Bri rgan rta rgan ‘old female yak resembling a big horse’ because she was very big. Myblack female yak gave birth about fifteen times. Later, when she was in her twenties, she fll from the top of a cliff one day. Usually, {n spring, animals are too thin to provide much meat, but my black female yak was very fat, and provided us with good meat. That yak truly benefited us. Her milk nourished my daughter. She helped us by giving ‘us many yaks. And she even provided us good meat after her death. It ‘was very hard to acquire good meat in the spring when she died. This is why I sincerely chant ma Ni whenever I think of her. ‘My husband likes horses, but just as I had built a relationship with his horses, he sold them. Later, I did not become attached to his horses. Nowadays, he stil spends alot on horses for races. remember big black horse that was very good to us. We used him to carry things ‘when we moved in winter and to the summer pasture. We also rode hhim while herding. During horse races, he often won. We loved him ‘and dedicated him to the local deities. He died when he was very old. 154 Volst__2018 _ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES 208 Vol Zhiyue & ziling 885 196+