In 2005, independent scholar Fan Jiuhui entered Chen Tang for an outdoor crossing, and began to continuously photograph and study Sherpa in Chen Tang, using anthropological participatory fieldwork methods to record the changes of Sherpa over the past ten years. His recently published book Deep in the Himalayas: The Life and Rituals of Sherpa in Chen Tang is the first ethnographic work of Sherpa in mainland China, which systematically presents Sherpa's customs, life etiquette, religious beliefs and other aspects. The following is an excerpt from the book's fieldwork notes of Chen Tang Sherpa, with permission from the publisher, in the hope that this text will help readers reach and understand this unique group of people who live deep in the Himalayas.
Deep in the Himalayas: The Life and Ritual of Sherpa in Chen Tang, by Fan Jiuhui, China Tibetology Publishing House, September 2022.
Indulge in chicken feet wine
I used to be addicted to alcohol, I was a fake bag change, out-and-out drunkard, and Chen Tang produced a peerless wine "Po Qiang" chicken feet valley wine, so every time I go to Chentang, many friends will joke, Lao Fan, you are going to Chen Tang to live a drinking addiction again.
During a short stay in Chen Tang in 2005, I was invited to my home by a strange Sherpa like a long-lost friend, and the scene after that was the first and deepest impression on me was still fresh in my memory: there was not much firewood in the fire pond, and the flickering flames gave the dark wood-paneled house a warm tone; A group of people surrounded the fire pit, wooden barrels containing chicken feet valley wine passed through the crowd, and I, who did not know them but was invited into the house because of passing by, could not understand the content of their conversation, so I could only use body language, smiles and expressions, and try to communicate; The charcoal in the fire pond that has not yet burned out is very warm, and the temperature of the chicken feet valley wine with warm boiling water is just right, and people are talking about it, making me feel home during my travels; Not strong in wine, don't go out later, the sky is starry, the cold hits, looking back at this house, it looks like a quiet valley, but the room is a boiling sea.
Author drinking and chatting with old people, 2018. (All images in this article are provided by the publisher)
A pot of cloudy wine is happy to meet, and many things in ancient and modern times are laughed at. In the days when Chen Tang is not now, the strong aroma and sweetness of chicken feet valley wine are often recalled in dreams.
In the subsequent fieldwork, whether early in the morning or in the evening, the only drink I drank when I visited Sherpa's house in Chen Tang was chicken feet valley wine. I drank so much that I forgot that they also have butter tea, sweet tea, clear tea, plain water, and various drinks, and this is the wine they drink most often.
However, for people with a hangover, sleeping until they wake up naturally, and then basking in the sun and taking a big sip of chicken feet valley wine can effectively relieve the explosive feeling of the mind, and this lazy state is also one of the reasons why I like Chen Tang.
Chicken feet valley wine is used to smoke, and often because of this a lot of jokes, such as once, a friend brought me a barrel of wine, the fragrant aroma made me addicted to alcohol, forgot the "prescribed action", immediately took a deep sip, did not suck out, and then inhaled hard, a strong salt stain with strong acid and mixed with a smelly wine was sucked into the mouth. I don't know when the last time this wine suction tube was used, and the remaining wine was fermented in the bamboo tube and sucked into my mouth by me.
Old man enjoying a large vat of Poqiang wine, 2015.
In Chen Tang's days, he often suffered a lot of losses due to drunkenness, and even endangered his life. There is a small platform on the Karmagou cliff west of Chentang, and in September, the wildflowers are in full bloom, the grass is like a thick blanket, and the snow-capped mountains are picturesque. One year, on a whim, I went to this cliff with friends to drink, and when I drank to the end, I was foaming at the mouth, dancing and "pointing out the rivers and mountains", accidentally touching the SLR camera under my feet, I watched it roll down the cliff, hit a rock, bounce up, and after falling, the speed was faster, and it disappeared in a few seconds. When my friend saw that I was drunk, I went down to find the camera and shouted, "Fanshi, don't move, or you will roll down, I'll find it for you." He quickly climbed down the cliff, and after a while, climbed up with a camera on his back, saying that there was a piece of turf underneath and blocking the camera. What was recovered was only the body of a section of the lens, which had been broken, and the broken part fell to the bottom of the cliff and could not be retrieved. Fortunately, after going home to test, the fuselage can still be used, but unfortunately, the lens will never be seen again.
Folk Faith Ceremony Site in Chen Tang, 2015.
One night in March 2015, after attending a ceremony, I went from Chen Tang to Zangga Village with a full belly of chicken feet wine, and accidentally fell from the cliff more than 30 meters next to the steps. Both hands desperately grasped on the cliff, but unfortunately did not catch anything, but the hands were worn bloody, and the glasses also flew out, fortunately, by the buffer of the camera bag, except for a few scratches, cuts, and a little blood, the body was not in any major trouble. Because the glasses are not matched in Chentang and Dingjie County, so I climbed down the steps to the slipper, found a few plastic bottles discarded by others, made a mark, the next morning, I squinted at 400 degrees of myopia, and actually found the glasses at the slipper, I couldn't help but think: such a big difficulty not to die, is it Sherpa's god protecting me?
Steps Road in Chentang, 2018.
Also in the same month, when I returned to Chen Tang from the hot spring of Xiushuma Village, it rained heavily and snowed, and I returned to my friend Nima's house exhausted, my soaked whole body was already shaking involuntarily, my limbs were numb, and I was about to lose temperature. Nima, who came home one step earlier, had asked my wife to boil it together with homemade liquor and ghee, so that I could drink it while it was hot. I can feel that the liquor first lit a "fire" in the stomach with the help of temperature, and then swam around the cold limbs, and the body soon warmed up.
The next night, a drunk who claimed to be a hot spring manager came and asked me for a hot spring management fee of 20 yuan. Nima, who was drinking chicken feet wine, also drunk, refused to let me give it to him, arguing that I was a friend of Sherpa and could not pay the fee. The two sides did not agree and fought, and Nima's wife immediately joined the "battle" with a large wooden stick. Watching them fight, I actually felt a shameless "pleasure" in my heart. Later, the spa manager went to Nima's house to apologize, saying that he had drunk too much the night before, and Nima and his wife also felt embarrassed and sent some gifts over, and the matter was over.
Chicken Claw Valley Wine for everyone, 2014.
In the various doorways of making chicken feet valley wine, such as the ratio of chicken feet valley to barley, the number of koji, the length of brewing, the location and preservation method of wine barrels, it seems that every Sherpa housewife has a secret skill, so the wine they make has its own wonders. After a long time in Chen Tang, after smoking "innumerable" chicken feet valley wine, I can slowly perceive one or two, but to narrate, I found that I do not have the ability to accurately describe in words - this requires the transformation of emotional experience into rational words.
One year, a friend specially brought chicken feet valley wine from Chen Tang to Lhasa for me, and I couldn't wait to sit down and take a deep breath, and the familiar taste returned to the cavity, but looking at the surrounding environment that was completely different from Chen Tang, I couldn't experience the familiar feeling when I was slightly drunk, and it seemed that it had lost its soul after leaving Chentang. After that, I never asked my friends to bring chicken feet valley wine to me, and if I wanted to enjoy it, I had to travel thousands of miles to Chentang. Sometimes I want to die in that thick chicken feet valley wine, sing loudly in the starry night sky, the world is so big, infinitely wonderful, but the warmth of a quiet corner of Chen Tang is still a temptation that I can't resist.
I think it is necessary to learn more about Sherpas and visit their former productive and hunting places, foreign exchanges, and sacred places, the "circle of survival". So in October 2016, I hid with my brothers Nima and Raba for nearly a month. At the beginning of the final trip, the "Punqu Ancient Road" of the original Kada Tan Ka along the Punqu Zangpo to the village of Chentang Xiushuma, we rested in Youluo Village, Qudang Township.
Old Mr. Dobji was the son of the last tax collector of Kada, "Chong Ying", and was a hereditary friend of Nima's elders, and we were welcomed by him and received warm hospitality from him. His unlimited supply of barley wine made Nima, who had been at home for a long time, had been drunk since day one, and pre-arranged interviews had to be canceled because he was so drunk that he was unconscious.
Trekking in Sherpa Survival Circle, 2016.
After two days of rest, we are ready to set off and start the "Punqu Ancient Road". Early in the morning, Mr. Dobji asked his family to prepare three 2-liter bottles of barley wine, a pack of air-dried mutton and milk residue, and gave them to us to enjoy on the road. But when he woke up the hangover Nima and said that he was about to go, he got up from the bed, went to the toilet, directly picked up the barley wine and poured it into his mouth, and fell back to bed and fell asleep. In less than a day, the wine that Dobji had prepared for us to bring on the road was drunk by Nima. Therefore, the host gave us a send-off wine every day, and the hada who was ready to see off was to send off the guests every day. We can only wait helplessly for him to wake up.
Raba, who was sandwiched between me and the hangover Nima, who was eager to move forward, looked helpless and hesitant, and he stammered in unskilled Chinese, "Boss, Nima is not good, drunk every day, but we have to go back together when we come out together, no matter what, we must wait until he wakes up drunk before we can go." ”
But when will Nima wake up? On the fourth day, after drinking the send-off wine, I said to Nima and Raba with drunkenness, "I will go first, I will go slowly, you can come after me." "So, I just carried my camera bag and headed for an unknown route. It begins with an upward climb along a valley, with gurgling water, and the slight cold of early winter makes the layers of forests all the colors, and the colors of the plants and trees change, although there is no one to see, but there is a clear path that extends upward.
"Himalayan Blueberries", 2016.
When we reached a large alpine lake, "Setso", it was already noon, hungry, resting for a long time, and there was no Nima and Raba coming from behind. Influenced by the "Serso" microclimate, there are places around the lake densely covered with alpine rhododendrons that are taller than mine. Seeing that there was a mountain pasture ahead, there might be grazing people, bent on begging for food, so they walked forward desperately. There was no one all the way, but fortunately, there were wild pieces of wild blue and bright "Langcharo" wild fruits, which were picked and put into their pockets while eating, and the hunger slowly weakened. "Rançaro" is a brightly colored, blueberry-like fruit, which seems to only grow at an altitude of 3700-4300 meters, with a sandy taste and a simple nose, which I particularly liked on previous hikes, and jokingly called it "Himalayan blueberry", and I didn't expect to enjoy it here.
Continuing on, over a mountain pass, the road forks, the path on the left leads to Punqu Zangpo, and the path on the right is straight downhill, leading to a valley with cliffs on both sides. After thinking for a long time, I finally chose the road on the left. Walking forward, past several simple herdsmen's houses, until they reached the cliff by the river in Punqu Zangbu, I did not meet the shepherd. At this time, it was dusk, and amid the rumbling of the Punqu Zangpo, I saw a flat land on the opposite side of the river, with houses, cattle and fields, which should be where people were, but there was no bridge to cross the river. So I returned the same way, and when I reached "Setso", all around me was shrouded in darkness.
There was no signal on the mobile phone, and although I kept thinking about returning to the warm Dobuji home in Yulo Village, I thought of the boulders by the lake and the rough path up the mountain, so I dismissed this idea and built a simple "shelter" under the alpine rhododendron forest, and I will spend the night. In order to better compete for the sun, the foliage at the top of the alpine rhododendron is well developed and densely packed together, like a roof, the roots of the branches are sparse, and covered with soft fallen leaves, covered with the plastic bags necessary for my photography bag, like a tent. Lying down bent, unable to sleep in hunger, in order to consume time, he set up a tripod and took pictures of the starry sky, but unfortunately he worked all night and did not take a good photo.
Not long after, in a trance, I seemed to hear someone calling "Fanshi", and there seemed to be a shaky flashlight under the mountain - are Nima and Raba looking for me? With all his strength, shouting their names loudly, holding the headlamp in his hand and shaking it vigorously. After a long time, there was no movement under the mountain, a light rain began to fall in the sky, and I returned to the "nest" and stayed up this long wet and cold night. The god of luck favored me that night and did not let the fierce animals come here to feed.
The sun in the valley always rises late, and the rising sun doesn't bring much heat, so I can only curl up under the tree in the position of an embryo in the mother's body to keep warm. In the confusion, footsteps passed through the woods, and a familiar voice was heard, and immediately came out, dear Nima and Raba were walking forward with their bags on their backs. The shouts startled them.
Ecstatic, we no longer have the idea of pointing fingers at each other, on the contrary, everyone has more self-blame. It turned out that Nima woke up at noon yesterday, and at dusk they didn't see me come back, the phone didn't work, so they went up the mountain to find me, and after returning without results, they didn't drink anymore that night. Because Nima's body was seriously overdrawn due to the alcoholism of these days, in order to return to Chen Tang according to the schedule, he called relatives and friends to pick me up halfway, which was learned later.
After a short rest, everyone continued to walk, and after crossing the mountain pass, the right direction was the path leading to the cliff on the right. After crossing the cliff, there is a valley called Saga, the bottom of which is incredibly "occupied" by iris, how magnificent it would be in June when the blue elves full of mountains bloom!
The next day, I climbed up a small stream and over the Shamba Pass, and I reached the boundary of Chentang. The air is getting wetter and the trees in the primeval forest are getting taller. In the afternoon, when we walked to Lake Chomtso, two people were already waiting for us on the side of the road. It turned out that the Punqu Ancient Road was the closest road for Kada Tan Ka officials to reach Chentang in ancient times, and it took only two days: on the first day, riding from Tan Ka to Chelmtso; On the second day, the horses were fostered near Chemtso, and after trekking over the Nagong Tashira Pass, passing through the villages of Chaquma and Xiushuma, you can reach Chentang. Today, the path of Nagong Tashira has been unpassable for many years, has fallen into disrepair, and is deep in the dense forest, and it is said that even yaks cannot pass through, so Nima paid for it herself and asked them to come from Chen Tang to pick up (rescue) us, who were already exhausted.
Big Stone Cave Camp next to Chomtso, 2016.
That night was spent in a large stone cave next to Lake Chomtso, which can accommodate more than a dozen people lying side by side, and there is a simple "Labze" in the corner of the cave. Gathering firewood, lighting roaring bonfires, and boiling "spreading" wild vegetable soup and rice in Nepalese bunching pots, it seems to return to the pure era when there were no electrical appliances. After drinking the liquor that Nima specially brought here from Chen Tang that night, I slept soundly.
Camp next to Chomtso, 2016.
Climbing Nagon Tashira Mountain is probably the most "blurred" trekking experience of my life, and now looking at the photos taken at that time, the scenery and landmarks in it still feel very unfamiliar, as if I am looking at someone else's hiking record. Although Nima, who had been drinking heavily for a few days, was not physically strong, she still walked faster than me under Sherpa's strong physical fitness, and I was the shortest procrastination in the entire team. Everyone walked in front, deep in the dense forest, suddenly there was no figure, and there seemed to be roads all around, and they could only shout, "Where are you", so someone came down to pick me up and continue to move forward. The mountain pass is a gravel land with various herbs, and the "Snow Mountain Artemisia" that makes poisoned arrows is also here, so I can see its true appearance.
Boulder Road in Nagon Tashira, 2016.
Over the mountain pass, the way down is to jump through various huge stones, at this time the fog is thick, the wind blows, and the scene that is not a meter away is not visible in the depths of memory. So I could only keep shouting "where are you", and once after calling, someone around me answered, "I'm here", which startled me.
Nine Eyes Hot Spring Chaquma, 2016.
At night, I arrived at the Nine Eyes Hot Spring Chaquma, and finally washed my whole body comfortably. When I returned to Chen Tang the next day, when everyone had a full meal and each held a bucket of chicken feet to drink and smoke, they suddenly felt a little embarrassed to look at each other. Nima and I knew our fault, and Raba was caught in the middle and frightened.
"Drink, cheer," Nima and I agreed. The two raised their barrels and smiled at each other.
Text, photo/Fan Jiuhui
Excerpt / Lee Yongbo
Lead proofreader/Lucie