Family Life: A Day on the Grassland

Written by on in Family, Food, Tibetan Culture, Travel
Gling-rgyal, AKA Langjia, an agricultural area, is where my family gathered and started the trip in the morning.
Gling rgyal or Langjia, an agricultural area, is where my family started the trip in the morning.

 

A day on the grassland with my paternal family—the biggest family reunion I’ve ever attended.

Fifty-six families, 180 people total, from two distinctive worlds (agricultural and nomadic), joined together on Mgar-tse’s grassland in Rebgong, Amdo region. They included farmers, animal herders, educators from elementary school to university, small business owners, doctors, students of all levels, and government officials.

The majority of my family members come from an agricultural area, where we originated. Most of us still grow crops such as wheat, barley, flaxseed, and rapeseed; whereas my aunt, Lhamo, and the families of her eight children, live on the grassland of Mgar-tses. It’s 2700-meters above sea level, and they herd exotic yak and Tibetan long-legged sheep. Although these two areas are within a 45-minute drive, they offer two very different lifestyles.

A road view to Mgar-tse.
On the road to Mgar-tse

 

The seven siblings of my father have a few opportunities each year to meet during special occasions, including Losar (Tibetan New Year), Klu rol (Lerol) dance festival, weddings, donations honoring one’s life or religious ceremonies. However, they’ve long dreamed of an extended family reunion to introduce younger generations, meet newcomers and socialize at a greater level. And my second aunt’s passing a year earlier energized them to put into action a plan for a gathering this summer. I’m grateful my visit home occurred a few days before this amazing family rendezvous.

Simply natural and beautiful grassland.
Arrived the simply natural and beautiful grassland.

 

We chose to gather on the nomadic grassland because we wanted to pay respect to my aunt, Lhamo. She is the aunt that my great-grandfather, a firm Bon[1] believer, gave up for adoption in mercy to an elderly, childless nomadic couple. Also, there is no place in the summer more beautiful than the Tibetan grassland. It’s capped with wildflowers in yellow, white and blue that yak, sheep, and horses kiss and munch at their leisure.

Almost everyone dressed in traditional Tibetan robes, which some youngsters shed as the day’s activities progressed. We sang songs, danced in Tibetan folk processions and played games, as well as shared old-time and sometimes tearful jokes. We greeted, chatted, photographed, and entertained one another all day long.

Enjoying Ko for brunch
Enjoying brunch.

 

From an overloaded Tibetan-style tent, we started the day enjoying brunch: ping sha–a full-bodied brothy stew made of mutton, bean noodles, radishes and green vegetables, paired with famous Rebgong bread that my farmer cousins baked. We sipped milk tea and fruit juices, while admiring the natural beauty of this magical place.

For lunch, we had herdsmen’s fresh mutton and sausages of all sorts: meat, bean flour and blood. Our grass-fed meat fairly oozed with wholesome and robust flavors. Some had fruits like grapes, nectarines, watermelon, and summer pears while others opted for dri (the female yak) yogurt to complete the meal.

We enjoyed some more meat for supper as well as freshly made wheat noodles soup with leafy greens swimming in the savory mutton broth. Simple yet satisfying.

Of course, there was more singing and dancing. Even my 80-year-old aunt, Shawo, sang a Tibetan folk song. As the sun ready to hide behind the mountain to the west, my father, uncle and other elderly men performed a goodbye in a circle—blending their voices in sync, hands in the air, feet crossed with another in dance forms, to say ‘so-long’ and close the day.

My trip from the Western world to the East was beyond worth it, just for this one family day.

[1] Bon or Bön, an early religion of Tibetan highlands, existing before the first diffusion of Buddhism in the 7th century. More about Bön

 

 

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I was born and raised on the Tibetan plateau. And I sing and dance with the utensils in my kitchen, while remembering and storytelling in my mind. Consulting in the realm of user experience (UX) design now based in Madison, WI, US, I’m blessed with the positive responses to my design contributions in the field and winning several awards. Growing up in the mountains of Rebgong (རེབ་གོང། Rebkong, Tongren), a cultural hub, I learned the art of making comfort food and the essence of what it takes to make juicy yak meat dumplings that will splash in your mouth while the delicate wrapper stays perfectly intact. And no one trained me better in cooking than my beloved late grandmother, Sonam. My love of cooking fresh meals daily, gardening and storytelling has continued to this day. And my friends here in the West are continually fascinated with my rich heritage, the dishes I cook, and the stories I share. “Beyond Her Kitchen” is where I celebrate Tibetan culture through food and stories, honoring disadvantaged women & girls. Continue reading at: https://beyondherkitchen.com/meet-jolma

23 Comments

  2. Thank you for sharing your life, family, and homeland with us, Jolma. What an amazing place and a fantastic day. Your blog is helping me keep everything in perspective – what could be better than sharing time and fantastic food with family.

  3. Your photos and descriptions make me feel like I am there. Beautiful photo of you and your sister, sister-in-law & nieces too.

  4. Great photos, looks like a beautiful, fun day. I wish I could have been there, but the images make me feel like I was. Please tell everyone I say hello!

  5. This is a wonderful beginning to your project. The reunion was a very rich experience and aperfect lace to gather stories to share in your work. I especially appreciated the brief discusion of the locale. The pictures help but I want to see MORE of the wonderful landscape.

    • Yes, stories around family, Patrick. And thank you for being a big supporter of my project. I have added landscape images and will share more pictures of the grassland in upcoming posts.

  6. Thanks for sharing! Wonderful photos. I love all the variety of hats. As a bread baker, I would love to learn about the Rebgong bread, possibly a recipe and photo?

    • Thank you, Gail. I will feature a story on Rebgong bread, of course, with photos. Bread recipes will also follow and be shared with you.

  7. Absolutley beautiful photos! And I appreciate the stories behind the images. You help make the world a bit smaller–thanks for that.

  8. Jolma: An extremely well-written post. What a treat to read about such an important day in your Tibetan adventure and to view photos of your beautiful family and the amazing landscape. Thank you for sharing.

    Eric

  12. One day like this might be the highlight of my entire lifetime. How precious! Amazing you are connected to so many rural and nomadic people. Your life is a great bridge, Jolma-lak. I love the grassland photos!

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