Lhago and her husband Tsehua decided to have a nomadic life experience. This summer was the first time my sister visited our nomad family in Tsekog, Zekog or rtse khog (རྩེ་ཁོག Zeku) with Tsehua. Our maternal grandmother was born in Tsekog County, in a yak-fur tent. It’s where my family still has a village […]
UPDATED: Losar, the Tibetan New Year, has finally arrived after months of preparation. And it is the New Year’s morning; time to enjoy juicy yak-meat dumplings and milk tea, and pay respect to others, all after spiritual offerings, of course. When I was a girl, my family would send us kids to visit elders […]
The ultimate time of gift giving—the season of Christmas celebration in the West—reminds me of my traditions on the Tibetan plateau. Almost all Tibetans, who live in the high mountains, deep valleys, and on grasslands, practice Buddhism. Giving or offering is a large part of our culture, and its meaning deepens when referring to […]
July turned to August. My departure for the West was fast approaching. And my cousins had yet to practice a long-lived tradition in that neck of woods – Rebgong. A Tibetan custom, you are invited to a scrumptious meal, if you’ve returned from a journey, worked or studied a distance away, completed a long period […]
As an expatriate, the journey afar from North America back to my motherland, the Tibetan plateau, has always been very special. Just the thought of a trip home uplifts memories of my upbringing in the majestic land where I feel most connected. Spending two months with my loved ones, visiting historic spots, as well as […]
I’ve finally realized the long-awaited journey to my nomadic family in Tsekog, Zekog or rtse khog (རྩེ་ཁོག Zeku). Rongwo Rongbo (རོང་བོ, Longwu), the Reb gong the Golden Valley, was where we started the trip. Rongwo, the seat of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Tongren County, is an ancient town, the heart of renowned Rebgong […]
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 […]
