Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

The Saltmen of Tibet

Posted on September 11, 2015September 2, 2017 by Dharma Documentaries
A film following the lives of nomads as they gather salt from a lake in Tibet (Tibetan with English subtitles).

The Saltmen of Tibet

This is an unforgettable film by Ulrike Koch about Tibetan nomads and their seasonal work collecting salt with their yak herd for three months from Lake Tsentso in central Tibet, a work that used to be rewarding, but which is now becoming harder and harder to sustain.

The journey is highly ritualised and the saltmen have to take on personas when they make their arduous quest for salt, one takes the role of margen (mother), another pargen (father), one is Bopsa (novice) and the other zopon (the lord of the animals).

There are other strange customs, which none of the participants know the reason for, but dare not depart from, so for instance women are not allowed even to look in the direction of the Lake, a special salt language has to be used after a certain point, all those involved must maintain a certain purity when close to the Lake, and so on.

The journey they make, with their yaks in tow, is epic indeed, over some of the most spectacular and equally forbidding vistas on earth, so the film has a stunning backdrop to it, and the film moves slow, dwelling on the people on the trip, their preparations, and their amazing fortitude.

At intervals we catch glimpses of the lorries that are now starting to encroach on the work done by the nomads, and although it isn’t emphasised it is clear that this is one more dying tradition in Tibet, where everything possible is being done to bring the nomadic life to an end.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Nomads, Pilgrimages, Tibet

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/38i

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life
  • Life Beyond 1, Alien Life
  • Bhutan, Change Comes to the Happy Kingdom
  • The 108 Lokesvaras in Nepal
  • Survive (the Khmer Rouge)
  • Indiana Jones 16, Foreign Devils Begone

Related Posts

  • Amnye Machen Mountain Circumambulation
  • China Cultural Heritage: The Epic of King Gesar
  • The Culture of Khampa, King Gesar
  • Shi Ga Tse, Tibet (Expoza)
  • Asian Corridor 5, Himalayan Salt Trek
  • Asian Corridor 2, Road to Pilgrimage
  • Changpa of Ladakh
  • Stone Pastures of Ladakh
  • Paths of the Soul
  • Finding Manjushri
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme