Meme Tharchin had just finished his monastic retreat when I first met him; he had been reading scriptures and meditating for nine days in Lha-Khang (prayer house) located at the small hill near his village. He stoically tells me that it is an age-old tradition of nomadic communities to hold a mass prayer every year before they disperse in summer pastures for grazing. “.. we pray for our livestock’s health and blessings for everyone in the community”. Meme is a skilled herder as well as equally known for divinatory art among nomadic communities of Samad-Rokchen in Changthang. A herder, a mo-pa (Tibetan diviner)and a healer, people of Thukjai village seek his advice on spiritual well being, for livestock health, divination regarding wealth and prosperity, yearly prediction of snowfall, mishaps and omens concerning all aspects of herding life in high pastures of Changthang. Along with tantric prediction and prophesying, he has been herding for over 40 years and consults younger herders on livestock management and trading affairs related to Lena (Pashmina) and Khullu (Yak wool).
The nomads of Samad-Rokchen use rangeland around Tsokar lake as their grazing pastures for summer as well as during low productive months of winter. Vast majority of this land is flat extensive sandy plains occasionally interspersed with rocky desert and stretch of green meadow. They rear sheep, goat, horse, yak and the Changra goat which yields precious Lena (Pashmina) – the luxury fibre known as soft gold of High Asia. The Lena from Kharnak, Korzok and Rupshu is considered best in Changthang and is a much-coveted trade item among Kashmiri traders. With micron size of 12- 14, the fibre is considered the best of quality worldover. “Dha-lo Lena yakpo jung?” – Did you fetch a good price for Pashmina this year? I asked meekly. “It is better than what we used to get earlier. I got 3325/- rupees per Kg for raw fibre”. “Mine is Kharnak Lena” he adds, proudly referring to the finest fibre one can find in Ladakh -an “A grade Pashmina from Kharnak”. “Some years back we used to sell it for 1500/- or whatever price we received. We don’t bargain much but these days we can sell it to a private trader or the Cooperative from Leh. Whoever gives a better price”.
The price meme Tharchin received for his Lena is on a higher range among nomads of Changthang but it is not the same elsewhere. With a gentle smile on his face he goes on to explain that Kharnakpas are lucky (sonam chenmo) – they have the access to good grazing lands and the secret of yielding such fine fibre from their goats is “Bha-tsa” (livestock salt) that’s available in their pastures. The grazing land near Tsokar lake is one of the most productive grounds with relatively better grass availability for the livestock and the salt crust that the cattle feed on is very nutritious. “A healthy goat makes all the difference between good quality Pashmina and a fibre of average quality”. The Lena procured from a healthy goat is longer and of finer quality. If the goat is weak, the Pashmina is full of dandruff, the hair curls up and becomes deadlock requiring much more time, dexterity to comb and harvest it. The nomads of Thukjai village take their livestock to “Kencho-Thang” – a pasture plateau near their village for grazing but they occasionally bring back the herd to the lake area to feed them some salt.They usually take 4-5 gunny bags full of salt crust found on the soil near Tsokar when they depart for summer grazing in the pasture. “We store some bags for winters too when the grass is covered with snow and the fodder is scarce. I mix a mug full of bha-tsa with dry barley powder and give it to all my livestock “”It keeps them healthy”.
The combing of Pashmina wool starts around May end or first week of June when the grass starts growing in their pasture and their livestock can freely graze after several months of scarcity during winter. “We do not have fixed timing for combing – we time it according to availability of grass and behavior of the herd. It is when the goats start nibbling the fresh grasses that we decide to comb and cut the wool”. “They also start shedding the hair naturally and leave strands of hair on the grasses wherever they graze. That is a good signal too!”. By June end, the combing and shearing of Pashmina wool is done across all nomadic groups in Changthang, that way, it gives ample of time for the goats to grow it back by December and the warm wool on their body helps them brave through harsh winter months when the temperature drops down to sub-zero level. Combing like any other work around livestock management and herding is planned meticulously and the Drokpas (nomads)of Changthang have created a unique nomadic culture around it.
The nomadic community of Samad-Rokchen owns a communal water reservoir “Zing “at some distance from their pasture. All the livestock are taken there for dipping once every year to clean off the dandruff and ticks – each cattle is immersed one by one in water which contains pesticides to thoroughly clean them up. “Even dipping once makes a huge difference to mitigate dandruff in goats. But dipping is sinful work – a lot of insects crawling near Zing die due to strong smell”. Livestock health is one of the key indicators for a good Pashmina produce – a healthy male goat yields up to 300 grams of Pashmina. Fibre length and the micron size are the key determinants of a good quality Pashmina. All the wool can be sheared at one go if a goat is healthy, a weak goat requires much more persistence and care. It needs to be combed twice-thrice to pull off all the wool and there’s greater chance of breaking the hair strands which in turn impacts the fibre strength and its finesse.
Many nomads are fairly straightforward and simple minded – their lives revolve around their herd, caring for it and bearing vagaries of alpine pastures of highlands in Changthang. A Drokpa is typically seen as a fierce man freely moving with his herd but it takes a lifetime to truly become one and belong to the mountains. They make short moves every 15-20 days with the livestock between a set of fixed grazing sites and retreat for longer grazing duration (few months at stretch) in the mountain pastures alternating between summer and winter rangelands. A nomadic household undertakes a horde of chores; navigating steppe grassland, skillful management of the herd, breeding resilient animals, livestock care, disease prevention and accessing fertile pastures for the herd. “what if all these efforts are weakened by unforeseen circumstances and the livestock still suffer?” I interjected “one’s karma will determine that– good deeds always come around.”He then goes on to elaborate that they hold yearly rituals, prayers at Korzok monastery and Shabtens – longevity ceremony for themselves and their livestock. A mo-pa (oracle) cannot literally lengthen one’s life but in Buddhist practice it is believed that they can foresee one’s barchet (obstacles) in life through divinatory art “mo” and eliminate those resulting an individual to live a more fulfilling life. Nomadic life is perilous but the love and compassion they nurture for their livestock is akin to one’s own family.
Herding and livestock care becomes all the more challenging during winter when the pastures become inaccessible due to heavy snowfall. A herder depends solely on the fodder to feed his livestock. Not only is it expensive but a herder undergoes a cumbersome ordeal to procure fodder from different sources and transporting it all the way from Leh to Changthang. “I have over 200 livestock and I have to ensure at least 30 bags (approx.800 kgs) of fodder for my livestock to sustain through the winter”. They procure four major varieties of fodder to cater different nutritional requirements of the livestock; barley husk, barley powder “chak”, alfalfa grass supplemented by fodder provided by the sheep husbandry department at subsidized price. “The gross expense of procuring fodder for winter month comes around 1 Lac. That’s the minimum I spend every year. One has to be judicious with resources during bare months of winter. I reserve my fodder for the peak season from December to April or during lambing or kidding season when the livestock are more vulnerable”. The villagers appeal to the sheep husbandry department for assistance when there’s extremely heavy snowfall. “They send us 3-4 trucks of fodder but that doesn’t last long as the villagers collectively own around 700 livestock including large bodied cattle like Yak and Dri which require greater feed”.
“How do you deal with the threat from wild predators?” I asked. “Earlier we use Shangdongs (wolf traps) but the practice is slowly fading off.” The threat from wild predators like Shankhu (wolf), Eeh (lynx), Shen (snow leopard) and the free ranging dogs always looms large. Meme further continues grudgingly “Shankhu hunts in packs of 6-8 individuals and can even kill yaks! But free-ranging dogs are the worst. Shankhu runs away when you try to shoo but with the dogs, there’s always the risk of getting oneself harmed. They have no qualms in biting you back!”. Shen? I probed further. “With Snow leopards, it feels like someone is deliberately catching them from the wild and releasing them in our corral. There’s frequent attacks.”
How is winter going to turn out this year? I asked finally. Meme pensively draws out his rosary, starts counting the beads from both directions and based on the number of beads left he predicts a situation favourable, unfavorable and neutral. To me he resolutely says “we will have four major snowfall this year”.
by Chemi Lhamo