Finally, I got to travel to my hometown of Lhasa again. But the New Year celebration showed me how our Tibetan culture is gradually being expelled.
(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
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What is happiness? For me it is going back to Lhasa, which I have been away from for a long time. Embrace my big-eyed little niece, polish the bowl of clean water in the family's alcove, eat the "tsampa" (the national Tibetan bread baking) my mom knotted, or enjoy the gentle sunlight on the balcony, watched by the family's shepherd dog whose barking can almost do you deaf.
Happiness can also be found in the nights of the cold season, as I fall asleep to the authentic scent of the Mi n-dro-ling Monastery (one of the six classic monasteries within the Nyingma School, built in 1676, ed.)…
In these moments I feel happiness; the simple happiness of someone who lives far from home.
Lhasa in February, around the "loser" (Tibetan New Year, in the year 14 February): The city is slowly being blown away by sandstorms. Before, storms never started so early – is global warming the reason for this? Lhasa's river valley used to be surrounded by a mountain group called "eight lotus leaves". Now that they have been completely destroyed by mining, sand and dust are spreading everywhere as soon as it starts to blow.
The area over the Lhasa Valley was known as the home of Tsangpo Songsten Gampo (Tibetan King in the 600th century, ed.), But today the local authorities in the county of Medro Gongkar have simply sold their own land to China Gold Group's mining companies . The officials lined their own pockets, but contaminated water has poisoned farmland and even killed livestock and caused strange peasants' illnesses.
Assimilation of our culture
Lhasa in February, around New Year: The TV shows officials asking the poor about their difficult conditions; they are poor Tibetans from Lhasa or from the remote countryside and pastures. The officials and their subordinates show off hundreds of yuan banknotes that those with exaggerated gestures hand over the Tibetans who bend and stick out their tongues (a sign of respect), or hold out their hands.
And the Tibetans with dialects from Shigatse, Nagchu or Chamdo cry out of gratitude, some put their tears to their throats, again and again expressing their eternal gratitude. If people have to be so overly grateful for so little money, doesn't that mean that their poverty is extensive and alarming?
Lhasa in February, around New Year: There are red lights in all sizes everywhere. This is by no means a Tibetan custom, this symbolizes something else: Assimilation of a local culture with an outside culture. For example, the verses written in Tibet are merely a strange imitation of the verses written in Chinese.
People thought this was a modified version of old social traditions, but it is neither fish nor bird. We should see that our loss is reflected in detail; every little detail indicates a small loss, and eventually the loss will be complete.
It was the local authorities that initiated the hanging of the five-star red flags, which now hang everywhere in the city's main streets and small side streets. The envoy went from door to door, door to door, from shop to shop, asking everyone to hang a flag. They emphasized that this year people should hang a particularly large flag. A red flag also flattens at the top of the Potala Palace (the grand palace of the Dalai Lama, which Communist China has now turned into a museum, ed.), And declares pompous national sovereignty.
Police monk-dressed
Lhasa in February, around New Year: We can also observe special colors, green being one of them. This green color stands for soldiers with weapons in their hands, running through the streets of Tibet. When you encounter them, you have to be quick to step to the side, otherwise you risk being pushed to the side with force. There are also some soldiers who bravely stand on the rooftops of Tibetans and look down from above, and certainly push the people walking down there.
The other color is blue, which stands for the police, even those with weapons in their hands. Many of them are Tibetans. I myself witnessed a young Tibetan being pushed away as he was worshiping Buddha. When he returned a defiant reply, Tibetan police seized his throat.
Yet another color is always changing. I don't know how many times the civilian policemen have changed their outfits, I've even heard that some of them pretend to be Buddhist monks and wander around the temples in robes. Or they pretend to be tourists and walk around with prayer chains around their wrists.
Lhasa in February, around New Year: I must also mention some people, my common Tibetan inhabitants, whom I love and respect. They come all the way from their hometowns to the holy place – Lhasa – and all the way they have bowed to the earth in respect. Most of them are peasants, shepherds and Buddhist monks and nuns; people who carry the character of the grassy mountains of the snow-capped mountains, people who smell of yak butter.
Youth is hopeful
As I walked around Barkhor (the small bazaar streets in the center of the capital, ed. Note), I encountered a Buddhist monk who had his forehead full of wounds. He sang songs in honor of Guru Rinpoche for full neck as he bowed. What will the passing soldiers with guns think about Tibetan faith?
Lhasa in February, around New Year: More and more young people continue to walk the path that is meant for them. They have returned from Chinese universities to their hometowns, dressed in Tibetan clothing, speak their native language, feel that they are on an "I am Tibetan" mission.
With respect, they learn about the country's roots, and as they climb the high mountains to burn incense, throw out "wind horses" (traditional prayer flags, ed. Notes) or read traditional scriptures, they make a promise for the future.
They are full of confidence, they are at their best age: It is precisely this hope that has existed for generations after generation of Tibetans. ■
Tsering Woeser was born in Lhasa, where she has long been denied entry. She has published the essay collection Tibet Notes (2003), who was banned in China and has been in house arrest in Beijing.
