Ang Rita 1

Abstract

Ang Rita describes in Sherpa difference aspects of his life as a yak herder and yak herding culture. Tape includes native names for yak, birth and death ceremonies; castration practices; differences between Sherpa and Tibetan customs regarding yaks; herding yaks as a child; herding calls; interactions with wolves; grazing practices; concerns about decline of yak herding and the environmental consequences; the future of yak herding; famous yak herders; the effects of horses and zopkios; traditions that are on verge of being lost; what the Khumbu Valley was like when Ang Rita was a child. These recordings were made on a trek in the spring of 2011 up to Mount Everest Base Camp. The recordings span a wide variety of topics from making and drinking chang to the work of Mount Everest's 'ice fall doctors'.