Farmers, Fugitives, Ghosts, and Exploding Grasshoppers: Everyday Life in Horse Race Village, a Tibetan Community on the Yellow River

CONTENTS

RKA PHUG RDO RJE DON GRUB <4>
KEY CONSULTANTS <7>
MAP <10>
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS <11>
CONTENTS <12>

PART ONE: EVERYDAY LIFE 
IN HORSE RACE VILLAGE

INTRODUCTION <19>
NAMES <23>
LOCAL HISTORY<24>
HOUSING <30>
 INTRODUCTION <30>
 PLANNING A NEW HOUSE <31>
 BUILDING A COURTYARD WALL <32>
 HOUSEHOLD SHRINES AND COURTYARD ALTARS <34>
SLEEPING <38>
EATING <39>
SOURCES OF CASH INCOME <42>
MONASTERY, MONKS, TANTRINS, AND MEDIUMS <43>
ERLANG <45>
GHOSTS <48>
 INTRODUCTION <48>
 SNGAGS PA INVITATION <50>
 MEALS FOR SNGAGS PA AND RELATIVES <51>
 CALLING GHOSTS <51>
 PUNISHING AND EXPELLING GHOSTS <53>
 AVOIDING PURSUIT BY GHOSTS <55>
THE\'U RANG <57>
 INTRODUCTION <57>
 INVITING THE\'U RANG <57>
 EXPELLING THE\'U RANG <57>
A YEAR IN HORSE RACE VILLAGE <60>
 Lo sar and Lab tse <60> 
 Agricultural Work Begins <65>
 \'Cham <66>
 Agricultural Work Continues <97>
 Archery <107>
 Public Work: Reward and Punishment <109>
 Lo sar Preparations <109>

PART TWO: NARRATIVES FROM 
HORSE RACE VILLAGE

RDO RJE DON GRUB\'S CHILDHOOD <113>
 TOYS <113>
 WILD HERBS <114>
 WASPS <117>
 BURNING GRASSHOPPERS <118>
 HERDING <120>
 LIZARD AND FOUR EYES <123>
 PRIMARY SCHOOL <125>
o Beginning School <125>
o Teacher Nor bu Bites a Student\'s Ear <126>
o Truant <129>
o Mother\'s Punishment <132>
 THE LHA RTSED FESTIVAL <133>
o The Twenty-first Day of the Sixth Lunar Month <133>
o The Twenty-second Day of the Sixth Lunar Month <134>
o The Twenty-third Day of the Sixth Lunar Month <137>
o Watching Movies <138>
o The Bonfire <139>
 GRANDMOTHER\'S DEATH <140>
SHORT STORIES <146>
 THE WATER DEITIES MADE ME SICK <146>
 A GOOD PERSON IS HARD TO FIND <148>
 THE FUGITIVE <156>
o Theft <157>
o Surrender? <161>
o Police Raid <163>
o Arrest <165>
o Ye shes\'s Arrest <167>
o Future <169>
o With Grandparents <170>
o New Life in Lha sa <171>
o Mtsho mo\'s Visit Home <173>
o Car Accident <176>
o Return Home <180>
o Collecting Caterpillar Fungus <182>
o Grandmother\'s Illness <185>
o Grandfather\'s Visit <187>
o Bzang mo\'s Confession <189>
o Uncle\'s Marriage <191>
o Bkra shis\'s Freedom <192>
o Bkra shis\'s Memories <195>
FOLKTALES <196>
 RABBIT AND WOLF <198>
 STALK-LEGS, EGG-HEAD, AND HORSE-HAIR NECK <200>
 A KHU STON PA FRIGHTENS THE THIEVES <201>
 A KHU STON PA\'S PREGNANCY <203>
 TWO BROTHERS <205>
 FLOWER U DUM WA RA <207>
 HUNTING ELEPHANTS <210>
 BARLEY SEED SON <211>
 THE GHOST MOTHER <215>
 A SELFISH MOTHER <218>
 THE GHOST QUEEN <221>
 THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF CUBS <223>
 A MISTREATED HOUSEHOLDER <224>
 THE MAGIC MONK <228>
 PARENT EATER <229>
 DONKEY AND TIGER <232>
 RABBIT AND BEAR <236>
CONCLUSION <241>

REFERENCES <244>
GLOSSARY <246>
INDEX <264>

 
TABLES
 Table 1. Mtsho sngon\'s population by ethnic group. <19>
 Table 2. Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture popu-lation in 2012 by ethnic group. <20>
 Table 3. \'Cham masks in Se rtsa and Rka phug villages. <72>

PHOTOGRAPHS
 Rka phug Rdo rje don grub in Lha sa. <5>
 Rka phug Rdo rje don grub and family in Lha sa. <6>
 \'Phags mo tshe ring (b. 1929) of Rta rgyugs Village. <7>
 Rgyal mtshan (b. 1935) of Tsang tsa Village. <8>
 Bde skyid mtsho (b. 1966) of Rta rgyugs Village. <9>
 Khams ra Town. <22>
 Khams ra Town on the banks of the Yellow River. <22>
 Sngo rgya Reservoir (Lijia xia). <23>
 Rka phug Village. <27>
 Rka phug Village. <27>
 Concrete road in Rta rgyugs Village. <28>
 Electricity poles in Rta rgyugs Village. <28>
 Se rgya and Thang mtsher fields in winter. <29>
 A 200 year old tree in Dpon rgya Village. <29>
 A kiln near Cung smad Village. <30>
 Contemporary village house. <32>
 New tea offered to the tsha gsur in the morning. <34>
 A village household entrance and a pig sty. <35>
 Rta rgyugs Village household storage area. <36>
 The interior of a modern village house. <36>
 A village household gate and orchard walls. <37>
 A modern stove in a new village house. <37>
 Modern village houses feature glass-enclosed patios. <39>
 Gor mo zhi - bread baked in ash. <41>
 Zangs gor - baked bread. <41>
 Sog sog (top) and gor dmar (bottom) - deep-fried bread. <42>
 Rdzong nang Monastery. <44>
 Walls that once housed an Erlang image. <47>
 The Six Sacred Syllables near Cung smad Village. <48>
 Prayer wheels in Dpal rgyal gong ba\'i sngags khang. <49>
 Khams ri Lab tse. <61>
 Bsang offered to Khams ri Deity. <62>
 A myes Brag dmar Lab tse in winter. <62>
 Cung smad Village Lab tse was renewed in 2011. <63>
 Khams ri Lab tse altar. <63>
 Rlung rta offered at Khams ri Lab tse. <64>
 Rlung rta at Khams ri Lab tse. <64>
 Wind flag atop a mountain. <65>
 \'Cham is held at Dpal rgyal gong ba\'i sngags khang. <66>
 Incense offering in the courtyard center. <67>
 The dge skos holds a stick on \'Cham day. <70>
 Mtshams khang for sngags pa. <71>
 Performing Nor bu dga\' \'khyil. <75>
 Sngags pa with sbug chal walk to the courtyard. <76>
 Sngags pa with Da ru walk to the courtyard. <77>
 Sngags pa with sbug chal and drums circle the courtyard. <78>
 \'Ug pa and pho rog prepare to dismember the nya bo. <79>
 Zhwa nag performers dance in the courtyard. <80>
 Keng rus in the courtyard. <81>
 Shwa with kha btags. <82>
 Bdud appears in the courtyard. <83>
 Gza\' appears in the courtyard. <84>
 Btsan in the courtyard. <85>
 Klu appears in the courtyard. <86>
 Srin po dances in the courtyard. <87>
 Khams ri in the courtyard. <88>
 Brag dmar in the courtyard. <89>
 Dmag zor rgyal mo at the gtor rgyag. <90>
 Sngags srung dances in the courtyard. <91>
 Dam can mgar nag in the courtyard. <92>
 Dam can mgar dmar in the courtyard. <93>
 Khro bo dances in the courtyard. <94>
 Khro mo dances in the courtyard. <95>
 Preparing to throw the gtor ma into a fire. <96>
 Dung chen inside Dpal rgyal gong ba\'i sngags khang. <97>
 Farming tools. <104>
 Tuoguji used to separate straw from grain. <105>
 Separating straw from grain. <105>
 A combine harvester harvests village fields. <106>
 Villagers move grain to a trailer. <106>
 Drying grain using a \'Ded ma. <107>
 Boiled yak meat for Lo sar. <111>