Min tibetanska barndom i Zorgay - Life and Culture on the Tibetan ...

with a smile.
Father rose before dawn <strong>and</strong> kindled a fire to heat the
leftover noodles. The sky was as clear as a blue ocean, <strong>and</strong> the
never-ending grassl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> the sky seemed to reflect each other
in a world where their boundaries met. I felt that you could
touch the sky once you reached the edge of the grassl<strong>and</strong>. The
sky looked so close that I was afraid of shouting or jumping
because I thought it might bother Heaven's residents.
The morning breeze was chilly <strong>and</strong> made me feel winter
was approaching. The air was scented with the fresh fragrance
of flowers <strong>and</strong> dew that lay precariously on the grass, which wet
our shoes the moment we emerged from the tent. We had
breakfast hastily, while trying to dry our shoes. Father said it
was useless to dry shoes by the fire, because dew would wet
them again the moment we resumed our journey.
We saw many yaks <strong>and</strong> sheep along the way. I
commented that the sheep resembled tufts of clouds floating
over the grassl<strong>and</strong>, which made Father burst into laughter.
Gradually, the rising sun dried the dew on the grass <strong>and</strong> our wet
feet no longer squished in our shoes. We circumambulated
many stupa-shaped piles of mani stones on the way.
Brother <strong>and</strong> Father walked while I rode the mule, as the
day before. We went on for hours then reached the other side of
the mountain, in the direction of our own home. Father knew
some people at a village along the way who welcomed us into
their home for lunch.
Heart Mountain drew ever nearer, but we did not
attempt to go there. We followed the path past this divine
mountain. Our township is located in a valley between Heart
<strong>and</strong> Danghi mountains. These two mountain deities once fought
<strong>and</strong> shot arrows at each other. Heart Mountain shot Danghi
Mountain's medicine chest, thus every stream flowing from that
mountain is considered sacred water. Danghi Mountain shot
Heart Mountain's divine container, which explains why there
are many stones of various shapes at the foot of this mountain.
Certain stones resemble birds. Local people said our township is
poor because the deities of these two divine mountains turned
their backs on us due to their hatred for one another, <strong>and</strong> thus
we seldom receive their blessings. Heart Mountain faces the
herding area, thus the herders have good luck with their
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