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

17
HERDING PIGS
M
y village is agricultural <strong>and</strong> we have yaks <strong>and</strong> sheep.
Our life depends on how much rain the Water Deity
sends. Each family raises at least two pigs. I herded
our pigs during holidays, which at first seemed stupid <strong>and</strong>
strange to others because I was the first villager to herd pigs in
the surrounding mountains, where they easily found food.
Father said one day during a summer holiday, "Would
you like to drive our pigs to the mountain?"
"You're joking, right, Father? How can I drive them
there if there are no other families' pigs with which to herd
them?" I said.
"I'm serious. It will be easy for them to find food in the
grassy mountains <strong>and</strong> then I won't need to cut as much grass for
them," Father said.
Custom dictates that women tend swine. But, since
Mother had passed away, <strong>and</strong> my sister-in-law needed to work
in the fields, Father had to do it. <strong>Life</strong> sometimes tortures people.
"Sure, Father. I'll take them to where our village herdsmen take
the cows," I said, happy with the prospect of playing in the
muddy-bottomed pond, which was no more than a mixture of
rainwater <strong>and</strong> cattle urine.
During summer, according to village rules, we cannot
turn our pigs loose or they will go into our newly cultivated
fields <strong>and</strong> root up the crops. If your pigs are seen outside your
home unattended, regardless of whether they get into fields, you
are fined ten kilos of barley per pig. But no rule said pigs could
not be driven to mountain pastures.
I got up early the next morning to prepare for my
herding adventure. My family had six pigs, but I only needed to
herd four, because two were still too small to go to pasture.
Father asked our village cow herder to help me in case I needed
it <strong>and</strong> said, just before I left home, "Kondro, don't fall asleep on
the grassl<strong>and</strong> or you'll get a terrible headache." Locals believe
poisonous snakes may slither down your throat, causing your
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