"Three Provinces of the Snowland, Losar Tashi Delek!" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on March 1, 2011 and posted on her blog on March 4, 2011.

Woeser's blogpost is timed to coincide with Losar, Tibetan New Year. This year, there has been much discussion amongst Tibetan netizens on the regional variations when it comes to celebrating Losar, as well as the conflict in celebrating Chinese New Year when the timing does not coincide with Losar. For more on this topic, see the previous posting here on High Peaks Pure Earth titled "One Tibet, Many Tibetan New Years".

One Tibet, Many Tibetan New Years: Tibetan Bloggers Call for Unity

A Losar Card found on the popular social networking site RenRen.Com
The Tibetan reads: Good Losar, Happy Losar, Hope after Losar There Will Be A Change

High Peaks Pure Earth has been monitoring Tibetan blogs in the run up to Losar (Tibetan New Year). In 2009, we noticed that many sites were closed down in this period for "maintenance", partly also because the sensitive date of March 10 was approaching and also because many blogposts had been appearing, urging Tibetans not to celebrate Losar that year. 

Fear and Discrimination in Lhasa

High Peaks Pure Earth has noticed several status updates and anecdotes by Tibetans on social networking sites recently that give an insight into everyday life for people in Lhasa.

Previous posts on High Peaks Pure Earth that deal with the issue of discrimination against Tibetans include examples of Tibetans not being allowed to stay in hotels in Beijing or needing to be reported in public hostelries and baths. 

"Lhasa in February" by Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on February 24, 2010 and posted on her blog on March 4, 2010.

This is the second blogpost that Woeser has written from Lhasa and she vividly describes, in a poetic way, everyday life there with a lot of interesting details. For background information on her trip to Lhasa, see the introduction to the last post she wrote titled "What Is Happiness?" here on High Peaks Pure Earth.

In her final paragraph, Woeser refers to young Tibetans who are proudly asserting their Tibetan identity, she has described it as a kind of "mission" they are on. For an earlier posting on this topic by Woeser see "I Am Tibetan" and don't miss two videos from Amdo, I Am Tibetan and the hip hop video "New Generation".

"Lhasa in February"

By Woeser

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar (Tibetan New Year), the city is slowly being swept away by sandstorms. In the past, the storms would never start this early, is global warming the only reason behind this? The Lhasa river valley used to be surrounded by a group of mountains called the “eight lotus petals” but today as it has been completely destroyed by mining machines, as soon as the wind starts to blow, sand and dust spreads everywhere. Also, on top of Lhasa valley, in the past it used to be the homeland of Tsangpo Songtsen Gompo but today even the local Medro Gongkar county government simply sold its own land to one of China Gold Group’s mining companies. The officials lined their own pockets but contaminated water has polluted farmland and even killed livestock or given the farmers strange diseases.  

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar, scenes on TV show officials asking the poor about their hardships; they are poor Tibetans from the city of Lhasa or from the remote countryside and pastureland. The officials with their subordinates show off the many hundred Yuan notes, which, with exaggerated gestures, they give to those Tibetans who bend and stick out their tongues (as a sign of respect) or hold out their hands. Also, those Tibetans speaking Lhasa, Shigatse, Nagchu or Chamdo dialects shed tears of gratitude; some even choke with tears, over and over again expressing their eternal gratitude. Yet, if people have to feel this overly thankful for such a little bit of money, doesn’t that mean that their poverty is in fact so widespread and alarming? 

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar, red lanterns of all sizes are hanging everywhere. This is by no means a Tibetan custom; it is revealing a different kind of message: the assimilation of local culture by an outside culture. For example, writing red antithetical couplets in Tibetan is really only a strange imitation of an antithetical couplet written in Chinese. They thought that this was just a transformation of old social traditions, but it really is neither fish nor fowl. We should know that all the loss is reflected in the details; every detail meant a little bit of loss and in the end, the loss is complete. It was the local government who initiated that five-starred red flags are now hanging everywhere in the city’s main roads and small alleyways. Cadres went from house to house, from door to door, from shop to shop requesting everyone to hang up a flag. Plus, they especially emphasised that this year people should hang up a particularly big flag. A red flag is also fluttering on the roof of the Potala Palace, pompously declaring  national sovereignty. 

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar, we can also observe some special colours: one is green, representing soldiers with weapons in their hands, running wild in the streets of Tibet. When one runs into them directly, one has to quickly give way, or else one might with sudden force be pushed aside. There are also some soldiers, who boldly stand on Tibetan people’s rooftops, looking down from above, valiantly pressuring the Tibetans walking below gasping for breath. The other colour is blue, representing the police also carrying weapons in their hands, not just a few of them are Tibetans. I witnessed myself that a young Tibetan who was paying homage to Buddha was pushed away and when he answered back defiantly, Tibetan police clutched his throat. Another colour is always changing. I am not sure how many times these plainclothes policemen have changed their outfits, I even heard that some of them pretend to be Buddhist monks wearing robes wandering around the temples. Or they pretend to be tourists wearing rosaries on their wrists. 

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar, I also have to mention these few people: my fellow Tibetan townspeople who I love and respect. They prostrate all their way from various different hometowns to the sacred place - Lhasa - and with the Jokhang and the Potala Palace at their centre, they still continue to prostrate. Of course, the majority of them are farmers, herdsmen and Buddhist monks and nuns, who embody the characteristics of the grassland of the snowy mountains, and who smell of yak butter. When I was walking around the Barkhor I encountered a Buddhist monk whose forehead was full of scabs. He was singing songs in praise of Guru Rinpoche at full volume while slowly prostrating. What will the passing soldiers with their guns in their hands think about Tibetan beliefs? 

Lhasa in February, with the arrival of Losar, there are more and more young people who continue to go down the path which belongs to them. They have come back from Chinese universities to their hometowns, wearing Tibetan clothes, speaking their mother tongue, feeling that they are on an “I am Tibetan” mission. And in a cherishing manner they go and learn about the roots of this piece of land, also, when they climb the high mountains to make offering by burning incense, scatter wind-horses, or recite traditional scriptures, they make promises for the future. They are full of self-confidence; they are in their prime, this is exactly the hope which has existed and been multiplied for generations and generations. 

Lhasa, February 24, 2010

"What is Happiness?" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on February 16, 2010 in Lhasa and posted on her blog on February 22, 2010.

This is the first time Woeser has returned to Lhasa since her brief stay in August 2008 that ended in several hours of detention and an unexpectedly rapid return to Beijing.

In her blogpost, Woeser refers to the annual Tibetan New Year gala in Lhasa that is broadcast on TV. The gala is typically an extravagant spectacle of a show, comprised of special guest performances, songs, dances and comedy sketches. This year, the theme of the gala was 'happiness', hence the title of Woeser's blogpost. For High Peaks Pure Earth readers who have never seen this gala before, a hard-working YouTube user has uploaded the gala in its entirety in 52 parts (!) here.

In the blogpost, Woeser also mentions young Tibetan poet from Amdo Gade Tsering (sometimes the spelling Gadai Tsering from the Chinese pinyin is used). Gade Tsering's popularity amongst Tibetans has been demonstrated through the plethora of votes he received during the online poll "2009 Tibetan Personality of the Year".

"What is Happiness?" By Woeser

What is happiness? For me it is going back to Lhasa, where I have been away from for a long time, eating tsampa my mother kneaded, embracing my bright-eyed little niece, polishing the purified water bowl in the family altar room or enjoying the balmy sunlight on the balcony, being watched by the family’s shepherd dog, whose barking almost makes one go deaf. Happiness can also be found in the nights of the cold season, falling asleep to the authentic fragrance fromMindroling Monastery…at these moments I felt happiness, the simple happiness of someone living far away from home.

The young poet, Gade Tsering, who lives in Amdo, recently wrote about happiness in one of his poems. The title of the poem is “I am Tibetan”. He didn’t only write: “in this despotic winter, I composed this poem”, having lost both his parents, he also wrote: “I encountered my parents in my dream, it was a moment of happiness. I truly believe that at that instant, it really didn’t hurt”. This bilingual poet also wrote: “when I spoke my mother tongue, I truly believe that at that instant, I felt peaceful, and experienced happiness”. This is a feeling that derives from life experience; this kind of happiness is personal, with tears in one’s eyes.

On the first day of the Losar Year of the Tiger, when I went to Jokhang Temple to pay homage to the Buddha, the sky was still dark before daybreak. I hadn’t thought that the religious crowd praying to Buddha would be that large; there was a jostling and long-winding queue, I simply cannot describe how many Tibetans there were from near and far.

I don’t know from what time they had gathered together at this place, step by step approaching the comforting and popular Jowo Rinpoche. Based on my past experience that I would always spend the New Year’s eve at the Jokhang, I have often seen such scenes of an excited mass of bobbing heads, of moving human shadows, of thundering human voices, with the Jowo Rinpoche, having experienced many vicissitudes of life, watching the devout crowd in golden radiant light. True, this is a moment of happiness. Witnessing such a scene, one could even see affection on the faces of the most heartless people; they would even hide the daggers, which they carried in their hands behind their backs.

But this time, I could only experience such scenes in my memory. I had already queued for almost 4 hours, but the first gate of the Jokhang was still far away and I had something to do at home, so I could only turn back half way. Anyway, I had already felt the pulsation of my fellow people. Yet, I am not talking about those old and young people wearing sheepskin gowns, woollen clothes from Tibet or fashionable clothes from the metropolis, I am also not talking about those herdswomen in front of me who braided their hair into many small plaits, I am talking about those people who are dressed in green and dark blue army uniforms and those who wear plain clothes but are assigned special tasks. There are so many of these people, is it to the extent that every person praying has one armed police closely watching and guarding over them?

However, for example, the Tibetan New Year’s celebration broadcast on TV a few days ago, was nothing but red. All programmes were excessively conveying one main message: happiness. Of course this happiness was also red, the red of the Five-Starred red flag, it was China Red. Moreover, on and off the stage, the rosy cheeks of the hosts and the actors, of the officials and the carefully selected audience were beaming with happy smiles, simply creating an atmosphere of happiness that Tibet has never before experienced in its history. One of the performances gave people goosebumps of happiness. A group of actresses wearing Tibetan dresses was facing a group of actors singing with great affection: “Ya, laso, the smiling faces of the soldiers...” The charm of the full femininity of the performance flooded the entire city of Lhasa with a false sense of happiness, but in reality it can’t endure even a gun held in one hostile soldier’s hands.

Hasn’t this happiness befallen us through the shadow of weapons? Can this happiness really exist simply by forcing people to speak it out? I have previously discussed these topics with my religious teacher. He calmly said in the manner of a practising Buddhist: “real happiness is inner happiness, and inner happiness cannot be obtained through money, it can neither be obtained through lies and even less through the oppression with weapons.” He paused, straightened his robes and continued meaningfully: “however, happiness is what everybody is striving for.”

Lhasa, February16, 2010

The Tradition of ‘Gu-thug’ Before Losar

As Losar (Tibetan New Year) is quickly approaching this year on February 14, and Tibetans in Tibet and all over the world are proudly asserting their Tibetan identity, what better way to start the year 2137 with a traditional bowl of hot steaming Gu-thug on Friday evening? 

High Peaks Pure Earth would not want anyone to partake in this tradition without knowing the ins and outs! High Peaks Pure Earth is therefore very grateful to Tsering Dhondup for allowing us to post his translation of "The Tradition of ‘Gu-thug’ before Losar" taken from "The Collected Works of Chabpel Tseten Phuntsog" ('chab spel tshe brtan phun tshog gi gsung rtsom phyogs sgrigs') and first published by China Tibet Educational Publishing House ('krung goi bod kyi she rig dpar skrun khang) in 1993. This article has also previously appeared in a newsletter published by Tibet Foundation, based in London.

Many Tibetans will be spending Gu-thug night far from home. Below, High Peaks Pure Earth has posted a 2008 video made by Tibetans studying in universities in Beijing. The video shows them preparing Gu-thug together and playing games. The video has three songs as its soundtrack, two Tibetan songs and one Chinese song. The first Tibetan song is by exile Tibetan pop star Phurbu T Namgyal called "Phayul Mayul", meaning "Fatherland, Motherland" and the second Tibetan song is by the most prominent Tibetan singers in Tibet, Yadong, Kunga, Tsewang and Gangshuk called, "Sems Kyis Log Phebs", meaning "Mentally Return". Both songs urge Tibetans to unite and assert their identity strongly.

The Tradition of ‘Gu-thug’ Before Losar

On the eve of the pen-ultimate day of the outgoing year, i.e. the 29th day of the twelfth month according to the Tibetan calendar, most Tibetans in and outside Tibet uphold an ancient folk tradition by having a family get-together for a special dinner called ‘Gu-thug’. Many people wrongly think that 'Gu-thog' derives its name from the nine different ingredients added to the broth when in fact it's a reference to the 'thugpa' taken on the 29th day.

This ritual symbolises the banishment of all evil and malevolent spirits that may be lurking in the house-hold. It appears to be a form of ancient folk rather than religious tradition of exorcising evil spirits because no monks and 'tantric' practitioners, whether Bon and Buddhist, are invited to participate in the ritual ceremony. The ritual involves neither prayers nor making offerings to deities for blessings or favours. The secular origins are evident from the fact that all members of the family, male and female, old and young, unite to share the ‘Gu-thug’ and then ritually drive out all evil spirits without help from holy men.

Given the regional variations that have occurred during the course of thousands of years, the following description of ‘Gu-thug’ ritual is primarily based on the tradition peculiar to the ‘Tsang’ region of Central Tibet, according to Chabpel Tseten Phuntsog on whose accounts this article is based.

The 29th day of the last month may be seen as a ‘spring cleaning’ when the family busy themselves in dusting, cleaning and tidying all the rooms. The layers of dust, soot, grime and all filth accreted during the year are got rid of, as much as possible. As the day wears off, it’s time to start preparations for cooking the ‘Gu-thug’.

Unlike the usual broth of meat in which small chunks of kneaded dough is cooked, care is taken to add special dough balls of varying shape and design, (see Table A) each supposed to symbolise the character trait of the person who draws it in his or her bowl of porridge. Twelve other dough balls of identical shape and size are made in which are inserted objects symbolising different human characteristics (see Table B). These special balls are dry-baked slightly on a fire so that they would hold their shape once they are mixed in the boiling stew of meat and chunks of dough. In addition, it's become common to add nine different ingredients such as cheese, radish, peas, ‘droma’ (wild sweet potato), salt, pepper, meat, dough balls, etc.

Another group of the family members may busy themselves preparing the dough effigy of a human figure to serve as the scapegoat for ritual banishment. The effigy is always placed in a broken piece of pottery or any other worthless utensil or expendable container. All around the effigy are placed all sorts of things such as dregs of tea-leaves, ‘bang ma’ (leftover grain after barley beer is made), bits and pieces of rubbish collected during the day’s cleaning, etc.

Then the members of the family gather and begin the ritual cleaning of oneself by rolling and wiping from head to toe with pieces of kneaded dough held in each hand.

Whilst rolling, rubbing and wiping oneself, one is supposed to face the dough effigy and say aloud things like, "Hey, you Scapegoat! Take away with you all sorts of pain, hurt, physical ailment, mental afflictions; all the four hundred and twenty four kinds of diseases and all of the eighty thousand kinds of impediments induced by  malevolent spirits that strike during the course of ‘360’ days or twelve months of the year and any other such disagreeable things that remain. Take them all with you across the great limitless ocean!” No taking chances here!

Finally, after about sunset, members of the family take their seats according to age and seniority in readiness for the ‘Gu-thug’ broth to find out who draws what kind of character predicting special dough balls. Traditionally, two empty bowls are placed in front of the family elder. Then the lady of the house starts serving the ‘Gu-thug’ with her eyes covered with a white sash to ensure impartiality whilst serving the prophetic dough balls.

Members of the family begin to help themselves to the ‘Gu-thug’ with mixed feelings. The special dough balls are fished out to discover what symbolic dough ball one has drawn. The discovery of positive predictions attract envious comments and congratulations but those who draw the negative predictions could feel very embarrassed as everyone seems to rejoice in having a laugh at one's cost. This is an occasion for great commotion and laughter depending on the person concerned and the draw made. The favourable dough balls drawn are collected in one bowl and the negative balls in the other bowl. At the end, each adds a bit of their left-over ‘Gu-thug’ around the Scapegoat effigy. The bowl containing the negatives draws are also poured around the Scapegoat. The bowl with the positive symbols are taken upstairs or on the roof-top.

Then follows the actual ritual of exorcising the evil spirits from the household. Two younger male members of the family carry a flaming torch fashioned with cloth, straw or bramble, and go from room to room shouting menacingly “Come out! Come out, you evil spirits and demons!” A female member of the family then carry out the broken pottery or container with the Scapegoat mired in a pile of leftover food and refuse. The men with the flaming torch follow her in mock chase of the evil spirits. Others clap their hands in ritual to signify good riddance. Then the door is tightly shut behind.

A significant point to note for those escorting out the banished Scapegoat is not to cast any backward glances towards their home while going out and not to look back towards the castaway Scapegoat while returning lest the evil spirits follow them home. The Scapegoat is placed at the nearest cross-road and the flaming torches are also left there. Often, as people from different families in the neighbourhood gather at the cross-road for the same purpose, they all linger on to sing and perform circle dances as a celebration of the successful banishment of the evil spirits.

Guthug Night in Lhasa 2007 from HPeaks on Vimeo

In the family home, they have to keep handy a tinder and bunch of dry bramble, a pail of water, ladles and bucketful of ‘tsampa’. As the Scapegoat escorts return and knock on the door to be let in, a voice from inside challenges them, “Our door needs a description before we can let you in.” And in response, the returning escorts sing, “Open up, the wooden-frame above the door is made of yellow gold. Open up, the thresh-hold below is made of turquoise. Open up, the four frames are made of purplish ‘mchong’ stone. Open up, the 'melong' frame is of red sandalwood. Open up, the door bolt is made of white conch shell.”

Finally, those inside hurriedly kindle the bunch of dry bramble and open the door.  As the escorts hurriedly walk in and leap over the crackling bundle of bramble, others from the sides douse them with water and sprinkle ‘tsampa’ over them as ritual cleansing and prevention of any evil spirit that might attempt to sneak in with them.

Then follow a happy period of drinking ‘chaang’and merry making with songs in praise of those who had drawn positive character traits and teasing of those who had drawn negative character traits, who are often parodied according to what kind of person they are supposed to be. The partying and merry making lasts until the wee hours, to mark good riddance to all things negative and to usher in the New Year that is hoped to bring health, happiness and success to all the members of the family.

Table A - Dough balls of varying shapes and their symbolism

Shape and design of dough ball	Name and symbolism
Spherical sun	‘Nyima’ – glory and fame
Barbed wire with sharp points	‘Zema Rago’ – wicked, hurts everyone
A crescent	‘Dawa’ – glory and fame
Like a cashew nut with the pointed end bent	‘Ma Nue Tse Kyog’ – incompetent sloth
Like a drop of pearl	‘Lama Konchog’ – honest and altruistic
Like a grain of rice or barley with pointed ends	‘Yar Nyung Mar Nyung’ – malicious, slanderer, instigator
Like a volume of scriptures	‘Dam Choe Puti’ – educated and cultured
Like a cashew nut with the pointed end tapering straight	‘Tog La Tse Nyung’ – greedy and gluttonous
A flat cuboid	‘Den Chung Dru Zhi’ – a life of ease and luxury
Like a 'Damaru' hand drum	‘Damaru’ – unreliable, two-faced person
A fat darkened spherical ball	‘Dug Droe Gormo’ – Gluttonous sloth
A smaller ball joined atop another larger ball	‘Lan Chag Gyabkhur’- illegitimate child-birth or illicit affair

Table B – dough balls of identical size and the symbolism of their contents

Content	Symbolism
Round white marble stone	Kind hearted, noble spirit
Ball of white wool	Forbearing, patient, good-natured
Thread rolled inwards	Introspective, withdrawn, introvert
Thread rolled outwards	Extrovert, creative, open-hearted
Piece of china	Loves food but hates work
Piece of charcoal	Scheming, calculating, vicious
Piece of chilli	Abrasive and hot headed
Piece of paper	Tendency to petty theft and pilfering
A ball of green pea	Cunning, scheming, deceptive
A piece of onion	Bag of farts
A piece of rock salt	Bum laden with salt-bag, lazy, sloth
‘Khul bu’ short soft undercoat of animals	Short tempered, ill-natured

"Farming Boycott": Continuation of Non-Violent Non-Cooperation by Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on 31st March 2009 and posted on her blog on 4th April 2009.

Woeser's piece focuses on the ongoing "Farming Boycott" in areas of Kham that has been reported by various media including Radio Free Asia and continues her thoughts about civil disobedience that started in her writings about the decision made by Tibetans earlier this year not to celebrate Tibetan New Year.

Woeser's article also mentions another episode of non-violent non-cooperation as exercised in Kham in May 2008. In her Tibet Update of 21st May 2008 Woeser wrote:

In Tawu (Ch. Daofu) County (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), for the past 15 days, many owners of trucks who are engaging in transporting goods have stopped driving their trucks so as to show their dissatisfaction with the authorities’ suppression of Tibetan people. It is learned that there are altogether over 2,000 domestic transportation trucks in Tawu County, and at present several hundred of them have stopped engaging in transportation.

Finally, for High Peaks Pure Earth readers not familiar with the term "fifty cent party", these are internet commentators in China who are paid by the government to post on internet forums and blogs, more information here in this BBC article of 16 December 2008.

The photo above shows Drakgo in Kham (Luhuo County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province), the military police are rushed in to suppress Tibetans engaged in the "farming boycott".

"Farming Boycott": Continuation of Non-Violent Non-Cooperation by Woeser

Recent media attention has been on Tibetan rural areas where Tibetans are currently engaged in a "farming boycott." What is meant by "farming boycott" is that farmers are refusing to cultivate farmland. According to information coming from northern Kham in eastern Tibet, authorities arrested a large number of young adults in last year's protests and countless households have been left with only the elderly and young children. Those Tibetans who have been caught were either heavily fined or harshly sentenced, and there are even those we never heard from again and do not know whether they are dead or alive. In Kham in June last year I saw arrest warrants that were posted everywhere in towns and villages. Of the 36 wanted people as many as 30 whose age ranged from over 10 to over 40 years old. This shows how devastating an affect this has on ground level. The information is telling us that in view of this, the family members who lost principal members of the family labour force collectively refused to farm in protest.

Lack of labour force is, of course, a reason but I think that this is similar to the decision at the beginning of the year not to celebrate Losar, this is the continuation of "civil disobedience"! Our elders and fellow villagers -- these masses who hold "no power", in their own way as farmers and herdsmen, practice the spirit of "non-violence and non-cooperation" firmly, persistently and silently when they are living under gunpoint full of hostility. Yes, the "farming boycott" and "no Losar" have the same meaning, they are ordinary Tibetan people giving up major parts of their individual lives, and even hurting themselves, in order to express protest. And the "farming boycott" compared to not celebrating Losar is far more costly. The latter only involves not wanting to be happy during a sorrowful time but the "farming boycott" involves people and their livelihoods on an everyday level similar to May last year when in Tawo and Drakgo and other places in Kham, thousands of domestic transport delivery trucks stopped their movements for scores of days out of protest.

On the eve of Losar this year, a leaflet was in circulation in Tibetan areas which said, "To the Tibetans of the three provinces; monks, nuns, lay men and women who have the same root and who belong to the same nationality, let us unite our strength, let us jointed resist, and not to surrender to the government who has invaded our homeland. People of the three provinces should share weal and woe. We must never forget that those killed did not die fighting for their own interests, they died fighting for the freedom of our nationality and justice. For that matter, as Tibetans, we must not celebrate Losar this year...". Recently, in Drakgo in northern Kham, a 27-year-old monk Phuntsok was beaten to death by police for posting leaflets. The leaflets read, "Even if we go hungry or die of hunger, because of last year's peaceful protests our brothers and sisters were tortured, arrested and killed so we must give up farming to show respect and our condolences and express our solidarity with them..." The significance of these messages are the calls for non-cooperation that are issued.

Not even taking into account last year, just this past month or so, people in Kardze in Kham have been taking to the streets to start peaceful demonstrations, more than 60 Tibetans have been arrested and the protests average one a day. According to local witnesses, all the protesters understand what the outcome of raising one arm and calling out in protest can be, but still one after another they shouted loudly for freedom and rights. Some did so after they even intentionally walked out in front of armed soldiers and police. Not one of those Tibetans who did so won't be beaten or arrested, however it is said that it was the hands of the military police that were shaking and, they were frightened by the strength of "filling up the prisons" shown by Tibetans, which is similar to what Martin Luther King advocated. The great pioneer of non-violent non-cooperation Martin Luther King also said: "We will meet your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not resort to hating you but we will not obey your unjust laws. "

The "farming boycott" in this case demonstrates the "power of no power". Therefore, using both hard and soft tactics, the authorities sent work teams and the military police demanded Tibetans not to engage in this "farming boycott", and furthermore, they view the "farming boycott" as separatist activity manipulated by the "Dalai Clique". In order to intimidate other Tibetans, the authorities arrested Tibetans who refused to farm or who publicly paraded. Online "fifty cent Party" commentators have angrily ridiculed: "Refusing to farm is too slow a process, it would be better to stop drinking water and to go on hunger strike, this would appear that they are more determined and the effect would be even better." Aren't there quite many cases that Tibetans have been forced to commit suicide? One by one, Tibetans are engaging in "non-violent non-cooperation" so that the world realises that even though the Communist Party of China has been the master of Tibet for 50 years, Tibetans have neither recognized nor submitted to it.

March 31 2009, Beijing

Tibetan Bloggers Lament

The Tibetan blogs are now coming alive with posts and there is a great deal of excitement and celebration about the return of the websites.

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated two posts, one is a short report criticising Tibetan cadres and a longer post presenting an interesting critique of Losar (Tibetan New Year) celebrations that was broadcast on TV.

It is interesting to note the recent changes in content of the songs and comedy sketches. However, we are not sure whether the blogger is referring to the Qinghai or TAR New Year's Eve broadcast. The Qinghai broadcast can be seen on YouTube here.



'Tibetan Cadres Working for the Chinese Government'
http://www.tibetabc.cn/u/nba2007/archives/2009/2009323223345.html

Most of the Tibetan officials in the Chinese government use their posts and power to insult people of their own race and become servants to others.

Taking pride in this kind of work, selling land and closing companies are becoming evident: the sale of the of weaving factory by official Rinchen Gyal of Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and the sale of the Tibetan Middle School's land by school head Benta.

Aren't we allowed to voice our protest about these things.



'Patriotic Education'

Comments on the New Year's Eve TV Show by Nyal Mechag (gnyal me lcags)
http://www.tibetabc.cn/u/niexuedawa/archives/2009/200932310106.html

Because of my great interest in listening to music and watching dance on TV, I liked to enjoy the New Years Eve Show on TV. As usual I was eager to watch the TV show with high expectations. However, I did not expect that this year’s TV show would leave so many uncomfortable feelings in my heart. The prevailing content of patriotic education wrapped the theme of the whole show from the beginning to the end. The main theme of the show was supposed to praise the outcome of good policies and the improvement of living conditions after the so-called peaceful liberation and democratic reform in Tibet. One thing we should keep our mind on is that there is hardly a piece of the show that does not contain an element of patriotic education. It seems that the wounds in the hearts of the people from the Cultural Revolution have disappeared completely.

As a matter of fact, there are ample things in Tibet which we should appreciated. There are also many problems that should be addressed before the public. Being writers of lyrics and plays, it is not the right way to act like a one-eyed cow eating the grass and telling only one side of the story. Those folks who claimed themselves as the advancers, mouthpiece of the masses and the engineers of human souls have already forgotten their obligation of telling the truth. They are trying to escape from reality. This is a huge tragic moment in our history.

Language and script are the soul of a nation. It would be the great loss of a nation if its language is not preserved and widely used by the people. If a nation cannot carry on its culture by using its own language, then the nation will eventually die out and what will remain behind is just an empty name. My heart suffers tremendously by the fact that Tibetans are forced to use an alien language while having their own language.

It is unquestionable that TV shows in Tibetan areas should target the Tibetan audience so that more and more programmes in Tibetan language can be shown. On the contrary, this year’s TV show displayed even more songs and short sketches in Chinese than in the Tibetan language. I consider this an abuse of the Tibetan language. I describe the people who were involved in the performance as a group of folks who were beating up his or her own head by neglecting their own language.

Tibetans are becoming miserable people now. Although our body is nourished by the circulation of the blood of the red-faced people, and our bone marrow is made of mountain snow, unfortunately we are encouraging our children to learn Chinese, as well as English, instead of our Tibetan language. Many people who are Tibetan are so proud of altering some Chinese words and mixing Chinese words when they speak publicly.

We Tibetans compromise our own interests all the time. For instance, at the New Year’s Eve TV show, all the singers, namely Yadong, Yongdrong Gyal, Tanzin and Tsering Samdrub sang their songs in Chinese and 80% songs of the TV show were sung in Chinese. It was even worse to see an entire short TV sketch written in Chinese which intentionally prejudices Tibetan language, makes fun of Tibetan words and harms the beauty of the Tibetan language. It is worth quoting a statement from the short TV sketch here: “As a Tibetan, it is shameful not to speak Chinese”; they tried to translate this TV sketch into Tibetan to convince people, but the audience found that it was nothing more than a meaningless stage farce in the end.

One of the sad things about the sketch is that the author of this TV sketch is a well-known Tibetan writer from the region. This guy has no sense of responsibility for his nation. I consider this kind of person, nothing more than a criminal who tramples on the language of the Tibetan nation.

I Took to the Streets, and What I Want is Freedom and Rights by Woeser

March 2008, Labrang in Amdo (Chinese: Xiahe)

Today, on the first day of the Year of the Earth-Ox 2136, High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on 19th February 2009 and posted on her blog on 24th February 2009.

I Took to the Streets, and What I Want is Freedom and Rights by Woeser

Losar is almost upon us and, as we all know, Tibetans have very different feelings towards this year’s Losar. The concerned authorities took notice of this very early on. Party Secretary Zhang Qingli has repeatedly given the orders, saying "playing the first move of the chess well, and wage a war on one’s initiative well". Various state media have attributed this “Not celebrating Losar” to the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Tibetan Youth Congress. In reality, “Not celebrating Losar” was first proposed by Tibetans in Tibet and originated out of spontaneous wishes. Nobody organized Tibetans “Not celebrating Losar”; nobody called on Tibetans “not to celebrate Losar”, no, no. However, the impact is tremendous, everyone is aware of this great ‘civil disobedience’ all over Tibet.

Some say that this kind of "civil disobedience" is only at a low-level, that it is merely not celebrating and nothing more. They maintain that it is a safe action which ends on the individual level, is short-term and does not entail much great risk. In fact, this is not true. Over the past year, the military might all over Tibet has been so great that all Tibetan areas have become prison-like. In today when you could even be arrested for listening to music, “not to celebrate Losar” has been regarded as a serious “separatist” activity, so much so that some Tibetans have been accused of spreading “not to celebrate Losar” rumours and been arrested. In fact, ‘civil disobedience’ in Tibetan areas is even more difficult to carry out than in other places, therefore any kind of result obtained is worth paying attention to.

The way this government treats Tibetans is inhuman. Any kind of Tibetan demands have been trampled on contemptuously. All Tibetan hopes have been shattered contemptuously. The Dalai Lama has not been able to return to his own homeland for fifty years. The Panchen Lama has been missing from the world for thirteen years. It has been ten years since the Karmapa left his home…there is also the wrongly imprisoned Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, how many elderly people in Kham called out his name as they breathed their last words, and they all died with the injustice unaddressed. Those locals haven’t been celebrating any festivals or holidays for the last few years…Many predictions have become an alarming reality, the thirteenth Dalai Lama once said: “Tibetan people will be stripped of their rights and property, and we will become the slaves of the invaders…” One of my monk friend’s 70 year old mother took to the streets last year to protest. Later, a working group went from door to door to investigate why they had participated in protest, were they not demanding “Tibetan Independence”? The old woman said: “Independence or no independence, I don’t know, neither do I understand it, but I know very well that we don't have freedom, we don’t have rights, I took to the streets, and what I want is freedom and rights.”

And Tibetans have never stopped voicing their demands and protesting: major episodes of dissent occurred in 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999… and right up until last year when the scale of demonstrations shocked the world. Of course, the inhumanness of the authorities once again became reality: its response is still heavily armed military police, armoured vehicles and jails. It has always been nothing but “strike hard” campaigns. People who live under such state violence usually fear the violence, and they have to be silent because of their fear. It is a long-term silence and a silence in which people are leading a befuddled life. It is also a silence in which “people are deeply grateful”; and it is a silence in which they can only prostrate, hang up prayer flags and distribute lungtas (wind-horses)… This is not something one can not understand. But this time it is different.

A Tibetan went back to Lhasa from the west and after spending a short time very cautiously, he returned to the free world. He sent me a letter and said that when he went back before, he was always disappointed with what he found. He said people only talked about money or having fun. But this time when he went back he felt there was hope because it was totally different. I also have a Tibetan friend who went back to Amdo from a Chinese area. This friend visited cities and towns and villages and he was encouraged by everyone he met: everyone from government officials to herdsmen from his hometown. So he told me: “I have been surprised again. Last year Tibetans surprised everyone, and this year it’s the same. This is so great, we are of one mind. It gives people hope.”

What’s striking here is that these two friends independently expressed to me their hope. And this struck me as unusual. It reminded of a Czech intellectual who once commented on the relationship between the citizens and the unjust authorities: The more one acts like a slave and a servant, and is full of fear, the less seriously the authorities will take you. Only if you have them understand that injustice and despotism can not proceed without obstruction, will you have some hope that they will restrain themselves to some extent. People must forever keep their dignity, not to be scared of threat, not to servilely beg others, and only to tell the truth. In doing so, people can create a kind of pressure because all these are acutely set against the actions of the authorities.”

19th February, 2009, Beijing

A Great “Civil Disobedience” Spreading Throughout All of Tibet by Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on 29th January 2009 and posted on her blog on 4th February 2009. As already documented by High Peaks Pure Earth, Tibetans not celebrating Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) or Tibetan New Year (Losar) this year has been the subject of much debate in the Tibetan blogosphere.

Woeser was an early observer of this phenomenon and was calling the No Losar movement an act of civil disobedience before Time Magazine or the McClatchy Group. The New York Times is calling the movement a boycott and quotes Woeser as saying “It’s deeply connected with Tibetan culture, the idea that after such a horrible year filled with death, how can we celebrate? [...] Instead, it should be a memorial.” Regular readers will remember that these were her sentiments as noted in previous blogposts 'Remember and Memorialise Louder Than The Gunfire!' and 'Let Us Make Lamp Offerings and Light Candles to Commemorate the Souls of the Deceased'.

A Great “Civil Disobedience” Spreading Throughout All of Tibet by Woeser

In recent days on my blog there have been a lot of opinions left about the Spring Festival and Losar. Han netizens have said, “You celebrate your Losar, we’ll celebrate our Spring Festival – there’s no connection between the two. It’s nothing to do with us whether you choose to celebrate Losar or not.” No mistake, every nationality has its own festivals and shouldn’t demand another nationality observe another nationality’s festivals. It started in 1913 when Yuan Shikai was president of the Republic of China that the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar was set as the Spring Festival and the entire country had a holiday. Because the “Republic of Five Races” was advocated at the time, the main Han festivals, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival were not made national festivals. It seems China’s current leadership doesn’t have the breadth of mind of even Warlord Yuan Shikai had. With the prevalence of the notion of “the peoples of China,” the hack writers of China are calling for a unified “Chinese expression”.

Since “Chinese expression” is wanted, “expressions” from other nationalities are deleted or substituted. But in order to evince the largesse and magnanimity of the Party’s nationality policies, the Party often needs “expressions” by other nationalities as embellishment. Therefore, nationality festivals such as Losar are indispensable. It has not only been made into a holiday, but evening television events like those for Spring Festival are put on for the Tibetan New Year too. In some Tibetan areas in Amdo and Kham, Losar has been replaced by Spring Festival for many years now, and even though the Chinese new year is celebrated in basically the same way as the Tibetan new year; Han customs are being adopted more and more such as pasting couplets of poetry on doorways, hanging lanterns and letting off fireworks. These days, even when calls to abandon Spring Festival are growing, it’d be difficult to remove in such a short time these habits that have already become customary. Even though Losar has also been celebrated these past few years, compared to the Spring Festival it is less lively.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating Spring Festival. Some Han nietzens have said “If some Tibetans want to celebrate Han festivals or if some Han want to celebrate Tibetan Losar, they are free to do so. No one has any right or any reason to criticize them just because they are the same nationality as themselves.” Such opinions as this sound rather reasonable, and I also agree with it. But the problem is, the reason why so many Tibetans are conflicted about this year’s Spring Festival and Losar is less to do with both new year celebrations belonging to different cultural systems, and more to do with the levels of toleration in ones conscience and a religious sentiment full of compassion.

No matter whether it is Spring Festival or Losar, people who experienced what happened in Tibetan areas in 2008 do not want to celebrate as they had in previous years. As with last year’s earthquake in Sichuan, when thousands and thousands of ordinary people died, their surviving families do not want to forget them in the new year even as their corpses are not yet cold. A volunteer who spent the new year in the disaster area said: “No one can stipulate that the atmosphere at Spring Festival has to be lively; it must be peaceful. True emotions, whether joyous or sad, all come from the bottom of one’s heart.” By the same reason, with events in Tibet that started last new year and still haven’t stopped, there are countless ordinary Tibetans who died under the barrels of the PAP’s guns, and countless ordinary Tibetans who are still behind bars, so how can their friends and families be in a happy mood to celebrate the New Year when their grief is still there?

The absurdity is that the authorities do not see this. They hope that the people will forget the hardships they created, thus, they have resorted to all manner of tricks that leave you not knowing whether to laugh or cry. For example, in Rebkong, the local government has gone house to house with documents requiring Tibetans to sign their name or leave their thumbprint on the documents which say: “I will ensure that there will be absolutely no demonstrations this year as there were last year, I will ensure I am obedient to the Party and government, and I will ensure that I will celebrate the new year.” In the Tibetan areas of Labrang and Ngaba, the local government has given firecrackers to government workers and cadres, telling them to set the firecrackers off at new year. And in Lhasa, Tibetans who put the word out not to mark the new year are even being detained. Some Tibetan commenters have left such sarcastic remarks about this on my blog as: “The great Party is really close [to the people], it pays close attention to [whether people are] happy or not happy, and [whether they are] celebrating or not celebrating the new year”, “when it wants you to be happy, you’re not happy. And that’s a problem with your thinking, and it can even be contrived into making you a member of some ‘clique’ or other.”

As citizens, Tibetans do not even have the most basic right to mark – or not – the new year. Tibetans with their indomitable spirit who persist on their right not to mark the new year are becoming a completely new kind of contention, the significance of which is a great “civil disobedience” spreading throughout all of Tibet.

January 29th 2009, Beijing

More from Tibetan bloggers about Tibetan New Year

Tibetan netizens are really having heated debates about Losar, Tibetan New Year celebrations. The Tibetan language internet forums and blogs are full of posts diccussing the issue. Most of the posts are opposed to the celebration of Losar this year.

There are two points about Losar, the first issue is whether Tibetans should celebrate Chinese New Year or not and the second issue about whether it is appropriate or not to celebrate in light of last year's events. Some of the posters argue that particularly in Amdo, that Chinese New Year has always been celebrated and this year is no exception. However, some netizens argue that all the Tibetans should institute a common Tibetan New Year and adopt the date celebrated in Lhasa.


The posts are too numerous to translate, here High Peaks Pure Earth has translated two posts written in Tibetan entirely in verse. The first post (photo of the blog above) by a blogger named Cham med sha (khyams me zhags) is titled 'This year, No Losar for us' (nga tsho la lo sar med).

The second post is on a blog called Kyi! Kyi! My Tibet (Kyi! Kyi! Nga yi bod). This is also written in verse, in a sarcastic style and the blogger writes “This is written on behalf of the people of Dechen", (bDe chen pa’i tshab tu brigs). The title of the verse is “We are not Tibetan” (Nga tsho Bod pa min). High Peaks Pure Earth readers will remember that Dechen, in today's Yunnan province, is now formally named Shangri-la by the Chinese and has become one of the major tourist destinations in the area. Now, Tibetans have modified the name and added an adjective Khu sim meaning “silent” to the name. Khu sim Dechen (Silent Dechen) is used on account of the fact that last year, Dechen was one area where there were no protests. Hence the satirical tone of the verse.


This year, No Losar

Last year was washed by blood,
In Lhasa, countless compatriots
Were fallen under a piercing arrow,
This year, no Losar for us,
In Sichuan, countless people
Buried under the earth,
This year, no Losar for us,

There is only the word “no” on your lips.
We are speechless,
You are filled with anger
We have no bitterness

For the sake of the deceased valiant heroes
Let us offer our regrets.
For the deceased people,
Let us make offerings

Therefore, This year
How can Losar be celebrated?
Unequivocally! No.
To celebrate is like a mindless beast,

Furthermore,
An aeroplane crashed against a cliff,
This year, no Losar for us,
A train crashed,
This year, no Losar for us,

Even more, it’s endless,
Snowstorms covered the high lands,
This year, no Losar for us,
Drought in the low lands,
This year, no Losar for us,

Smile covered countenance,
A deceitful expression,
A sign of a defeat
It is a smile of fear
Adorned with a smile of happiness,
Actually, this is a false smile
Covering dishonesty,

You are thoughtless of the people,
You pay no heed to the world,
Have you looked at the world?
You have not tread the modern path,

Mind is filled with sadness
And suffering,
Therefore, because of our anguish,
Let's not partake in Losar this year.



We Are Not Tibetan
Written on behalf of the Tibetan people of Dechen

Didn’t hear what happened in Lhasa last year
No idea what is happening there today,
Shortly, it will be Chinese New Year,
Preparing to celebrate,

Don’t know if Tibet is stable or not
Cannot see Chinese trickery,
Anycase, in a day or two it will be Chinese New Year,
Will joyfully celebrate,

In a few days time it will be Chinese New Year,
Will decorate the altar with meat and beer,
Will sing and dance
Celebrating joyfully,

In a few days time it will be Chinese New Year,
Welcome Losar with songs,
After singing the songs,
Cast them out from the Tibetan race.

Comments:






These people are really as fickle as butterflies.










Friend thank you for visiting,
Thanking of your advice,
However, the news from Dechen, Yunnan,
Is the people of Dechen will not be celebrating Losar,
This is the honest truth,
This is written in the style of a song,
Friend don’t be offended.











Living without seeing and hearing,
Dancing and singing songs like this,
It's pointless to say these things,
I have one thing to say to you,
Compatriots who lost their lives
Remember them in the heart,
Throw away this year’s Losar,
Don’t cast them from the Tibetan race,
Flesh and blood cannot be changed,
The people can be transformed
Can you hear, my heartfelt friend?

Tibetan bloggers discuss Tibetan New Year

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a Tibetan blogpost on the subject of Tibetan festivals and celebratory days. On January 16th 2009, the TAR Regional Government announced that March 28 of every year will be observed as "Serfs Emancipation Day". The institution of a new celebratory day in Tibet is clearly an attempt to alter Tibet's historical memory and enforce greater obedience and linkage to China.

A blog by Lamlak (lam lags) reports that the County government is forcing Ngaba Monastery to change the dates of new year and winter religious ceremonies to coincide with the Chinese New Year - this year, the two new years are a month apart. On Tibetan blogs, there has been much discussion about this year's Tibetan New Year, Losar (lo gsar). A blogger called A thub (a thub) confirms what Lamlak has written. A thub says that everyone is being forced to celebrate Chinese New Year, not just in the monastery but the ordinary villagers in Ngaba are also being told the same.

Another blogger named Mangbu Rukam (Mang bu rus skam) noted on his blog that there had been much discussion on the internet about whether Losar should be celebrated this year or not. Rukam also discusses if Tibetans should institute the same date for Losar amongst the Tibetans, as traditionally Losar is celebrated on different dates in different parts of Tibet.

As evidence of this ongoing debate about whether to commemorate or to celebrate, a text message is being circulated amongst Tibetans in Tibet and around China. High Peaks Pure Earth has the following blurred photo of the text message in Chinese:


The text message reads: To mourn the lives of more than 2000 Tibetan heroes and compatriots who died in 2008, for this sorrowful year for Tibetans whose blood was shed, in the Tibetan Community all over the world, new year and all festivals won't be celebrated, holding the palms of the hands together in prayer, forward [this message] to Tibetans.

Finally, for a poem by Woeser about Tibetan festivals, please go to this translation by Ragged Banner.


Blog by Lamlak (lam lags)


News from Kirti Monastery in Amdo Region

A few days ago, the People’s Government of Ngaba County declared that Kirti Monastery should celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year and all winter rituals which actually take place during the Great Prayer Festival must be performed one month earlier than its actual date. The reason is because the people of Tibet are to celebrate Chinese New Year as Tibetan New Year. All the monks in the monastery are planning to return to their homes.

As a matter of fact, this is just taking control of freedom of religion. The celebration of May 1st (Labour Day) and October 1st (the celebration of the founding of the PRC) have come about by Chinese government order.

Religious belief is something in the mind of the people. How can it be proper to force people to celebrate their religious festival that is in no accordance with the religious calendar. Now, it is really difficult for the Tibetan people to predict whether the Great Prayer Festival will take place or not this year. We are not sure whether all these notices come directly from the State Council or not. There are many people coming to Ngaba Dzong, who have no idea about Tibetan customs and are promoting activities that have no relevance to our culture.

Comments:








Friend, thanks for the news. This is really astonishing! If Tibet is being developed as planned by the government of China, then Tibet will disappear one day. Therefore, for the sake of our nationality, the only thing we can is to be more alert of our situation and take greater responsibility.








Corruption is prevailing in every corner of society and the intellectuals and politicians are becoming tools of politics, then who will taking care of the wellbeing of the ordinary people?








After reading this kind of news, what we can do?






The Red Government of China is truly a bloodsucking, brutal regime.