"The Young Chieftain of the Himalayas" published in France, a Tibetan picture book.
The Dobo Salt Shipping Team
The story takes place in Dobu, a remote region in the northwest part of the Himalayas in Nepal. It is an area where fierce winds blow and vegetation struggles to survive. The land is barren, rainfall is scarce, and the planting season is brief, posing a challenge to the residents of Dobu who rely on barley cultivation for their livelihood. They herd yaks, large, furry, slow-moving creatures known for their resilience, which can survive in the harsh, cold, sparsely vegetated, rugged, and high-altitude mountain region. Yaks provide necessities such as yak wool, yak leather, yogurt, cheese, and even dried yak dung as fuel.
Every year, the people of Dobu embark on a journey to collect rock salt from the northern regions of Tibet. Salt is essential for villages whose diet revolves around grains. The salt trade caravan, primarily consisting of yaks, travels through the valleys of Nepal to barter salt for grains. During this journey, they spend several weeks crossing high mountain passes, often enduring challenging weather conditions. A sudden blizzard could spell disaster for the caravan.
Lhapka passed away tragically while on his way to transport salt.
The golden barley swayed gently in the breeze, as young Tsering gathered a large bundle of barley. He said, "Grandfather, look! This should be enough for all of us villagers to eat for a lifetime, no one will go hungry this winter." Grandfather Tinle smiled and replied, "It's indeed a bountiful harvest! But it's still not enough. If the entire village is to survive the entire winter, we must go to the village on the other side of the mountain to trade for more grains."
Tsering's father, Lhapka, is the young leader of the village. He has been leading a salt collecting team over mountains and across valleys for several weeks now. When he returns, he will have to set out again with the team to trade for more grains.
Tsering couldn't wait for his father to come back because he missed him so much. When young Tsering returned home, he felt the whole earth shaking.
"Grandfather, it's the salt caravan!" he shouted, "The salt caravan is back!"
The villagers gathered at the edge of the village. In the midst of the dust and wind, the sound of running cattle grew closer. The thundering hooves seemed to make the air tremble. But as the dust settled, young Tsering saw the most tragic sight. His father's body was hanging on the lead cow, and Tsering's mother was in despair. Young man Karma led the lead cow towards the villagers.
"Lhapka lost his life because he wanted to find a shorter route," Karma explained. "I warned him that the road was too dangerous, but he didn't listen."
Grandpa Tinle angrily interrupted him. "You are a fraud," he shouted, "You have always been jealous of Lhapka, you wanted to be the new leader, that's why you killed my son!" Karma shook his head sadly, "Lhapka was my best friend! I would never harm him."
Back at home, Grandpa Tinle announced to the whole family, "Lhapka is dead, so his son Tsering should inherit the position of leader. Until he comes of age, I will lead the salt caravan myself, I just need to find a strong young man to assist me."
But Tinle was unable to convince any of the young men in the village to join him. "Karma should be the new leader," they said. "He is the bravest among us, and he often hits the target when we are shooting arrows."
Tinle leads the salt-carrying team in preparing for departure.
Tsering knew that the village oracle had decreed that the salt caravan should set out in ten days, and he knew there was enough time. When his grandfather took him to the blacksmith's tent outside the village, he felt very afraid. Why did his grandfather bring him to the blacksmith? Did he really have to take his father's place in leading the salt caravan?
"Come here, child," the blacksmith called. Tsering nervously approached the blacksmith. As he sat down, the man pulled out a pendant with a small iron hammer and anvil hanging from it and placed it around his neck. "Wear this, it will protect you from evil spirits and demons, keeping you safe on your journey," he explained. Tsering's heart calmed as he struck the small anvil with the iron hammer. His grandfather Tinle smiled beside him.
"I have come to take you," Tinle told his son Norbu. "Your brother has passed away, and until Tsering is of age, you must lead the salt caravan."
"But father..." Norbu began to reply, "I know nothing of the mountains, yaks, and salt. Look at my hands, they are meant for painting, not for carrying salt."
"Are you afraid?" Tinle asked.
"I am not afraid to refuse," Norbu replied firmly.
Disheartened, Tinle left angrily.
When Tinle was still on his way back to the village, Karma was already gearing up and ready to go. He didn't want to wait for another ten days. Winter was approaching, and the mountain passes would soon be blocked by heavy snow. The villagers had mixed opinions, with the older generation hoping he would wait, but Karma managed to persuade the young men in the village to accompany him. They selected the best yaks on the grassland and loaded sacks of salt onto their backs.
With everything in place, Karma gave the signal, and the young men set off with the yaks, the sound of hooves echoing on the rocky path. Tsering stood on the porch, watching them disappear into the distance, his heart filled with sadness.
Two days had passed, and the village was silent. Suddenly, a voice broke the night's stillness. "It's Tinle, he's back!" The villagers started to come out of their houses to welcome him, and they told him that Karma's salt caravan had already left with the young people from the village.
"What?" Tinle roared, "Where is the salt? Where is it?" "Our salt was kept here," an old man said. "What do we do now?" "We will do it the way we used to," Tinle replied. "We will depart on the days indicated by the gods." The people started whispering among themselves. How would the salt caravan of the old men and women cross the Himalayas?
Take a shortcut along the cliff.
On the second day, the elderly villagers in the village followed Tinle closely as their caravan set off. Little Tsering and his mother followed behind, trying to keep up with the pace of the yaks. Tsering was filled with joy as it was his first time joining the caravan.
However, the long and arduous journey proved to be too much for his small body.
"Grandfather, my foot hurts, are we going to continue walking like this tomorrow?" Tsering complained.
"Yes, my child, there are many more days ahead like this, but soon your legs will be as strong as yak horns, and then you will be a true Dolpo-pa," his grandfather replied.
Day after day, the small caravan followed Tinle. "We have been walking but never reaching our destination, I want to go home," Little Tsering complained. "Please, let's go home, he is just a child," Tsering's mother pleaded.
Tinle pointed to Little Tsering who suddenly ran ahead and said to his mother, "He may be just a child now, but one day he will lead the caravan from the front. A true Dolpo-pa never looks back, he is learning his instincts."
(Note: Some names and terms may not have exact English equivalents and have been kept in their original form.)
The elderly team members felt it was getting harder and harder to keep up with the team. "Tinle, do you want us to risk our lives?" they cried out.
"Grandpa, look!" Tsering pointed to the mountain top and said to his grandfather, "That's Karma and his caravan! They are up there!" "No, they are just pilgrims," the old man replied. "What are pilgrims?" "People with faith circumambulating the mountain," the old man answered. What saddened him was that Tinle learned from those pilgrims that Karma's caravan was already five days ahead of them.
Tinle's mind suddenly came up with a bold idea. "When you come to a fork in the road, always take the hardest one, that's what the Khenpo in the temple says, Norbu, did the Khenpo say that? Tomorrow, let's take the shortcut along the cliff by the lake!"
"Through the lake?" his teammates asked in surprise, "But there are demons in the lake, we can't possibly pass through!" "Will we see the demons?" little Tsering asked excitedly. "Yes, there are indeed demons in the lake, but it's a shortcut, so we'll definitely be able to catch up with Karma's team," his grandfather replied.
When the villagers expressed their opposition, Tinle angrily retorted, "What are you going to eat this winter? Just your salt?" Lama Norbu hopelessly remarked, "Talking to Tinle is like talking to a yeti."
At dawn, Tinle led the way, his caravan approaching the lake, attempting to walk on the narrow cliff road. However, they soon found themselves forced to halt their footsteps as the road had been blocked by fallen rocks.
The yaks trapped on the edge of the cliff, let out angry snorts. But the caravan could no longer return on the narrow road. Little Tsering held onto his mother tightly in fear. Tinle and an old man began to repair the road themselves, close to the cliff. After they finished, Tinle led a leading white yak to move forward, saying, "If you can come over, the rest of the yaks will follow."
After a moment of hesitation, the white yak began to move forward cautiously, and indeed the rest of the yaks followed. But every step they took shook the fragile road base. When the last yak came over, the road suddenly collapsed, and that yak fell into the steep cliff lake below.
Tinle turned around and said, "One yak with two bags of salt can get us through this place, even this devil's punishment is worth it."
Forecasting a snowstorm, Tinle passed away.
When Tinle's caravan finally caught up with Karma, he was resting in a temporary camp, with little Tsering riding on the lead yak. "Tinle, if I had known you were following behind, I would have waited for you!" Karma said candidly. "I left according to the instructions of the gods!" Tinle replied proudly. Karma shook his head in astonishment, indicating his confusion.
That night, Tinle sprinkled a handful of salt into the fire pit to consult with the gods about the departure date for the caravan. "The salt burned silently in the moist air, indicating an impending snowstorm. Despite our exhaustion, we must continue our journey at dawn!" Tinle announced solemnly.
Karma couldn't believe the old man's prediction. He said, "The grass is green, the sky is clear. We shouldn't change our rest plans because of a handful of salt." But in the end, everyone followed Tinle. Karma stayed behind with his yak team alone.
As a villager looked back at him before leaving, he muttered to himself, "In fact, Tinle and Karma are the same person."
As the caravan continued on their journey, snow began to fall from the sky. "Grandpa was right!" mumbled little Tsering to himself. Before long, a strong wind started to blow, causing the snow to fall even harder. It became difficult for the caravan to move forward, and Tsering found himself unable to keep walking. Norbu lifted him onto the back of a yak and wrapped him in a thick blanket.
"Don't stop moving forward. If we don't complete this leg of the journey today, we'll be trapped in the snow!" Tinle shouted. But the exhausted members of the caravan were already falling behind. "Keep going! I'll check the back to make sure no one is lost!" Tinle announced before heading towards the rear of the caravan. Unbeknownst to anyone, he collapsed in the snow.
"Where's my grandpa?" Tsering anxiously looked around as they reached the camp.
Lama Norbu was also extremely worried. As he turned back into the blizzard to search for his father, he saw a familiar figure walking towards them. It was Karma, carrying Tinle on his back as they struggled through the snow. It was Karma who had found Tinle buried in the snow behind the group. Everyone rushed forward to help, and Tinle slowly opened his eyes. He was still alive, but he could no longer walk.
The next day, when the caravan reached the top of the mountain, Tinle was weak and barely clinging to life. He held a prayer flag for Karma to hang at the mountain top, showing reverence to the Buddha. "Tinle, I wish you were my father," Karma said.
"You are like a son to me," Tinle replied.
"From now on, you are a leader of the Montepul people. Remember, when a chief leads his tribe, he has been entrusted by the spirits...." Before he could finish, Tinle passed away, and Tsering wailed in grief.
The young Tsering embarks on his journey as a chieftain.
"Tinle was right, he foresaw the blizzard, but I did not," Karma said.
"But if you had not stayed behind to help, you would not have been able to save him," Lama Norbu said.
As the caravan slowly entered the gorge, Norbu sat next to Tinle's body, reciting scriptures for him...
Finally, this long and arduous journey came to an end, and they were able to exchange salt for food to last through the winter.
Little Tsering observed everything around him with curiosity, noting the stark differences between this place and the environment he had grown up in.
He walked to a lush green meadow, standing by a large tree. It was the first time in his life he had seen a real big tree, and he wanted to climb to the top, where he could gaze out over a long, long road home.
He was ready to become a chief.
Author Introduction
Danzen Norbu, a lama. Born in 1971 in a small mountain village in Dobo, Danzen Norbu grew up in a monastery where he studied painting in preparation to become a lama. One of his works measures over eight meters and took six months to complete. Danzen Norbu is believed to be the incarnation of Norbu. He currently resides in the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal, but spends three months each year in Dolpo. His illustrations are featured in "The Story of the Himalayan Young Chief."