On this page the topic is herding livestock. We learned all of our information from the book, “Through a Sherpa Window”. Information on this page is from the traditional Sherpa culture, the 1970’s and before. Enjoy!
Yaks Raising yaks was an important part of Sherpa life in the 1970’s and before. Yaks provided many things for Sherpa life, which made life easier for them. Some of the many things they provided were milk, meat, hair, and hide. In addition to having this animal give them so much, they were also well adapted to the climate, which made it easier on their owners. They were used to the cold climate, so they would not become sick very easily. When yaks were in a warm climate they were more vulnerable to diseases. Yaks were also easy to travel with. They could manage to carry heavy items on their back, so they to transported objects humans could not carry. Yaks were like trucks in Khumjung. When Sherpa traveled with a yak, the animal could walk easily over snow or ice much more skillfully then a pet or a trained animal. That made it so much easier to travel with Yaks than other animals. Yaks were one of the most important possessions a Sherpa depended on. (Mimi d.)
Animals (other than yaks)
Other than yaks, there were many other important animals in traditional Sherpa culture. Ra-lug, goats and sheep, weren’t widely raised by Sherpas, but they were kept in large numbers by Tibetan neighbors. They were kept for manure, wool, and transporting salt and grain. Ta, horses, required a lot of feed and care, so only richer families keep ponies and horses. Meshi, water buffalo, were rarely kept by the Sherpa, but in lower elevations they were kept for milk, meat, and field manure. Sherpas also purchased the thick buffalo skins for making shoes to trade. Keeping kyi, dogs, and kyibrug, puppies, were considered encouraging because kyi also means happy! Tibetan Mastiff and Lhasa Apso were commonly kept because they were well adapted to cold temperatures, high altitudes, and were excellent guards, warding off snow leopards and wolves. Bermang, cats, were commonly found in Sherpa villages, even though they weren’t well adapted to cold conditions. They were used for controlling mice and rats, even though sometimes they did steal meat, milk, butter, and other food products themselves. Lastly, there were chhua, roosters, and chhamu, hens. They were kept by Sherpa families who lived in lower elevations for eggs. Sometimes they weren’t kept because of the crowing noise. (Julia McDowell)
What Sherpa Make
The Sherpa animals provided many great things for the Sherpa to create in the 1970’s. Naks provided concentrated milk. The milk had so much fat in it that it was a yellowish color. This milk, or “woma”, could be turned into yoghurt and then into butter (called maar) or sour cream. The naks and yaks also provided hair and fur to make a “chharra”. A chharra is a heavy blanket made for people to sit on, used for drying grains, and also for outer bedding. This was a very important present for a Sherpa bride. The softer blanket is called a “zen” which is made of sheep wool. Then there was the yak and nak meat. Although the Sherpa didn’t like eating meat, the ones who did, ate yak or nak meat. There was also goat meat, which was really undesirable to the Sherpa, yet considered a delicacy to the other Nepalese. The Sherpa clothes are very great tasks considering the ending production. The clothes were made out of “pu”, the under-wool of yak, nak, and goats. These could be hand plucked, but were usually used by a knife of scissors. The Sherpa animals are a great help to the Sherpa people. (Charlotte Cavanaugh-Kerr)
Questions for Sherpa people
Do sherpas use different materials to make stuff like bags, ropes, and blankets? If so, which material and why?
How much livestock,if any, do they have in their houses? Which animals?
Do they still follow the tradition of not killing cows and yaks? If so why did they stop following the tradition?
This video is of a Sherpa animal called a dzo. They are most likely bringing goods to town. Notice the wooven blankets of the dzo's back. Also notice the bells around their necks. They help the herders track down the animals in bad weather and the bells will echo through the mountains since they are at such a high altitude, just like 40 years ago.
This video matches up with our research because they have the same bells for the same uses.
Charlotte C, Mimi d, Julia M
On this page the topic is herding livestock. We learned all of our information from the book, “Through a Sherpa Window”. Information on this page is from the traditional Sherpa culture, the 1970’s and before. Enjoy!
Yaks
Raising yaks was an important part of Sherpa life in the 1970’s and before. Yaks provided many things for Sherpa life, which made life easier for them. Some of the many things they provided were milk, meat, hair, and hide. In addition to having this animal give them so much, they were also well adapted to the climate, which made it easier on their owners. They were used to the cold climate, so they would not become sick very easily. When yaks were in a warm climate they were more vulnerable to diseases. Yaks were also easy to travel with. They could manage to carry heavy items on their back, so they to transported objects humans could not carry. Yaks were like trucks in Khumjung. When Sherpa traveled with a yak, the animal could walk easily over snow or ice much more skillfully then a pet or a trained animal. That made it so much easier to travel with Yaks than other animals. Yaks were one of the most important possessions a Sherpa depended on.
(Mimi d.)
Animals (other than yaks)
Other than yaks, there were many other important animals in traditional Sherpa culture. Ra-lug, goats and sheep, weren’t widely raised by Sherpas, but they were kept in large numbers by Tibetan neighbors. They were kept for manure, wool, and transporting salt and grain. Ta, horses, required a lot of feed and care, so only richer families keep ponies and horses. Meshi, water buffalo, were rarely kept by the Sherpa, but in lower elevations they were kept for milk, meat, and field manure. Sherpas also purchased the thick buffalo skins for making shoes to trade. Keeping kyi, dogs, and kyibrug, puppies, were considered encouraging because kyi also means happy! Tibetan Mastiff and Lhasa Apso were commonly kept because they were well adapted to cold temperatures, high altitudes, and were excellent guards, warding off snow leopards and wolves. Bermang, cats, were commonly found in Sherpa villages, even though they weren’t well adapted to cold conditions. They were used for controlling mice and rats, even though sometimes they did steal meat, milk, butter, and other food products themselves. Lastly, there were chhua, roosters, and chhamu, hens. They were kept by Sherpa families who lived in lower elevations for eggs. Sometimes they weren’t kept because of the crowing noise.(Julia McDowell)
What Sherpa Make
The Sherpa animals provided many great things for the Sherpa to create in the1970’s. Naks provided concentrated milk. The milk had so much fat in it that it was a yellowish
color. This milk, or “woma”, could be turned into yoghurt and then into butter (called maar) or
sour cream. The naks and yaks also provided hair and fur to make a “chharra”. A chharra is a
heavy blanket made for people to sit on, used for drying grains, and also for outer bedding. This
was a very important present for a Sherpa bride. The softer blanket is called a “zen” which is
made of sheep wool. Then there was the yak and nak meat. Although the Sherpa didn’t like
eating meat, the ones who did, ate yak or nak meat. There was also goat meat, which was
really undesirable to the Sherpa, yet considered a delicacy to the other Nepalese. The Sherpa
clothes are very great tasks considering the ending production. The clothes were made out of
“pu”, the under-wool of yak, nak, and goats. These could be hand plucked, but were usually used by a knife of scissors. The Sherpa animals are a great help to the Sherpa people.
(Charlotte Cavanaugh-Kerr)
Questions for Sherpa people
Do sherpas use different materials to make stuff like bags, ropes, and blankets? If so, which material and why?
How much livestock,if any, do they have in their houses? Which animals?
Do they still follow the tradition of not killing cows and yaks? If so why did they stop following the tradition?
Dzo on the trek from Dream Flag Project on Vimeo.
This video is of a Sherpa animal called a dzo. They are most likely bringing goods to town. Notice the wooven blankets of the dzo's back. Also notice the bells around their necks. They help the herders track down the animals in bad weather and the bells will echo through the mountains since they are at such a high altitude, just like 40 years ago.
This video matches up with our research because they have the same bells for the same uses.