Dear Reader, This passage will bring you through some of the main things in Sherpa life from the 1970's. From what we understand fire has its own diety and its called thaplha. You will learn the rituals taken to respect the thaplha. We know that the Sherpa people always used loacally available resources (wood, stone...) to make their household items. Storage was a key factor in the Sherpa life since it helped make more space in the houses for other things (sleeping, cooking, eating...). Another main factor to Sherpa life was the trolum and the zom. These items were popular in the 1970's because of their purpose, which we will share that with you later on in the passage. The source of our information is from Lhakpa Sherpa's book titled Through a Sherpa Window published in 2008. All these things were part of Sherpa life in the 1970's, and we hope you will leave this page knowing more about Sherpa Culture in Nepal. Enjoy Reading!
(Alyssa Negron-Samonte)
Storage and Materials
In the 1970s Sherpa culture all of their household items were made out of local items. Most of it was made out of wood from local forests. They also used earth and rock from the surrounding environment. Wooden items were made by local wood workers. Some examples of these items were storage bins, boxes, and food containers, drink containers, eating bowls, and serving bowls. Stones and slates were also used. They were mainly used for building blocks. They were also used for baking, grinding, and pounding food items. They had a small amount of imported materials such as chinaware, copper, and brass. If you had any of thos ore materials they would have been considered precious items to a household.
(Addie Lennon)
Storage, Zom and Trolum
The Sherpa traditionally used the trolum, which is a wooden cylinder that is churns yoghurt to extract butter. Its an essential item to the Sherpa and is used in their every day life especially in herding farms during the milking season. A zom is also a vital item to Sherpa people, it is a wooden water carrier that carries out water when they are traveling places. It has a nib-shaped mouth to make sure the water doesn’t spill out. As a child you would have to practice carrying the zom because it is heavy and takes skill to keep the water contained. The Sherpa people were also very resourceful and had many items that were cleverly designed just for storage. Compared to our houses theirs are very small and Sherpas need to make smart choices so their food does not go bad and wild animals will not be attracted to the stench and attempt to break in. They also did not have refrigeration like we do and came up with many different ways to help preserve their food because their growing season is very short. In my opinion the Sherpa are very intelligent and have really adapted to the Himalayan environment.
(Cordelia Hare)
Heating and Fire The Sherpas gave fire an important role in their worshipping rituals. Sherpas believed in the thaplha, fire god. They worshiped thaplha and made sure to respect all fires made. This was executed by actions including never throwing trash, or meat products into fires, and not to step over a fireplace. When doing these things Sherpas did not offend the thaplha. There were several items associated with fire and heating because of the extremely cold climates in Nepal. Many hearths were invented over the years and many accessories for it. Some of these were sheepskin bellows, bamboo baskets, metal tripods, drying racks etc. A fairly recent invention used for heating lodges and hotels is the buwa. It was introduced to the Sherpas, by tourists. Buwa is a barrel used for heating small spaces like hotel rooms. This method of heating has become very popular, in Nepal. Although buwa is a very easy and new way to heat small spaces, there has been quite a debate over the efficiency, of this product. Lhakpa Sherpa believes that the buwa is inefficient. Instead he believes hotel window should be double-glazed, and make airtight ceilings. This is an example of how Sherpa culture is growing more modern every day.
(Alyssa Negron-Samonte)
Questions for Nepal
From our understanding, the traditional ways of Sherpas included respecting fires, is this still a belief today? (Ask a sherpa woman 50 years+)
Do the Sherpa still make their household items by hand? If so, are they made with local materials or imported materials? (Ask a Sherpa Woman)
Are the zom, trolum and other traditional sherpa intems still used today, or have they adapted their ways? (Ask a Sherpa women 50 years+)
Dear Reader,
This passage will bring you through some of the main things in Sherpa life from the 1970's. From what we understand fire has its own diety and its called thaplha. You will learn the rituals taken to respect the thaplha. We know that the Sherpa people always used loacally available resources (wood, stone...) to make their household items. Storage was a key factor in the Sherpa life since it helped make more space in the houses for other things (sleeping, cooking, eating...). Another main factor to Sherpa life was the trolum and the zom. These items were popular in the 1970's because of their purpose, which we will share that with you later on in the passage. The source of our information is from Lhakpa Sherpa's book titled Through a Sherpa Window published in 2008. All these things were part of Sherpa life in the 1970's, and we hope you will leave this page knowing more about Sherpa Culture in Nepal. Enjoy Reading!
(Alyssa Negron-Samonte)
Storage and Materials
In the 1970s Sherpa culture all of their household items were made out of local items. Most of it was made out of wood from local forests. They also used earth and rock from the surrounding environment. Wooden items were made by local wood workers. Some examples of these items were storage bins, boxes, and food containers, drink containers, eating bowls, and serving bowls. Stones and slates were also used. They were mainly used for building blocks. They were also used for baking, grinding, and pounding food items. They had a small amount of imported materials such as chinaware, copper, and brass. If you had any of thos ore materials they would have been considered precious items to a household.
(Addie Lennon)
Storage, Zom and Trolum
(Cordelia Hare)
Heating and Fire
The Sherpas gave fire an important role in their worshipping rituals. Sherpas believed in the thaplha, fire god. They worshiped thaplha and made sure to respect all fires made. This was executed by actions including never throwing trash, or meat products into fires, and not to step over a fireplace. When doing these things Sherpas did not offend the thaplha. There were several items associated with fire and heating because of the extremely cold climates in Nepal. Many hearths were invented over the years and many accessories for it. Some of these were sheepskin bellows, bamboo baskets, metal tripods, drying racks etc. A fairly recent invention used for heating lodges and hotels is the buwa. It was introduced to the Sherpas, by tourists. Buwa is a barrel used for heating small spaces like hotel rooms. This method of heating has become very popular, in Nepal. Although buwa is a very easy and new way to heat small spaces, there has been quite a debate over the efficiency, of this product. Lhakpa Sherpa believes that the buwa is inefficient. Instead he believes hotel window should be double-glazed, and make airtight ceilings. This is an example of how Sherpa culture is growing more modern every day.
(Alyssa Negron-Samonte)
Questions for Nepal
From our understanding, the traditional ways of Sherpas included respecting fires, is this still a belief today?
(Ask a sherpa woman 50 years+)
Do the Sherpa still make their household items by hand? If so, are they made with local materials or imported materials?
(Ask a Sherpa Woman)
Are the zom, trolum and other traditional sherpa intems still used today, or have they adapted their ways?
(Ask a Sherpa women 50 years+)
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