Livestock by Callie Burkhart, Caroline Coyne, Dillon Fisher, and Emmie Kiely
All the information from this page comes from the book Through a Sherpa Window.
Yak, Yak, Yak, Nepal - Pheriche, Sagarmatha
The cow is worshiped as a sacred animal by the orthodox Hindus. For a long time, the Hindu rulers made it illegal to slaughter cows. You could be killed or enslaved even for slaughtering cows. There were serious effects on the lives of non-hindus who ate beef. An official was sent to Solukhumbu in 1889 to punish cow-eaters and enforce the law. When he returned though, he said "under this law most of the inhabitants of this area will have to be enslaved.". This was communicating that many people were still slaughtering cows under this law. The official suggested that they impose heavy penalties, instead of killing or enslaving people, so that they could make money off of these penalties. By Callie Burkhart
There are many animals that are important to the Sherpa. The two most important are the nak and the yak. The nak is a female yak. The nak is important because it gives milk to the Sherpa. The yak is a necessary animal because it can carry heavy loads. It can also provide warmth with its thick coat. Another animal is the goat. The goat provides yoghurt and milk. A goat has two horns on the tops of its head and two pointed ears. Another animal is a sheep. Sheep provide warm wool. Their wool is normally white but sometimes it is grey. These are the animals that they have in Khumjung. By Emmie Kiely
Some animals were not as important to the Sherpa as others-animals such as the dog, the horse, and the water buffalo. The water buffalo is not common where the Sherpa live because of the high elevation. Ethnic groups on lower elevations keep buffalo meat and hide for clothing and trade. The horse, like the water buffalo, is not adapted to the high altitude. The Sherpa cannot raise them because the rocky terrain is not suitable for the Sherpa to ride them, or let them graze. The dog is not as important because there is only one type of dog that is adapted to high altitudes- a Tibetan Mastiff. Bit these are hard to get, because they are not aloud to freely crossbreed. By Dillon Fisher
Animals in olden Nepal provided many things. Nak's and Yak's provided wool for clothing. They also helped make milk with a high amount of fat, although they don't produce that much milk. The milk is usually turned into yoghurt. After it's yoghurt, its processed into butter or sour cheese. Milk can also be used in sweet and salt teas. Goats and Sheep also produced wool. Goats also provided milk that was used to make cheese, yoghurt, and sometimes left as milk. Puppies and dogs were very rare, nut if you had one you were lucky. They provided protection when the owner of the house was gone. Horses were also very hard to keep because of the high altitude, but they carried heavy loads across the villages.
Khumjung Today
1. Are Naks and Yaks still the most important animals? (Ask farmer) 2. Do they have domesticated animals? (Ask Khumjung Student) 3. Do the Sherpa have any sacred animals? (Ask Llama)
by Callie Burkhart, Caroline Coyne, Dillon Fisher, and Emmie Kiely
All the information from this page comes from the book Through a Sherpa Window.
The cow is worshiped as a sacred animal by the orthodox Hindus. For a long time, the Hindu rulers made it illegal to slaughter cows. You could be killed or enslaved even for slaughtering cows. There were serious effects on the lives of non-hindus who ate beef. An official was sent to Solukhumbu in 1889 to punish cow-eaters and enforce the law. When he returned though, he said "under this law most of the inhabitants of this area will have to be enslaved.". This was communicating that many people were still slaughtering cows under this law. The official suggested that they impose heavy penalties, instead of killing or enslaving people, so that they could make money off of these penalties.
By Callie Burkhart
There are many animals that are important to the Sherpa. The two most important are the nak and the yak. The nak is a female yak. The nak is important because it gives milk to the Sherpa. The yak is a necessary animal because it can carry heavy loads. It can also provide warmth with its thick coat. Another animal is the goat. The goat provides yoghurt and milk. A goat has two horns on the tops of its head and two pointed ears. Another animal is a sheep. Sheep provide warm wool. Their wool is normally white but sometimes it is grey. These are the animals that they have in Khumjung.
By Emmie Kiely
Some animals were not as important to the Sherpa as others-animals such as the dog, the horse, and the water buffalo. The water buffalo is not common where the Sherpa live because of the high elevation. Ethnic groups on lower elevations keep buffalo meat and hide for clothing and trade. The horse, like the water buffalo, is not adapted to the high altitude. The Sherpa cannot raise them because the rocky terrain is not suitable for the Sherpa to ride them, or let them graze. The dog is not as important because there is only one type of dog that is adapted to high altitudes- a Tibetan Mastiff. Bit these are hard to get, because they are not aloud to freely crossbreed.
By Dillon Fisher
Animals in olden Nepal provided many things. Nak's and Yak's provided wool for clothing. They also helped make milk with a high amount of fat, although they don't produce that much milk. The milk is usually turned into yoghurt. After it's yoghurt, its processed into butter or sour cheese. Milk can also be used in sweet and salt teas. Goats and Sheep also produced wool. Goats also provided milk that was used to make cheese, yoghurt, and sometimes left as milk. Puppies and dogs were very rare, nut if you had one you were lucky. They provided protection when the owner of the house was gone. Horses were also very hard to keep because of the high altitude, but they carried heavy loads across the villages.
Khumjung Today
1. Are Naks and Yaks still the most important animals? (Ask farmer)
2. Do they have domesticated animals? (Ask Khumjung Student)
3. Do the Sherpa have any sacred animals? (Ask Llama)