Trans-Himalayan Traders by James F. Fisher

Literature Review – Anush Khadka, Mohan Raj Joshi, Rajendra Man Banepali, Sourav Prasai, and Upendra Gautam Summary: Tarangpurians exchange their way out of isolation through economic and cultural ties from Tibet to India. Surplus as an essential to the complex networks of exchange carried out outside the village. Two essential trade circuits prevail: the grain-salt-rice circuit and increasingly preferred commodities circuit: good-cash-good circuit. Tarangpurians engage in impression management; they have adopted themselves as cultural chameleons. This is the reason why their culture has been influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. Within the village, social status is calculated by an ideology of equality, the practices of equalizing, unbalanced reciprocity and a disguised hierarchy. Most recently, politics fed by cash wealth has increasingly motivated Tarangpurians towards innovation and progress. Tarangpur maintains ties and networks of exchange over a huge geographic area, building its world view out of complex transactional activity. Chapter 1: Introduction & Chapter 2: The Land and Its People Mohan Raj Joshi No man is an island. There are many things which are studied, which are under study and yet to be studied may be studied in future. Within any society cultural, natural, geographical and conceptual webs are found. Among the peoples of the society various connections and differences are found. The author, James F Fisher, in a village of mountains of northwest Nepal, pseudonym given him Tarangpur, geographically isolated community, is trying to encounter. Tarangpur is not culturally and economically self-sufficient is far more interesting than the ways in which it is. It is cultural, linguistic and economic hinge between Buddhist, Tibetan culture in the north and Hindu, Nepali region to the south and west of Nepal. Author in his research is concerned with mechanisms that maintain ethnic boundaries between mountain peasants and other group. People interact in many ways for their survival and well being and may change their strategy for maximizing their benefit. The transactions among the people are classified in economic and ethnic transactions. The problems stated in this book are the problems of anthropologist not of the people of Tarangpur because they are fit with their way of life and adapted with their environment and ecology. The author generalized various anthropological problems and findings in the particular ethnographic context of Tarangpur. He wanted to take complete census of the village but people suspicious towards question of outsider because of their belief on supernatural forces and power (shakti). The languages spoken in Tarangpur are Nepali, Tibetan and Kaike. Kaike language is such language which is only spoken in the Tarangpur and its two neighboring villages Tarakot and Tupa where altogether about 1000 people used to speak this language. Dolpo District is mountaneous and surrounded by Mustang, Mygdi, Rukum, Jajarkot, Jumla and Mugu from east to south to west and in its northern part there is Tibet. There are four passes Khun, Manla, Yanang, Marim and Hindu between Dolpo and Tibet. The political and administrative unit of Dolpo District is culturally heterogeneous, ecologically plural, multilinguistic entity. Southern and southwestern section of Dolpo District is inhabited by caste Hindu speaking Nepali and so called tribal groups, while northern section will be inhabited by people solidly within the Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition. A cluster of Villages on the Bheri River is an area known as Tichurong lies isolated from other inhabited regions. This village lies onto extremely steep slopes high above the Bheri River. The climate is relatively severe since it is situated between 9000 feet and 12000 feet above the sea level. Temperature during the summer are commonly in the 80s (F) and in winter are below freezing at night even indoors. Tichurong consists of 13 villages, six villages constitute the Lawan village, seven villages comprise the Tarangpur village Panchayat. The population of different villages ranges from 63 to 365 people. The mother language spoken in Tarangpur is unwritten Tibeto- Burmese called Kaike is different than other languages of this family. In Tarangpur the birth rituals are held according to Buddhism and marriage and seasonal rituals are tends to Hindu. During the indigenous New Year the old flagpole is refurbished with a fresh juniper branch and white clothe flag at the top which is identical of Tibetan prayer flags but with no prayer printed on them. There are four ritual specialists; Barphun, Narphun, Sildin and Patum. Their life shows “all gods are the same” and they believe in gods are not in competition with each other. In agriculture some villages grow wheat in Tichurong and corn is grown in Tarangpur. Budha, Rokaya, Gharti and Jhankri clans and main clans in Tarangpur and its nearby. Some other clan people are migrated in this area later. Purity of one’s decent is highly considered there. Tichurongs culture has developed over time fluctuating over time between Hinduism and Buddhism but there are not any such kinds of document which reflects some insight about it. But studies on Tarangpur shows contemporary relations with the outside world reveals clues about the ways in which Tarangpurians still accommodate themselves to these two powerful cultural models in terms of their social, economic, cultural and overall ecological balance. Chapter 3: Himalayan Farmers Rajendra Man Banepali Problem of Surplus – Surplus good and /or surplus time that can be transferred to a second party for something which is more desirable than the goods or time transferred. People cannot be regarded as involved in transactions when the only alternative, in this Nepalese situation, would be death by starvation. An exchange under duress, where there is no choice is not a transaction (Barth 1966). A subsistence level is inextricably cultural and is not based simply and uniform biologically species requirement (Orans 1966:25). Subminimal surplus = Corp Yields – input of food calories to procedures the yield – Basal and intermediary metabolic activity – Re-productive activity. That is applied only for those who own land without starving to death. From Tarangpurians’s points of view – Subminimal surplus might keep someone alive and working in the field, but that would barely count as living. The lay of the land – Tarangpur has classified land surface – by different government agencies according to fertility, topography, and water – in seven basic types – 1.) Field, 2.) Grassy or forested areas, 3.) Land along arrive bed, whether arable or not, 4.) Rock cliffs, 5.) High Mountainous Land, including passes, 6.) Pasture Land, and 7.) Gardens. Tichurong people call all their fields – Kodale. Tichurong land is classified by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The land is not only hilled and unirrigated but also sleep, rocky and limited to shingle growing season. Cultivated fields lie on hillsides with a general slope sometimes approaching 35 degrees. Nominal land taxes are paid, but the land itself has never been surveyed. Climate – The agricultural cycle is limited to single (summer) season, due to the ground is frozen, and consequencely to a single crop – except from barley and sweet buckwheat. Estimated typical yields of five major crops are Chinu Millet, Buckwheat, Sweet Suckwheat, Japanese Millet, and Barley. The researcher has experienced 93 days rain during 255 days. Trangpurians like meat and even poor man can afford to eat some occasionally. Meat, sheep, and goat are acquired from Bhotias. As expenditures, working capital need due to meet depreciation over two years as old equipments such as – a plow, a hoe, hand-held weeder, a bull, and land. Estimation of annual net grains surplus for Tarangpur is 83 adults @ 17 muris. Allocation of personnel to perform these agricultural and commercials task is not random but determined by a specialized division of labor – permissive and statistical – which is a behavioral unfolding of certain norms dictated in part by religious belief. Permissive have sense of who may or may not do certain task whereas statistical is known as a sense of who does or does not do certain task since it is still traditional society. As per permissive rules that women may not do men’s work, but man may do women’s work, unless it is polluting. Polluting refers to work involving direct contact with excrement, where human or animal. There are other spheres of life, but this is only instance relevant to the division of labor. Woman and lamas are equivalents in labor force. Neither can do certain kind of works such as – plowing – which is considered sinful because of the pain caused to the bullock. Thus lama families with multiple sons often purposely keep on son as a layman in order to flow the family fields. Woman initial job as carrying manure from barnyards to the field leads to kick up the forming till the end except plowing work which is exclusively done by male. Although man do any work of agricultural labor except for carrying manure. They do limited farming, except for plowing, which they do exclusively. So, agriculture is largely women’s work in Tarangpur. Since women do the actual bulk of the agricultural work, they are more knowledgeable about framing and are therefore the locus of authority in agricultural matter in Tarangpur. A large number of decision and judgments such as – which field to work, what priorities to establish, when to begin weeding, when to start harvesting, how to deploy the labor force when labor is exchanged, with whom to exchange labor, and so on. The decision must often be made simultaneously and require carefully considered judgments. Generally it is the women who make these decisions. Even in plowing, inclusively don by man, for the most part of the overall strategy is conceived and planned by women. It can be easily visualized from the researcher’s findings that the woman is ultimate resources of farming in Himalayan due to their hardship and practices in farming. Geo-ecology structure of their social life has been clearly stated in other chapter in which trades – need to be travel Tibet in winter – are conducted by male. Chapter 4: Transactions: The Salt Circuit Upendra Gautam Salt has been very important element to Taranpurian people. Much grain produced though few people are available to eat it. Taranpurian share with all other Nepalese village a common basic lack an indigenous source of salt. And like village elsewhere in Nepal. Like most people of the world expect those who live mainly on milk and roasted meat. Tichurong people must supplement their predominantly cereal diet with salt. The Bhotia traders carried rock salt to the village. Tarangpurian wait for Bhote to collect salt. Typically during the fall and spring, the exchange rate in the two areas is almost in exact inverse of each other. The different rate clearly reflects carrying charge of the salt. Some Tarangpurian family acquires more salt than they consume. And surplus is transported even further south to the middle hill, where it is exchange for rice. Rice is considered as luxury food item. Thus used it on festive and ritual occasion to serve their prestige. Thus in transaction at sphere, local grain in traded for two different item. The salt, that is vital and the rice that is locally defined as luxury. Tibetan salt is the typical item, without which the Bhotia economy completely collapses tarangpurian also unable to barter salt with other kind of grain virtually all adult male Tarangputian speak dialectic language and they have special friendship with Tarangpurian Bhotias in the north and with the Hundu in the south. This kind of friendship is primalally the economic relationship. Tarangpurian follow two distinct culture systems in two direction of compass with the salt. They come to contact with the distinctive lifestyle over the northern border area of Nepal and Tibetan Buddhism .The most obvious forms are Mahayana Buddhisam,also called Lamasim.Their spoken and written language is Tibetan. The picular dresses are the ankle length dress own by women, the full length coat own by men and the rope and sole bad with wool lops extending to the knee owned by men and women. With the rice they come to contact with the Hinduism lifestyle associated with different caste groups and familiar with the idea of caste ranking and also with the concept of parity. They also practice impression management “when they Tarangpurian are in Hindu area. They do not speak only different language but also take entirely different names and identity. In Hindu culture they speak Nepali while in Tibet they speak Tibetan language and give Bhote name. The Tarangpurian not only involve in the exchange of commodity and particularly organize set of social relationship they are also in familiarity with two entirely different set of religious, linguistic, ecological and social cultural symbol. The Tarangpurian clearly stand at a cultural hing between the two opposing cultural pole, north and south. While salt and rice passes between the cultural boarders all idea stop in the middle pole. The Hindu and the Buddhist remain unaffected from each other. As commercial middle man, Tarangpurian traders are broker of goods. But ideological hinges. They are blockers of ideas they practice both of ideas in their respective areas with exchanging their commodities through which their survival become easy. The trading cycle was declining with the animal husbandry. Bad weather also results of unavailability of salt. Trading cycle is slow but steady incursion of Indian salt in the hill which has been easily available. Moreover Tibetans salt becomes more expensive during the World War I due to restriction from Kathmandu. The price of Tibetan salt was increased after the Chinese occupation and control lover the Tibet in the late 1950s.Indian salt has been capitalized on the opportunity to fill the gap by moving further up into hill. In fact Taranpur salt traders must considered alternative allocation of time and resources. Chapter 5: Transactions: The Commodities Circuit Sourav Prasai Elimination of the middleman: As the grain-salt-rice exchange circuit began to contract, a second separate series of transactions involving livestock, cloth and manufactured goods evolved and assumed increasing importance. Until 40 years ago (mid 1940s) men would wear woolen clothes and women would wear cotton skirts and blouses which they brought from the merchants of Jumla in the west. But the Tarangapurians have become cleverer and now days they themselves go directly to terai and save both extra-transportation costs and the expenses of supporting a middleman (traders of Jumla). This was how they eliminated the middleman. The livestock trade: Normally the livestock trade includes sheep, goats and horses and they require strong purchasing power. It is necessary to understand how cash was introduced into the barter economy. Traditionally they would barter 2-3 livestock with grain and use them for their domestic consumption and of course, they would also barter with wool, blankets, sweaters, mufflers and other woolen goods which can be sold in Hindus area for cash. They also turn the very sheep and goats used for transporting salt and rice into instant cash by selling them. Some buy a good deal of livestock for trading down the hills especially in Dashain in late September and early October. They are generally sold in Baglung, Pokhara and villages along the Kaligandaki River. The horse trade is lucrative as compared to sheep and goat as it yields an average profit of Rs. 235 as compared to 40 of a sheep. Most often the transaction is done in credit which stays for six months to a year. Woolen Trade: Fortunes can’t be made in wool but the woolen trade affects a great number of Tarangpurians than does the livestock trade. Little tax is levied in wool so petty woolen trade involves the transfer between symbiotic regions of the resources which are surplus in one and scarce in the other. Interestingly, men are only involved in knitting woolen products like sweater, sashes, blankets etc. knitting and spinning wool is mostly done in the idle hours before winter trips and during summer wedding periods. The weaving art is greatly influenced by the Tibetan and the cost of the product is determined by the variations, style and workmanship. The other side of mountain: Tarangpurians exchange their way out of isolation through economic and cultural ties from Tibet to India. After they trade their livestock and woolen products in different middle hill and turn them into cash, the cash needs to be converted into scare goods to make profit in both directions. Consequently, they drop down to Butwal, Nepaljung and of course to Indian trade centers like Kanpur, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Calcutta to buy cigarettes, matches, soaps, cotton cloths, Tibetan products like tea, coat and gold and jewelleries. Most of the time, they buy only what is needed at home and if there is surplus then they would sell them or barter them in Bhot and Khasan. The two circuits compared: The traditional grain-salt-rice exchange includes very basic requisites of life and it continues in attenuated form but parallel with new cycle. These two transactions circuits represent mutually exclusive choices making diversification impossible between the two circuits. They must be selected not straddled. Unlike first, the second circuit involved nothing that is necessary to sustain life. They spend half of the year outside Tarangpur and of course, in impression management. They have become the cultural chameleons because they are good Buddhists in Tibet and also a fluent Tibetan speakers, good Hindus in middle hills and terai of Nepal and fluent Nepali speakers and when they are in Tarangpur they speak Kaike language which is spoken only in three villages in the world. The second circuit takes Tarangpurians not just to the world of Hinduism but to modern competitive markets. Salt and rice are exchanged within the traditional, inter-regional symbiotic area. The second circuit is increasingly dominant to both satisfy want and help formulate them. It is not rice or sheep or cloth per se that is valued. The rewards are financial, ideological and cultural. But how they use their wealth within the context of inner workings of local Tarangpur system is discussed in next chapter. Key points of Chapter 6 - Control and Uses of Wealth: The Traditional Context By: Anush Khadka The Lust for Wealth - The attempt to increase one’s wealth is a very high priority activity. - House exteriors and interiors are uniform among rich and poor. Exterior – cementless, mud stuccoed, thickstone walls and beam supported earth roofs. Interior – separate rooms by wattle and daubwalls, with an open on all sides cooking fire in the main room, opposite rough wooden shelves built into the wall. - Clothing too is fairly uniform. (pg. 133,134) - Uniformity applies in fooding also. Rich are willing to economize on food. - Taranagpurains do not use wealth to transform life-styles. - Differences are not shown in daily life. Expenditure happens amongst rich in life cycle rituals. - Thus wealth is desired not to provide a better standard of living for oneself but for others. This desire to provide high grade hospitality. - Trading is closed to masculinity. A poor man will accompany a richer friend on a trading trip. Devices for Storing Wealth - Many hill women throughout Nepal store wealth in the form of thin but solid gold earring disks 2 or 3 inches in diameter, but the women of Tarangpur and neighboring villages wear earrings about 5 inches in diameter – large enough to touch their shoulders. - Impossible to wear small and old pair of earrings. Rather than wearing that they wait until more gold could be purchased. A pair of earrings is of 10 tola. $282.18 (Appendix D pg. 198) Rs. 285 per tola Atlist 2 households own 3 pairs each. Necklace, gold lockets, silver bracelets. Displayed publicly on certain occasions. Store wealth as silver coins. (1 silver coin = 6RS) Control of Wealth and Inheritance - Each wealthiest trader tried to gain an advantage by starting his trip earlier than the other one. - Most property is passed from older to younger generations through the male line. If the sons marry, they establish separate homes and divide the property. The youngest receives the family house. But if an older son must then build a new house for himself, the younger son must contribute an equal share of building expenses. - A mutual friend takes 2 stones or piece of wood, each contributed by one of the brothers but without knowing which is which, and throws one stick or stone on the half of the field and the other on the other half. Whichever brother chose the piece of stone or wood that land in a given half is then the owner of half. - Daughters do not inherit land unless there are no sons. At marriage a bride is given a small amount of land. - If there is no son to inherit the house and the fields, a daughter may inherit them and continue to live in with her husband and children. When the son-in-law comes to live in his wife’s house, her family property passes to her. Although he may regard as the head of house, he could not sell the property without her express consent. He then loses inheritance rights in the estate of his own natal family. - Such man cannot bring second wife to his house even his first wife has died. If he wants to remarry he must leave and return to his home (if possible) or establish a new home. Similar problem for women also. Ownership - Rights to agricultural products and to disposal of the land do not include rights over nuts from walnut trees, nor do they include rights against trespass. Funds of Rent - Land taxes average about $0.07 per person annually. The Ceremonial Fund - At the birth of a first child, maternal grandmother gives her daughter a large amount of food. If not mother’s brother’s wife must give it. (Rs.115) New mother also gives her own mother a set of new clothes. (Rs.30.50) Husband’s mother also gives 25 chickens. (Rs.120) - Lama reads classical Tibetan texts and performs a rite in which the infant receives a name. - A first haircut ritual of the first male child of any women happens at the age of 7, before full moon of Baisakh. If a man has 2 wives then first male child of each wife, haircut ritual is necessary. The haircut ritual entails large expenditures for feasting. But most of this expense comes from reserves in kind, not from cash. (Rs.425) The ceremony requires cash gifts to the boy. (Rs.2,200) Marriage is exclusively by capture. Marriage guests do not make cash donations. (Rs. 396) First, second, third invitation Groom – presents a set of cloth to bride (Rs. 100), sends fried rice cakes and beer (few days after wedding) – Rs. 245 When a person dies, the bereaved family distributes fried bread made from sweet buckwheat. (Rs. 480) Annual celebrations for the pantheon of local mountain gods middle of winter and in the spring. (Rs. 1000 – Rs. 1500) Last for 25 days, a household only once in every 30 or 40 years, once/twice in a person’s life, Borrow loan without interest. Saune-sankranti and new roof also seek some investment. Investing in Merit - Charitable donation for making monasteries and the expenses of pilgrimages. Key points of Chapter 7- Transactions: The Village Context By: Anush Khadka Hierarchy - Marriage classes versus wealth classes - Marriage partners should come from same class; include physical attractiveness, freedom from witchcraft accusation. (age differences no more than 10 years) - Women generally prefer to stay in their own village although girl from remote area like Kola likes marry with poorest boy from richest place like Kani. - 8 different hierarchical ranks of marriage classes. - Total assets more than 50,000 RS known as wealthy and below then that are known as not wealthy. - 2nd rich (108,900) - Both marriage class and wealth class plays important role in power and leadership. Politics - 4 Mukhiyas at the time of research, hereditary positions – to facilitate payment of taxes to the government. 35 years ago there were 13 Mukhiyas - Government officials came from Jumla once a year to collect taxes and settle disputes. They expect free room and are arbitrary and cruel. - Selects Mukhiya playing Tibetan Gambling – winner became the sole official tax collector. (after HMG rule in 1965) - After political change in 1950, Village Panchayat was formed with 9 representatives lead by Pradhan. Representatives were chosen through local election. Representation in district and national level as well. A candidate of representative spent Rs. 1,100 for election of District Panchayat and 24,000 for National Panchayat. Collect donations and commit illegal activities – poaching musk deer, stealing religious idols to continue politics. Chairman of District Panchayat receives salary of Rs. 200 and member of National Panchayat receives salary of Rs. 500 per month. In 6 years period he receives approximately Rs. 60,000. Politics and Trade - An annual income of Political leader is more than of wealthiest Tarangpur traders makes in a year. - A man who is seriously involved in trading must be physically removed from the village for well over half the year, whereas the conduct of village politics and demands of the national government require that whoever represents the village or district be accessible most of the time. - Although politics need a lot of fund, but wealthiest unable to win election because of poor leadership quality. - Culturally they are bounded with each other. Hierarchy and Reciprocity - Despite the internal cleavages of wealth, status and power, interpersonal relations in the village are pervaded by an aura of diffuse reciprocity. - Reciprocity is balanced when returns of commensurate worth are stipulated within a finite and narrow period. - Negative reciprocity is the unsociable extreme, the attempt to gain the unearned increment. Exchange Labor - Cooperative labor exchange within friends, neighbors, and relatives - While exchanging labor former spouses those with whom has serious disputes are avoided. - In labor exchanges, bullocks and humans are equivalent. Village Solidarity - A feeling of gratitude and indebtedness results, but no one who helped expected to be repaid. Even without a calamity of such proportions, help is extended without thought of repayment of those who need for it. Jajmani - Damai (tailor) and Kami (blacksmith) go to their patron’s house to work. - The annual payment to a Kami consists of 20 to 30 manas. (depend on generosity of patron) - Invited in specials occasions, sits respectable distance apart. - They are expanding their business by acquiring more patrons in other villages on jajmani, annual payment-in-kind basis. ~**~