304 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 





Di 



V. L. Sh 



Photograpl 



BANDIT BRAVE OR TIBETAN TROUBADOUR? 



The horseman is making a circuit of the walls of a ruined lamasery 

 at Batang. This monastery was once one of the most flourishing 

 establishments in eastern Tibet, but was destroyed by the Chinese 

 during one of their invasions. The Tibetans are not allowed to re- 

 build damaged lamaseries or to erect new ones, for the Chinese 

 conceive these religious communities to be centers of rebellion. 



ing far from the grain-producing valleys, 

 to whom tsamba is a luxury. The meat 

 is sometimes dried and preserved for 

 future cooking, sometimes cooked while 

 fresh. 



FIRST USERS OE CONDENSED MILK 



Most Tibetan meat eaters, however, are 

 kindred spirits of Dr. Samuel Johnson, 

 for, like him, they prefer their meat 

 "high" and "gamy." But, after all, they 

 go much further than the author of 

 "Rasselas," for they eat the spoiled meat 



raw. Naturally, stom- 

 ach trouble is ri fe 

 among the Tibetan 

 in »mads. 



The Tibetans of this 

 region were probably 

 the original users of 

 condensed milk in the 

 form of dry lumps, 

 for they have prepared 

 tin's article of food for 

 many centuries. Fresh 

 milk is poured into a 

 churn which is never 

 washed and the liquid 

 therefore curdles al- 

 most the instant it 

 comes into contact 

 with the germ-in- 

 crusted walls of the 

 container. It is then 

 churned and the butter 

 is extracted. 



After the butter is 

 extracted the milk is 

 boiled in a large iron 

 pot until it reaches the 

 consistency of thick 

 syrup. It is then 

 poured out in a thin 

 sheet and allowed to 

 dry, after which it 

 is broken into small 

 pieces and stored. The 

 lumps often become as 

 hard as stone, and to 

 eat them dry is out of 

 the question. The 

 nomads solve the prob- 

 lem by substituting the 

 dry milk for tsamba, 

 soaking it in their but- 

 ter tea. It thus be- 

 some extent and can 



comes softened to 

 be chewed. 



The pastoral Tibetans produce a great 

 deal of butter. Much they consume them- 

 selves, but there is a considerable sur- 

 plus, which those in reach of the grain- 

 producing valleys take to the lowlands 

 and exchange for tsamba. There is such 

 a quantity of yak hair in the butter that 

 an observer would almost assume that it 

 was a prized ingredient, but its presence 

 does not lower the value of the product 

 in the estimation of the native consumers. 



