AHP 65 Tibetan Folklore
Chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་སྐྱོང་སྐྱབས།2024, Asian Highlands Perspectives
The 193 folklore selections in this collection were collected mostly by Tibetan students who retold what their elders shared with them while they were studying English at Qinghai Normal University, Xining City, Qinghai Province, PR China in the 1990s when family elders told stories to children whose families lacked televisions. At this time, elders transmitted stories that had been told for generations, imparting them to appreciative audiences, as attested by the collectors in introductory statements. Asian Highlands Perspectives has published earlier versions of many of these accounts. However, new unpublished selections are also featured. The astonishing variety of these narratives ranges from a primordial flood account (#183 Human-son Lehwherow and Sky-Nahgoome Descendants), Mi la tsi tsi 'little boy', a wild child who fled just like a wild animal when people approached and tricked children who didn't return home for several days or even years; stories about frogs, rabbits, bears, and other creatures; Uncle Ston pa, the trickster; ghosts; A rig rgad po, a devoted, very traditional Buddhist who is very direct in his manner; monsters; and many others. There has been no attempt to prevent duplication, so some stories are similar. While there are collections of Tibetan folklore in Tibetan, Chinese, English, and other languages, the number of selections and variety in this volume, introductions by many of the collectors, and information about the tellers and collection details emphasize the value of this collection especially, in the year 2024, when many young children have never heard folklore from their family members, given the popularity and their preference for television cartoons. We sincerely thank the tellers, collectors, and editors who made this volume possible.
Related papers
AHP 40: REVIEW: TIBETAN FOLKTALES (WORLD FOLKLORE SERIES)
Review of: Haiwang Yuan, Awang Kunga, and Bo Li. 2014. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO LLC. 202. ISBN: 9781610694704 (hardcover, 38USD). Tibetan Folktales brings a welcome addition to the well-respected World Folklore Series, published by Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO LLC. The primary author, Haiwang Yuan, Professor of Library Public Services at Western Kentucky University, has also written two other texts in the series, The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese, and Princess Peacock: Tales from the Other Peoples of China, winner of the 2009 Aesop Accolade Award for the Children's Section of the American Folklore Society. Yuan divides his translation into three parts. The first, an introductory overview, includes photographs and explanations of traditional Tibetan clothing, architecture, calendars, festivals, and other cultural elements. These brief commentaries, each one to two pages in length, are written in a comfortable, accessible style. Yuan offers suggestions for further reading at the end of each commentary, as well as a selection of black and white photos to accompany his descriptions. The second section focuses on traditional Tibetan food, crafts, ...
A MDO TIBETAN FOLKLORE FROM MGO MANG (GUOMAYING) TOWN, MANG RA (GUINAN) COUNTY, MTSHO LHO (HAINAN) TIBETAN AUTONOMOUS PREFECTURE, MTSHO SNGON (QINGHAI) PROVINCE, PR CHINA by G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་སྐྱབས་རྡོ་རྗེ། (Yangji Duojie 杨吉多杰)
ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES, 2021
In 2016, dmangs glu, proverbs, riddles, and stories were collected in ten villages-Ru sngun zhol ma (Rianxiuma), Smar khams (Mashigan), Tsha nag (Chanaihai), Glo rgya (Luojia), Jo ser (Jiaose), Sha rgya (Shajia), Brag dkar (Zhihai), Chos tsha (Qiezha), Ta ra (Dala), and Rdo ra (Duola)-and at Mang ra (Guinan) County Second Nationalities Middle School and Mgo mang (Guomaying) Town Nationalities Boarding School. All these sites are located in Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China. Sixty girls and sixty boys (primary and middle school students) were interviewed. Importantly, this folklore represents what these children knew at a time (2016) when the number of culture bearers who were knowledgeable in folklore was rapidly decreasing as interest in and use of social media increased exponentially. Although there are many examples of folklore published in Tibetan and other languages, some of the folklore presented here have not been previously published. KEYWORDS Tibetan folklore collection, Tibetan children folklore, Mang ra (Guinan), Tibetosphere literature
AHP 23 A Tewo Tibetan Childhood
Rdo rje tshe brtan (b. 1986) describes his childhood in Dredze Village, Yiwa Township, Tewo County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China, as well as being a student in Xining City, Qinghai Province. Topics covered include his family, childhood injuries and illnesses, education, Terang (malicious household deities), mountain deities and associated rituals and sacrifices, death, conflict with other locals, collecting local plants, a birth in the village, stealing fruit, a wedding, plowing, a visit to a hot spring, a lost yak, slaughtering pigs, and government confiscation of fields. Photos provide additional detail.
AHP 13 Warming Your Hands With Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture
Lavrung is a little studied Qiangic language spoken by a small group of Tibetans in Rangtang County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. This work provides the first monographic introduction to Lavrung Tibetans and their language and culture, focusing on the use of trilingual (Lavrung, Chinese, and Tibetan) figurative speech in villagers' everyday discourse. Background on local oral traditions, including folktales, riddles, work songs, and secret curative chants, is also provided. A Lavrung-English word list, fifty-six full-color photographs, and several maps showing the location and distribution of Lavrung-speaking communities are also included.
AHP 21: Collected Papers, Reviews, Folktales, Photo Essays
Articles A Space for the Possible: Globalization and English Language Learning for Tibetan Students in China Rebecca Clothey and Elena McKinlay An A mdo Tibetan Pastoralists' Family Lo sar in Stong skor Village Timothy Thurston and Tsering Samdrup Hail Prevention Rituals and Ritual Practitioners in Northeast A mdo Rdo rje don grub Pyramid Schemes on the Tibetan Plateau Devin Gonier and Rgyal yum sgrol ma Tibetans and Muslims in Northwest China: Economic and Political Aspects of a Complex Relationship Bianca Horlemann Sacred Dairies, Dairymen, and Buffaloes of the Nilgiri Mountains in South India Anthony Walker An A mdo Family's Income and Expenses in 2011 Rdo rje bkra shis, Rta mgrin bkra shis, CK Stuart Architecture in The bo, 'Brug chu, and Co ne Counties, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province Chos dbyings rdo rje Change, Reputation, and Hair: A Female Rite of Passage in Mtha' ba Village Blo bzang tshe ring, Don 'grub sgrol ma, Gerald Roche, and CK Stuart Literature A College Student 'Phrin las nyi ma Set Free by Tragedy G.yang mtsho skyid Who is to Blame? Klu rgyal 'bum Young Love Bkra shis rab rten Silent as a Winter Cuckoo Pad+ma dbang chen QQ Destiny Pad+ma dbang chen Reviews Review - China's Last Imperial Frontier and The Sichuan Frontier and Tibet Robert Entenmann Review - Harnessing Fortune Lisa C Fischler Review - Inter-Ethnic Dynamics in Asia Philippe Ramirez Review - Spirits of the Place William B Noseworthy Review - Moving Mountains William B Noseworthy Review - The Complete Works of Zhuang Xueben Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa Review - Religious Revival in the Tibetan Borderlands Bo Wang Review - The Sun Rises Mark Bender Review - Tibetan Buddhists in the Making of Modern China (Chinese Edition) Dan Smyer Yu and Zomkyi Drolma Review - Labrang Monastery Christina Kilby Robinson
AHP 17 A Zorgay Tibetan Childhood
This autobiographical work describes the author's life growing up on the northeast Tibetan Plateau, in a farming community in Zorgay (Mdzod dge) County, Rnga ba Tibetan and QIang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The original English text and a Swedish translation are provided.
South Asian Folklore: A Handbook. By Frank J. Korom. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. vii, 223 pp. $55.00 (cloth)
The Journal of Asian Studies, 2007
AHP 35 Review: Tales of Kha ba dkar po
Zhang, Jundan (Jasmine). 2014. Review: Tales of Kha ba dkar po. Asian Highlands Perspectives 35:255-274. Review of Jing Guo . 2012. Xue shan zhi shu [Tales of Kha ba dkar po] [ཁ་བ་དཀར་པོ།]. Kunming : Yunnan People's Press. 531pp, ethnography, notes, oral history, 134 photos, 29 maps, and 5 illustrations. ISBN: 9787222088979 (paper, 68RMB). ____________________________ ToK is, in many ways, a valuable academic work. Guo's favorite lines of xianzi allude to a 'space-in-between' the secular and sacred, which provides a unique experience for a broad readership, and induces the readers to deeper reflections on topics such as 'nature/ culture', 'belief', 'rite', and 'life/ death'. ToK is one of nineteen contemporary anthropological and ethnological works conducted in Yunnan Province, Southwest China and published in the 'Anthropology and Ethnology series in Contemporary China'. In the preface for the series, Yin (2012) suggests that there are two primary reasons for the somewhat slow development of Chinese scholarship in the field of anthropology and ethnology. One is the historically Han-centered intellectual atmosphere, and the other is the ideological ambivalence that ethnic culture has faced since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. In this context, Guo's longitudinal academic and intellectual engagement with the Tibetan communities in northwest Yunnan is included in this series as part of the increasing recognition of the significance of understanding southwest China's complex ethnic and cultural diversity. The book consists of eighteen chapters.
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
TIBETAN FOLKLORE
བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག
edited by
ཆོས་%ོང་%བས། Chos skyong skyabs (切江加 Qiejiangjia)
Illustrations by
)ལ་+་ནོར་བྷེ། Rgyal bu nor b+he
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES
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CITATION: ཆོས་4ོང་4བས། Chos skyong skyabs (切江加 Qiejiangjia) (ed).
2024. Tibetan Folklore. Asian Highlands Perspectives 65.
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
EDITORS
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། and Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ།
COPY EDITORS
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal =ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ། Bkra shis བA་ཤིས། Gabriella
Samcewicz, Sarge, and 'Jam dbyangs skyabs འཇམ་དDངས་4བས།
EDITORIAL BOARD
BARBARA BROWER Portland State University
CAIHUAN DUOJIE (Caihua Dorji; Tshe dpal rdo rje ཚ8་དཔལ་9ོ་:ེ།)
University of Canterbury
DANIEL MILLER USAID
DUOJIE ZHAXI (Dorje Tashi, Rdo rje bkra shis 9ོ་:ེ་བA་ཤིས།) University
of Colorado
FERNANDA PIRIE University of Oxford
GENGQIUGELAI (Konchok Gelek, Dkon mchog dge legs
དཀོན་མཆོག་དགེ་ལེགས།) University of Zurich
HILDEGARD DIEMBERGER University of Cambridge
HUADAN ZHAXI (Dpal ldan bkra shis དཔལ་Gན་བA་ཤིས།) HumboldtUniversität zu Berlin
JERMAY JAMSU ('Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>།)
JUHA JANHUNEN University of Helsinki
KEITH DEDE Lewis and Clark College
KELSANG NORBU (Gesangnuobu, Skal bzang nor bu Iལ་བཟང་ནོར་J།)
KUNCHOK BENZHOU ('Bum phrug འJམ་Kག) London School of
Economics and Political Science
LHAMODROLMA (Lha mo sgrol ma L་མོ་,ོལ་མ།)
MARK BENDER Ohio State University
RENQINGKA (Rin chen mkhar རིན་ཆེན་མཁར།) University of
Massachusetts, Amherst
RIGDROL GOLOK (Rouzhuo; Rig grol རིག་Nོལ།) Victoria University,
Australia
SHAMO THAR (Sha mo thar ཤ་མོ་ཐར།) University of Massachusetts,
Amherst
•3•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
TONI HUBER Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
VERONIKA ZIKMUNDOVA Charles University
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION <17>
CONTRIBUTORS <23>
CONTRIBUTORS' NOTES <27>
1: Prince Bsam pa'i don 'grub
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད། <55>
2: Selfless Fathers and Selfish Sons
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད། <60>
3: Becoming a Buddha
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་ད། <62>
4: A myes bya khyung and A myes stag lung
Chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་4ོང་4བས། <65>
5: Ominous Numbers and Auspicious Numbers
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག <68>
6: Mi la tsi tsi
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག <70>
7: Big Dreams
Dbyangs mtshos sgrol ma དDངས་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ། <72>
8: The Liar
'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>། <73>
9: Zla ba's Father
Yum chen mtsho mo Rམ་ཆེན་མཚ>་མོ། <74>
10: Two Unlucky Men
(Don 'grub rgyal དོན་འSབ་?ལ། <75>
11: Why the World is Unfair
'Gyur med phun tshogs འHར་མེད་=ན་ཚ>གས། <76>
12: Heart-Eyes
Tshe ring dbyangs sgron ཚ8་རིང་དDངས་,ོན། <78>
13: A Precious Old Woman
Blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་། <80>
14: A Lazy Man Becomes Hardworking
Tshe ring lha mo ཚ8་རིང་L་མོ། <85>
•5•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
15: The Frog Robber
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰) <87>
16: A Chest of Stones
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས། <90>
17: A Strange Dream
Gu ru chos skyid U་V་ཆོས་4ིད། <92>
18: Two Thieves
Tshe ring be dkar ཚ8་རིང་བེ་དཀར། <94>
19: A Clever Artist
Dkon me དཀོན་མེ། <95>
20: The Donkey-Tiger
Ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས། <97>
21: Oilyball and Meatball
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ། <98>
22: Spitting Gold and Turquoise
'Ug spu Xག་Y། <100>
23: The Mirror
Rig grol རིག་Nོལ། <101>
24: The King and the Pork
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། <103>
25: The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!"
Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་། <105>
26: The Son, Daughter-In-Law, and Mother
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰) <107>
27: The Special Pot
Anonymous <109>
28: Three Girls
Lha ri mtsho mo L་རི་མཚ>་མོ། <111>
29: A Bad Friend
Mkha'skyod sgrol ma མཁའ་4ོད་,ོལ་མ། <113>
30: The Timid Thief
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>། <115>
31: The Monk and the Butcher
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས། <117>
•6•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
32: A Beautiful Shining Star
Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་། <119>
33: The Sun's Reply
Snying dkar rgyal \ིང་དཀར་?ལ། <121>
34: Clever Boy
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal =ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ། <123>
35: A Clever Man
Tshe lha ཚ8་L། <125>
36: Gold Girl, Silver Girl, and Wood Girl
Ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>། <127>
37: The Cruel King and the Peasant
'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>། <130>
38: A Cruel Queen
Chos mo byams ཆོས་མོ་Dམས། <133>
39: The Story of Rdo khang
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས། <136>
40: Two Boys
Bsod nams skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད། <139>
41: The Foolish Judge
Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>། <142>
42: Two Lazy Men
Tshe dbal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ། <144>
43: The Horned King
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰) <146>
44: Artist Kun dga' and Carpenter Kun dga'
Anonymous <148>
45: Deity Maker Kun Dga' and Carpenter Kun Dga'
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <150>
46: The Temple God Eats Rtsam pa
Bsod nams skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད། <151>
47: The Rock Lion Opens Its Mouth
Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན། <153>
48: The Death of Hunting Eagle
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>། <155>
•7•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
49: A Hen for a Horse
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <156>
50: A Hunter's Destiny
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <158>
51: A Lucky Man
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <160>
52: An Argument About Karma
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <165>
53: A Royal Gamble
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <167>
54: A Wise Father and His Foolish Son
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <170>
55: The Greedy King and the Tricky Man
Lcags so lhun 'grub ^གས་སོ་_ན་འSབ། (Klu sgrub `་aབ།) (translator)
and Rgya mo skyid ?་མོ་4ིད། (teller) <171>
56: Sgang Bzang Stobs Ldan
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག (Yongzhong 拥忠) <175>
57: The Merchant
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <178>
58: Nor bu bzang po
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག <183>
59: The Three Brothers
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག <185>
60: Helping Others Will Bring You What You Need
G.yu lha གR་L། <186>
61: A Lakeside Wooden Fence
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག <188>
62: The False Pazi's Revenge
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ། Drolma) <189>
63: Cuonumi
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ། Drolma) <193>
64: Bkra shis' Adventures
Tshe dpal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ། <195>
65: Mchig nges
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ། <200>
•8•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
66: Repaying a Debt of Gratitude
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ། <201>
67: The Leveret, the Sparrow, and the Pig
G.yu lha གR་L། <207>
68: The Flea and the Louse
G.yu lha གR་L། <208>
69: The Bone in the Meat
G.yu lha གR་L། <208>
70: The Jar Buyer
G.yu lha གR་L། <209>
71: The Helpless Nomad
G.yu lha གR་L། <209>
72: The Hunter and his Wife
G.yu lha གR་L། <211>
73: Dividing Housework
G.yu lha གR་L། <211>
74: A Wild Boar Attacks
G.yu lha གR་L། <212>
75: Blo ring and zæn tʂi
G.yu lha གR་L། <213>
76: Do lo
G.yu lha གR་L། <215>
77: Mȵewzambəmʂʨət
Rdo rje 9ོ་:ེ། <219>
78: An Old Couple with Cows
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <221>
79: A Liar
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <223>
80: An Old Couple Abandoned Their Children
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <223>
81: Potato and Paper
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <224>
82: The King and Nine Princesses
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <225>
•9•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
83: Clever
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <227>
84: Divination
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <228>
85: Robbing
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <230>
86: Parents Abandon their Daughters
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <231>
87: An Obedient Daughter Becomes the Queen
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <232>
88: The Poor Boy
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <233>
89: The Goat-Tail Mouse
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <235>
90: A Man Becomes Rich
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <237>
91: The Greedy Man and the Liar
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <238>
92: Juniper Leaves and Wool
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <240>
93: Stealing a Goat
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <240>
94: Road, Car, Grass, and Sheep
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <241>
95: A Herder Has Noodles
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <241>
96: Chinese Father and Tibetan Daughter
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <242>
97: A Tibetan Speaks Chinese
(G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།) <242>
98: Eat Yogurt that Can Touch the Finger
(Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག) <243>
99: Rabbit
(Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།) <244>
•10•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
100: Wise Rabbit
'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>། <248>
101: The Provocative Rabbit
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། <249>
102: The King of Seven Seeds
Bsod nams rgyal mtshan བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚན། <252>
103: Rabbit Saves Pilgrim's Life
Dbang phyug rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ། <259>
104: Bear and Rabbit (I)
G.yu lha གR་L། <261>
105: Bear and Rabbit (II)
Snying dkar skyid \ིང་དཀར་4ིད། <264>
106: Mother Rabbit and Mother Bear
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <269>
107: Baby Rabbit and Cruel Bear
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <271>
108: Two Rabbits and a Bear
Dge 'dun sgrol ma དགེ་འcན་,ོལ་མ། <273>
109: Monkey, Rabbit, Fox, and Horse
'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད། (Zhoumaoji 周毛吉) <274>
110: A Man, a Rabbit, and a Wolf
Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན། <277>
111: A Sheep Goes on Pilgrimage to Lha sa
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <278>
112: Two Frogs
Anonymous <280>
113: The Frog Prince
'Jam dbyangs sgrol ma འཇམ་དDངས་,ོལ་མ། <282>
114: The Frog Boy and His Family
Mchod pa'i lha mo མཆོད་པའི་L་མོ། <283>
115: Mouse Princess Marries a Cat
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད། <290>
116: The Young Rooster
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན། <291>
•11•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
117: The Tricky Horse
'Bum phrug འJམ་Kག <293>
118: Horse and Camel
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ། <295>
119: Half a Baby?
Ye shes mtsho mo ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>་མོ། <297>
120: A Wolf Wags His Tail
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན། <298>
121: The Clever Ewe
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད། <300>
122: The Magic Chicken
Dbang phyug rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ། <302>
123: The Tortoise Dies
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན། <304>
124: The Little Monkey
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན། <305>
125: Why Pikas Have No Tail
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས། <306>
126: White Cow and Poor Girl
'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད། (Zhoumaoji 周毛吉) <308>
127: A Dog Saves Humanity from Starvation
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག <310>
128: Rabbit and Wolf
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <312>
129: The Lion and Rabbit
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <313>
130: Crossing the River
Blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་། <314>
131: Threatening the Buddha with a Walking Stick
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། <315>
132: A rig rgad po Visits Lha sa
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད། <316>
133: Stuck in a Window
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད། <317>
•12•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
134: Keeping Watch
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད། <317>
135: Our Friend's Name Also Drowned
Gtsang phun dbang གཙང་=ན་དབང་། <318>
136: The Birth-Giving Pot
Bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho བfན་འཛgན་?་མཚ>། <320>
137: A khu ston pa's Bell
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས། <322>
138: Donkey Butter
Bkra shis dpal 'bar བA་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབར། <323>
139: Great Liar Ston ba
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། <324>
140: Uncle Ston pa and the Thief
Sgron dkar ,ོན་དཀར། <325>
141: Uncle Ston pa Plants Gold
Lha mo L་མོ། <326>
142: Precious Juniper
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། <327>
143: The Landlord Cuts Down a Tree
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <328>
144: The Dead Pigeon
(Zla yag b་ཡག) <330>
145: The Buddha Image Eats Rtsam pa
Pad+ma skyabs པiྨ་4བས། <332>
146: Chanting, Herding, and Carrying
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། <333>
147: Grain in the Navels
Pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན། <335>
148: Sewing Up the Queen's Vagina
Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ། <336>
149: Can You See My Yak?
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།) <340>
150: An Old Yak Finds Youthful Energy
Mo lha dgu 'khor མོ་L་དU་འཁོར། <342>
•13•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
151: A Clever Bus Driver
Khro bo rkyal stong kོ་བོ་4ལ་fོང་། <343>
152: Uncle Ston pa Takes a Bath
Mi chag don 'grub མི་ཆག་དོན་འSབ། <345>
153: Not Remaining Quiet
Dpa' rgod khyi nag དཔའ་lོད་mི་ནག <346>
154: The Lottery
Rgod po ltag khra lོད་པོ་nག་k། <347>
155: The Landlord Kills a Pig
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <348>
156: The Landlord Cooks the Pork
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <348>
157: Tricking the Landlord's Wife
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <350>
158: Tricking the Landlord's Daughter
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <351>
159: Tricking the Landlord's Daughter Again
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <352>
160: Tricking the Landlord's Friend
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <354>
161: Tricking the Landlord's Friend Again
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <355>
162: Tricking Nuns
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <357>
163: Tricking the Abbess
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <359>
164: Helping a Poor Man
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <361>
165: Helping an Old Woman
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <363>
166: Tricking the Abbess Again
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <365>
167: Helping the Farmer Again
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <367>
•14•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
168: Tricking the Wife
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <369>
169: Tricking the King
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <370>
170: Tricking a Village Leader
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <372>
171: Tricking a Soldier
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <374>
172: Tricking the King Again
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) <376>
173: Foreign Adventures
Pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན། <377>
174: Uncle Ston pa Visits Xi'an
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། <379>
175: Uncle Ston Pa Asks for His Gold
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ། <381>
176: Boxing a Monster
Pad+ma skyid པiྨ་4ིད། <382>
177: A Mother and Baby Ghosts
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ།) <384>
178: Captured by Ghosts
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། <386>
179: Pulled by a Ghost
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། <387>
180: Vanquishing Ghosts
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། <388>
181: The'u rang
Rdo rje tshe brtan 9ོ་:ེ་ཚ8་བ]ན། <390>
182: A Nine-Headed Monster
Lha 'brug rgyal L་འQག་?ལ། <393>
183: Human-son Lehwherow and Sky-nahgoome Descendants
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; lu11 tʙu53 a53 zo44, teller <397>
•15•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
184: Family Clan
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; mbʐə44 m̩55, teller <405>
185: Ahpee Rahngahn
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin !་བ་བ$ན་འཛ(ན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ndzə53 tʰʙu11, teller <406>
186: Libu Dandee
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin !་བ་བ$ན་འཛ(ན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ndzə53 tʰʙu11, teller <409>
187: The Seven Daughters
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; a44 ma55 do53 dʐə53, teller <410>
188: The Puppy
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 ə53, teller <415>
189: Brother and Sister
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 pə53, teller <418>
190: The rə53 tʂə53 li53 la53 Ritual
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
191: ja
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 pə53, teller <420>
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; mbʐə44 m̩ 55, teller <421>
192: Two Sisters
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin !་བ་བ$ན་འཛ(ན།)
collector and translator; a44 ma55 do53 dʐə53, teller <424>
193: Rabbit Father-in-law
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 pə53, teller <429>
REFERENCES <431>
TIBETAN TERMS <441>
CHINESE TERMS <446>
•16•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
INTRODUCTION
The 193 folklore selections in this collection were collected mostly
by Tibetan students who retold what their elders shared with them
while they were studying English at Qinghai Normal University,
Xining City, Qinghai Province, PR China in the 1990s when family
elders told stories to children whose families lacked televisions. At
this time, elders transmitted stories that had been told for
generations, imparting them to appreciative audiences, as attested
by the collectors in introductory statements.
Asian Highlands Perspectives has published earlier
versions of many of these accounts. However, new unpublished
selections are also featured.
The astonishing variety of these narratives ranges from a
primordial flood account (#183 Human-son Lehwherow and SkyNahgoome Descendants), Mi la tsi tsi 'little boy', a wild child who fled
just like a wild animal when people approached and tricked
children who didn't return home for several days or even years;
stories about frogs, rabbits, bears, and other creatures; Uncle Ston
pa, the trickster; ghosts; A rig rgad po, a devoted, very traditional
Buddhist who is very direct in his manner; monsters; and many
others. There has been no attempt to prevent duplication, so some
stories are similar.
While there are collections of Tibetan folklore in Tibetan,
Chinese, English, and other languages, 1 the number of selections
and variety in this volume, introductions by many of the collectors,
and information about the tellers and collection details emphasize
the value of this collection especially, in the year 2024, when many
young children have never heard folklore from their family
members, given the popularity and their preference for television
cartoons.
We sincerely thank the tellers, collectors, and editors who
made this volume possible.
See the references following this introduction for partial lists of
available material.
1
•17•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
REFERENCES (partial list)
Chab mdo sa khul rig gnas cud kyis bsdu sgrig byas ཆབ་མདོ་ས་pལ་རིག་གནས་qད་
rིས་བs་,ིག་Dས། [Collected by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the
Chab mdo region]. 2013. Chab mdo'i dmangs khrod sgrung
gtam ཆབ་མདོའི་དམངས་kོད་aང་གཏམ། Changdo minjian gushi 昌都民间故
事 [Chamdo Region Folktales (Ch. Qamdo Shi) in the Tibet
Autonomous Region]. Lha sa L་ས། [Lasa 拉萨]: Bod ljongs mi
dmangs dpe skrun khang བོད་tོངས་མི་དམངས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང། [Tibet People's
Publishing House].
Dge 'dun gyis bsgrigs དགེ་འcན་vིས་བ,ིགས (editor). 2019. 'Brug chu'i
dmangs khrod gtam rgyud mig gi dga' ston འQག་wའི་དམངས་kོད་གཏམ་
xད་མིག་གི་དགའ་fོན། Zhouqu minjian gushi xuanji 舟曲民间故事选集
[Compilation of Tibetan Folktales from 'Brug-chu (Ch.
Zhouqu Xian) Located in Gannan Prefecture (Gansu
Province)]. Lan gru ལན་S། [Lanzhou 兰州]: Kan su'u mi rigs
dpe skrun khang ཀན་yX་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང་། [Gansu People's
Publishing House].
Dorjee Yeshi 9ོ་:ེ་ཡེ་ཤེས། (teller, illustrator) and John S Major
(transcriber, editor). 2007. The Three Boys and Other
Buddhist Folktales from Tibet. Honolulu: University of
Hawai'i Press.
Gru btsun legs bshad rgya mtsho S་བzན་ལེགས་བཤད་?་མཚ>། 2017. The bo'i
dmangs khrod ngag rgyun rtsom rig phyogs bsdus ཐེ་བོའི་དམངས་
kོད་ངག་xན་{ོམ་རིག་|ོགས་བsས། Diebu minjian kouchuanxue 迭部民间口
传 学 [Collection of Oral History and Literature on the
Origins of Tewo County ]. Lan gru ལན་S། [Lanzhou 兰州]: Kan
su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang ཀན་yX་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང། [Gansu
People's Publishing House].
•18•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Gzhis rtse sa khul dmangs rtsom rnam gsum legs btus spyi khyab
rtsom sgrig u yon lhan khang gis bsgrigs གཞིས་{ེ་ས་pལ་དམངས་{ོམ་Wམ་
གyམ་ལེགས་བ~ས་•ི་mབ་{ོམ་,ིག་€་ཡོན་Lན་ཁང་གིས་བ,ིགས། [Collected by the Folk
Literature Office of Gzhis rtse Region]. 2001. Gtsang khul
gyi dmangs sgrung legs btus གཙང་pལ་vི་དམངས་aང་ལེགས་བ~ས།
[Collection of Tibetan Folktales from Central Tibet
(Gtsang).] Lha sa L་ས། [Lasa 拉萨]: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe
skrun khang བོད་tོངས་མི་དམངས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང། [Tibet People's Publishing
House].
Khams pa'i shul bzhag rig gnas srung spel tshogs pa ཁམས་པའི་•ལ་བཞག་རིག་
གནས་‚ང་ƒེལ་ཚ>གས་པ། [Kham Cultural Heritage Preservation and
Development Association] (collector). 2008. Dmangs
khrod gtam rgyud gces bsdus དམངས་kོད་གཏམ་xད་གཅེས་བsས། Minjian
gushi tongyongyu 民 间 故 事 通 用 语 [Standard Tibetan
Folktales]. 'Bar khams rdzong འབར་ཁམས་…ོང་། [Kangding xian 康
定县]: Khams pa'i shul bzhag rig gnas srung spel tshogs pa
ཁམས་པའི་•ལ་བཞག་རིག་གནས་‚ང་ƒེལ་ཚ>གས་པ། [Kham Cultural Heritage
Preservation and Development Association].
Nor bu bkra shis ནོར་J་བA་ཤིས། (collector and editor). 2008. Byang thang
dmangs sgrung rna ba'i bu ram Dང་ཐང་དམངས་aང་W་བའི་J་རམ།
Qiangtang minjian gushi xuan 羌塘民间故事选 . [Byang
thang Folktales]. Pe cin པེ་ཅིན། [Beijing 北 京 ]: Mi rigs dpe
skrun khang མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང་། [Beijing People's Publishing
House].
O'Connor, William Frederick. 1906. Folk Tales from Tibet: With
Illustrations by a Tibetan Artist and Some Verses from Tibetan
Love-Songs. London: Travers Hurst & Blackett and Chapel
River Press. London: Hurst and Blackett Ltd. 182 High
Holborn WC.
•19•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Rab brtan dge legs phun tshogs kyis rtsom sgrig byas; si khron bod
yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang nas bsgrigs. རབ་བ]ན་དགེ་ལེགས་=ན་
ཚ>གས་rིས་{ོམ་,ིག་Dས། སི་kོན་བོད་ཡིག་དཔེ་†ིང་བs་,ིག་ཁང་ནས་བ,ིགས། 2014. Sde dge'i
dmangs khrod gtam rgyud ‡ེ་དགེའི་དམངས་kོད་གཏམ་xད། [Collection of
Folktales from Derge, Eastern Tibet] Pe cin པེ་ཅིན། [Beijing 北
京 ]: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང་། [People's
Publishing House].
Rma lho khul dmangs khrod rtsom rig phyogs bsdus gzhung sgrub
khang ˆ་Lོ་pལ་དམངས་kོད་{ོམ་རིག་|ོགས་བsས་ག‰ང་aབ་ཁང་། Huangnan zhou
minjian wenxue ji chengban gongshi 黄南州民间文学集成办
公 室 [Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Folk
Litereture Integration Office]. 1990. Rma lhoʼi dmangs
khrod gtam rgyud ˆ་Lོའི་དམངས་kོད་གཏམ་xད། Huangnan minjian
gushi 黄南民间故事 [Collection of Tibetan Folktales from
the Huangnan (Rma lho) Area of the Traditional Tibetan
Region of A mdo].
Rwa yum skyabs, Sgom pa bkra shis, and Padma-rgyal bcas kyis
bsgrigs Š་Rམ་4བས་དང་‹ོམ་པ་བA་ཤིས། པiྨ་?ལ་བཅས་rིས་བ,ིགས། (editor). 2017.
Gtam rgyud kun btus ʼtsho baʼi dgaʼ ston གཏམ་xད་Œན་བ~ས་འཚ>་བའི་དགའ་
fོན། Zangzu minjian gushi 藏 族 民 间 故 事 [Collection of
Tibetan Folktales from Tibet]. Lan gru ལན་S། [Lanzhou 兰州]:
Kan su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang ཀན་yX་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང་། [Gansu
People's Publishing House].
Sang rgyas byams སངས་?ས་Dམས། (collector), Rtse khog rdzong dmangs
khrod rtsom rig dpe tshogs rtsom sgrig tshan chung gis
bsgrigs, {ེ་ཁོག་…ོང་དམངས་kོད་{ོམ་རིག་དཔེ་ཚ>གས་{ོམ་,ིག་ཚན་wང་གིས་བ,ིགས། [Rtse khog
Folk Literature Editorial Team] (editor). 2019. Gtam rgyud
rna baʼi bdud rtsi གཏམ་xད་W་བའི་བcད་{ི། [Folktales from Rtse khog].
Khin tu'u kིན་~X། [Chengdu 成都]：Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun
khang སི་kོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་uན་ཁང་། [Sichuan Nationalities Publishing
House].
•20•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
VIDEO/AUDIO MATERIALS (partial list)
14 Tibetan Story (F). Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/14TibetanStoryF
Amdo Tibetan Folktale_ __The Rabbit and the Child. Accessed 27
February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/MVI4322
Black-Tent Collection of Gcan tsha, Reb gong, and Xunhua Tibetan
Folklore: 2009-2011. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/BlacktentCollectionOfGcanTshaRebGongAndXunhuaTibetanFolklore
Endangered Folktale Preservation in Xunhua Tibetan Areas,
Qinghai Province, PR China. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/EndangeredFolktalePreservationInXu
nhuaTibetanAreasQinghaiProvincePr
Folklore – A Collection of Tibetan Folktales. Accessed 27 February
2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJaxMKm2JQ&pp=ygURd
GliZXRhbiBmb2xrdGFsZXM%3D
Namyi Folktales--Audio Files (1-10) of Eleven Folklore Accounts.
Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/NamyiFolktales--audioFiles110OfElevenFolkloreAccounts
Rka phug Tibetan Village Cultural Materials. Accessed 27
February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/RkaPhugTibetanVillageCulturalMaterials
The Neighbours (Tibetan Folk Tale). Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHcjmLx93c
•21•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Rdo rje don 'grub (b. 1993). Tibetan Folklore Recordings from
Qinghai. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/RdoRjeDongrubb1993TibetanFolklore
RecordingsFromQinghai
Rong brag (Danba) County Culture: Sichuan Province, PR China.
Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/DanbaCountyCulture
[TIBETAN | བོད་Iད་ ] Journey to the West | E 01 | The Monkey King is
born. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnk6mdBqriw
Tibetan Folk Tales. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh7sBWO4bTzsyp165bz
423p86xhzqZS0q
Tibetan Folktales Told by Amdo Klu go (b. 1938). Accessed 27
February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/TibetanFolktalesToldByAmdoKluGob.1938
Tibetan Stories. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWEOVRgoRAXiw2d
VTn1A_NyXGZV0vsM6
Mi nyag (Tibetan) Cultural Materials from Bang smad Township,
Nyag rong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
Sichuan Province, PR China. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://archive.org/details/MiNyagtibetanCulturalMaterialsFrom
BangSmadTownshipNyagRongCounty
Tibetan Stories and Folktales. Accessed 27 February 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtmvjvbdogmXOUWPd
nwdtx352viCW427I
Tibetan Folklores. Accessed 4 May 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkacgizzpos&list=PLg9ZLB
HBzBudGbhbMIOTPSQfwFpBdA45V&index=2
•22•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
CONTRIBUTORS
'Brug 'bum rgyal འQག་འJམ་?ལ།
'Brug 'bum skyid འQག་འJམ་4ིད།
'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>།
'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད།
'Bum phrug འJམ་Kག
'Gyur med phun tshogs འHར་མེད་=ན་ཚ>གས།
'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>།
'Jam dbyangs sgrol ma འཇམ་དDངས་,ོལ་མ།
'Jigs byed 'tsho འཇིགས་Dེད་འཚ>།
'Ug spu Xག་Y།
Bde skyid བདེ་4ིད།
Bde skyid sgrol ma བདེ་4ིད་,ོལ་མ།
Bka' 'gyur sgrol ma བཀའ་འHར་,ོལ་མ།
Bkra shis bzang bo བA་ཤིས་བཟང་བོ།
Bkra shis dpal 'bar བA་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབར།
Bla ma tshe ring !་མ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན།
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད།
Bsod nams rdo rje བསོད་ནམས་9ོ་:ེ།
Bsod nams rgyal བསོད་ནམས་?ལ།
Bsod nams rgyal mtshan བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚན། (Sonan Jetsun)
Bsod nams skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད།
Bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho བfན་འཛgན་?་མཚ>།
Btsun mo yag བzན་མོ་ཡག
Chos mo byams ཆོས་མོ་Dམས།
Chos mtsho ཆོས་མཚ>།
Chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་4ོང་4བས།
Dbang phyug rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ།
Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་།
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས།
Dbyangs mtshos sgrol ma དDངས་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
Dge 'dun sgrol ma དགེ་འcན་,ོལ་མ།
Dka' thub tshe ring དཀའ་Žབ་ཚ8་རིང་།
•23•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Dkon me དཀོན་མེ།
Dngos grub sgrol ma དངོས་Sབ་,ོལ་མ།
Don 'grub rgyal དོན་འSབ་?ལ།
Don yod don grub དོན་ཡོད་དོན་Sབ།
Don yod rdo rje དོན་ཡོད་9ོ་:ེ།
Dpa' rgod khyi nag དཔའ་lོད་mི་ནག
G.yang skyid sgrol ma གཡང་4ིད་,ོལ་མ།
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག (Yongzhong 拥忠)
Gangs dkar lha mo གངས་དཀར་L་མོ།
Gdugs dkar tshe ring གcགས་དཀར་ཚ8་རིང་།
Gnam lha thar གནམ་L་ཐར།
Gnam mtsho sgrol ma གནམ་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
Gnam mtsho skyid གནམ་མཚ>་4ིད།
Gnam mtsho yag གནམ་མཚ>་ཡག
Gnam thar rgyal གནམ་ཐར་?ལ།
Gtsang phun dbang གཙང་=ན་དབང་།
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས།
Gu ru rdo rje U་V་9ོ་:ེ།
Khro bo rkyal stong kོ་བོ་•ལ་fོང་།
Klu mo `་མོ།
Klu mo 'tsho `་མོ་འཚ>།
Klu rgyal tshe ring `་?ལ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Kun bzang skyid Œན་བཟང་4ིད།
Kun thar rgyal Œན་ཐར་?ལ།
Kun thar yag Œན་ཐར་ཡག
Lcags 'bum rgyal ^གས་འJམ་?ལ།
Lcags 'tsho sgrol ma ^གས་འཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
Lcags mo tshe ring ^གས་མོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Lcags so lhun 'grub ^གས་སོ་_ན་འSབ། (Klu sgrub `་aབ།) and
Rgya mo skyid ?་མོ་4ིད། (teller)
Lha 'brug rgyal L་འQག་?ལ།
Lha mgon rgyal L་མགོན་?ལ།
Lha mo L་མོ།
Lha mo sgrol dkar L་མོ་,ོལ་དཀར།
Lha ri mtsho mo L་རི་མཚ>་མོ།
•24•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ། Drolma)
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建富, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
Mchod pa'i lha mo མཆོད་པའི་L་མོ།
Mgon po rdo rje མགོན་པོ་9ོ་:ེ།
Mgon skyabs མགོན་4བས།
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད།
Mi chag don 'grub མི་ཆག་དོན་འSབ།
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། (Kondro Tsering)
Mkha' rgyal thar མཁའ་?ལ་ཐར།
Mkha' skyod sgrol ma མཁའ་4ོད་,ོལ་མ།
Mo lha dgu 'khor མོ་L་དU་འཁོར།
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>།
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད།
Pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན།
Pad+ma skyabs པiྨ་4བས།
Pad+ma skyid པiྨ་4ིད།
Phag mo g.yang sgron ཕག་མོ་གཡང་,ོན།
Phag mo lhun grub ཕག་མོ་_ན་Sབ།
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal =ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ།
Phyug mtsho skyid Zག་མཚ>་4ིད་།
Rdo rje dngos grub 9ོ་:ེ་དངོས་Sབ།
Rdo rje don grub 9ོ་:ེ་དོན་Sབ།
Rdo rje rgyal 9ོ་:ེ་?ལ།
Rdo rje skyid 9ོ་:ེ་4ིད།
Rdo rje tshe brtan 9ོ་:ེ་ཚ8་བ]ན།
Rgod po ltag khra lོད་པོ་nག་k།
Rig 'dzin tshe ring རིག་འཛgན་ཚ8་རིང་།
Rig grol རིག་Nོལ།
Rin chen 'tsho རིན་ཆེན་འཚ>།
Rin chen lha mo རིན་ཆེན་L་མོ།
Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ།
Rin chen skyid རིན་ཆེན་4ིད།
Rin chen thar ba རིན་ཆེན་ཐར་བ།
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ།
•25•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Rta mgrin rdo rje ]་མNིན་9ོ་:ེ།
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
Seng rdor སེང་9ོར།
Sgrol ma rgyal ,ོལ་མ་?ལ།
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
Sgron dkar ,ོན་དཀར།
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན།
Snying dkar rgyal \ིང་དཀར་?ལ།
Snying dkar skyid \ིང་དཀར་4ིད།
Snying dpal tshe ring \ིང་དཔལ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Spyi 'du tshe ring •ི་འc་ཚ8་རིང་།
Tshe dbal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ།
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས།
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད།
Tshe dpal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ།
Tshe lha ཚ8་L།
Tshe mdo skyid ཚ8་མདོ་4ིད།
Tshe ring be dkar ཚ8་རིང་བེ་དཀར།
Tshe ring dbyangs sgron ཚ8་རིང་དDངས་,ོན།
Tshe ring lha mo ཚ8་རིང་L་མོ།
Tshe ring rgya mtsho ཚ8་རིང་?་མཚ>།
Tshe ring sgrol ma ཚ8་རིང་,ོལ་མ།
Tshe thar skyid ཚ8་ཐར་4ིད།
Ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས།
Ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>།
Ye shes mtsho mo ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>་མོ།
Yum chen mtsho mo Rམ་ཆེན་མཚ>་མོ།
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ།
Zla yag b་ཡག
•26•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
CONTRIBUTORS' NOTES
'Brug 'bum rgyal འQག་འJམ་?ལ། (b. 2001), Chos tsha Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China.
'Brug 'bum skyid འQག་འJམ་4ིད། (b. 2001), Smar khams Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
'Brug rgyal འQག་?ལ། (b. 1986), a native speaker of Dpa' ris Tibetan. A
lifelong herdsman and resident of Gzhug rub Village, 'Brug gu
Township, 'Ju lag County, Mtsho byang Tibetan Prefecture, Mtsho
sngon Province. 'Brug rgyal never attended school. In 2021, he lived
with his parents. They communicated in Dpa' ris Tibetan. 'Brug
rgyal recited long scriptures he had memorized but did not write in
any language.
'Jigs byed 'tsho འཇིགས་Dེད་འཚ>། (b. 2002), Sha rgya Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Bde skyid བདེ་4ིད། (b. 2004), Ru sngun zhol ma Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Bde skyid sgrol ma བདེ་4ིད་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2003), Brag dkar Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Bka' 'gyur sgrol ma བཀའ་འHར་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2001), Brag dkar Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Bkra shis bzang bo བA་ཤིས་བཟང་བོ། (b. 2001), Ru sngun zhol ma Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
•27•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Prefecture.
Bla ma tshe ring !་མ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2005), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Bsod nams rdo rje བསོད་ནམས་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2001), Sha rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Bsod nams rgyal བསོད་ནམས་?ལ། (b. 2001), Jo ser Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Bsod nams rgyal mtsho བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚ>། (b. 1988), Lan yid (Lianyi)
Village, Gom mo (Gongbo) Township, Sde rong (Derong) County,
Dkar mdzes (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan
Province.
Btsun mo yag བzན་མོ་ཡག (b. 2000), Glo rgya Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Btsun mo yag བzན་མོ་ཡག (b. 2003), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་། (b. 1989) was born in Rkang tsha (Gangcha)
Village, Rkang tsha (Gangcha) Township, Ya rdzi (Xunhua) Salar
(Sala) Autonomous County, Mtsho shar (Haidong) City, Mtsho
sngon Province.
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད། (b. 1991) was born in Khra la'i
(Zhala) Village, Smin thang (Mentang) Township, Gcig sgril
(Jiuzhi) County, Mgo log (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
Mtsho sngon Province, PR China.2
I have a brother, 'Gro phan, and a younger sister, Pad+ma mtsho. My
The text that follows is an edited version of Bsod nams 'gyur med
(2013).
2
•28•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
father works in the township hospital. Most of Khra la'i Village territory
is grazing land for yaks, sheep, and horses. The landscape is beautiful,
and the grassland, air, mountains, and lakes are unpolluted. People
in my hometown are friendly and knowledgeable. Though elders never
attended school, they know how to respect and be kind to others. Most
locals think they were fortunate to be born in such a nice place.
However, we were considered backward in some sense, but
this was not worrying because our Buddhist faith gave us great
consolation. It was enough for people here to live peacefully and help
each other. They were glad to assist those in need out of the goodness
of their hearts and did not expect a "Thank you."
However, everyone has changed, and we don't believe our
community is the same as it once was. People are stingy and don't
value being kind to elders. They are busy trying to get richer than
others and envy those who have good houses in the village. They are
busy and ignore their traditional culture. They ignore elders' advice
and only think about themselves. They don't help those in need.
Instead, they are kind to those who don't need help, such as leaders
and wealthy people. Though most children are very naughty, they are
generally kind-hearted. However, the children of some leaders and
rich people are unkind and bully poor children.
Metal stoves have replaced traditional adobe ones, cars and
motorcycles have replaced horses, and beautiful wilderness has
become a collection of artificial scenic spots. People have become
modern, not realizing that progress is hazardous. Few people talk
about their past.
Elders sit together near their homes with prayer wheels and
chant Buddhist scriptures. Sometimes their eyes and expressions tell
us that they are recollecting their childhood. Childhoods are different
and are comprehended differently. I cherish my childhood when
elders taught me how to be a good person, care for, and cherish those
who offered me friendship. I reflect on my childhood when I see
children in kindergarten. Though my childhood was full of challenges,
we were somehow satisfied. Some say everything Tibetan is
backward, but I believe that our spirit is not backward. I'm honored to
•29•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
have been born in a traditional Tibetan area.
Father worked as a doctor in Smin thang Township Town and
returned home only once every several months because he cared for
patients at the local clinic. He neglected our family and me.
Sometimes we children asked Mother, "When will he return?"
"He'll come back soon," Mother replied.
Her eyes told me she hoped Father would soon return because
she really missed him. We thus waited eagerly for Father. When
Father returned, he always brought candy, and I honestly don't know
if I wished to see him or just wanted to enjoy the candy.
Mother was busy every day driving our yaks and horses to the
mountains, returning home, and bringing the livestock back in the
evening. She was also busy caring for Brother, Sister, and me.
Brother got up one morning and used withered flowers from a
bush to make a fire in the stove. It produced a delightful odor. The
smoke dispersed in our tent, although most went up through the
skylight and slowly wafted into the sky. Sunshine was beaming into
our tent as Sister and I got up. I draped Father's big sheepskin robe
around my body and sat near the warm adobe stove.
I heard someone say to Mother, "Po po, where did you herd
your yaks yesterday?"
"On Rdo ra Mountain," Mother replied.
"Did you see a big white yak and a black yak?" he said.
"I didn't see those yaks," Mother replied.
The man said goodbye and left.
Brother boiled milk tea and, as he tidied the tent, looked at
Sister and me and said, "Put on your robes and wash your faces."
We ignored him. Then he picked up a stick and threatened me.
I ran outside and said, "Mother! Brother hit me."
"Don't cry. I'll teach your brother a lesson," she said, picked up
two full buckets of milk, and walked into our tent. "Gro phan, why did
you hit your younger brother? He's your brother, not your enemy. You
must not beat him," said Mother.
Brother quietly sobbed and, through tears, told Mother he was
being scolded unjustly.
•30•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Bkra shis don 'grub, boil milk tea and care for Pad+ma mtso.
Your brother will take our yaks to the mountains while I finish
collecting yak dung on the grassland," Mother said.
I lay on Father's big sheepskin robe and began to tell stories
with Sister. After a while, I heard someone call my name from far
away. I lifted my head and listened. It was our neighbor's child, Gser
thub, my playmate. I went outside and saw him waving, inviting me to
play with him. When he saw me, he dashed over.
"When Mother returns home, I'll play with you," I said.
"OK! I'll wait for you," he replied happily and returned home.
When Mother and Brother came home, we had lunch together.
"Mother, may I play with Gser thub?" I asked.
"Yes, but come back when I go to the pasture to bring back
our yaks," Mother said.
"Can I go play with Bkra shis don 'grub?" Brother said.
"No, you can't play with him because I worry you will fight. Stay
here with me and do some work in the tent," said Mother.
I ran out of our tent to the neighbor's tent and called my
playmate to join me at the bank of a small limpid stream that
meandered through the grassland.
"Look! A big fish is under this stone," Gser thub said excitedly.
I began looking intently for the fish in the water. Meanwhile,
Gser thub snuck behind me and shoved me. I jumped to the other
bank as he laughed loudly.
At that moment, I saw something in the water and said
without thinking, "Fish! Fish!"
He quickly stood and looked for the fish. I snuck up behind him
and shoved him. He hopped like a frog into the water. His brother saw
me shove Gser thub into the water, grabbed a stick, and ran at me,
scolding me. Terrified he would beat me, I ran home. When I reached
our yak enclosure, I saw a horse near our tent and happily guessed,
"Yes! It's Father."
Suddenly I heard somebody shout my name. It was 'Od pa
standing in front of his yak hair tent. "My mother says you must come
to our tent," he said angrily.
•31•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
I went to Uncle Rig 'dzin's tent and saw Gser thub lying on a
big sheepskin robe. He wouldn't look at me and seemed angry with
me. "Bkra shis don 'grub, come here and tell me why you were
fighting," said Aunt Phun chung kindly.
I bowed my head and told her everything. Suddenly Gser thub
lifted his head and said, "I saw the fish in the water."
We all laughed. Aunt Phun chung listened to me carefully and
said, "Don't worry. That's all right. You are children. I love my son, but
he pushed you first. It's his mistake. You are a good boy and also Gser
thub's good friend. Always be his good friend. Don't be his enemy."
She took candy from her robe pouch and gave it to me. I
thanked Aunt Phun chung and returned to my family tent.
Chos mtsho ཆོས་མཚ>། (b. 2001), Sha rgya Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་4ོང་4བས། (b. 1994), I was born in Yo lag
(Zhiyue) Village, Mdo ba (Duowa) Township, Reb gong (Tongren)
County, Rma lho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
Mtsho sngon Province.
Dka' thub tshe ring དཀའ་Žབ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2001), Smar khams Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China.
Dngos grub sgrol ma དངོས་Sབ་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2001), Sha rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Don yod don grub དོན་ཡོད་དོན་Sབ། (b. 2003), Rta ra Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Don yod rdo rje དོན་ཡོད་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2003), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
•32•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
G.yang skyid sgrol ma གཡང་4ིད་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2000), Brag dkar Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག Folktales attributed to G.yu 'brug (b. 1985) are
what he collected and remembers hearing while living in Rong brag
(Danba) County, Dkar mdzes Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Gangs dkar lha mo གངས་དཀར་L་མོ། (b. 2005), Chos tsha Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Gdugs dkar tshe ring གcགས་དཀར་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2005), Ru sngun zhol ma
Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture.
Gnam lha thar གནམ་L་ཐར། (b. 2002), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Gnam lha thar གནམ་L་ཐར། (b. 2003), Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Gnam mthso sgrol ma གནམ་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2003), Smar khams Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Gnam mtsho skyid གནམ་མཚ>་4ིད། (b. 2001), Ru sngun zhol ma Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Gnam mtsho yag གནམ་མཚ>་ཡག (b. 2002), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Gnam thar gyal གནམ་ཐར་?ལ། (b. 2002), Ru sngun zhol ma Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
•33•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Prefecture.
G.yu lha གR་L།3
I recorded "Bear and Rabbit (I)" from Thub bstan (b. 1936), the reincarnate bla
ma in Siyuewu Village, Puxi Township, 'Dzam thang (Rangtang) County, Rnga ba
(Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Si khron (Sichuan) Province,
when I visited him in the winter of 2009-2010. Thub bstan learned this folktale
from his mother. I heard this tale from my great-grandfather when my family was
having dinner near the stove one evening when I was around six.
Folktales are told in Siyuewu Village in both Lavrung4 and A mdo Tibetan.
All stories are referred to as χə bi 'story'. Among a population of approximately
580, four to five villagers still tell stories to their grandchildren, who often
impatiently leave before a story is finished.
Folk stories teach lessons about life or are simply for entertainment,
using animals and fictional characters. Rabbits, bears, birds, horses, sheep, lice,
lions, crows, and vəcæɾ ŋi5 appear in the stories.
Storytelling was performed on informal and formal recreational
occasions such as parties, gatherings of friends, and when neighboring families
had meals together. Friends told stories about herding in the mountains,
harvesting together, or building a new house. Parents or grandparents told stories
to children and grandchildren at bedtime. Villagers also told such stories during
religious rituals.
Sometimes a story was told in strained and uncomfortable
circumstances. For example, a folktale might have been told when a family invited
the relatives of the family's daughter-in-law or son-in-law to a small party to get to
know each other better. On such occasions, storytelling helped relieve the tension.
More stories were told when people knew each other very well and among
people who felt comfortable with each other. Few people told stories when
3
G.yu lha (2012).
Khroskyabs "is also known as Lavrung which is a rGyalrongic language
spoken by approximately 10,000 people" (https://bit.ly/3x39H59,
accessed 29 June 2021).
5 Lavrung for 'wild man'. Villagers tell stories of encounters with vəәcæɾ
ŋi. There are said to be vəәcæɾ ŋi ' footprints' in a valley near Puxi
Township seat, suggesting that these creatures once existed near the
village in surrounding forests.
4
•34•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
meeting someone for the first time. People say storytelling is like a shy girl who is
embarrassed in front of strangers but feels relaxed with family and friends.
Before the early twenty-first century, people loved telling stories at night
during dinner and small gatherings. However, this has now changed due to TVs,
radios, MP3 players, CDs, VCDs, and DVDs playing a significant role in villagers'
daily lives. Almost all villagers over seventy know many folktales, but there is no
audience. New things are considered more attractive. Electronic stories are more
easily visualized. Elders no longer want to tell stories, perhaps because they have
lost confidence, are tired of telling them, or have forgotten them.
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས། (b. 1993), Smin thang (Mentang)
Township, Gcig sgril (Jiuzhi) County, Mgo log Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Gu ru rdo rje U་V་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2002), Jo ser Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Klu mo `་མོ། (b. 2003), Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra
County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Klu mo 'tsho `་མོ་འཚ>། (b. 2000), Glo rgya Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Klu rgyal tshe ring `་?ལ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2001), Sha rgya Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Kun bzang skyid Œན་བཟང་4ིད། (b. 2001), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Kun thar rgyal Œན་ཐར་?ལ། (b. 2002), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Kun thar yag Œན་ཐར་ཡག (b. 1999), Tsha nag Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
•35•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Lcags 'bum rgyal ^གས་འJམ་?ལ། (b. 2000), Brag dkar Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Lcags 'tsho sgrol ma ^གས་འཚ>་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2000), Smar khams Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Lha mgon rgyal L་མགོན་?ལ། (b. 2000), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Lha mo sgrol dkar L་མོ་,ོལ་དཀར། (b. 2004), Jo ser Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Lcags mo tshe ring ^གས་མོ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2003), Chos tsha Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Lcags so lhun 'grub ^གས་སོ་_ན་འSབ། (b. 1991), Mdo ba (Duowa) Town,
Thun rin (Tongren) City, Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།).
Mchod pa'i lha mo མཆོད་པའི་L་མོ། (b. 1984) is from Gnam mtsho
(Nancuoma) Village, Dme ru ma (Maierma) Township, Rnga ba
(Aba) County, Rnga ba (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous
Prefecture, Sichuan Province, PR China.
Mgon po rdo rje མགོན་པོ་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2003), Smar khams Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Mgon skyabs མགོན་4བས། (b. 2003), Chos tsha Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
•36•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2003), Sha rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Mkha' rgyal thar མཁའ་?ལ་ཐར། (b. 2003), Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད། (b. 1981)
I was born in Pan yag Community, 'Bo spa Township, Pad ma County, Mgo log
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. I have eight siblings. Growing up in a black yakhair tent, we spent our days playing with lambs, foals, and calves. We told stories
about King Ge sar, ghosts, marriages, and tricksters when everyone was in bed. It
was a time for my whole family to relax and share.
Pad+ma skyabs པiྨ་4བས། (b. 1990).
I was born in Rin chen Village, Rgan gya Township, Bla brang County, one of seven
counties in Mdo lho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. My
paternal grandfather (b. 1940) told me my grandmother's grandparents moved to
Rina chen in about 1902 from Rdo dbus Village, now part of Mtsho sngon
Province. As a child, I herded yaks and sheep with others and often heard Uncle
Ston pa stories, jokes, and other folklore. The last half-century has seen many
changes in people's lives. Today, villagers cultivate rapeseed and barley.
Phag mo g.yang sgron ཕག་མོ་གཡང་,ོན། (b. 2000), Glo rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Phag mo lhun grub ཕག་མོ་_ན་Sབ། (b. 2003), Sha rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal =ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ། (b. 1993)
I was born in Ska chung (Gaqun) Community, Nyin mtha' (Ningmute) Township,
Rma lho (Henan) Mongolian Autonomous County, Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous
•37•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Prefecture.
Phyug mtsho skyid Zག་མཚ>་4ིད་། (b. 2004) Ru sngun zhol ma Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Rdo rje dngos grub 9ོ་:ེ་དངོས་Sབ། (b. 2004), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rdo rje don grub 9ོ་:ེ་དོན་Sབ། (b. 2000), Smar khams Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Rdo rje rgyal 9ོ་:ེ་?ལ། (b. 2003), Jo ser Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rdo rje skyid 9ོ་:ེ་4ིད། (b. 2003), Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rig 'dzin tshe ring རིག་འཛgན་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2004), Glo rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Rin chen 'tsho རིན་ཆེན་འཚ>། (b. 2001), Tsha nag Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rin chen lha mo རིན་ཆེན་L་མོ། (b. 2001), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 1983). I was born in Lo khog (Luoke)
Village, Gcan tsha (Jianzha) County, Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2001), Ru sngun zhol ma Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
•38•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Rin chen skyid རིན་ཆེན་4ིད། (b. 2002), Ru sngun zhol ma Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Rin chen thar ba རིན་ཆེན་ཐར་བ། (b. 2002), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། (b. 1980):
I was born in Skor rol thang (Gu'ertong) Village, Dbra ltag (Reda) Township, Phyag
phreng (Xiangcheng) County, Dkar mdzes (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
My stepfather, Bstan 'dzin (b. 1953), told me stories as a child. He was
an orphan and grew up in difficult circumstances, as did many others during that
time. His older sister, G.yang chen (b. 1946), was his primary caregiver during his
childhood. Later, he joined a production team that gave what they produced to the
local government and received labor points in return. Besides, only limited food
and poor-quality articles for daily use were received.
He worked on a pastoral team and lived in tents and log cabins in the
mountains and pastures. He often fought with other boys and became a tall, strong
man. He and his herding companions told each other stories for entertainment
without cassette recorders, televisions, or phones. Their stories included A khu
ston pa, Mo ston phag mgo,6 material from the Ge sar Epic, and so on. His stories
included those generally known by many Tibetans and stories particular to Dbra
ltag dbra ltag.
Mo ston pag mgo was a diviner who asked that a pig head be cooked as
a reward when he divined correctly. Meanwhile, his wife encouraged him
to ask for more compensation from those he helped.
6
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
After the production team
system was discontinued, Stepfather
moved to the village and told me
stories when the sun sank behind the
mountains in the west, and Mother lit
the room with burning pine knots. His
stories were terrifically interesting,
launching my imagination out of the
valley and over the mountains and
connecting my soul to Heaven, Hell,
and distant forests and grasslands.
When villagers went up the
mountains to collect caterpillar
fungus and mushrooms, they invited
him to the biggest tents and asked
him to tell stories. He sat in the front
of the tent and created great joy with
his stories that spellbound his
listeners. They cooked good food for him and admired him for his storytelling
talent. The tents of these collectors were in very remote, wild valleys where the only
modern tools were guns. Men hunted river deer, rabbits, pheasants, and black
bears. Stepfather was also a good hunter, and I admired him for that.
I began telling stories in primary school when I was about ten years old.
In fourth grade, my classmates asked me to tell stories in their small dormitory
rooms crowded with listeners who offered me bread, walnuts, and dried cheese. I
realized storytelling was a valuable social skill and asked Stepfather to tell me
more stories.
•40•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Dbra ltag in winter.
When I was about thirteen, I went on a pilgrimage with villagers for a
couple of days to Mount Gangs nyan. Along the way, I told stories to villagers older
than me. A phyi sgrol ma said that this pilgrimage was the most relaxing and
enjoyable one she had ever been on because of my stories.
I have not told stories for a long while, and it is hard to remember some
of the details I once knew.
I thank Stepfather for raising me in the worlds of his marvelous stories.7
Rta mgrin rdo rje ]་མNིན་9ོ་:ེ། (b. 2001), Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
Lhun 'grub, my father's second sister's father-in-law and neighbor, was wellknown for his eloquence and settled many conflicts between villagers. My parents
drove our livestock to distant pastures and lived in a tent for much of the year.
This is an edited version of Rnam rgyal. 2017. Introduction in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:121-124.
7
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Grandmother took care of our house, other property, and my brother and me when
we were children.
Uncle Lhun 'grub and his nieces cared for their family's property. He and
Grandmother were of the same generation and grew up in the same community.
He often came to my home, we ate together, and he and Grandmother talked about
the past.
Uncle Lhun 'grub told us many stories about King Ge ser, ghosts, A rig
rgad po, and riddles while spinning his hand prayer wheel as Grandmother
softened sheepskins. It was one of the most memorable times in my life.
Sgrol ma rgyal ,ོལ་མ་?ལ། (b. 2003), Chos tsha Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག (b. 1995). I was born in my home located in
Sprel nag (Shimaihe) Village, Gser chen (Gonghe) County, Mtsho
lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Snying dkar skyid \ིང་དཀར་4ིད།
Khro mo rgyal (b. 1927) in Stag rig (Douhoulou) Village, Khrang dmar (Changmu)
Township, Khri ka (Guide) County, Mtsho Iho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture told
me stories. She is one of the best storytellers in the village. Most village children
have heard stories from her. She also knows a lot about village history.
I recorded several folktales from Khro mo rgyal in my home during the
winter of 2009-2010. Each time we finished a story, she asked, "Do you need
more? I can tell more if you like."
I first heard this story from Khro mo rgyal as a child. At that time, we often
tried to finish dinner early and then ran to Khro mo rgyal's home to hear stories,
especially if the weather was warm. Many village children gathered in her courtyard
and sat on the ground to listen to her stories. I remember once when she told
twelve different stories, one after the other.
Now things have changed. Children no longer listen to Khro mo rgyal's
stories, and she misses when many children gathered in her home to listen to her.
•42•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Seng rdor སེང་9ོར། (b. 2002), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang
ra County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Snying dpal tshe ring \ིང་དཔལ་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2002), Brag dkar Village,
Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Spyi 'du tshe ring •ི་འc་ཚ8་རིང་། (b. 2003), Tsha nag Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)8 (b. 1980):
While I was a child, living in Ne'u na (Sne na, Nina) Village, Khri ka (Guide) County,
Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, I heard many stories from my
grandfather, Rdo dpa' (1918-1996). I was told to call him Abu9 'Grandfather' in
the local A mdo Tibetan dialect. Many villagers called him Abu rdo dpa'. Locals
said he was good at many things besides telling stories and singing folk songs. He
was known as the toughest man in the village because he had escaped from Ma
Bufang's army three times. He could hide and live alone in the mountains for years.
He was also the best swimmer. He could hide from enemies in the Yellow River for
hours. He steered rafts with heavy goods in the rushing current, even when the
water reached above his knees. Moreover, he was a sharpshooter who could shoot
down flying eagles with an old firelock he cleaned almost daily until his death.
I was fortunate to have been born in Abu's home, where from the 1980s
until I left home for schooling in Zi ling (Xining) in 1998, I heard many stories about
ghosts, Uncle Ston pa, and Abu himself. In September 1987 and July 1991, Abu
told me the Uncle Ston pa stories I present in this collection. My older brother
retold some of the stories in July 1998 and other times in my life.
This is an edited version of Tshe dbang rdo rje (Caixiangduojie). 2017.
Introduction in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives
47:202-216.
9 Abu is a colloquial term used in certain Tibetan villages. To my
knowledge, there is no accepted literary term. Those knowledgeable in
Literary Tibetan whom I consulted suggested pa po. However, this is
colloquial and common in A mdo Tibetan, but pronounced quite
differently than abu. Another suggestion was that I use a po, but this
term means 'baby' in my local dialect. For these reasons, I use abu.
8
•43•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
STORIES FROM ABU IN 1987
On 2 September 1987, I heard many stories from Abu. First, let me give you some
background…
It was a wet, cloudy morning with fine drizzling rain. Father gobbled down
two big bowls of hot noodles, looked at the sky through the skylight, and
announced, "Raining! The fields can't be plowed today."
He stood, put on his dark, blue-patched coat that he had been wearing
ever since I could remember, and started to leave.
"Going to Hezuoshe10 again!?" asked Mother.
"Yeah, nothing can be done on this rainy day! So…" replied Father.
"Then don't forget to buy salt. We've only had raw salt for months," said
Mother.
"We don't have any money!" Father replied as he walked out of the
kitchen. "There is still more than a half-sack of raw salt that I got from Caka.11 We
can use it for a few more years."
When I learned Father was going to Hezuoshe, I ran after him and put
down my unfinished bowl of hot noodles. I loved that place because there were
many goods and local village children gathered there.
"Stay at home with Mother," said Father as soon as I got near him. But I
didn't go back and followed him from a distance. After I followed him for a few
minutes along a muddy path, Father finally waited for me and carried me on his
back to Hezuoshe."
Most village men and many children were in Hezuoshe when we arrived.
The village men - mostly fathers - were chatting, joking, laughing, and sipping and
Hezuoshe is a Chinese term that refers to the only shop in the village
that local people ran in 1987. It translates as 'cooperative agency/society'
and is Mnyam las khang in Tibetan. Both Tibetan and Chinese locals use
the term "Hezuoshe."
11 Caka is the local name used by both Tibetan and Chinese locals for
Caka Salt Lake, located in Chaka Town, Wulan County, Mtsho shar
(Haixi) Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon
(Qinghai) Province, PR China. It is "Chaka" in Chinese and "Tshwa kha"
in Tibetan.
10
•44•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
passing around a bottle of Golden-Stupa Liquor.12 They were also sharing a Mango
cigarette.13 Some fathers held their babies in one arm while drinking and smoking.
Most children under five sat on their father's lap. Older ones chased each other,
fighting and crying. Some children played games such as doko,14 pardo,15 dolav,16
and thejol.17
Father joined the village men's circle, sat on the ground cross-legged,
and started smoking, drinking, and chatting. I looked around and didn't see my
best playmate, Bkra shis 'bum (1981-1998), my cousin. He was a month younger
Jintajiu 'Golden-Stupa Liquor' was a local barley liquor made near Sku
'bum Monastery in the 1980s.
13 For background on how the mango assumed special significance during
the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), see Malcolm Moore
(http://googl/WKM7Dm, accessed 4 November 2016).
14 Doko 'stone hole' is a colloquial Tibetan name for the game. Boys often
played it. We dug three holes. Each player threw a ball into the holes in
turn. Whoever finished one round could "kill" others by hitting their balls
with their own ball. Children of poor families often made balls with wood
or stone, while rich family children bought metal or glass balls from
Hezuoshe.
15 Pardo 'the other side stone' is a colloquial Tibetan name for a game that
boys often played. It was also called ardo 'noisy stone' because we made a
lot of loud, excited sounds such as "Ah!" when we played. We played the
game by setting up a big flat, face-size stone five to seven meters away.
We tried to hit the big stone with a small fist-sized stone in easy to
difficult ways, such as using the right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot,
and throwing the small stone between our legs, overhead, and trying to
hit the big stone without looking at it.
16 Dolav 'flat stone' is a colloquial Tibetan name for a game girls played by
drawing six connected squares in a "T" shape or eight connected squares
that formed a ⼲ shape. We passed a small flat, fist-size stone using both
feet and then using one foot from the bottom first square to the top
squares without repeating any adjacent squares. Whoever finished one
round won the game and scored a point. At the same time, the winner
had to pass the stone in more challenging ways to earn more points, such
as passing the stone with one foot on one leg and skipping through the
odd-numbered squares.
17 Thejol is a colloquial Tibetan name for a shuttlecock game girls often
played in my village. The shuttlecocks that we had were often made of
goat or pig hair stuck into the mouth of an air cock from a discarded
bicycle or cart tire. Children from rich families had shuttlecocks with
copper coins.
12
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
than me. So, as usual, I just sat on Father's lap, enjoying the fragrance in the air
from the liquor and the cigarette being passed around.
Having soon finished the bottle of liquor, some elders started teasing
some younger men to buy another bottle. When Father was teased to buy more
liquor, I declared, "We don't have money!" in the angry tone Father often used
with us.
Everybody laughed, and Father blushed. He picked me up, spanked my
buttocks, and told me to play with the other children. I knew he was unhappy, so I
obeyed. I went out but didn't play with the children because none were my age.
Instead, I went straight to Bkra shis 'bum's home near Hezuoshe.
A ferocious black dog was chained near the gate, so I didn't dare enter
Bkra shis 'bum's house courtyard. I called to Bkra shis 'bum, and the dog started
barking. Soon Bkra shis 'bum's father came out.
"Oh, you came! Come, come! Don't be afraid. I'll hold the dog," he
reassured. Then, while I was passing the furiously barking dog, he asked where my
father was. "At Hezuoshe," I replied.
"I see. Bkra shis 'bum is in the bedroom. You two play, but don't fight!"
he cautioned and left.
Running to the bedroom, I found Bkra shis 'bum holding an old green
army bag decorated with a red star in front as his mother patched the bag's wornout holes. "My schoolbag!" exclaimed Bkra shis 'bum excitedly as soon as he saw
me.
"Schoolbag?" I queried.
"Yes, schoolbag!" replied Bkra shis 'bum in excitement. "I'm going to
school tomorrow!"
"Oh! To do what?" I asked.
"I don't know," said Bkra shis 'bum.
"You're going to study!" announced his mother.
"Study?" asked Bkra shis 'bum.
"Learn how to write your name," replied his mother, smiling and gently
touching his head.
"Why?" I asked.
She smiled at me and said, "So he won't get hungry."
"Oh, I also want to go to school," I said.
"Good! Tell your mother," she advised.
•46•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
She soon patched the bag and gave it to Bkra shis 'bum, who clutched it
and dashed out of the room. I chased him. I grabbed the bag before he reached the
gate, and he fell on his back in the mud. For a moment, he made no noise. I didn't
know what to do, but when I saw his mother running toward us from the kitchen, I
dashed toward Hezuoshe because I feared she would scold and beat me.
"Apa…"18 I called Father and looked around for him as soon as I entered
Hezuoshe.
"Hi, boy! Your father went home with your uncle," said the village leader,
Ban de rgyal. I ran home, falling many times on the muddy path.
"A ma… A ma 'Mother… Mother'!" 19 When I entered our home
compound gate, I shouted and ran to the kitchen, where Mother sat on a small
wooden stool, washing potatoes in a rusty helmet. My elder brother had found it
when he was looking for our family mule in fields near the military base, Dmag
chang.20
I jumped on her back and put my arms around her neck. "Oh! You're
getting heavy!" said Mother gently, "Get off… get off!"
"Mother?" I said, putting my face on her head, "Bkra shis 'bum is going
to school."
"Oh," said Mother.
"I also want to go," I said.
18 Apa
'father' in the local Tibetan dialect is a pha in Literary Tibetan. I
called Father "Apa" without knowing his real name until I was eight and
went to school to register.
19 Ama 'mother'.
20 Dmag chang was the military base located east of our village. This is a
combination of the Tibetan world dmag 'army' 'military' and the Chinese
chang 'area' 'base'. Dmag chang was mysterious for us because it was
surrounded by high adobe walls, and we were forbidden to get near or
enter. My childhood playmates and I often went into Dmag chang fields
to herd sheep, goats, and donkeys, and steal fruits and vegetables that
our families lacked. Mother once carried me inside Dmag chang on her
back to get intramuscular injections when I had pneumonia, from which
I almost died at the age of six. At that time, I saw many interesting,
unusual things, such as rows of rooms roofed with red tiles, blue army
tents, trucks, many soldiers, and wolfhounds. According to Grandfather,
Dmag chang was built east of our village in the 1950s because some locals
were wild and aggressive. It became Ninaxincun (New Nina Village) when
a few groups of Muslim families migrated there in the late 1990s.
•47•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Mother stopped washing the potatoes, gently lifted me by my arms, and
put me on her lap. I automatically tried to nurse her, so she sent me to tell my father
about my desire for schooling.
"Where is Father?" I asked.
"In the west room," replied Mother and started chopping the washed
potatoes.
"Apa! Apa!" I called while running to the west room, where I flung open
the door with a "bang!"
Father was holding a half bottle of Golden-Stupa Liquor, which he had
bought on credit from Hezuoshe. He had saved it for a few months. He was pouring
liquor into the bottle lid on the table. The bang of the door startled Father, who
spilled a cupful of liquor onto the table. He immediately put down the bottle,
scraped the spilled liquor into his left palm with his right hand, and sipped it. Then,
he glared at me and yelled, "Bastard! Can't you open the door gently!"
I thought of running away but did not because Father rarely beat me when
guests were present.
"Awu,21 ignore it. Let's play now," said Bkra shis 'bum's father.
Father swallowed his anger and loudly played the local drinking game
with Bkra shis 'bum's father. After playing a few rounds, I thought Father was no
longer angry. So I sneaked behind him and said, "Apa…?"
"What?" asked Father.
"I want to go to school," I declared.
Father ignored me and kept playing. Finally, I hit Father's back with my
head and repeated more loudly, "I want to go to school."
"Go help your mother," he said and resumed playing the drinking game.
I continued hitting Father's back with my head, chanting, "I want to go to
school."
After a bit, Father pushed me off, yelling, "Get out! I've no money to send
you to school!"
I went to the door, but I didn't leave. Instead, I kept chanting, "I want to
go to school…" while hitting the door against the wall.
Suddenly, Father took off one of his shoes, threw it at me, and yelled,
"Get out!"
21
Awu 'elder brother' in local Tibetan is phu bo in Literary Tibetan.
•48•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
I turned back fearfully, covering my head with one arm. I tried to run out,
but the shoe hit my buttocks hard. I screamed from the pain and ran out. Looking
back, I saw Mother laughing as Father picked up his shoe.
Father said, "Bastard! I'll beat you to death when I catch you!"
When I saw Father pointing at me with a trembling hand and walking
toward me, I turned and started running. I decided to go to Abu for protection. So
I ran about one kilometer to where Abu stayed with my elder brother, Tshe dba', in
a small adobe cottage. They stayed here to herd sheep and goats in Bkra zhing kha
'Beautiful Farming Land'. It was almost noon when I reached Bkra zhing kha. I
could smell boiling meat and hear Abu singing in the distance, teaching a folk song
to my elder brother, who was imitating Abu quietly while scooping boiled pigeon
meat onto a plate. As soon as I saw Abu lying on the adobe bed, I cried loudly.
Abu quickly stood, enfolded me in his warm arms, and asked, "Oh,
Lolo,22 don't cry! What's wrong?"
"Father…" I started and then couldn't stop crying, "…beat me when I
said I wanted to go to school!"
Abu gently rubbed my head, showing me a nipple-sized fleshy growth on
his left arm to distract me and telling me some Uncle Ston pa stories I retell in this
book.
I stopped sobbing and started eating when Abu told me he would give me
money for schooling by taking me to town to sell a fine wildcat skin he had gotten
by hunting with his firelock a month earlier. We had dry crunchy bread with pigeon
meat and soup for lunch and supper. We had the same food early the following day
- reheated leftover pigeon with dry bread. Abu told Elder Brother to herd the sheep
and goats and to take the firelock. Elder Brother happily took the firelock, which
was almost as tall as he was, and followed the flocks of sheep and goats while
singing the folk song he had learned from Abu. Abu and I then started to Hexi Town,
about thirteen kilometers from our village.
At around noon, we reached the central garden of the town and rested. A
Muslim man with a long white beard came and talked to us.
Abu sold the wildcat skin for eight RMB plus a big bowl of santuk23 to the
Lolo is a local Tibetan name used for lovely babies. Grandfather called
me "Lolo" until he passed away.
23 Santuk is a local Tibetan name for hand-pulled mianpian 'noodles'.
San denotes sen mo 'nail' and tuk/thug pa 'noodles'. My family often
22
•49•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Muslim who owned a nearby noodle restaurant. Abu and I were very happy as we
gobbled down the big bowl of noodles and took the eight RMB. On the way back,
Abu told me many interesting stories.
Early the following day (3 September 1987), Abu gave me 2.5 RMB,
which I gave to our village schoolteacher, Mr. Zhang, thus starting my school life.
•••
On 5 August 1988, I heard Abu's humorous stories from Tshe dba', with whom I
had a wonderful time with five yuan during the Sixth Lunar Month Deity Festival,24
the most famous and most popular festival in Khri ka County.
On the evening of that day, Elder Brother and I put all our sheep into a
pen, said goodbye to Abu, ran home, and rushed into the kitchen in great
excitement. "Mother! Father! Many trucks have come to our village. They're
waiting for villagers to go to tomorrow's Deity Festival," I gushed. "What time will
we leave tomorrow?"
Mother stopped cutting noodles and turned to Father, sitting on the
adobe bed. He raised his brown face and said, "We are not attending the festival."
Father's sentence extinguished the fire of excitement burning deep in our
hearts. Brother never begged my parents twice. He stood as motionless as a
puppet by the door with his right thumb in his mouth. I threw my head against
Mother's chest, beat her arms with my fists, and bawled, "Why? Mother, I will go…"
"Oh, hush, my darling," said Mother.
"Don't cry! The festival lasts five days!" Father bellowed impatiently.
"We can go to the festival after your mother and I harvest the wheat."
I didn't listen to anything my parents said. I just cried and cried. Suddenly
Father got off the bed, took off one shoe, and spanked my buttocks very hard. It
was so painful that I wailed even louder. He tried to spank me again, but Mother
stopped him. He sat back on the bed very angrily.
Mother and Brother urged me to eat noodles for supper, but I ate nothing.
I continued sobbing until Father put five yuan in my pocket, dried my eyes and
cheeks with his big, warm hands, and said, "Don't cry, my dear. Crying is bad for
your eyes. This five yuan is for you and your brother to attend tomorrow's festival.
Forgive me. I don't have any more money to give you. I must prepare twenty yuan
cooked santuk by boiling many small pieces of fingernail-sized dough
made of wheat flour and warm salty water in a pot.
24 Drug pa'i lha rtse in Tibetan and Liuyuehui in Chinese.
•50•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
for you and your brother's school fees before next month. But I do have two nice
hats. If you like, please wear them tomorrow."
He put one hand very kindly on my brother's shoulder and said with a big
smile, "You must take care of your little brother tomorrow. Your mother will herd
the sheep, and I have to harvest the wheat, so we can't go with you."
Brother nodded.
I was so happy and excited that night, imagining what I would see the next
day - many nice cars, animals, and colorful clothes - that I didn't sleep until
midnight.
The next morning, Brother and I got up at four o'clock. Mother put four
pieces of bread in our pockets. Father asked us to wear the nice hats he had stored
in a cupboard for twenty years. They were worn only during Lo sar 'Tibetan New
Year'. Brother wore the blue one. Although mine was too big for my small head, I
wore it. Then we started walking. The Sixth Lunar Month Deity Festival Ground was
about eighteen kilometers from my village. Nobody was up so early, and nobody
saw us, so Brother and I played catch on the road and in the high wheat fields,
jumped over walls, climbed fruit trees, ate various fruits, and shared stories we had
heard from Abu. We had a lot of fun.
When daylight came, an ever-increasing number of trucks filled with
people passed us on the small dusty road. Several drivers stopped and asked us
to get on for one yuan, but we refused because we enjoyed walking, and we knew
we had already come most of the way and would reach the Sixth Lunar Month Deity
Festival Ground soon.
We arrived around nine AM. Hundreds of cars, trucks, motorcycles, carts,
and horses lined the sides of the road. Many guards were on duty. It seemed all the
world's people had come to that place. People from everywhere crowded the road.
Many children and their relatives shouted. They had lost each other in the crowd.
Brother held my hand tightly for almost the whole day.
On either side of the Sixth Lunar Month Deity Festival Ground's gate, a
huge number of traders from Zi ling, the Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan, and
Shanghai were selling Tibetan robes, incense, leather boots, tea, VCD players,
radios, and TVs.
Many Chinese troupes performed acrobatic shows in giant tents inside
the Sixth Lunar Month Deity Festival Ground. Many Tibetan and Mtsho sngon
Chinese singers were singing traditional folk songs. Numerous tents were showing
•51•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
movies.
Brother and I looked, touched, and asked the price of the many attractive
toys on display: cars, trains, robots, and sheep. It seemed the sun would burn us
on that day. We were both almost dead from thirst. We went to every part of the
Sixth Lunar Month Deity Festival Ground, searching unsuccessfully for water. Many
people were drinking bottles of bubbly, colored liquid. We saw such drinks being
sold in many shops. Brother bought one bottle for one yuan. It tasted terrible, but
we finished it in a minute.
After a while, we both felt odd. Brother's face turned red, and I felt
exhausted and could hardly walk. Brother looked at me and laughed. We both felt
uncomfortable and sleepy. We left the festival ground and walked unsteadily into
a forested area with few people. I lay on the ground by a tree while Brother lay near
me after throwing the empty bottle into the distance.
Suddenly, he thumped me with his elbow and whispered, "Look, look."
I mumbled, "No, no, no… stop bothering me."
I turned my head and tried to sleep again but couldn't.
I had a headache and was very hungry. Brother noticed I was not well,
helped me get up, and suggested we eat something, so we returned to the festival
ground and went to a restaurant near the gate, where we ordered two big bowls of
noodles for a total of 2.6 yuan. They were delicious. We finished the noodles
ravenously. I had never had such delicious noodles in my life. After polishing off
the last of the soup, we felt much better.
"Would you like to stay here tonight?" Brother asked.
"Yes," I said, hopping in front of him joyfully.
"We have only 1.4 yuan. It's not enough for a meal. Mother and Father
will worry if we don't come home tonight," he said.
I scratched my head and suggested, "We can go home early tomorrow
morning without breakfast."
He smiled and agreed, "OK, where should we go now?"
Nearby, I saw a VCD room. The proprietor shouted in Chinese, "You can
stay the whole night for five jiao!"
"Let's go watch movies. We can sleep there if we feel sleepy," I said.
Brother's Mtsho sngon Chinese was better than mine then, and he tried
his best to ask the owner to let us watch the movie. He showed four jiao to the
owner and pointed to himself and me. He spoke half in Tibetan and half in Mtsho
•52•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
sngon dialect.
The owner thought a bit and said, "OK, OK," in Chinese. Then we both
went inside and sat on one chair. A Chinese martial arts movie was playing when
we first entered. I couldn't understand the dialogue well, but the film was exciting,
with fantastic effects, like people flying in the sky and huge rocks exploding
without being touched. I was engrossed the whole time.
After two movies, the proprietor spoke to the audience, and everyone left
except Brother and me. Then he spoke Chinese and gestured. I understood that we
should pay two more yuan for something. After a lengthy explanation and more
gestures, the owner indicated sleeping and two yuan. We understood. Brother and
I took out all the money from our shirt pockets. There was only one yuan. The owner
talked to his friend, who nodded his head. Unfortunately, a brown-haired Chinese
man came inside with a woman with her arm around his neck. He said something
to the proprietor, put ten yuan on the table, and began to kiss the lady on the sofa.
The proprietor came to us, pulled us both out of the room, and shook his hands to
show we should leave.
We were not disappointed. We saw several old Tibetans sleeping in their
leather robes on the performance platform and joined them. Brother found paper
boxes in the garbage, flattened them on the platform, and covered us with some. I
had never had such a bed before. It was so comfortable, soft, and warm that I fell
asleep before Brother finished telling a story.
I didn't wake up until Brother nudged me. I got up and saw that the sun
was about as high as a person above the tip of the east mountain. Brother told me
to collect empty beer bottles from the garbage. He explained he had seen an older
man pick up the empty bottle we had thrown away the day before and sell it for five
fen to a bottle collector. "We can have two bowls of noodles for breakfast if we
collect fifty empty bottles," he said.
I was very excited. Within an hour, we collected a big paper box of empty
bottles, which we sold for 2.5 yuan. We then had 3.5 yuan. We were so happy that
we could barely control ourselves. We went to the same restaurant we had eaten
at the day before, enjoyed another kind of delicious noodle, bought a bottle of
beer, and started home by truck at noon.
Back home, I told the entire story to my parents. After describing our
wonderful times, Father said, "I am delighted you both returned safely and had a
good time, but listen to me and don't drink beer again. It's not a good thing."
•53•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
We both seriously said, "We will listen to you and never forget, Father."
My parents were pleased with that, and Mother tried to cook the same
noodles we had eaten in the restaurant. After that, I never drank beer again – well,
rarely.
•••
On 1 July 1991, I took the Grade Four Primary School Entrance Examination. It was
important because it determined if village children could enter higher-level
schools. Our village school had only grades one to three. The exam had sections
on the Tibetan and Chinese languages and math. Unfortunately, I failed because
of my low Chinese score.
More than half of my classmates failed. I was embarrassed but not sad
until I saw some of my playmates preparing for school in August. In September
1991, many playmates went to school. I was left lonely and sad and went with Abu
to herd sheep. He told me Uncle Ston pa stories to cheer me up.
Tshe mdo skyid ཚ8་མདོ་4ིད། (b. 2003), Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Tshe ring rgya mtsho ཚ8་རིང་?་མཚ>། (b. 2002), Glo rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture.
Tshe ring sgrol ma ཚ8་རིང་,ོལ་མ། (b. 2000), Jo ser Village, Mgo mang
Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Tshe thar skyid ཚ8་ཐར་4ིད། (b. 2003), Rta ra Village, Mgo mang Town,
Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ། (b. 1990) Mdzo 'dar (Rong da) Village, Phu
ma (Puma) Township, Sde dge (Dege) County, Dkar mdzes
Autonomous Prefecture.
My village had no electricity when I was a child. Every time Grandfather (Dpen zen,
b. 1929) visited, he told us stories that often encouraged us to be good people.
These two stories are the most unforgettable. From 'Paying a Debt of Gratitude',
we learned that we need to be kind to animals and that we need to repay our debt
•54•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
to people who have helped us. The story about Mchig nges is altogether different.
It is just for amusement.
ABBREVIATIONS
MCSNMS Mang ra County Second Nationalities Middle School
MTNBS Mgo mang Town Nationalities Boarding School
1: PRINCE BSAM PA'I DON 'GRUB25
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད།
One chilly winter night, Father put Sister and me in front of him near our warm stove
while Mother and Brother prepared dinner. A dog barked very loudly as though
scolding the chilly weather. Father told us this story.
'B
rug rgyas was king of the great country of Byang thang
and had three sons named Bsam pa'i rgyal mtshan,
Bsam pa'i nyi ma, and Bsam pa'i don 'grub. Their country
was rich, and the people there were happy until terrible things
began happening. After some time, people became poor and
hungry. So the king decided that his three sons must find Bya mi la
gser gron, the bird that could spit gold, and make the county rich
again.
"Here are three cups of water and three trees. Plant each tree
on top of a hill and give each tree one cup of water. Bsam pa'i rgyal
mtshan, you go to a big hill. Bsam pa'i don 'grub, you go to a small
hill. And Bsam pa'i nyi ma, you go to a medium-sized hill. So long
as your tree is in flower and the water doesn't dry up, I will know
you are alive. But, if your tree doesn't flower and the water dries up,
I will know you are dead," said the king.
The king and his servants escorted the three sons to three
nearby hills. Bsam pa'i rgyal mtshan and Bsam pa'i nyi ma went
together to one hill. Meanwhile, Bsam pa'i don 'grub went to a small
hill where two men argued over a pair of shoes. "Why are you
Bsod nams 'gyur med. 2013. Prince Bsam pa'i don grub in Asian
Highlands Perspectives 28:212-216.
25
•55•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
arguing over these shoes?" Bsam pa'i don 'grub asked in surprise.
"These shoes are mgyogs pa'i lham lu pos pos 'speedy
shoes'. If you wear them, no one can catch you. I saw these shoes
first!" one man said.
"No, I got these shoes first!" the other man said.
"I can solve your problem. You two go to the hill and run
back as fast as you can. The one who gets back here first gets the
shoes," Bsam pa'i don 'grub said.
The two men agreed and ran to the designated hill.
Meanwhile, Bsam pa'i don 'grub put on the shoes and vanished.
When Bsam pa'i don 'grub reached the middle hill, he saw
two men arguing over a big hat. Bsam pa'i don 'grub approached
and asked, "Why are you arguing?"
"This is mi rig zhwa mo nag re 'the black hat of invisibility'.
If you wear it, you become invisible," one man said.
"I saw this hat first!" the other man roared.
"No, I did!" said the first.
"Oh, don't argue! I suggest you two turn around and then
turn back and look at me. Whoever sees me first gets the hat," Bsam
pa'i don 'grub said.
The two men agreed and turned around. Meanwhile, Bsam
pa'i don 'grub had put on the hat and vanished when they turned
back.
Later that afternoon, Bsam pa'i don 'grub climbed a tall
mountain and saw two men arguing over a club with many nails.
"Why are you arguing over a piece of wood with nails?" Bsam pa'i
don 'grub asked.
"This once belonged to Dgra nag zangs ma'i dzer ru can 'the
evil foe with copper nails'. No one can bully you if you hold it," a fat
man with a mustache said.
"I found it first!" the other, weaker man said.
"No, I grabbed it first," the fat, mustachioed man said.
"Don't quarrel! I suggest that whoever climbs that mountain
first can have the club," Bsam pa'i don 'grub said, pointing to a
nearby peak.
•56•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
As the two men raced to the mountain, Bsam pa'i don 'grub
took the magic club, fled into the night, and anxiously searched for
a place to sleep. Eventually, he came to an enormous cave and heard
sounds inside. He put on the hat and approached the dark cave. At
that moment, a woman with one pendulous breast dragging on the
ground and the other slung over her shoulder emerged from the
dark cave. She seemed to realize that someone was near the cave
and looked here and there, then returned inside. Bsam pa'i don
'grub followed her. The cave was huge and smelly. When his eyes
adjusted to the dark, he saw his two brothers tied to a big rock. Their
faces were gray. The demoness was busy tending a fire, intending to
cook his brothers. "Kill the demoness," Bsam pa'i don 'grub said to
the nail-studded club, which immediately beat her to death.
After rescuing his brothers, they said enviously, "How did
you do that? You are so heroic!"
After Bsam pa'i don 'grub told his story about finding the
magical items, the brothers took shelter under some boulders and
slept.
The sun was shining when Bsam pa'i don 'grub awoke. He
called his brothers, but they were gone. Bsam pa'i don 'grub wept
sadly, realizing he had been robbed of his treasures and abandoned.
He walked for a long time and encountered white yaks and whiteskinned people wearing white clothes, playing and laughing. When
they saw Bsam pa'i don 'grub wailing, they beat him. "We are
delighted to have finished our work for the ghost king, so you
mustn't cry!" the people said, so Bsam pa'i don 'grub began laughing
and left.
More time passed, and he came to another place where red
yaks and red-skinned people wore red clothes. They were gathered
in a red house and wailing sadly. When they noticed Bsam pa'i don
'grub was laughing, they caught him and demanded, "Why are you
so happy?"
"I met some people wearing white clothes who said I must
laugh," Bsam pa'i don 'grub giggled.
"Where are you from, and where are you going?" the people
•57•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
asked.
"I'm from Byang thang and looking for Bya mi la gser gron."
"That's a tough task."
"Do you know where I can find this bird?"
"It is in the forest in front of this mountain, but only we
know how to catch it."
"Please tell me!"
"We'll help you, but only on one condition."
"What is it?"
"Every year, we must give the king of the ghosts a boy and a
girl to eat. He'll come to our village and kill everyone if we don't. So
please help us!"
Bsam pa'i don 'grub agreed to do whatever was necessary to
stop the killing. The local people were overjoyed, stopped crying,
and prepared to take Bsam pa'i don 'grub and a girl to the cave
where the king of the ghosts stayed.
"What do you know about the king of the ghosts?" Bsam pa'i
don 'grub asked the girl.
"I don't know much, but I heard he has nine heads and is
huge," the girl said anxiously.
Bsam pa'i don 'grub saw an old sword on the ground, picked
it up, and honed it for a long time until it was very sharp. Then they
waited for the king of the ghosts to appear.
Bsam pa'i don 'grub and the girl were finally exhausted, so
they sat on the ground to rest. Suddenly, a thunderous sound came
from inside the cave, terrifying the girl. Bsam pa'i don 'grub clutched
his sword, went to the cave entrance, and waited for the ghost.
Smoke wafted out from the cave. Then, with a loud sound, the
ghost's first head poked out from the mouth of the cave. Bsam pa'i
don 'grub swung his sword and cut off the first head. The ghost
shrieked in pain and jerked back inside the cave.
Bsam pa'i don 'grub and the girl returned to the village and
reported what had happened. The local people worried that the king
of the ghosts would recover and take revenge, so they built two big
stupas at the cave entrance to suppress the ghost. They gratefully
•58•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
said to Bsam pa'i don 'grub, "In the forest in front of the mountain,
you will find a very tall tree where many beautiful birds live. Take
an ax and hack at this very tall tree. All the birds will say they are
the one you are searching for, except for one gray bird, which will
say it isn't the right bird. That's the bird you must catch."
Bsam pa'i don 'grub took an ax, went to the forest, did
precisely what the villagers said, caught Bya mi la gser gron,
returned to the village, and thanked everyone. Before he left, the
villagers gave him a herd of yaks in appreciation for liberating them
from the king of the ghosts. Bsam pa'i don 'grub mounted one of the
yaks and rode off, driving the other yaks before him. Bya mi la gser
gron sat on his shoulder and spat gold.
When Bsam pa'i don 'grub reached a bridge, he saw his two
brothers. He was very happy to meet them, and they were glad he
had found Bys mi la gser gron. "How did you find the bird? You are
now our king!" said his brothers.
Bsam pa'i nyi ma led the way as Bsam pa'i rgyal mtshan
drove the yaks behind Bsam pa'i don 'grub. When they were on a
bridge, Bsam pa'i nyi ma said, "Look! There's a huge fish in the
river!"
As Bsam pa'i don 'grub looked down to see the fish, Bsam
pa'i nyi ma shoved him into the water, which was so deep that Bsam
pa'i nyi ma and Bsam pa'i rgyal mtshan couldn't see him. Assuming
he had drowned, they happily drove the yaks and took Bya mi la
gser gron back home. When they arrived, many locals and their
father received them. They asked Bsam pa'i nyi ma and Bsam pa'i
rgyal mtshan, "How did you find Bya mi la gser gron?"
"We went to a vast forest and found it," the two princes lied.
The king was sure the county would be rich because Bya mi
la gser gron spat gold and joyfully celebrated with his two sons. Sure
enough, day by day, the country became richer and richer.
While the king and his servants were hunting one day, a
minister saw some deer and chased them into a forest. After a long
time, he got lost. Suddenly, he saw something behind a big tree. He
quietly approached and found a boy chopping it. "Who are you?" the
•59•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
minister asked.
"I am Bsam pa'i don 'grub," the boy replied.
Not believing his ears, the minister said, "Please repeat your
name."
"I'm Bsam pa'i don 'grub," he said, looking at the man.
"Oh! You are Prince Bsam pa'i don 'grub! How wonderful!"
the minister said, and the two embraced.
2: SELFLESS FATHERS AND SELFISH SONS26
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད།
Fathers always think about their sons, while the sons only think about property,"
is a common saying. This story is often told to illustrate this saying.
on 'grub had three sons. Their mother had died when they
were children, leaving only their father to care for them. He
worked hard every day for a wealthy family. As his sons
matured, he became frailer and more wrinkled. In time, his eldest
son married and took half the family property. Several months later,
his other two sons took the remaining property. There was now no
one to care for Don 'grub, who had no home and lived despairingly
in a gully near the village. Though some villagers gave him food and
consoled him, his three sons were never kind to him or gave him
food.
One evening Don 'grub sadly considered suicide, but then he
saw a stranger and asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm a merchant, not a robber," said the stranger.
"I'm not afraid of robbers because I'm a beggar with nothing
to steal. I just want to know who you are," Don 'grub said.
"I'm from another village and have come here to buy relics.
I have nowhere to sleep. May I stay with you for just one night if you
don't mind?" said the stranger.
"You can lie here on the ground with me," Don 'grub said.
"Why do you live here?" the stranger asked.
D
Bsod nams 'gyur med. 2013. Selfless Father and Selfish Sons in Asian
Highlands Perspectives 28:217-219.
26
•60•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Because my cruel sons took all my property," Don 'grub
sadly said and told his story.
The stranger said, "Don't worry, I have an idea. I'll give you
this beautiful piece of cloth. Use it to wrap up a stone. Tomorrow
morning, I'll go to the village and tell everyone I've come to buy
relics. Then you bring this stone to me."
The following day the stranger went to the village to
purchase relics. Many people met the businessman and showed him
their treasures. Don 'grub also came and said, "I have a precious
relic passed down from my grandfather's father. Now I must sell it
because I have no choice."
"May I see it?" said the stranger.
Don 'grub handed the stranger the stone wrapped in the
beautiful cloth. The stranger unwrapped it, gasped in surprise, and
said, "I've never seen such a precious relic! Unfortunately, I don't
have enough money with me to buy it from you. I must return to my
village and bring more. Wrap it back up, and don't sell it to others."
The stranger jumped on his horse and galloped away,
leaving the village abuzz with news of what had happened. When
Don 'grub's three sons heard the news, they were delighted and
went together to greet their father, who they all fawned over. The
sons then decided to care for Don 'grub, agreeing that each son
would take care of him for a year in turn. He lived with his eldest
son for a year, and when the second son came to take Don 'grub to
his home for a year, the eldest son disagreed because he was afraid
Don 'grub would die in his brother's home and then he would get
nothing. Finally, Don 'grub lived in each son's home for only one
month before moving to the next son's home. Each son prayed that
Don 'grub would die in his home so that he could claim his precious
relic.
Don 'grub died in his eldest son's home one summer
morning. When the other sons heard this news, they ran to the
home, searched Don 'grub's bedroom, and found the wrapped-up
stone. Before they could unwrap it, other villagers arrived and said,
"The village will give you the relic after you hold a good funeral for
•61•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
your father."
The three sons held a grand funeral with many monks who
chanted scriptures for their father and made many offerings.
Finally, the villagers gave them the relic. Some days later, the
merchant returned to the village. Don 'grub's three sons handed
him the relic and said, "It is our forefathers' precious treasure."
The merchant slowly unwrapped the beautiful cloth and
shouted, "This treasure has become a stone!"
"Why did the treasure become a stone?" the three sons asked
in surprise.
"Because you only valued the relic and didn't take good care
of your father, the treasure felt depressed and became a stone," the
merchant declared. At a loss, Don 'grub's three sons did not know
what to do and despondently returned to their homes, knowing
their wives would scold them.
3: BECOMING A BUDDHA27
Bsod nams 'gyur med བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད།
n old Tibetan woman and her daughter, Me tog, lived in a
very poor village. Their livestock were two yaks and two
sheep. Me tog was a very good, lovely girl. Many boys were
attracted to her, but no one wanted to marry her because her family
was so poor. The old woman worried about finding a husband for
her daughter. She prostrated to Sgrol ma every day, imploring her
to provide a good husband for her daughter.
One night, a devil passed by the village near the old woman's
black tent and overheard her praying for a good husband for her
daughter. So the devil went behind the tent and said, "Tomorrow
morning, a good man will visit your home. Give your daughter to
him. He will bring your daughter happiness all her life."
The old woman happily told her daughter, "Our Red Sgrol
ma has spoken!" She pulled out an old trunk, took out the few corals
A
Bsod nams 'gyur med. 2013. Becoming a Buddha in Asian Highlands
Perspectives 28:220-223.
27
•62•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and other ornaments she owned, and dressed the girl as best she
could.
That night they were very happy and didn't feel tired or
sleepy.
The next morning, a stranger came to the old woman's tent.
The old woman generously served him tea. The girl felt shy and
stayed near the stove. The stranger was soon ready to leave. The old
woman agreed that her daughter could go with him. When the
stranger and the girl left, the old woman watched until they were
out of sight, rubbed her bloodshot eyes, went inside the tent, sat in
front of her Red Sgrola ma, and began praying.
When the stranger and the girl reached a river, he tied her
with a rope, put her in a box, and said, "I am a demon. Tonight, I
will eat you," closed the box, shoved it into a cave in the riverbank,
and went searching for some vegetables.
Meanwhile, the local king's and a minister's sons were
hunting. The minister's son saw the box when they came near the
river. So the prince said, "Whoever hits the box with a stone first
wins the box."
The minister's son agreed and threw a stone but missed.
When the prince threw a rock, he struck the box. They ran over,
opened the box, and found the beautiful girl.
"Why are you inside the box?" the prince asked.
"A devil bound me, put me here, and said he would kill and
eat me tonight," Me tog said.
"Don't worry! I'll save you! You will be my queen!" the prince
announced proudly. The girl was so moved that she put the prince's
hand on her head as a sign of deference and appreciation.
The two hunters put their ferocious, tiger-like dog in the box
and left.
The devil happily returned to the river that night, bringing
wild scallions he had gathered to cook with the girl. When he
opened the box, the tiger-like dog lunged at the devil, tore out his
throat, and devoured him.
Me tog was happy to marry the prince and enjoy the king's
•63•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
wealth. Although she missed her mother, she never told her
husband she had a mother or a family because the king and his son
believed the deities had sent her from Heaven to be the prince's
wife. She loved living in the palace with her husband but constantly
worried about her mother.
Meanwhile, the old woman missed her daughter terribly and
prayed daily for her wellbeing. Me tog's mother often gazed in the
direction where her daughter and the stranger had gone. The old
woman's face soon became lined with even more wrinkles.
Me tog climbed atop the tallest palace building one day and
looked toward where her mother lived. Deciding she must care for
her old mother; she summoned her servant and ordered him to
bring her old mother to her room. She cautioned, "This is a secret
between you and me. I will punish you if you tell others."
The servant brought her mother, hid her in the king's
storehouse, and cared for her.
Me tog was very afraid that her husband would discover this
secret. The old woman prayed daily and saw her daughter only once
every several months. Nevertheless, Me tog was happy that her
dream had been realized and that her mother was well cared for.
After the old mother died several years later, Me tog sadly
wrapped her corpse in a big robe and put it in a box in the
storeroom. Then, some days later, the prince said, "Father will
inspect our storeroom to see how much treasure we have."
Me tog worried that her mother's corpse would be
discovered. When the king and many servants came and began
checking the storeroom, Me tog nervously stood before the box
containing her mother's corpse. The king came near Me tog and,
seeing a box he didn't recognize, said, "What is this? I've never seen
this before."
"It's from my home. Please don't open it," Me tog pleaded.
"Oh, we never saw what you brought to the palace. We must
see it," the king said curiously.
Me tog ran to her husband. When the king unwrapped the
robe, he and his servants knelt in front of the box. Amazed, the girl
•64•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and prince walked over and saw that the old mother's corpse had
become Red Sgrol ma.
4: A MYES BYA KHYUNG AND A MYES STAG LUNG
Chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་4ོང་4བས།
I heard this story from some classmates while attending Thun rin rdzong mi rigs
slob 'bring (Tongren xian minzu zhongxue) 'Tongren County Nationalities Middle
School' from 2010-2013.
L
ong ago, there was a beautiful woman named Gyo mo
whose ancestor was from Lha yul 'Paradise'. One day, Gyo
mo and her friends went near Bya khyung Mountain to
collect yak dung. It was an auspicious day, and the mountain deity,
A myes bya khyung, and his ministers and attendants went to picnic
at the bottom of Bya khyung Mountain. Suddenly, a melodious song
sounded in the distance, attracting A myes bya khyung. He searched
and finally located a group of women. The youngest had a beautiful
face, and her sweet song greatly attracted him. He immediately
ordered his minister, Spyan gsum pa, to learn her name and where
she was from.
The minister then transformed into an old white-haired
beggar who feebly approached the women. When he got near, all the
women except the beautiful young woman moved away. Gyo mo
kindly chatted with the old beggar and gave him some food.
"I am a meditator living near Bya khyung Mountain. Where
are you from? Please tell me your name," the minister said.
So Gyo mo told him all about herself.
Gyo mo's family missed a mdzo 'yak-cow hybrid' the next
day. Gyo mo searched near Bya khyung Mountain but didn't find it.
Feeling tired, she went into a cave to rest, fell asleep, and dreamed
of a man on a white horse who wore white clothes and a white
helmet. That man indicated where she should search for her missing
mdzo and gave her a friendly smile. She shyly covered her face and
peeped through her fingers. The man suddenly disappeared. Feeling
afraid, she woke up and thought, "I must look for my mdzo. I'll
•65•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
follow my dream."
She walked for about a half-hour until she reached a rocky
cave. Near the cave entrance, she saw a lot of grass. It seemed no one
had been there for a long time. The cave was enormous. Inside, it
felt like another world. After walking for a short distance inside the
cave, she saw her mdzo grazing on pasture near a small river. The
mdzo saw her and grunted. Gyo mo was delighted to have found her
mdzo in such a fantastic place.
At that moment, a man appeared in the distance, sang a love
song, and slowly approached her. He wore a white helmet and white
clothes, rode a white horse, and held a silver lance. She was
surprised, felt she had met him before, and realized she had seen
him in her dream. She anxiously put her head down. They had a long
conversation, and love developed. Afterward, they often met at
Dong dkar mdo and 'Khor lo sgang.
After a half year, following local custom, the horseman's
family talked to her family about marriage. Then on the fifteenth
day of the fourth lunar month, Gyo mo was invited to A myes bya
khyung's palace for a grand wedding feast. A myes bya khyung sat
on a gold throne, and Gyo mo sat on a silver throne. There were
many guests, including his ministers, local people, and such
mountain deities as Stag lung, Gnyen chen, Sras mchog rdo rje dgra
'dul, Blon chen gshed ma nag po, and A myes dmag dpon.
A myes bya khyung and Gyo mo proposed toasts to all the
guests. When they came to Stag lung, he immediately fell in love
with Gyo mo. He smiled at her, but she didn't look at him.
Afterward, he thought about her so intently that he couldn't sleep
at night and became weaker and weaker.
One minister understood that Stag lung had fallen in love.
He thought about how Gyo mo could become his wife and discussed
this with the other ministers.
The following day, the chief minister took a thousand
ministers to A myes bya khyung's palace and invited him to visit A
myes stag lung's palace.
A few days later, A myes bya khyung and Gyo mo visited A
•66•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
myes stag lung, who held a big party for them with much food and
liquor. In the afternoon, most ministers and A myes bya khyung
were drunk. Later, some of A myes stag lung's ministers escorted A
myes bya khyung and his ministers back to their palace.
A myes bya khyung woke up the following day and found his
wife was absent. Realizing he had fallen into A myes stag lung's trap,
he angrily commanded his ministers to prepare to attack A myes
stag lung's palace. A myes stag lung had anticipated this and was
prepared. During the ensuing battle, A myes bya khyung and his
ministers failed and couldn't reclaim Gyo mo. Though A myes bya
khyung had a high position and was rich, he was not very strong. A
myes stag lung was not a wealthy deity, but he was powerful. They
fought many times, but A myes bya khyung could not get his wife
back. He then transformed himself into a beggar. His horse became
a deity, his bow and arrows became a small stick, and his lance
became a cane. They approached A myes stag lung's palace.
A celebration was held that day in A myes stag lung's palace
to celebrate a battle victory. A myes bya khyung took his bow and
arrow and shot at A myes stag lung's head, but it only broke his
helmet. His second arrow killed some ministers. The third arrow hit
A myes stag lung in the belly, and his guts hung out. A myes bya
khyung thought he had won and wanted to take his wife. Suddenly,
A myes stag lung pushed his guts back into his belly and ordered his
ministers to shoot at A myes bya khung, who retreated. A myes stag
lung shot one last arrow, which hit A myes bya khyung's storehouse,
causing it to collapse and killing some ministers.
•67•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
5: OMINOUS NUMBERS AND AUSPICIOUS NUMBERS
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
couple with eight cows lived on a mountain. The husband
was a wanderer, so his wife usually herded the cows into
the mountains. When the husband came home one day, he
saw a family butchering a yak, cooking the meat, eating it, and
enjoying themselves. Feeling hungry, he envied them and
considered how he might trick his wife into slaughtering a cow for
dinner after he got home.
When he got home, his wife was very excited and poured
him a bowl of milk tea. While preparing to cook some noodles, she
asked about his travels. He thought momentarily and said, "I have
climbed the highest mountains and crossed the broadest grasslands
and the wildest rivers, but I didn't kill any animals. On the way
home, I met a bla ma and asked him to divine why I was unlucky in
hunting. First, he asked me how many cows our family has. I told
him we had eight. He thought for a while and then said, 'Ba brgyad
than, Ba bdun g.yang 'Eight is an ominous number of cows to own;
seven is an auspicious number'. Because of this bad luck, you did
not hunt successfully. The deities caused those animals to shy away
when you got near them. This condition will make your family
poorer. For these reasons, you should solve this problem.'
"I thought about it on the way back home, and decided the
only way to solve the problem, is to slaughter one of our cows!"
The wife responded, "Bla ma'i gsungs la nor ba med 'There
are no mistakes in a bla ma's words'," believing her husband.
The husband thought, "Yes!" and grinned broadly.
Supper was unusually rich that night. Then they only had
seven cows. The husband used this idea again and again… and the
number of cows steadily decreased until only one cow remained.
The wife left with it and wandered for several days. Eventually, she
came to a rocky mountain, saw a cave, and decided to stay there. In
the early morning, she grazed the cow near the rocky mountain and
drove it back to the cave every afternoon. She hoped that her cow
A
•68•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
would give birth to many calves.
One early morning, as she made a fire, she saw a skya mi
'horseman' in the distance. She thought it was a hunter and didn't
pay much attention. A bit later, the man approached, and she
realized it was her husband. Three days later, the wife left to dig wild
yams after grazing her cow near the cave.
The husband woke up from a dream in which he enjoyed a
big plate of meat and thick meat soup. He thought now, while his
wife was gone, it was an excellent chance to slaughter the cow.
In the afternoon, the wife returned to water her cow. But
unfortunately, her husband had already slaughtered it. She was sad
and full of hatred but dared not scold or argue with her husband.
Then she sadly took the cow's udder and pasted it to the cave wall.
Every morning and afternoon, she milked the udder,
hoping it would give milk. This went on until she began starving.
Early one morning, as she lay somewhere between life and
death, she dreamt that a white lion came to her with a big bucket of
milk. She was terrified and tried to shoo it away, but it continued
approaching. Finally, the lion put down the bucket of milk at the
cave entrance and left. She woke up and ran to the udder. The floor
was wet. As the teats dripped milk, she joyfully filled an empty
bucket.
As time passed, the udder provided more and more milk. It
was the first step in her new, joyful life.
•69•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
6: MI LA TSI TSI
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
I heard this story from my maternal grandmother (Gnam skyid yag, b. 1943) when
I was a child. I wrote it based on what I remember and what I imagined.
W
hen I was seven years old, Mother got up early on the day
after moving to our summer pasture. After making a fire,
she went out to milk our yaks. The intense sunlight in the
tent when I woke up and the grunt of the calves notified me that my
parents had already finished breakfast.
Mother was doing something busily near the hearth while
Father was driving the mother yaks to the mountain. "Rig 'dzin, eat
breakfast quickly and herd the calves today. Don't lose them,"
Mother said.
After breakfast, I drove the calves behind the hill near our
tent. There were many flowers and lots of thick grass there. The
calves enjoyed the fresh grass, leaping here and there. I lay on the
ground.
Some unusual children came near me, holding bunches of
wildflowers. They held hands and jumped up and down. I tried to
join them, but I could not. Instead, they laughed and ran around
me. I was very attracted to the flowers they held and ran after them,
but each time I got near, they moved away, leaving me behind.
A kind little boy indicated he wanted to be my playmate. He
was barefoot, short, bright-eyed, dark-skinned, and had long hair.
He wore a sheepskin robe without any underwear. He liked to play
with flowers and stones. We played in different ways and ate white
stones that tasted like sugar.
One day as we were playing on a hill, my parents and cousins
called me and came near us. I wanted to answer, but I could not.
They couldn't see us. Mother was crying. I didn't know why.
Eventually, they returned while we continued playing.
One morning, I found myself near my family's yak enclosure
and felt like I had awakened. I slowly approached our tent. Mother
saw me. She wept and could not approach me for a moment. Finally,
•70•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Father came out of the tent and said in surprise, "You're Rig 'dzin,
right?" and took my hand.
"Yes, Father, I am," I answered.
"OK, come inside, and let's talk," Father said.
"Where have you been?" they asked.
I told them what I had done and where I had gone.
"We thought you had died somewhere and would never
return. We searched for seven days and consulted our holy bla ma.
Finally, some monks came to chant," Father said.
Father said the little boy was a wild child - a Mi la tsi tsi 'little
boy'. Nobody knew who his parents were and where he was from.
He liked to play with children. It was very unusual to see him. He
fled just like a wild animal when people approached.
"You are so lucky. Most children tricked by mi la tsi tsi don't
return for several days as you did. Some return when they are
several years older," Mother said.
Afterward, my parents did not allow me to herd far from our
tent.
•71•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
7: BIG DREAMS28
Dbyangs mtshos sgrol ma དDངས་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
n old man had nothing except a big bag of barley. He came
to a big deep lake one night as he carried it. He put the bag
on the shore, leaned his head on the bag, and thought, "I'll
sell this bag of barley, buy a horse, and then sell the horse. After I
sell the horse, I'll marry, and my wife will have a baby boy. But what
will I call the baby?"
As the moon rose, he suddenly thought, "I'll call the boy
Moon!"
He jumped up in excitement, which caused the bag of barley
to roll into the lake, where it was lost forever.
A
28
Dbyangs mtshos sgrol ma. 2001. Big Dreams in Thomas et al.:9-11.
•72•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
8: THE LIAR29
'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>།
man was famous for telling wonderful lies to people. One
day a reincarnate bla ma met him and wanted to hear a lie.
Liar said, "I'm sorry. My mother passed away, so I can't lie
anymore. Please come to my home tomorrow to pray for my
mother."
The bla ma agreed.
The following day was sunny and pleasant when the bla ma
and some of his fellow monks came to Liar's home, where Liar was
stretched out by a nearby river, enjoying the sunshine.
"What are you doing here? Didn't your mother die?" asked
the bla ma.
"Well, you asked me to tell you a lie, and I did," replied Liar.
A
29
'Brug mo mtsho. 2001. The Liar in Thomas et al.:12-14.
•73•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
9: ZLA BA'S FATHER30
Yum chen mtsho mo Rམ་ཆེན་མཚ>་མོ།
L
azy Don 'grub was always dreaming rather than working;
because of this, he soon became a beggar. One day a
nobleman gave him a big sack of barley. He carried it to the
forest, put it under a tree, and thought, "The mice might eat my
barley," so he hung the sack on a branch and lay under it and
fantasized, "If tomorrow I get a big sack of barley and another big
sack the next day and the next day, soon I will have a lot of barley.
Then, I will become a nobleman, marry, and have a child. Should I
name my child Zla ba 'Moon' or Nyi ma 'Sun'?" Gazing at the night's
bright moon, he decided on Moon.
As Don 'grub was fantasizing, a mouse gnawed through the
sack's rope. The bag fell on Don 'grub and killed him.
30
Yum chen mtsho mo. 2001. Zla ba's Father in Thomas et al.:15-18.
•74•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
10: TWO UNLUCKY MEN31
Don 'grub rgyal དོན་འSབ་?ལ།
T
he only property a childless old man had was a simple
house adorned with many cobwebs. One day a
businessman came to the old man's home. After discussing
this and that, the businessman said, "Please sell your home's
treasures to me."
The old man was greedy, but he did not know what the
treasures were. "I didn't bring enough money with me. So now, I'll
come home tomorrow with enough money to buy your treasures,"
said the businessman.
The old man was very happy when the businessman left. As
he cleaned his simple house, dusting away the cobwebs, he thought,
"I'll get some money from the businessman."
The man came the next day. When he saw the cobwebs had
disappeared, he said, "Oh! My bla ma! You threw the valuable
31
Don 'grub rgyal. 2001. Two Unlucky Men in Thomas et al.:19-21.
•75•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
things away."
In the end, each got nothing from the other.
11: WHY THE WORLD IS UNFAIR32
'Gyur med phun tshogs འHར་མེད་=ན་ཚ>གས།
T
hree boys played together. One was a king's son, one was a
rich family's son, and one was a poor family's son. When
they were about to start another game, the king's son said,
"Whoever can't shoot the crow perched in that tree over there must
pay a thousand coins."
The wealthy family's son said, "I have money. I can shoot the
crow. I'll go home now and get my bow and arrow."
The prince said the same and went home to get his bow and
arrows.
'Gyur med phun tshogs. 2001. Why the World is Unfair in Thomas et
al.:185-189.
32
•76•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The poor boy sat dejectedly by the tree. He did not have a
thousand coins. He did not even have a bow and arrows.
The crow suddenly tumbled out of the tree, turned into a bla
ma, took the poor son to his home, and said, "There is a place with
a ghost whose upper body is gold and whose lower body is silver.
There are also other ghosts in this place. Some ghosts will ask you
to take them when we arrive, but you shouldn't. The ghost that tells
you not to take him is the one you should take. However, you must
not speak to it after you begin carrying it. If you do, it will vanish."
Then the bla ma took the poor boy to the ghosts' place. The
poor boy was terrified because there were many ghosts, and they all
wanted him to take them.
When the poor boy saw a ghost in a tree, it said, "Please
don't take me."
The poor boy climbed the tree and said, "Come down. If you
don't, I will cut down this tree."
The ghost said, "Please don't cut down this tree. I'll come
down," climbed down, and got into the poor boy's bag.
As he returned to the bla ma's home, the ghost said, "Look
at the sky."
The poor boy said, "What!" and the ghost disappeared.
The poor boy sadly said, "Next time, I won't say a word to
that ghost," returned to the ghosts' place, got the ghost out of the
tree, put him in his bag, and started to the bla ma's home again.
This time he reached the bla ma's home with the ghost. As
he put the bag on the ground, he said, "I'm exhausted," and the
ghost began to disappear.
The bla ma quickly snatched one of the ghost's hair and told
the poor boy to take the ghost's hair to the roof of his home. The
poor boy did so, and, a moment later, the bla ma joined him. The
bla ma said they would read a scripture inscribed on the ghost's
hair. The bla ma looked at the scripture first and read, "Let the
world be fair and have no highs and lows, no poor and rich, no
beautiful and ugly."
When the poor boy looked at the scripture, he read, "Let the
•77•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
world be unfair, have highs and lows, have poor and rich, have ugly
and beautiful."
After that day, the world had highs and lows, poor and rich,
beautiful and ugly, and it became very unfair.
12: HEART-EYES33
Tshe ring dbyangs sgron ཚ8་རིང་དDངས་,ོན།
father, a mother, and a son lived in a village and sold wood
for their livelihood. One day the father told the mother,
"We only have a son. I love him very much. He is like my
heart. If I didn't have a heart, I couldn't live."
The mother replied, "I feel the same. He is like my eyes. If I
didn't have my eyes, I couldn't see."
From then on, they called their son "Heart-Eyes."
When the boy got older, the father said, "We must send our
A
33
Tshe ring dbyangs sgron. 2001. Heart-Eyes in Thomas et al.:195-199.
•78•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
dutiful son to school. He is eight and old enough. We can live
comfortably and easily if he eventually gets a job and a salary."
"But we have no money to pay for his schooling," said the
mother.
"We can get the money if we work for other people,"
answered the father.
The parents then worked for other people and sent their son
to a boarding school far from home. They were only able to see him
twice a year. He studied hard and received high marks. Day after
day, year after year, he persevered. When he finished schooling, he
got a job in town and brought his parents to live with him.
By this time, his parents were old and weak because they
had worked hard for many years.
Later, Heart-eyes married beautiful young Bkra shis sgrol
ma and eventually had a son named Bkra shis.
Some years later, after Heart-Eyes' mother died, Bkra shis
grol ma mistreated the grandfather. She controlled the family.
Heart-Eyes never said anything about the way she treated his father.
The old man was sad, but he was very patient.
One day Bkra shis sgrol ma put the old man in the dark and
cold basement of the house and only gave him dried bread to eat.
The old man had no teeth and could not eat the bread. Bkra shis
knew his grandfather could not eat the bread and secretly gave him
other food. When his mother discovered this, she beat Bkra shis.
The old man was so hungry and cold that he became very ill.
He thought that if he could gather enough strength, he would leave
the house and beg for food outside, but he could not move.
Moreover, he had no medicine, and Bkra shis sgrol ma would not
give him any.
One day Bkra shis sgrol ma said to Heart-Eyes, "Your father
will die soon. He can't stay here anymore. Our home will be polluted
if he dies here. So tomorrow, take him to the cave at the top of a
mountain and put him inside. I have readied a basket for you to
carry him."
Although Heart-Eyes felt very sad, he said nothing. The next
•79•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
morning, he put his father in the basket and put the basket on his
back. He took food and water with him. He put his father in the cave
and put the food beside him. He felt very sorry for his father.
When he returned home with the empty basket, he wanted
to throw it away. However, his son stopped him and said, "Don't
throw it away. I will keep it until you get old, and then I will put you
in a cave because you have been so loving and kind to me."
Heart-Eyes was stunned by this. Thinking about how much
his parents loved him, he returned to the cave to get his father, but
it was too late. He was dead from hunger, cold, and illness.
13: A PRECIOUS OLD WOMAN
Blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་།
I heard this folktale from my paternal grandfather (Dkon mchog nyi ma, 1944).
Every time I visited, he told me how important it was to be a monk and shared his
experiences as a layman. When I sat by him one day, he said, "Ban de 'monk,' I
will tell you a story that illustrates why our elders are very important," and then he
started.
L
ong ago, an old woman lived with her son and his bride.
Nearly blind and unable to do much housework, she stayed
in the tent and chanted ma Ni and praises to Tara. She was
a quiet, kind woman, but her son and daughter-in-law weren't kind
to her. The couple ate good food and wore nice clothes but gave the
old woman spoiled food and a tattered robe. She didn't complain
because she was happy her son lived with her.
One day the wife said to her husband, "If we didn't have to
feed your mother, we would have more food for our future
children."
The couple discussed this and decided the son would take
his mother far away and abandon her.
The next morning the son said, "Mother, today is
auspicious! We will go on a pilgrimage to a holy mountain."
The mother was as happy and excited as a child who
received a special gift. The son led his mother to a forest, where they
•80•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
walked for nearly the entire day. When they reached the middle of
the forest, the son said, "Mother, should we rest and have some
food?"
His mother said, "Yes, my dear son."
The son took a piece of bread from his bag and gave it to his
mother, who quietly sat on the ground and began eating.
The son said, "Mother, I'll find a stream and fetch water. Is
that OK?"
His mother said, "Yes, dear son!"
The son put his bag down by his mother and never returned.
The mother sat on the ground, patiently waiting.
Meanwhile, the sun fell behind the mountains, and it grew cold. At
midnight, many strange noises filled the forest. The mother chanted
Tara praises loudly through the night.
The next day, she prepared to leave the forest but didn't
know where to go.
The bag had some rtsam pa and bread, which the mother
ate while sitting under a small tree.
Two days later, the food was finished. No one came to help.
She also didn't expect anyone to come. She was waiting for
something else - death. At last, the poor old mother became so weak
that she couldn't stand or squat, so she put her heavy head on a dry
log, lay down, and murmured scriptures.
On the third day, two men passed through the forest and
noticed the poor mother. By this time, she was too weak to speak.
The two men brought her water and food and stayed with her for a
day. Then, when she grew stronger, one man asked, "Why are you
here like this? Tell us where you are from, and we will escort you to
your home."
The mother said, "It's my fate. I have only one son. I lived
with him and his wife, but when they no longer wanted to care for
me, my son brought me here and abandoned me," as tears flowed
down her pale cheeks and plopped on the ground.
The two men took her with them and cared for her.
One day one of the men said, "Our parents died when we
•81•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
were children. We were orphaned. Would you be our mother? We
need a mother's love."
The mother said, "Of course, my dear sons."
From that day on, the two men called her "Mother," and
they lived together.
One day, the mother asked, "What do you want to do?"
One son answered, "We will do business."
The other said, "First, we will find a place and build a
house," so the three walked day after day until they reached a big
village with a lot of land. The two sons discussed everything with
their mother and listened to her advice.
One day, the sons said, "We need land for a house. What
should we do?"
The mother said, "Oh, my dear sons, don't worry. I have an
idea. Go to the local castle and visit the king with a bunch of wool.
Ask him to give us land. If he asks how much land, show him the
wool and say we need one bunch's worth of land."
The sons went to the castle and asked the king for land.
When he realized they just needed one bunch of wool worth of land,
he gladly granted their request. The two sons returned home and
said, "Mother, we were given land, but it is only one bunch of wool's
worth of land. It is very little land."
The mother said, "Well done, my dear sons, it isn't a small
amount of land. Tomorrow, we will claim the land."
She then spun the wool into a single, very thin strand.
The next morning, they took the wool string and made a
very big circle that enclosed a large tract of land.
They then planned to build a house. When the two sons
prepared to hire some workers, the mother said, "My dear sons,
don't hire workers. Build the house by yourselves."
They were surprised but obeyed and did what their mother
instructed. Some days later, when they were digging the base of the
house wall, they uncovered a big gold brick. They were overjoyed.
The mother said, "Now you can hire workers to build the
house," so they hired some workers, who soon built a wonderful
•82•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
house where the mother and the two sons lived together.
After they offered a piece of gold to the king, delighting him,
the two sons and king became best friends. The sons used the
remaining gold to do business and were very successful.
The poor mother thus had a very happy life with her two sons.
•••
After several years, the two sons became famous businessmen, and
the poor mother lived perfectly with them. Then, one day, the two
sons discussed, "We have become successful and famous because of
our dear mother. What shall we do for her?"
Finally, they decided to celebrate her eightieth birthday. The
celebration lasted three days. During the celebration, the two
famous businessmen invited many bla ma and monks to chant
scriptures for her and invited the king and other leaders. They
invited poor families and gave them bread, rtsam pa, and butter.
The son and his wife, who had abandoned the poor mother, also
attended. The poor families lined up in a long line and prepared to
receive food from the wealthy family.
The businessmen gave food to the families in turn. The
couple was first in line, but the businessmen gave out food starting
at the end of the line. The food ran out before they reached the
couple, so they returned home empty-handed. On the second day,
the couple stood at the end of the line, but the businessmen offered
food beginning at the head of the line. Again, the couple received
nothing because the food had run out before they reached the
couple. The couple left feeling disappointed and angry.
On the third day, the couple didn't get in line but went to
meet the head of the family to complain they had received nothing
during the previous two days. When they reached the head of the
family, they realized that the wealthy family's mother was the
woman they had abandoned years earlier.
The couple was amazed that she was still alive and had
become so wealthy. The couple apologized for abandoning her,
described their poor situation, and said they were childless.
The mother forgave them and secretly put a piece of gold in
•83•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
an undercooked loaf of bread and said, "This bread is to express my
gratefulness for the many years you treated me kindly. I am glad
about that."
The couple was dissatisfied with this offering and started
home again in disappointment.
On the way, the wife angrily insulted the mother, "Your old
mother has become a rich woman! She is so proud of herself. She
treated us scornfully, even though you are her only son. Look at this
bread! Even a dog wouldn't eat it," and tossed the bread on the road.
Later, a beggar found the bread and took it to his home.
When he found the gold inside, he immediately took the bread to
the king and described how he had found it.
The king investigated and learned it was the wealthy
family's bread, so he returned the gold to the family.
When the mother saw the piece of gold and the bread, she
said, "Oh! My poor children!"
•84•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
14: A LAZY MAN BECOMES HARDWORKING34
Tshe ring lha mo ཚ8་རིང་L་མོ།
couple lived in a tent near a beautiful city. The man led a
lazy life and often slept from morning until night. The
woman decided to change his habits, hoping he would
become hardworking and stop being lazy, so one morning, she went
outside and put a big round loaf of bread beside a heap of ash. Then
she returned to the tent and said to her husband, "On this wonderful
day, many birds have come to our ash heap. They are flying around
something."
The man decided that he must get up and see what had
happened. When he went out to the ash heap, he found a large piece
of bread. He thought this was a good sign and said, "I'm going
hunting tomorrow."
The next day his wife gave him some food that she had
A
Tshe ring lha mo. 2001. A Lazy Man Becomes Hardworking in Thomas
et al.:200-204.
34
•85•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
prepared, and then he rode off into a forest on his horse with a gun
and a dog. He soon noticed a fox running into a hole. He stopped his
horse, dismounted, fastened his rifle to the horse's back, and tied
the reins to a rope around the dog's neck.
The hole the fox had run into had two openings. He covered
one opening with his hat and then went to the other opening and
built a fire inside. The smoke from the fire chased the fox out of the
other hole. When the fox came running out of the hole, the man's
hat stuck on its head.
The fox frightened the dog and horse. They ran away, leaving
the man with nothing. The man was very sad as he began walking in
search of his horse and dog, but as time passed, he began laughing.
Finally, he came to a camp and asked people if they had seen
the horse, dog, and fox. He was so sad when he talked about his loss
he began weeping. The people at the camp said, "Today is a
wonderful day, and we are all very well. We don't like you to weep,"
and then they beat him.
Sometime later, he met a crowd of people. He laughingly
asked them the same question he had asked the people at the camp.
A man from the crowd said, "We are lamenting a death. Why are
you laughing?" and beat him.
The man continued walking and came to the king's palace,
found an empty room near the palace, and since night had fallen,
he slept there until the next morning.
When he woke up the next morning, he looked outside and
saw a girl collecting fuel. She was the king's daughter. He saw the
string around her neck break and a precious turquoise bead roll into
a small hole. A short time later, the girl noticed that her turquoise
was missing and became so frantic and worried that she became ill.
The man pretended to be a monk and entered the palace.
Thinking a monk might help his ill daughter, the king said,
"Welcome! If you can find my daughter's valuable turquoise, I'll give
you anything you want."
The "monk" led the king outside and pointed to different
spots on the grassland while murmuring, "No, no, no…" Then,
•86•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
finally, he said, "Yes!" and pointed to where he knew the turquoise
was.
The king dug into a small hole the "monk" pointed to and
found the turquoise. When his daughter heard this a moment later,
she was well again.
The king was delighted, thanked the "monk," and gave him
many gifts. Then the man left, riding a horse the king had given him.
Later, when he returned home, he became hardworking.
15: THE FROG ROBBER35
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰)
any years ago, an old woman who lived by a river had
neither children nor livestock. One of her knees was very
painful, adding to her discomfort. When her knee became
very swollen one day, she warmed it by a fire to ease the pain.
Suddenly, her swollen knee opened up, and a frog leaped out.
M
35
Mgon thar skyid. 2001. The Frog Robber in Thomas et al.:205-208.
•87•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Stunned and angry, the old woman said, "I have no money or
children. I need money and food, not a frog!"
Just as she was about to throw the frog into the fire, it said,
"Dear Mother, I am your son. Keep me, and one day I will help you."
The old woman thought momentarily and decided to let the frog
live.
The frog became a handsome, strong boy many days later,
delighting the old woman.
Years passed, and the boy grew older and stronger. His
name was Zla ba. One day his mother said, "Zla ba, we have no food
and money. We are very poor. You must find some food."
Zla ba knew this was true and decided to rob a rich landlord
who had the most livestock and money in the village. That night Zla
ba waited near the landlord's home until the landlord, his wife, the
guards, and the watchdogs were asleep. Then he tiptoed to the yak
shed, let all the yaks out, killed the watchdogs, and put two big black
pots in their place. Next, he entered the tent where the landlord and
his wife slept. A small turquoise lion was above the landlord's bed.
Zla ba stole it, defecated, put the excrement in the treasure's place,
and put some needles atop it. Next, he put a sheep's stomach under
the landlord's wife's bed.
Two guards were also sleeping in the tent. He put grass in
one guard's hair and a hammer up the other's sleeve. After that, he
went to the door, put some fresh dung at the entrance, and put a
large stone atop the tent door.
Finally, he drove the livestock away while shouting in a very
high, loud voice. The landlord quickly woke up and immediately felt
for his treasure. The needles coated in excrement pricked his
fingers. He angrily and fearfully shouted at his wife, "Wake up!
Wake up! Robbers have come!"
His wife replied, "I delivered a baby last night. I can't get
up."
The landlord shouted to the two guards. The guard with
grass in his hair quickly lit a fire. The grass in his hair caught fire. In
trying to smother the fire, the other guard struck the man's head
•88•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
with the hammer in his sleeve, killing him.
The guard feared the landlord would punish him and ran to
the door. When he stepped on the dung, he started to slip and
grabbed a rope tied from the top of the tent doorframe to a stake in
the ground. This made the stone Zla ba had put on top of the tent
door fall on his head.
Now the second guard was also dead.
The landlord ran out and called his watchdogs. When there
was no answer, he picked up some stones and threw one at a "dog."
There was the sound of clanging metal. He threw another stone at
the other "dog" and heard the same sound. When he went near, he
saw his "dogs" were broken pots.
Zla ba ran home and showed his mother his treasures. She
was happy. Later, they lived a happy life together.
•89•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
16: A CHEST OF STONES36
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས།
P
hun tshogs lived a happy life with his wife, Lha mo, and his
sons Rdo rje, Rin chen, and Karma in a big tent near a river.
Lha mo worked at home collecting yak dung for fuel and
milking. Every morning, Phun tshogs took the livestock to the
mountain. Rdo rje, Rin chen, and Karma did housework and helped
their mother fetch water.
As time passed, Phun tshogs and Lha mo got older, and the
sons left their parents' home individually, each setting up their own
tent.
Now, Phun tshogs and Lha mo's lives were very simple. They
lived in an old tent and only had two sheep because they had given
the other livestock to their sons. They ate simple food.
Phun tshogs was alone after the day Lha mo died. Some days
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms. 2001. A Chest of Stones in Thomas et al.:209213.
36
•90•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
later, his cousin, Mtsho mo, visited his tent and was very sad to see
Phun tshogs had not eaten for days and was old, weak, and thin.
Mtsho mo gave Phun tshogs some hot milk and rtsam pa and said,
"Phun tshogs, you don't need to live like this!"
She left the tent and found two of Phun tshogs' relatives.
They discussed Phun tshogs. That afternoon, Mtsho mo and the two
men returned. Mtsho mo sat beside Phun tshogs and said gently,
"You need someone to care for you. Please come outside the tent."
Phun tshogs picked up his walking stick and went outside.
His three sons were waiting for him. They unhappily said, "One
month he will live with Rdo rje, then with Rin chen, and the
following month with Karma."
Phun tshogs did as he was told. He was treated unkindly by
each of them during his stay at their homes.
Three months later, Mtsho mo visited. After learning about
Phun tshogs' situation, she sadly whispered to Phun tshogs and left.
The next day Phun tshogs got up early and told Rin chen.
"Many years ago, I loaned a lot of money to a man in Lha sa. Now I
have little time to live, so I must get the money," he said, mounted
a horse, and rode away.
Some days later, Phun tshogs returned. His sons smiled and
helped him dismount. Rin chen noticed Phun tshogs holding a chest
and thought it must contain the money. "Father, did you get the
money?" Rin chen asked softly.
Phun tshogs said nothing. He sat on the grassland, and his
three sons sat around him. "I was wrong, Father," Rin chen said
sadly. "I'm sorry. I broke a promise to our mother. She wanted me
to take care of you. I did not keep my promise. I was unkind to you."
Phun tshogs did not feel angry. Instead, he felt sorry for his
son.
Rin chen continued, "Now please come and stay
permanently in my tent. I will be kind to you." ࿏e helped Phun
tshogs stand, and they walked together to Rin chen's tent.
That night Phun tshogs was happy. He ate mutton, drank
milk tea, and talked with his sons all night. His three sons were very
•91•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
kind to him. They were thinking of the locked chest and yearned to
have the money they thought it contained.
When Phun tshogs died, his sons were not sad. Instead, they
took the heavy chest, looked at each other, and smiled. Rin chen
opened the chest. It was full of stones. They took the stones out of
the chest, found no money, stared at their dead father, and shouted
angrily at him. Mtsho mo heard them from her tent and laughed,
knowing what had happened.
17: A STRANGE DREAM37
Gu ru chos skyid U་V་ཆོས་4ིད།
O
ne winter day, a poor orphan boy walked along a stream
and was delighted to come to a place covered with beautiful
yellow flowers and green grass. He sat in excitement to
enjoy the beauty. Suddenly he tumbled into a very deep hole. Not
understanding what was happening, he was terrified. When he
37
Gu ru chos skyid. 2001. A Strange Dream in Thomas et al.:177-180.
•92•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
finally stopped falling, he could not see because it was so dark and
suffocating.
Later, he noticed a light shining in the darkness and rushed
toward it, where a small worm was licking the thing that was
emitting light. He was amazed! Realizing he would die if he did not
do something soon, he imitated the worm and licked the light. "How
strange!" thought the boy, for he suddenly felt much better.
Many days passed, but the boy never felt hungry or like he
was suffocating. Instead, he often licked the light and slept.
He did not know how much time had passed but felt the
earth gradually warm.
One day he saw the small worm becoming bigger and bigger
until it became a dragon. Spring was coming, and the dragon started
to fly out of the hole. The boy clung to the dragon's body, wanting to
leave the dark hole.
When they got outside, he saw many farmers doing
fieldwork. The earth had become green. Then, realizing he had lived
in the hole for one season, he felt homesick, let go of the dragon,
and fell to the earth. He was not hurt, but he was lost. Nothing was
familiar to him.
After some time, he saw a man in a cart coming toward him.
When the man came near, the boy asked for help. The man said
nothing. The boy thought the man could not see him because he was
invisible. To test this, he jumped at the horse's head. The horse
neighed loudly. "What's wrong with you?" the cart driver said.
"He really can't see me," the boy thought happily. "Now I can
go anywhere."
The boy followed the cart for a long time. Finally, the cart
driver stopped at the home of a relative. After finishing a meal, he
continued his journey.
The boy did not follow because the cart driver's relatives
were wealthy. "They can't see me, so I can live and eat here and not
work," he thought. So, for many months, he ate and drank at this
home.
One day two people in the home were quarreling. One said,
•93•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"You ate all the meat, bread, and butter!"
The second person replied, "No! It was you."
They finally invited a monk to their home to find where the
meat, bread, and butter had gone. The monk could see the boy in
the room, took out his prayer beads, and said, "Who are you? Why
did you come here and make them quarrel? Leave quickly!"
A strong wind suddenly swept the boy away. He was back in
his poor home when he opened his eyes.
18: TWO THIEVES38
Tshe ring be dkar ཚ8་རིང་བེ་དཀར།
O
ne evening, two thieves went to steal from a house. After
digging a hole in a wall, one crawled inside, and the other
waited outside. Unknown to the thieves, there were many
mice in the house. The woman of the house saw a mouse crawl into
the house. "Look, one's now crawling into our house," she said to
38
Tshe ring be dkar. 2001. Two Thieves in Thomas et al.:25-27.
•94•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
her husband, frightening the thief, who quickly crawled outside.
He told the other thief, "A woman saw me crawl inside."
The other thief did not believe him and said, "Let's crawl
into the house together."
At the same time, two mice crept into the house. The woman
saw the two mice and shouted to her husband, "Catch them!"
Thinking the woman had seen them, the frightened thieves
fled.
19: A CLEVER ARTIST39
Dkon me དཀོན་མེ།
K
ing Tiger Lion had a lot of money and gold, and many
servants. But unfortunately, his right leg was twisted, and
he was blind in his left eye. One morning when he was
hunting, he saw an artist painting by a river. The king saw that the
picture he was painting was very nice. So he asked the artist to paint
a picture of him, and the artist agreed.
The finished painting showed the king without a twisted leg,
39
Dkon me. 2001. A Clever Artist in Thomas et al.:37-39.
•95•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and his left eye was not blind. The king looked at the painting,
became enraged, killed the artist, and called for another artist. This
famous painter painted the king with a twisted leg and a blind left
eye. When the king saw this painting, he again angrily killed the
painter.
The next day he called for another artist named Rdo rje, who
was not famous but very clever. In his painting, the king was very
handsome. His right leg was on a rock, bracing a gun, and his left
eye was closed as though he were shooting a tiger.
The king was delighted with this painting and gave Rdo rje
a lot of money and gold.
•96•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
20: THE DONKEY-TIGER40
Ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས།
M
any years ago, a villager had a donkey. The villager took his
donkey to a mountain to let it graze. He thought that if he
could fatten the donkey, he could sell it and make a lot of
money.
One day, as he took his donkey to the mountain, he saw a
tiger. At first, he thought it was sleeping and felt very afraid.
However, after the tiger did not move for a long time, he realized it
was dead. So he thought, "If I can take this tiger's skin and put it on
my donkey, people will think it is a tiger. Then it can eat as much
grain as it likes because no one will try to stop a tiger."
He took a sharp knife from a sheath at his waist, skinned the
tiger, and covered the donkey with the skin. Then he drove his
donkey to some nearby fields to let it eat.
Local people thought it was a real tiger and were too afraid
40
Ye shes. 2001. The Donkey-Tiger in Thomas et al.:49-51.
•97•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
to do anything. After some time, however, the donkey ate so much
grain that they vowed to take action.
After meeting and deciding to kill the tiger, the farmers took
farm tools and approached the tiger, which did not seem bothered
by this. The farmers beat the tiger to death, turned it over, and
discovered it was a donkey.
When the donkey's owner heard about this, he became very
sad. He regretted putting the tiger's skin on his donkey and taking
it to the fields, but it was too late.
21: OILYBALL AND MEATBALL41
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ།
O
ilyball and Meatball were friends. Oilyball was smart and
knew how to cook. Meatball was stupid and could not cook.
Oilyball knew his friend could not cook and said, "Dear
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma. 2001. Oilyball and Meatball in Thomas et al.:5557.
41
•98•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
friend, tomorrow you go to the forest and fetch some firewood. I'll
stay here and cook. However, if you would like to cook, I'll go to the
forest and fetch the firewood."
Meatball replied, "I will go to the forest."
Meatball went to the forest the following day while Oilyball
cooked at home. That evening, Meatball came back carrying a lot of
firewood. Oilyball had supper ready and was waiting for him. They
ate supper together.
Many weeks passed. Every day Meatball fetched firewood. It
was hard work, and he was exhausted. Then, one afternoon,
Meatball returned early, eager to learn how Oilyball cooked. He
secretly watched Oilyball and was surprised to see Oilyball put
himself in the hot pot. A moment later, supper was done. Meatball
thought, "Cooking is easy."
He entered the house as if he had seen nothing and said, "I
won't go to the forest to fetch firewood tomorrow. So you go, and I'll
stay home and cook."
The next day Oilyball went to the forest while Meatball
stayed at home. Meatball put himself into the hot pot when it was
time to cook. He could not move because he was just meat. He was
not oily like Oilyball. When Oilyball returned and saw his friend
dead in the hot pot, he felt sad and alone.
•99•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
22: SPITTING GOLD AND TURQUOISE42
'Ug spu Xག་Y།
L
ocal people depended on a big lake behind a village for food
and water. Everything was fine until goblins came - a turtle
and a frog - and controlled the lake and demanded a yearly
sacrifice of two young men. If the people did not perform this
sacrifice, the goblins would dry up the lake, and the people would
have to find another place to live.
One year the sacrifice was a farmer's and hunter's sons. On
the day of the sacrifice, their families and the townspeople took
them to the lake, left the boys, and sadly returned home.
The two young men hid behind a large rock when the goblins
came out of the lake. The two goblins looked for their sacrifices and
became angry when they did not find them.
The hunter's son threw a rock at the frog, who thought the
turtle had hit him. He yelled at the turtle, and soon the two were
42
'Ug spu. 2001. Spitting Gold and Turquoise in Thomas et al.:58-60.
•100•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
quarreling. At this time, the two young men grabbed the frog and
turtle by their necks. They had heard that you should use a branch
from one of the lake's trees to hit a frog's head until it died, eat it,
and then you would be able to spit gold. They had also heard that if
you used a lake rock to kill a turtle and then ate it, you could spit
turquoise.
The two young men killed the turtle and the frog. After they
died, the goblins quickly shrank. The farmer's son ate the turtle, the
hunter's son ate the frog, and soon they were spitting gold and
turquoise. Finally, they returned home and told their families and
the townspeople the story.
23: THE MIRROR43
Rig grol རིག་Nོལ།
I
43
n a place with no mirrors, people did not know what they
looked like. Bkra shis was a local businessman who lived
with his mother, father, and young wife. One day Bkra shis
Rig grol. 2001. The Mirror in Thomas et al.:68-70.
•101•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
announced to his family that he had decided to travel to other lands
and find extraordinary things to sell. His family supported this idea,
so he left the next day.
Several months later, Bkra shis returned with many things
he had bought during his travels. He told his family about the
journey and said he had found something exceptional. Just as he
was about to describe it, he had to go outside.
His wife went into their bedroom and noticed something
bright on their bedroom table. Looking at it, she realized it was a
picture of a beautiful young woman. She put it back on the table,
began weeping, ran to her mother-in-law, and told her that Bkra
shis had married a beautiful young woman.
The old woman did not believe this, impatiently went to the
bedroom, picked up the bright thing, looked at it, and saw an ugly
old woman. She angrily wondered, "If Bkra shis married again, why
did he marry such an ugly old woman?"
When she told her husband, he went into the bedroom,
picked up the bright thing, looked at it, and saw an old man. Then,
he excitedly reported to his wife and daughter-in-law that the
picture was of the new wife's father-in-law.
When Bkra shis returned, he said, "Now I will show you the
extraordinary thing I found. It is a mirror, and you can see yourself
in it."
When his family members heard this, they all laughed.
•102•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
24: THE KING AND THE PORK44
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས།
servant to the king named Nyi chos bzang bo killed the
king's biggest pig, went to the king, and reported, "Great
King, our biggest pig died. What should we do with the
carcass?"
The king said, "Clean the carcass, go to the market, sell the
meat, and then give me all the money you earn."
Nyi chos bzang bo obediently went to the market and
shouted, "Buy the dead meat of a dead pig!" repeatedly. Nobody
bought the meat, so he finally took the pork and returned it to the
king.
"Forgive me, great King, no one bought the pork," said Nyi
chos bzang bo.
"Well, just boil it, and we'll eat it ourselves," said the king.
A
Tshe dbang bsod nams. 2001. The King and the Pork in Thomas et
al.:71-73.
44
•103•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Great King, do you want soup or meat?" asked Nyi chos
bzang bo.
"Of course, I eat meat. I am a great king. You are servants,
so you should have the soup," the king said.
Nyi chos bzang bo cut a large piece of pork into tiny pieces
and boiled them for a long time until all that remained of the meat
was the skin. Nyi chos bzang bo and the other servants enjoyed the
soup and sent the skin to the king. "Sorry, great King, we boiled the
meat too long. This is all that is left," said Nyi chos bzang bo.
"Well, bring me the soup," said the king.
"Oh, sorry, we drank all the soup," Nyi chos bzang bo said.
The king was at a loss and said nothing.
The next night the king said to Nyi chos bzang bo, "This
time, I will drink the soup. After that, you can eat the meat."
Nyi chos bzang bo boiled another large piece of pork for only
a few minutes. The servants then ate the meat while the king drank
the flavorless soup.
•104•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
25: THE BOY CRIED "WOLF!"45
Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་།
village boy tended a flock of sheep. He loved them and
would do anything to keep his sheep safe. One warm
Spring day, the boy took the sheep to graze in the
mountains. He could not see any other boys or other sheep
anywhere. He was alone, and he did not like it. He put some lambs
by his side and played with them, but soon he became bored. There
was no one to talk to, and he began feeling sad.
Suddenly he had an idea. He stood, looked around, and saw
some farmers busy plowing fields at the foot of the mountain. He
shouted, "Farmers! A wild wolf is coming! It will eat all my sheep!
Please come quickly and save my sheep!"
The surprised farmers stopped working and ran up the hill
with sticks to beat the wolf.
A
Dbang phyug tshe ring. 2001. The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!" in Thomas et
al.:78-81.
45
•105•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
When they arrived, all the sheep were safe. Realizing the boy
had deceived them, the enraged farmers wanted to scold him, but
he was hiding. Unable to find him, they returned to their fields.
At sunset, the boy heard a very strange sound. "I've heard
this sound before," he thought, feeling something was wrong. He
first thought it was a yak, then realized it was a wolf. He watched a
wolf run in and out of his flock of sheep, knocking them to the
ground and killing them with sharp bites to their necks. At first, he
was so frightened to stand, but he finally stood and shouted to the
farmers, begging them for help, but they did not believe him and
ignored him.
Blood from his dead sheep covered the ground, creating
such a horrible sight that the boy never lied again.
•106•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
26: THE SON, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, AND MOTHER46
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰)
A
tent was pitched in a beautiful canyon between two low
mountains surrounded by green trees and red, yellow,
blue, white, and purple flowers. Four people lived in this
tent - Bkra shis and his wife, Lha mo, his son Tshe ring, and his
mother, Sgrol ma. Bkra shis' mother was ninety while his son was
only seven.
Bkra shis herded livestock on the mountains, Lha mo did
housework and milked yaks, and Sgrol ma looked after Tshe ring.
While Sgrol ma was well enough to work, Bkra shis and his
wife were very kind. However, when she became very old and could
no longer work, Bkra shis and his wife became cruel. Bkra shis' wife
did not like to do anything for her mother-in-law, tried to make her
angry, and hoped she would die soon.
Lha mo said to Bkra shis one day, "Mother is very old and
A
Mgon thar skyid. 2001. The Son, Daughter-In-Law, and Mother in
Thomas et al.:85-88.
46
•107•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
can't do anything for us. So let's send her away."
Bkra shis said, "You're right. I agree."
They took a rope, tied Sgrol ma's hands and feet together,
put a piece of cloth in her mouth, put her in a chest, and carried the
chest to a mountaintop. Tshe ring followed. When they reached the
mountaintop, they took Sgrol ma out of the chest and returned
home. Sgrol ma smiled understandingly and said, "Now your life
will be better."
As they walked home, Tshe ring said, "I'm going back to get
the chest."
His parents asked, "Why do you want that old chest?"
Tshe ring answered, "When you become very old, I will use
that chest to do what you just did."
This so frightened his parents that they returned to the
mountaintop, brought Sgrol ma back to their home, and were very
kind to her afterward.
•108•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
27: THE SPECIAL POT47
Anonymous
poor woman lived with her clever son. One day, when a
rich man came to their home, the mother said to her son,
"Please cook enough for our guest to eat," so the son put a
single grain of rice in the pot and prepared to go to the kitchen to
cook it.
The rich man was shocked and said, "You only put one grain
of rice in the pot. That is not enough for me to eat."
The son said, "Don't worry. Just wait."
The rich man said nothing, and the clever son went into the
kitchen to cook. When the rice was cooked, the son came out of the
kitchen with the pot, scooped it out, filled a bowl, and respectfully
placed it in front of the rich man.
Surprised, the rich man asked, "How did you get an entire
bowl of rice from a single grain?"
A
47
Anonymous. 2001. The Special Pot in Thomas et al.:92-94.
•109•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The woman answered, "It's a treasure pot. You will get a
bowlful if you cook one grain of rice in it."
The rich man wanted to buy the pot. At first, the woman
refused, but when the rich man offered her 200 pieces of silver, she
agreed.
After the rich man paid for the pot and took it home, he
found it was very dirty. After he washed it, he put a single grain of
rice inside, covered it, and cooked it for a long time. Only a single
grain of rice was inside when he removed the lid.
Furious, the rich man rushed back to the woman's home and
told her what had happened. The woman's son asked, "Did you
clean it?"
The rich man answered, "Yes. It was dirty."
The woman's son answered, "This pot can't be cleaned. Once
you clean it, it becomes like any other pot."
The rich man said nothing and sadly returned home.
•110•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
28: THREE GIRLS48
Lha ri mtsho mo L་རི་མཚ>་མོ།
T
wo beautiful princesses and their servant went to a river to
play. The oldest daughter brought her gold bowl, the
youngest daughter brought her silver bowl, and the servant
brought her wood bowl.
The wicked servant wanted the two princesses to die. She
thought that, after they died, the king would make her a princess.
"Let's put our bowls in the river and see whose bowl will
float," she suggested.
The two daughters agreed. The gold and silver bowls sank as
soon as they were in the water while the wood bowl floated. The
king's daughters had lost their beautiful bowls and were sad and
afraid. The servant said, "Oh, no! You have lost your beautiful bowls.
Your father will be very angry."
When the oldest daughter heard this, she jumped into the
48
Lha ri mtsho mo. 2001. Three Girls in Thomas et al.:98-100.
•111•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
river to find her bowl. Her younger sister, wanting to help, jumped
in after her.
Neither could swim, so they both drowned.
The servant picked up her wood bowl from the river surface.
Delighted her plan had worked, she now hoped that the king would
forget his two daughters and adopt her.
She returned to the king and sadly reported, "Dear King, I
am so sorry. Your beautiful daughters just drowned in the river."
The king ordered his guards to go to the river and look for
his daughters. They found the silver and gold bowls at the river's
bottom but did not find the two girls. When the king learned this,
he realized that the servant must have tricked his daughters and
angrily said, "You did not take care of my daughters!" and ordered
his guards to imprison the servant.
•112•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
29: A BAD FRIEND49
Mkha' skyod sgrol ma མཁའ་4ོད་,ོལ་མ།
O
ne summer night, Phun tshogs and Rin chen decided to rob
the king's palace. First, they made a hole in the palace roof.
Then, Rin chen said, "I will wait for you here. You enter the
palace, put treasures in this box, tug the rope, I will pull the box up,
and then I'll pull you up."
Phun tshogs believed Rin chen. After Rin chen lowered him
into the palace, Phun tshogs stole some treasures, put them in the
box, and tugged the rope. Rin chen pulled up the box and rode away.
As Rin chen was leaving, he shouted, "There's a thief in the palace!"
Phun tshogs was thus left in the palace and could not get out.
The king's servants caught and punished him. Phun tshogs did not
forget and wanted revenge.
One day he found Rin chen and said, "The king has
49
Mkha' skyod sgrol ma. 2001. A Bad Friend in Thomas et al.:101-104.
•113•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
wonderful jewelry in the palace. Let's steal it."
Greedy Rin chen said, "OK, but I have one condition. I will
wait on the roof while you go into the house."
Phun tshogs agreed.
Upon reaching the palace, Rin chen lowered Phun tshogs
inside. Phun tshogs waited a few minutes, got into the box, and
tugged the rope.
Rin chen was delighted that the box was heavy, thinking it
must have a lot of jewelry inside. Phun tshogs was happy and
comfortable inside the box, but it was a long way to Rin chen's
home, and he had to pee, so he urinated inside the box.
Rin chen noticed liquid running out of the box and thought,
"This jewelry is wonderful! It melts in the night air!"
He put his finger in the liquid, licked it, and said, "Tasty!"
When he finally reached home, he said to his wife, "I'm sure
Phun tshogs is in prison waiting for death. So now I am the richest
man in the world."
He opened the box and got a huge surprise.
•114•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
30: THE TIMID THIEF50
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>།
poor old woman lived alone in a small tent in a remote
place. She had no money and no children. The only thing
of value that she owned was a sheep. Afraid she would lose
the sheep, the old woman thought, "I would be happy to learn a
scripture that would protect me from thieves."
One day a man pretending to be a monk went to the old
lady's home. The old lady was very glad because she seldom had
visitors and thought, "The gods have taken pity on me and sent this
monk to teach me a scripture that will protect my sheep from
thieves."
Hence, she asked the monk to teach her a prayer to protect
her sheep from thieves. He thought, "If I say I don't know such a
prayer, she will know I'm not a monk and won't give me lunch."
At that moment, the "monk" looked out of the tent. He saw a
A
50
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho. 2001. The Timid Thief in Thomas et al.:104-107.
•115•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
rabbit hopping through the weeds, so he said, "You must say, 'You
are coming by secret steps. You are straining your ears to listen. You
are creeping on the ground. You are running away.'"
As the old woman happily repeated these words, the "monk"
left after finishing his lunch.
As the old woman sat in her tent chanting her newly learned
prayer one afternoon, a thief hiding in the weeds outside was
planning to steal the woman's sheep. As he tiptoed towards the tent,
the old lady murmured, "You are coming by secret steps."
The thief stopped and listened intently to the old lady, who
said, "You are straining your ears to hear."
The thief was now very afraid, thinking that the old lady had
seen him, so he began crawling away and heard, "You are crawling."
These words so frightened him that he raced away. At the
same time, he heard the woman say, "You are running away."
The thief ran as fast as he could, thinking the old lady must
be a deity or a devil. From that moment on, he never stole again.
•116•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
31: THE MONK AND THE BUTCHER51
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས།
kra shis and Tshe ring were brothers. Bkra shis was a monk
and lived in a monastery, while Tshe ring was a butcher
and lived in Sgo dmar. Tshe ring had been a butcher for a
long time. When winter came, those who wanted to have yak or
sheep meat paid him ten to fifteen yuan to kill an animal. Tshe ring
used the money to buy food and other things for himself and Bkra
shis.
One day, Tshe ring passed by a tent where an old woman
and a young man lived. They asked Tshe ring to kill a sheep. Tshe
ring looked at the sheep. It was so thin its bones were poking
through the skin. Tshe ring said, "I don't want to kill this sheep
because it is as thin as a fox."
The woman angrily said, "It's your job. Do as I tell you!"
B
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms. 2001. The Monk and the Butcher in Thomas et
al.:112-114.
51
•117•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Tshe ring did not want to quarrel, so he gathered grass and
put it in front of the sheep. He also brought some water for the
sheep, but the sheep would not eat or drink.
Tshe ring took out his knife and sharpened it on a stone. He
suddenly thought of something and entered the tent, leaving his
knife near the stone. When he came back, the knife was gone. The
sheep had hidden it. Tshe ring looked for it and finally found it.
He realized the sheep's feelings were like a human's and
hated himself for killing animals for money. Knowing this was
wrong, he untied the sheep and chased it up a nearby mountain.
Feeling so unhappy about all the animals he had killed, he decided
to kill himself and threw himself off a ledge. Rather than falling to
the bottom, however, he found himself flying. He had become a
deity.
When Bkra shis heard this, he angrily thought, "Tshe ring
killed animals for money, but he became a deity. If I throw myself
off a mountaintop, I will become a better deity than he."
Later, he jumped off a mountain and fell to his death.
•118•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
32: A BEAUTIFUL SHINING STAR52
Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་།
T
she ring lived with his parents until one terrible year when
all of his family's crops withered and died. When no food
remained in his home, Tshe ring left to find a job to support
his parents. After he had walked for a while, he met an old man
carrying a heavy wicker basket on his back. Tshe ring ran up and
said, "You don't have enough strength to carry this heavy wicker
basket. Let me help you."
The old man gave him the basket and said, "You are so
kind!"
As they were walking along, the sky suddenly grew dark. A
roaring dragon suddenly flew overhead. Tshe ring was brave, but he
was terribly afraid of dragons. He cried out in fear, dropped to the
ground, and covered his head with his hands.
"Boy, the dragon is an ordinary animal. Why are you so
Dbang phyug tshe ring. 2001. A Beautiful Shining Star in Thomas et
al.:181-184.
52
•119•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
afraid of it?" asked the old man.
"You don't fear dragons until you see them," said Tshe ring.
"Well, we can go together to see the dragons. You will then
see that I don't fear them," the old man replied.
The truth was that the old man was a magician. He said
some magic words, and suddenly he and Tshe ring flew above the
clouds like birds. Tshe ring saw beautiful snowy mountains in front
and blue oceans behind him. When he looked up, many stars were
hanging in the sky. He stretched out his hand, picked a beautiful
star, looked at it, and put it in his pocket.
He saw two dragons leading a horse loaded with a huge
bucket of water. When the dragons' tails clashed together, they
made a loud sound. Tshe ring realized that this was the origin of
thunder. Three god boys took water out of the bucket and irrigated
the clouds.
When the god boys saw Tshe ring, they called, "Oh, boy!
Come help us put water on the ground."
Tshe ring was pleased to help. He took a big ladle, poured
water on the fields, and poured extra water on his father's fields.
The three god boys thanked him for his help and helped him return
home. They tied Tshe ring with a rope to the dragon's tail and
lowered him slowly to the ground.
Tshe ring was happy to be home again. He was also
delighted because it was raining. His parents were overjoyed to see
him home safe and sound.
Tshe ring went inside the home, took the beautiful star from
his pocket, and put it on a table where it lit up the room.
After many days, everybody in the village knew that Tshe
ring had picked a beautiful shining star from the sky. Finally, the
news reached the king, who was so envious that he gave him a lot of
money, making Tshe ring the richest man in that place. He built a
lovely house for his parents and himself and gave a lot of money to
poor people.
•120•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
33: THE SUN'S REPLY53
Snying dkar rgyal \ིང་དཀར་?ལ།
n old widower lived in a cottage in a beautiful forest with
Zla ba, his grandson, the old man's only living relative. Zla
ba was young and innocent. The man was very old and
could not do any work. Zla ba looked after his grandfather and did
the housework, collected fuel from the forest, and fetched water.
When Zla ba's grandfather became seriously ill, Zla ba cared
for him day and night. The old man slowly improved. Spring was
coming, and the old man was nearly well. He could now stand for a
few minutes. Zla ba was happy that his grandfather was recovering.
The old man had been ill in bed for a long time. Now that he
was better, he wanted to sit in the sun. Zla ba took his grandfather
outside and helped him sit in a chair. The old man said, "I'm thirsty.
I want to drink some water."
"I'll bring you some water immediately," said Zla ba,
A
53
Snying dkar rgyal. 2001. The Sun's Reply in Thomas et al.:218-222.
•121•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
entering the cottage. The old man now felt tired and fainted because
of the heat from the sun.
Zla ba returned, saw that his grandfather was unconscious,
thought he had died of sunstroke, and shouted, "What kind of sun
are you to take Grandfather's life? I will search for your mother and
ask for justice."
The brave boy took a sack of wheat for food and walked
westward, looking for the sun.
On the way, he met a herdsman who asked, "Boy, where are
you going?"
"I'm going to look for the sun's mother," replied Zla ba.
The herdsman said, "Oh! People say the sun's mother is very
kind. When you meet her, please ask her what I should do when the
sheep's wool has grown so long that the sheep can no longer walk."
"I will," said Zla ba.
"People also say that the sun's home is far away. Will you
ever get there?" asked the herdsman.
"I can," said Zla ba. "I'll get there even if it takes me a
hundred years."
Zla ba next met a sheep who said, "Brave boy, let me help
you. Hold onto my horns, and I'll take you to the sun's mother."
Zla ba was surprised to hear this. He sat on the sheep's back
and held its horns as the sheep leaped into the sky and flew
westward. After a long time, they reached a beach and saw a
beautiful castle. "This is what you have been looking for. Now,
please go in. I'll wait for you," said the sheep.
Zla ba knocked at the door. An old woman opened the door
and surprisedly said, "Boy, how did you get here?"
"Are you the sun's mother?" asked Zla ba.
"Yes, can I help you?" replied the old woman who brought
him into the palace.
Zla ba told her what had happened. The old woman gave him
plenty of delicious food and said, "Don't worry, good child. When
my son returns, he will find a way to rescue your grandfather. Do
you have anything else to ask me?"
•122•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Yes," replied Zla ba and told her what the herdsman had
said.
Just then, the sun came in. The old woman told her son what
the herdsman had said. The sun said, "The herdsman should cut the
sheep's wool twice a year. The sheep won't be too hot, and the
herdsman can spin the wool for clothing and make carpets."
The old woman next told her son about Zla ba's grandfather.
The sun said, "He's not dead. He only fainted because of the heat.
Flick cold water on his face, and he'll be fine."
Zla ba thanked them and left the castle. On the way home,
he told the herdsman what the sun had said. When he got home, he
did as the sun said, and his grandfather luckily recovered. The
grandfather and his grandson then spent a happy life together.
34: A CLEVER BOY54
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal =ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ།
I heard this story from my maternal grandmother (Mgon po mtsho, b. 1939). My
siblings, cousins, and I call her A ma che che 'Older Mother'. She told me this story
when I was about ten years old. When we had finished dinner, my siblings and I
slept side by side near an adobe stove inside an enormous black yak-hair tent. I
slept in Father's sheep-skin robe shared with my younger brother. We lay next to
Grandmother on a wooden platform on the ground. My sisters, wrapped in their
robes, slept on carpets side by side. At that time, we could not easily sleep without
Grandmother's stories.
L
ong ago, thick mountain forests surrounded a beautiful
place. Nearby, colorful flowers blossomed on an endless
grassland as pure streams gushed in the valleys. Countless
twittering birds provided nature's music. A community led a very
difficult life amid this natural beauty. A boy who lived alone there
was the poorest in this community. However, he was wise and
honest, so locals called him Clever.
The wealthy local king was also called Clever. He was very
Phun tshogs dbang rgyal. 2017. A Clever Boy in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:109-112.
54
•123•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
selfish, only caring about his benefit. When he heard that another
man was also called Clever, he felt uncomfortable and commanded
his servants to bring this other Clever to his palace.
When Poor Clever arrived, the king said, "Your name is
Clever?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, the people of my community often call
me Clever," the poor man said.
"I want to compete to see if you are cleverer than me. If you
are, I promise this name will belong to you forever and give you half
of the jewels of my kingdom. I will kill you if you lose," the king said
arrogantly.
The poor man was terrified and hesitated. He lacked the
courage to challenge the king and could only agree with his
command.
The king said, "This treasure around my neck is my life
amulet. If you can steal it in three days, I will admit that you are
truly clever, and I will give you what I promised. You only have three
days."
The poor man returned home and pondered. Meanwhile,
the king ordered his underlings to guard him. His mounted soldiers
watched the palace gate, and some female servants stayed by the
king all day and night. They were all very concerned about Poor
Clever's plans.
The first night, they were all very cautious, but nothing
happened. The second night all the king's guards were more careful
than the first night, but the poor man did nothing.
Poor Clever intended to steal the king's treasure on the third
night when the king's protectors were exhausted and less vigilant.
On the third night, Poor Clever dressed as a woman bringing
liquor to the king's palace. When the king's guards confronted him,
he offered some liquor, and they were soon drunk. He then carried
the guards to the top of the wall, where they slept drunkenly.
Next, Poor Clever went inside the king's castle, found the
king's exhausted sleepy servants sitting back to back, and carefully
took the king's amulet from around his neck.
•124•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Next, he put a sheep's stomach near the top of the king's
head and tied the now-dozing female servants' hair together. Once
this was done, he ran out of the castle, screaming, "I stole it!"
The king woke up, discovered that his amulet was gone, and
touched his head, which he felt had become very soft and bald
because he was touching the sheep stomach. Then, he angrily yelled
nervously, "He stole the treasure from around my neck! Catch that
rascal!"
The soldiers woke up in a daze from their drunken sleep and
imagined they were on their horses and flourished their whips, but
realized where they were when the castle walls they were astride did
not move.
The female servants screeched and scolded each other,
"Don't pull my hair!"
Poor Clever visited the king the following day and said,
"Your Majesty, I won. Please keep your promise."
The king flew into a rage and commanded his soldiers to
catch and kill the poor man.
When Poor Clever heard this, he threw the king's life amulet
on the floor with all his might. It broke, and thus the king died.
Later, Poor Clever became king, gave money and property
to the poorest families, and they all led happy, secure lives.
35: A CLEVER MAN55
Tshe lha ཚ8་L།
O
ne day, a king asked one of his servants, "What is your
name?"
"My honorable king, my name is Clever," the servant
replied.
"What? My name is Clever. How is it possible that you could
have the same name?" the king shouted in surprise.
The servant said, "My honorable king, there is no reason my
Tshe lha. 2017. A Clever Man in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:113-114.
55
•125•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
name is Clever."
The king replied, "You can't be named Clever without a
reason."
The servant asked, "Why should l have a reason for my
name?"
"Fine, if you are really clever, let's see if you can steal this
jewel from around my neck. If you can steal it from me in seven
days, I'll allow you to keep your name and give you half of my
property."
The jewel was the king's soul, and he was safe only if the
jewel was safe. If it broke, the king would die.
The king worked hard to protect himself. He ordered many
of his servants, including women, to guard his house, both inside
and outside, and told his horsemen to guard his palace. Everyone
waited for Clever to try and steal the jewel.
Six days passed, and nothing happened. The guards were
exhausted and sleepy. Finally, on the last day, Clever wore a
woman's robe, carried a bucket of liquor, and walked to the palace.
Nobody recognized him. A horseman asked, "What are you doing
here?''
Clever replied, "I'm here to offer you some liquor."
The horseman inquired, "Have you seen Clever recently?"
Clever said, "No, I haven't seen him for a long time."
The horseman nodded and said, "OK, we will have some
liquor."
The horsemen and the other servants were dead drunk and
sprawled on the ground as time passed. Clever tied the women
servants' hair together, set the end of their hair on fire, put a stone
in each servant's sleeves, went to the king's bedroom, and stole the
jewel from where it hung around the king's neck.
The king soon woke up, discovered his jewel was gone, and
shouted, awakening the women servants. Realizing their hair was
burning, they swatted at the fire with their sleeves. Then, not
understanding that there were stones in their sleeves, they beat
each other to death. The horsemen had drunk a great deal and
•126•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
remained unconscious.
The next day, Clever went to the king's palace and asked the
king to keep his promise. Instead, the king said, "You took my jewel,
so I will punish you."
Clever was enraged that the king would not keep his promise
and broke the jewel. The king died, and Clever became the new king.
36: GOLD GIRL, SILVER GIRL, AND WOOD GIRL56
Ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>།
L
ong ago, a king had two daughters and a servant. His oldest
daughter was Gold Girl, his youngest daughter was Silver
Girl, and the servant was called Wood Girl. Gold Girl had a
gold bowl, Silver Girl had a silver bowl, and the servant had a
wooden bowl.
One day the three young women went to the riverside to
Ye shes mtsho. 2001. Gold Girl, Silver Girl, and Wood Girl in Thomas
et al.:223-227.
56
•127•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
play. Wood Girl had an evil heart and said to Gold Girl and Silver
Girl, "Let's put our bowls in the river and see whose bowl floats."
Gold Girl put her bowl in the river, and then Silver Girl put
hers in. Finally, Wood Girl did the same. Gold Girl's and Silver Girl's
bowls sank to the river bottom. Only Wood Girl's bowl floated. Gold
Girl was very afraid, knowing her father would be furious if she lost
her bowl, so she jumped into the river to find it.
Silver Girl was sad and afraid to return home without the
bowls and her sister when she saw this. She told Wood Girl to go
back to the palace and bring food. From that moment on, Silver Girl
and Wood Girl became beggars.
After many days of travel, they came to a country where the
king had called all the young unmarried women of the country to
his palace because he was about to choose a new wife. The next
morning, he would wrap a flower in a cloth, throw it among the
women, and marry the woman who caught it.
Silver Girl and Wood Girl stood among the women when the
king threw the flower. Silver Girl caught the flower, but Wood Girl
snatched it out of her hands, so the king married Wood Girl. The
new queen made Silver Girl her herdswoman. Every day Silver Girl
took the livestock out to the grassland to graze. It was a hard life,
and she did not have enough food to eat.
One day while herding, she came to the river where her
sister had drowned. Feeling cold, hungry, and sad, she screamed her
sister's name. To her surprise, Gold Girl rose out of the water, gave
Silver Girl some food, and said, "After I jumped in the river, River
King rescued and married me. If you can't eat all of the food, don't
take it back with you. Hide it somewhere," and then she sank back
into the river.
Silver Girl could not eat all the food. Forgetting to hide it,
she took home what she had not eaten. When Wood Girl saw the
food, she angrily demanded, "Who gave you this food?"
Silver Girl honestly told her she had seen Gold Girl in the
river and had given her the food.
Wood Girl said, "Tomorrow, I will herd the livestock. You
•128•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
cut the king's hair."
The next day Wood Girl took a hatchet with her when she
went to herd, intending to kill Gold Girl. A tear fell on the king's
neck when Silver Girl cut the king's hair. The king asked, "Why are
you crying?"
Silver Girl said, "Wood Girl went to the river to kill my
sister," and told him how she had caught the flower, how Wood Girl
had snatched it away from her, and how she did not have enough
food to eat.
The king was angry and sorry for all that had happened to
Silver Girl. So he and Silver Girl decided to kill Wood Girl. They dug
a deep hole, made a fire in the bottom, covered the hole with cloth,
and put food nearby.
Wood Girl was in a bad mood when she returned because
she had not killed Gold Girl. She plopped down on the cloth, fell into
the hole, and burned to death.
Later, Silver Girl married the king. They lived a very happy
life together.
•129•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
37: THE CRUEL KING AND THE FARMER57
'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>།
poor man lived by farming his own fields and working for
other people. Even though he worked very hard, he was
still poor because he had to give the king half his wheat
harvest and cash for uncultivated fields.
One year, the weather was so bad that he had no harvest, but
he was still obligated to pay taxes. When he told the king that he had
nothing to give, the king replied, "If you can't pay your taxes, you
must leave this village."
A few days later, the angry King sealed the door of the
farmer's house. With nowhere to live, the poor farmer was left with
nothing. As he walked, thirsty and hungry, through a desolate land,
he noticed a single tall tree and saw a horse's head under the tree
with a piece of flesh attached as he walked through flat, empty land.
A
'Gyur med rgya mtsho. 2001. The Cruel King and the Peasant in
Thomas et al.:228-234.
57
•130•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
He climbed the tree, sat on a branch, and ate the flesh.
As thunder boomed from gray clouds at dusk, mounted men
wearing black hats rode toward the tree, crowded under it, and
whispered. "They must be ghosts. Who, except ghosts, would come
out in the dark?" thought the poor farmer.
The horse's skull suddenly dropped to the ground
frightening the men, who galloped off.
The poor man climbed down the next morning and saw a
gold cup full of wine under the tree. He drank the wine. Suddenly,
rtsam pa and meat appeared. "How lucky I am!" he thought.
After eating, he continued walking and met a man with a
stick. After telling each other their histories, the farmer realized that
the man with the stick was as poor as he was. "Shall we sleep during
the day and walk during the night?" asked the farmer. "I'm afraid of
thieves," said the farmer.
"Don't worry," said the other man. "We can use my stick.
When I throw my stick at someone, they will surely die. But now,
let's find something to eat."
After the farmer gave the man food from the magic cup, they
became friends and traveled together.
Some days later, they met a farmer holding a hammer.
"What are you doing with that hammer?" they asked.
"If you hit the ground with this hammer, a building will rise,
but the hammer does not give me food. That's what I'm looking for
now," the man answered.
The farmer and the man with a stick realized he was as poor
as they were, gave him some food from the magic cup, made friends,
and then traveled together.
Some days later, they met an old farmer carrying a skin and
asked him, "What are you doing with that skin?"
The old farmer said, "A mighty wind blows, or it rains when
I shake this. But the skin does not give me food. So that's what I'm
looking for now."
The other three men realized he was as poor as they were,
gave him some food from the magic cup, and made friends with
•131•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
him. They discussed how to rebel against the greedy, cruel king as
they traveled together. When night came, they were near the king's
palace. The man with the hammer banged on the ground several
times, and a beautiful palace soon appeared.
The following day at sunrise, the king and his servants saw
the beautiful palace. The king angrily ordered his soldiers to burn it
down. His servants put gasoline all around the palace and lit it. The
farmer stood on the palace roof as the gas burned and shook the
skin. A strong wind immediately put the fire out.
The king shouted, "Do whatever is necessary to destroy that
palace!"
The farmer shook the skin again, and it began to rain hard.
Most of the king's soldiers died from the storm. At last, the farmers
lived happy lives.
•132•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
38: A CRUEL QUEEN58
Chos mo byams ཆོས་མོ་Dམས།
O
ne beautiful night, all the animals sang Spring songs as
leaves and flowers grew fast and green. A bright
Spring moon shone on the mountains and lakes. It seemed
like a million stars were shining. On this night, the queen had a baby
boy, delighting everyone.
Some years later, the queen became very ill. As she died, she
told the king, "Please don't look down into a forest if you go to a
mountaintop. It will only bring you sadness."
Her voice became quieter and quieter, and then she died.
The king sadly wondered why his wife had said this to him. Despite
his wife's warning, he went to a mountaintop a few days later,
looked into the forest, and saw a beautiful woman. She was a devil,
but the king thought she was a goddess. He was so fascinated that
he married her. She became his queen and gave birth to a son.
58
Chos mo byams. 2001. A Cruel Queen in Thomas et al.:235-240.
•133•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Some years later, the queen pretended to be ill. The king
loved his beautiful wife very much and worriedly asked, "What can
I do to help you get well?"
She slyly said nothing because she knew the king loved her
so much that he would do anything for her. Finally, she said, "If I
eat one thing, I will be well again."
The king quickly asked, "What?"
"Your oldest son's heart," replied the queen.
The king loved his wife so much that he decided to kill his
son, and the next day, he took him to a lake, intending to drown
him. By the bank, they saw a mother goose swimming with her
goslings. The king said to his son, "Kill these geese!"
His son replied, "No, they are very happy. If Mother were
still alive, we would be as happy as they are."
When the king heard this, he could not kill his son. Instead,
he killed a dog and gave his wife its heart.
She happily ate the heart and said, "Now, I am well."
The next day when she saw the boy playing in the garden,
she angrily pretended to be ill again and said to the king, "The heart
you gave me was not the boy's. I am very sick again. Please quickly
give me the boy's heart, or I will die."
The king ordered one of his servants to kill the boy and cut
out his heart, but the servant could not kill the boy. Instead, he
killed a cat and gave its heart to the cruel queen, who ate it and said
she was well.
A few days later, she saw the boy and, pretending to be ill
once more, said, "I will kill the boy myself."
Her son overheard what she said, told his half-brother what
she planned to do, so the brothers decided to run away together.
After many hours they were starving and thirsty, and the
younger brother was ill. The older brother searched for water and
found some in a horse's hoofprint. He soaked his shirt in the water
and took it to the younger boy. The younger boy drank the water
and was then strong enough to walk.
They continued walking for many hours, and the younger
•134•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
brother became ill again. The older brother put him under a tree. He
knew water would drip into his brother's mouth from the leaves
when it rained. He then left, searching for help from a monk he
thought lived nearby, but it took him many days to find him.
When he found the monk, he told him about his troubles.
The monk gave him a drug and told him to return to his brother.
When he did find his brother, he was shocked to see that his brother
had become wild like an animal, hunting with other animals. They
had not seen each other for so long that his younger brother did not
recognize him. But, after the older brother gave his younger brother
the drug, he remembered him.
They decided to return to their home. When they returned,
they found that their father was in prison and learned that the
queen had planned to kill him. So their father said, "Flee or the
queen will kill you."
Instead of fleeing, they devised a plan and gave her some of
the monk's drug, killing her. After freeing their father from prison,
they lived a happy life together.
•135•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
39: THE STORY OF RDO KHANG59
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས།
R
do khang is a beautiful, wonderful place for herders and
their horses. Yaks and sheep there are strong and fat. Many
wild animals also live there, including rare ones. Bkra shis
made this beautiful place very bad. All the people who lived in Rdo
khang hated him. After a bear killed Bkra shis' son, Bkra shis hated
every kind of wild animal, bought guns, and hired hunters to hunt
and kill wildlife in Rdo khang.
I was one of his servants. I tended to more than one hundred
yaks. The only thing that was difficult about this job was worrying
about the danger from wild animals in the mountains. One day I got
up early as usual. My mother had just fetched water and then
entered our tent. She was also one of Bkra shis' servants. My mother
gave me a bag of rtsam pa with some butter on the bottom and a
Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms. 2001. The Story of Rdo Khang in Thomas et
al.:241-246.
59
•136•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
bottle of milk tea. Then, when no one was looking, she slipped
something into my jacket and said, "Come back early! Don't come
too late for supper!"
I replied, "Yes, Mother," and left, driving the yaks with my
dog up into the mountains to graze. On this foggy summer morning,
birds were chirping, and the grass was wet. The sun lazily shone
through the fog, and a rainbow curved in the sky.
Later I drove the yaks to a stream to drink and play. I turned
and saw my dog giving me a look of hunger. I took my bag and tea
from a large bag on my dog's back. As we were eating, I remembered
Mother had given me something. I took it out of my jacket. It was a
bone with meat. I realized that the servants often brought meat to
Bkra shis, and I understood that Mother had stolen this meat at
great danger to herself. I felt sad about poor Mother. Terrible things
happened when anyone was discovered stealing from Bkra shis'
home. So I beseeched Buddha to protect Mother.
Late that afternoon, when I looked up, the weather had
become cloudy, and soon it began raining. I saw the yaks running
up the mountain. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't. My dog ran
after them. Thunder boomed, and I felt a little afraid.
I ran after the yaks, but they had already run over the top
when I reached the mountaintop. Rain fell harder and harder. With
no energy to pursue the yaks, I searched for somewhere to shelter
from the rain and found a stone-lined hole. I went inside. It was very
dark, and I couldn't see anything. It was frightening but better than
staying outside in the rain.
I leaned against a stone and slept. When I woke, I saw a large
rock nearly covering the hole. I tried to push it away. Suddenly I
heard something moving about above the hole. It sounded like an
animal. It was digging in the earth over my head. I couldn't get out.
I was a prisoner.
"This animal will kill and eat me," I thought in terror,
moving deeper into the hole. Then, I felt something dry and brittle.
It was the head of a skeleton! Now I knew where Bkra shis' son's
skeleton was. I was panting, and my heart was pounding.
•137•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
I refused to wait to be killed. I resolved to fight! I removed
my wet robe and tied the sleeves together, making a crude, thick
rope. I pulled out my knife. The animal continued to dig with its
paws. Dirt fell on me. It was getting nearer. Suddenly space opened
between the animal and me. It was a black bear!
When its foot came through the hole, I caught it with my
rope and hacked at it with my knife. The bear bled profusely, roared
with pain, and jumped back. I held half its foot in my hand.
The bear could still run. I heard it roar as it ran away. I
waited for a long time until I heard no sound. I put my robe back on
and put the bloody part of the foot in my robe pouch. I began digging
with my knife.
Soon I had a hole big enough to climb through. It was dark.
I quickly went down the mountain. I saw the yaks in the distance
and drove them toward home. When I arrived, I told Mother
everything. A small smile passed across her face. "Thank Buddha,
nothing happened to you," she said.
Mother told Bkra shis what had happened. He didn't believe
me at first, but he was surprised and excited when I took out the
bloody piece of the bear's foot. He called six big strong men who
worked for him and said. "Tomorrow morning, we will go to the
mountain with Tshe ring to look for the injured bear."
We talked until morning. After breakfast, we went to the
mountain. Each man had a gun. We found the hole. Much blood was
around it. We followed the blood trail left by the bear. Finally, we
came to a large rock and saw the bear behind the rock. It was dead.
We sang as we carried the dead bear back to Bkra shis' camp.
Everyone was happy to see us return. They were glad we had killed
such an evil animal.
Bkra shis called me two days later and said, "I will leave Rdo
khang. Bring my son's skeleton to my home. I love living here but
have been unkind to everyone who worked for me. I am sorry. Here
is one hundred yuan. I give it to you for all the people here and hope
you can forgive me."
Two days later, the people thanked Bkra shis for his money.
•138•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
We brought some food to him, and he was delighted to see us before
he left. He took our food and rode away on his horse.
From then on, our life became happier. I had my own yaks,
and I took good care of them.
40: TWO BOYS60
Bsod nams skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད།
great king living in Yar klung Village had a son named
Tshe ring. A woman and her son, Nyi ma, lived near the
king's palace. Tshe ring and Nyi ma grew up together.
Every day they played, ate, and slept together like brothers.
When they were older, it was clear Nyi ma was clever, and
Tshe ring was stupid. The king understood this very well, and it
made him very sad. He thought, "Soon I will be old, and clever Nyi
ma will take the kingdom away from my stupid son! So I must send
Nyi ma away."
A
60
Bsod nams skyid. 2001. Two Boys in Thomas et al.:247-252.
•139•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The next day he called Nyi ma's mother to his palace and
said, "Your son can no longer live here. I'll kill him if he is not gone
within five days."
Nyi ma's mother was stunned and wondered why the king
would give such a command. However, she only mumbled, "Yes, as
you wish," and sadly returned to her home.
She told Nyi ma, "The king said you must leave or he will kill
you."
Nyi ma asked in shock, "Why does he want me to leave?"
"I don't know," replied his mother.
"Don't worry, Mother. I will leave. "Many years may pass,
but I will return home," Nyi ma said.
When Tshe ring heard that his father had ordered Nyi ma to
leave, he went to his father and asked, "Why do you want Nyi ma to
leave? If he must leave, I'll go with him."
The king shouted angrily, "You will not! I forbid it!"
Tshe ring was so angry with his father that he left the palace
and decided to stay at Nyi ma's home until Nyi ma left.
The day before Nyi ma was to leave, the king called Nyi ma
to his palace and said, "Don't let my son go with you. If you do, I'll
kill you."
When everyone was sleeping late that night, Nyi ma quietly
woke up and prepared to leave. Tshe ring heard him and said, "Take
me with you. I can't be alone. You are my brother," and began
wailing, so Nyi ma agreed.
The two quietly left and walked for many days in tiredness
and hunger.
One day they noticed many villagers standing on a
riverbank. Some were shouting. Some women were crying.
Nyi ma asked a villager, "What's the matter?"
The villager replied, "Every year, we must feed a fifteenyear-old child to a ghost in this river. If we don't, the river swells
and floods our village. We will die. We don't have a fifteen-year-old
child. This is why we are so sad and afraid."
"Don't worry. Tonight, we will stay here and kill the ghost.
•140•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Now we are tired and hungry. Could we please have some food?"
Nyi ma said.
The villager answered, "Of course, but you must be careful."
After the villagers provided food and drink, they left the
riverbank and returned home. As Nyi ma and Tshe ring ate, Nyi ma
said, "Now that dusk has fallen, you go up the river, and I'll stay
down the river. Catch and eat any ghost you see."
They heard a terrible noise at midnight, and each saw a frog
emerge out of the water. One frog was silver, and one frog was gold.
Nyi ma caught the gold frog and ate it. Tshe ring caught the silver
frog and ate it.
Nyi ma and Tshe ring went to the village the following day
and said to the villagers, "We killed the ghost. So you no longer need
to worry or be afraid."
The villagers thanked the boys and said, "We will give you
whatever you want."
Nyi ma replied, "Thank you, but we must go."
The people then gave them food for their travels, and the
boys resumed their journey.
A bit later, Nyi ma noticed that his saliva turned to gold
when he spat. Tshe ring's saliva turned to silver. They were both
very surprised.
Three days later, they reached another village. The villagers
were all standing in a line on the street. Each villager, in turn, went
up to a huge pot and spat inside. Nyi ma asked a villager, "Why are
you doing this?"
The villager replied, "We don't have a king. Long ago, our
elders said, 'The one who spits gold will be king. The one who spits
silver will be his minister.' Today, we are spitting to see who will
become the king and become the minister. So far, no one has spit
gold or silver. We will continue spitting tomorrow."
The boys decided to return to the village the next day.
The following day, Tshe ring stood at the head of the line.
When he spat, his saliva became gold. The people shouted, "We
have found our king!"
•141•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
When Nyi ma's turn came, he spat, and it turned to silver.
The villagers shouted, "We have found our minister!"
The thrilled villagers celebrated with a big festival. Tshe ring
and Nyi ma thus became the village's king and minister.
Nyi ma returned to his old home and brought his mother to
live with him.
41: THE FOOLISH JUDGE61
'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>།
A
judge's wife wanted her husband to travel all over the
local area to see and learn about ordinary people's lives.
One evening, the judge came home from work and asked
his wife to make dumplings for supper. She said, "It will take a long
time to make dumplings. You are tired now because you worked all
day. Please lie on the bed and rest. When I have prepared supper,
Gyur med rgya mtsho. 2001. The Foolish Judge in Thomas et al.:163167.
61
•142•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
I'll wake you."
The judge agreed and was soon asleep. His wife then put a
sleeping flower near his pillow, ordered some servants to carry her
husband outside into the yard, and shaved off his beard.
When he woke, he saw the sky and realized he was in the
courtyard. He wondered how he had gotten there. He touched his
face and discovered his beard was gone. He was frightened. He
wondered, "Who am I? Am I the judge? I'll knock on the door. If I'm
the judge, they will let me in."
He stood, went to the door, and knocked. "Who are you?" a
servant asked.
"I'm the judge," the judge replied.
"You are a judge from what family? Our judge is sleeping,"
said the servant while closing the door.
The judge angrily pounded on the door until another servant
opened it and said, "You'd better get away from our house, or our
judge will hear you." Carefully looking at the judge's face, he added,
"Everybody knows our judge has a beard!"
The puzzled judge walked around the courtyard and
thought, "Since I'm not the judge, why do I need to stay here?" and
decided to leave and go elsewhere.
After walking for many days, he reached a big city and led a
life of poverty and hunger as the days went by.
After a year, his beard had grown again. When he entered
his courtyard after many days of walking, his feet were so painful
that he fell asleep in the courtyard. Later, a servant entered the
courtyard, saw the sleeping judge, and told the judge's wife. The
judge's wife put a sleeping flower near the judge, ordered some
servants to make dumplings, and called other servants to put the
judge on his bed.
After a while, the judge woke up, looked around, and said,
"I was in the yard. How did I get here?"
His wife said, "You are confused. You just got home and
asked me to prepare some dumplings. Supper is ready. Now, let's
eat."
•143•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"How strange! I feel like I have been away for a year. How
did I get home?" asked the judge.
"You have had a long dream," said his wife.
The judge ate the dumplings and thought about his strange
dream.
42: TWO LAZY MEN62
Tshe dbal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ།
kra shis and Tshe ring were so lazy that they never worked.
Instead, they sat at the bottom of a wall each day, basking
in the sun. They depended on their parents for everything.
Consequently, their parents scolded them. They grew tired of this,
left their homes, and became tramps.
They went without food for a few days during their travels
and became very hungry. One day they sat by a fire and discussed
what to do next. Tshe ring said, "We should go where work is
unnecessary, but there are enough food and beautiful clothes to
B
62
Tshe dbal rgyal. 2001. Two Lazy Men in Thomas et al.:150-154.
•144•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
wear. Sadly, I don't know where there is such a place."
Bkra shis said, "Who knows? I don't think there is such a
happy place in the world, but I heard Paradise is a very happy
place."
Tshe ring smiled and said, "Let's go there. Why must we stay
where we must work and where people ridicule us?"
"That's a good idea, but how can we go to Paradise? How can
we find such a tall ladder?" asked Bkra shis.
"Even without a ladder, we can get there," replied Tshe ring
confidently.
"What are you thinking? Please tell me!" Bkra shis urged.
"Look," said Tshe ring, pointing at a huge eagle flying above
the mountains and valleys. "I saw this kind of bird when I was very
young. If we hold on to this big eagle, it will take us to Paradise."
Bkra shis looked at Tshe ring, stuck up his thumbs in
approval, and said, "What a great idea. Let's do it!"
The following day the two men climbed happily to the
mountaintop and searched for the big eagle's nest. They found it,
hid nearby, and patiently waited for the eagle's return. At dusk,
when the big eagle returned, Bkra shis grabbed the eagle's feet and
shouted to Tshe ring, "Grab my feet!"
The startled eagle flapped up into the blue sky. Tshe ring's
hands soon grew tired, holding Bkra shis' feet, and asked, "Is
Paradise near?"
Bkra shis looked up and replied, "It's not far. I can see a hole
leading to Paradise."
Tshe ring happily inquired, "What size is that hole? Will we
fit through it?"
"This big!" Bkra shis gestured, forgetting what he was
holding. Then they both fell to the ground and became two lumps of
broken flesh.
•145•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
43: THE HORNED KING63
Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། (Gontaijie 贡太杰)
K
ing Glang dar ma did not want anyone to know his terrible
secret - horns sprouted out of his head. He took a person to
a remote place when he needed a haircut. After this person
cut his hair, he killed him.
One day, a boy visited the king, who said, "Tomorrow, please
come and cut my hair."
The boy happily replied, "Of course," went home, and told
his mother what the king had asked him to do.
His mother sadly said, "This is unfortunate," knowing the
king would kill her son.
She mixed butter, roasted barley flour, cheese, sugar, and a
little milk tea the next morning. She gave it to her son and said,
"When you go to the king to cut his hair, eat this rtsam pa. The king
will surely ask you what you are eating. Give him a little. After he
63
Mgon thar skyid. 2001. The Horned King in Thomas et al. 146-149.
•146•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
eats it, tell him it contains your mother's milk, and he won't kill
you."
The boy went to the king and did as his mother had told him.
The king said, "It's very delicious. Do you have more of this delicious
food?"
The boy replied, "Yes, I do," and gave the king more rtsam
pa.
After the king ate, he asked, "What is this rtsam pa made
of?"
The boy said, "Great King, this rtsam pa is made of my
mother's milk, butter, roasted barley flour, sugar, and cheese."
The king replied, "After someone cuts my hair, I usually kill
them because I don't want anyone to know my secret. Nevertheless,
you and I have drunk the same mother's milk. We are like the same
mother's sons, so I will not kill you. Please go home, and don't tell
anyone my secret."
When the boy returned home, his mother was delighted that
he was still alive. However, some days later, he became very ill, and
no medicine helped him.
The mother asked a monk to look at the boy. When the monk
visited, he said, "You have a secret. You must go to a remote place
and say your secret aloud. Then you will be well."
The boy went to a remote place and said, "King Glang dar
ma has horns on his head! King Glang dar ma has horns on his
head!"
The boy said this, and then he was cured. The animals,
flowers, grass, and wind heard this and told everybody.
•147•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
44: ARTIST KUN DGA' AND CARPENTER KUN DGA'64
Anonymous
L
ong ago, a famous artist named Kun dga' was very clever,
but he had a huge problem - he was envious. He was the
local leader and did not want anyone as clever as he to live
in the town.
Several years later, a clever carpenter named Kun dga'
moved to the town. He did everything well and became famous as a
carpenter, which made Artist Kun dga' so unhappy that he decided
to kill Carpenter Kun dga'.
One day Artist Kun dga' visited Carpenter Kun dga' and said,
"My dear Kun dga', last night I dreamed of a deity that told me seven
days from now you will be sent to their palace because it needs to
be fixed."
Carpenter Kun dga' asked, "How do I get there?"
Anonymous. 2001. Artist Kun dga' and Carpenter Kun dga' in Thomas
et al.:142-145.
64
•148•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"You will sit on a platform. We will put wood around you
and beat gongs and drums," Artist Kun dga' said.
Carpenter Kun dga' agreed but knew that Artist Kun dga'
planned to kill him. Carpenter Kun dga dug a tunnel from under his
house to below the platform and put enough food in the tunnel to
last a month for seven days.
On the seventh day, Artist Kun dga' went to the platform and
saw Carpenter Kun dga' sitting there. After the wood was stacked
around Carpenter Kun dga', Artist Kun dga' ordered the people to
light a fire. As the fire burned, he ordered the people to beat gongs
and drums because he did not want anyone to hear Carpenter Kun
dga's screams as he died in the fire. However, Carpenter Kun dga'
was already in the tunnel.
A month later, Carpenter Kun dga' came out of the tunnel,
walked to Artist Kun dga's home, and announced, "I have finished
my work. The deity told me to send you there to paint the palace."
Artist Kun dga' was very surprised to see Carpenter Kun dga'
alive and asked, "How do I get there?"
"The same way I did," replied Carpenter Kun dga'.
"When?" asked Artist Kun dga'.
"Tomorrow," replied Carpenter Kun dga'.
Artist Kun dga' believed this. So the next day, he sat on the
same platform, wood was set afire around him, and he died.
•149•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
45: DEITY MAKER KUN DGA' AND
CARPENTER KUN DGA'65
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, two men were named Kun dga'. One was a deitymaker, and the other was a carpenter. Deity-maker Kun
dga' envied Carpenter Kun dga'.
One day, Deity-maker Kun dga' wrote a letter and took it to
the king. The letter said the King of Heaven ordered Carpenter Kun
dga' to come to Heaven by stacking wood before a cliff, setting it on
fire, and riding a smoke horse to Heaven. When Carpenter Kun dga'
learned this, he dug a hole near the cliff where he would soon be
burned and stored water and food for a week.
The next day, when everybody was beating drums loudly
while the fire burned fiercely, he hid in the hole near where the fire
was. Later, a man reported seeing Carpenter Kun dga' riding a
smoke horse to Heaven.
Carpenter Kun dga' hid in the hole for over half a week.
Then, one day, he wrote a letter, went to the king, and said, "I have
returned from my visit to Heaven. The deities asked me to send
Deity-maker Kun dga' to Heaven.''
People then stacked wood before the cliff and burned Deitymaker Kun dga' atop the fire. Unable to ride the smoke to Heaven,
he died.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from 'Gro tshe ring (b. 2003), Sha
rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
65
•150•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
46: THE TEMPLE GOD EATS RTSAM PA66
Bsod nams skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད།
any years ago, a poor man named Don 'grub had a rich
neighbor who had a lot of rtsam pa. He was also very
greedy and never shared his rtsam pa with anyone. One
day Don 'grub ran out of rtsam pa and thought, "If I go to my
neighbor's house to ask for some rtsam pa, he will refuse. I need to
trick him into giving me some."
That evening Don 'grub took firewood to his garden and set
it on fire. His wealthy neighbor noticed, was puzzled, went to Don
'grub's house, and inquired, "Why are you burning wood this
evening?"
Don 'grub said, "Yesterday I heard people saying rtsam pa
in Lha sa is very expensive, so I will make some rtsam pa and go to
Lha sa and sell it."
M
Bsod nams skyid. 2001. The Temple God Eats Rtsam Pa in Thomas et
al.:138-141.
66
•151•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The rich neighbor thought this was an excellent idea and
said, "My dear neighbor, can I go to Lha sa and sell rtsam pa with
you?"
Don 'grub replied, "Of course!"
The rich man loaded a yak with two bags of rtsam pa the
next morning. Meanwhile, Don 'grub put two bags filled with grass
and leaves on a donkey.
The sky darkened that evening on the road, so the two men
sought refuge in a temple. The rich man was exhausted and quickly
fell asleep.
Don 'grub pretended to sleep. Then, at midnight he got up
and fed the grass and leaves in his bags to the donkey and the yak.
Next, he poured his companion's rtsam pa into his empty bags.
Next, he put his neighbor's empty bags in the temple deity's hands
and some rtsam pa in the deity's mouth.
The next morning, the rich man was frightened when he
discovered he had no rtsam pa and saw his empty bags in the deity's
hands.
Don 'grub said, "Maybe the temple god was hungry and ate
your rtsam pa. Just look at his mouth."
The rich man sadly said, "Now I can't go to Lha sa. I will
return home. Please go to Lha sa by yourself."
"I think I will also return home. I don't want to go to Lha sa
alone," Don 'grub replied.
•152•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
47: THE ROCK LION OPENS ITS MOUTH67
Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན།
poor family and a rich family lived at the foot of a
mountain. There was a large forest at the top of the
mountain. Every day the head of the poor family went to
the woods to collect wood to trade for food and clothing.
In the forest, there was a rock lion. Usually, the poor man
put rtsam pa and butter in the lion's mouth and said, "Please eat
this, Brother Lion."
The days went by. One day as the poor man was feeding the
rock lion, the lion said, "Thank you, friend. You are a good man."
The poor man was frightened and said, "Brother Lion, you
don't have a master to feed you, so I give you some food. I don't have
any good food because I am poor."
"You are sincere. Tomorrow morning before sunrise, come
A
Blo brtan. 2001. The Rock Lion Opens Its Mouth in Thomas et al.:118121.
67
•153•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
here, and I'll give you something," said the lion, so the man took his
firewood and returned home.
The next morning, when he went to the lion, the lion said,
"Listen, there is much gold in my belly. Take some, but you must
take your hand out of my belly before sunrise because that's when
my mouth closes."
"I understand," said the man, who put his hand in the lion's
belly.
He soon filled a small bag with gold, said, "This is enough
for me," and went home.
The poor man was now rich. His rich, jealous neighbor
asked, "How did you become so rich?"
The honest man told him about the rock lion. Every day the
rich man put on old clothes, went to the forest, and did as the poor
man had done. He fed the lion rtsam pa and butter and fetched
firewood. One day the lion repeated what he had told the poor man.
The rich man was pleased and came the next day with a big
bag and took a lot of gold from the lion's belly. The sun rose, but the
greedy man still was not satisfied. Finally, the lion's mouth clamped
shut on his arm and never opened again.
•154•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
48: THE DEATH OF HUNTING EAGLE68
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>།
parrow and Swallow lived in a Tibetan palace. Sparrow
lived among the eaves, and Swallow lived in a grotto. One
day Sparrow asked Swallow to trade nests. Swallow refused.
The next morning, when Swallow flew out to get food,
Sparrow hid in Swallow's nest. When Swallow returned and found
Sparrow, he told Sparrow to leave, but Sparrow refused.
Swallow went to the king of the birds, Hunting Eagle, and
reported what had happened. Hunting Eagle then ordered Sparrow
to leave Swallow's nest.
When Sparrow did not obey, Hunting Eagle thought
momentarily and said, "Please stretch out your head."
As soon as Sparrow did so, Hunting Eagle grabbed Sparrow
S
Nyi ma g.yang mtsho. 2001. The Death of Hunting Eagle in Thomas et
al.:108-111.
68
•155•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
with his talons and flew away. Hunting Eagle got ready to eat
Sparrow near a river, who quietly implored, "Please don't kill me
here. This place is where the king's horses drink. If anyone sees you
eating an innocent sparrow, they will recite scriptures very loudly
and curse you."
Hunting Eagle thought this was true and flew to a wild place
where Sparrow said, "Please wait a moment before you kill me. I
have something very important to tell you. But your claw is so tight
that I can hardly speak."
When Hunting Eagle loosened his grip, Sparrow escaped
and flew into an old wild yak horn. Hunting Eagle chased after him,
but he was too big to go inside the horn.
"Please don't kill me like my father was killed," said
Sparrow.
Hunting Eagle asked, "How did your father die?"
Sparrow answered, "A hunting eagle chased my father, who
flew into a wild yak horn. The eagle rolled in water and sand, flew
high in the sky, and crashed into the horn. My father died when the
eagle hit the horn, making it explode."
Hunting Eagle thought this was splendid and followed
Sparrow's instructions exactly. When he struck the yak horn
Sparrow was hiding inside, the horn did not explode. Instead,
Hunting Eagle died.
49: A HEN FOR A HORSE69
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
L
ong ago, in the southeastern part of Tibet, on the banks of
a huge, fast-flowing river, there was a village where local
farmers gathered to trade field produce, meat and dairy
products from pastoral areas, silver and gold items, livestock, and
weapons. A young man and his father lived together in this village.
The young man had a business selling eggs. He was very content
Rnam rgyal. 2017. A Hen for a Horse in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:125-126.
69
•156•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
with his business because he had been doing the same thing every
day for many years and had become quite successful.
One fine sunny day, he returned home from the market with
great satisfaction in his heart and a beautiful melody on his lips. His
father heard his son whistling and said, "My son, your whistling tells
me you have done very well in business today."
"Father, for sure, and anyone who had exchanged a couple
of eggs for a hen would be overjoyed, like me."
"You did well, my son. Your business is excellent, but let's
see if we can do better tomorrow," the father said.
Bright and early the next morning, the old man got up just
as the sun's golden rays filled the town. He climbed carefully down
from his sleeping area by ladder to the yard and, with his son as a
witness, chose a hen from the perch, took it into town, and
exchanged it for a couple of young chickens. Then, he exchanged the
young chickens for two bigger birds in a different part of town. And
later, in the upper part of town, he traded them for even bigger
chickens.
Towards the middle of the day, he exchanged the two biggest
chickens for a sheep and later traded the sheep for a couple of
younger sheep in the town center.
As the sun was setting behind the mountains to the west, the
old man arrived at the far end of town, exchanged his young sheep
for a horse, and set off homewards with deep satisfaction in his
heart.
As he approached the yard, the son heard the neigh of a
strong, healthy young horse in its prime.
"And whose horse is that, may I ask?" the son inquired.
"A few moments ago, it belonged to someone else, but now,
my son, it's ours," the father answered.
"You mean you have exchanged the hen for this horse?"
exclaimed the boy in disbelief.
"Yes, my son. This is the result of my trading for today, and
how I managed it is very interesting indeed. I call it the 'hen for a
horse-trading method' and I hope you will learn from it in the
•157•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
future."
The boy was so struck by his aging father's wisdom that, for
the briefest of moments, tears of admiration and pride appeared in
his eyes.
50: A HUNTER'S DESTINY70
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
hunter with a quiver full of arrows at the right side of his
waist and a rainbow-like bow on his back was on his way
to a deep, narrow valley that slowly opened to a jungle
where only a bold man would dare set foot. Big trees held numerous
arms around each other so tightly that only tiny rays of light could
pass through the leaves to the rich ground. Wild animals enjoyed
this jungle as their home and peacefully lived there.
The hunter went there one day, hoping to find and kill many
animals. But, unluckily, he had killed nothing when night fell.
Thinking returning home without any game was shameful, he
decided to spend the night under a big fir tree. He made butter tea,
ate some bread, and chanted to the mountain deities, imploring
them to help him and expressing his veneration.
He slept under the starry sky and dreamed of a big tree that
told him that he would find nothing while hunting and must leave
the dense grove and go to the first village. The big tree told him he
would find a family with a newborn girl who would become his wife
and be killed by a pig when she turned forty.
He woke up from this strange dream to find birds singing
and squirrels jumping here and there nearby. After breakfast, he left
with his weapon for a new day of hunting. Again, he hunted
unsuccessfully. Then, recalling his strange dream, he felt compelled
to go to the village he had dreamed of and asked if he could stay the
night at a village home. Receiving permission, he entered the
home's courtyard and heard a newborn baby crying and the infant's
A
Rnam rgyal. 2017. A Hunter's Destiny in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:127-129.
70
•158•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
mother singing a lovely lullaby. Suddenly recalling what the tree
had said in his dream, he wondered again how a twenty-year-old
man could marry an infant.
That night, the dream and the image of the newborn baby
came to him again and again. He thought, "How unlucky for a baby
to be an old man's wife and be killed by a pig when she is only forty!"
The next morning, a cruel intention grew in his heart. He
decided to kill the baby before she had to marry an old man and be
killed by a pig, as the tree had foretold. Deciding it would be better
if he killed her so she could be reborn and enjoy a normal life, he
got up, took his spear, and resolved to stab the baby girl. But he
could not because she was so innocent and vulnerable. Finally, he
pointed the spear at the baby's head, stabbed without looking, and
fled.
Twenty years passed, and while hunting in the same area he
had been in, he encountered a beautiful young woman carrying
firewood. Noticing a scar on her forehead, the man stopped and
curiously asked, "Which village are you from?"
"The first village," the young woman answered.
"Why do you have a scar on your forehead?" the man
inquired.
"My mother told me that a hunter hurt me just after I was
born," she replied.
The man recalled all the events of twenty years earlier and
became very talkative. Finally, the young woman asked him to come
to her home for tea. After more conversation, he accepted and asked
her to marry him, and she agreed.
They lived happily for another twenty years. When the man
realized his wife would soon be forty, he ordered her to stay in their
house for a year to avoid encountering pigs. However, both husband
and wife had forgotten that they kept large pieces of pork tied to
beams above the stove, as was the local custom. Smoke from the
stove helped to cure and dry the pork. Once preserved, the pork
could be eaten years after it had been hung up this way.
As the wife was cooking at the stove and thinking about
•159•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
going outside the next day, she did not realize that a pig head was
hanging from a beam above the stove. A spark from the stove flew
up and burned the string suspending the pig head, which then fell
and struck the back of the young woman's neck.
When her husband returned home, he found her dead.
This originates from the saying, "You can't escape destiny by
hiding in your mother's apron."
51: A LUCKY MAN71
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
very diligent woman famous for her quick wit and caring
ways lived long ago in a sleepy village high in the
mountains rich in pine, fir, spruce, and many types of
wildlife. Her husband, Me nyug gser tog, was quite different. He
sought neither wealth nor fame. He preferred to do nothing more
than laze at home in the sun.
Late one afternoon, the diligent wife went home from the
fields with her basket full of grass for the livestock and found her
husband lounging half-asleep in the corner as usual. Downhearted
at this pathetic sight, she wondered once again what she could do
to make him more ambitious. Yearning for a useful and energetic
man about the house, she often spent the whole night turning this
matter over in her mind.
Early the following day, just as the sun was creeping over the
mountain peaks to the east, the wife looked out of her kitchen
window and spied a band of merchants packing up their campsite
and loading their wares onto horses while the sun's rays gently
warmed their backs. She then hatched a plan. Unseen by anyone,
she took an unopened pack of leaf tea from the shelf and scuttled
off to the campsite, placing the tea on the exact spot where the
merchants had slept.
She snuck home to wake her husband, who demanded,
A
Rnam rgyal. 2017. A Lucky Man in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:130-135.
71
•160•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Why wake me so early?"
"Come and have a look! There are hundreds of crows
hovering around a campsite. The merchants who camped there
must have left something," she explained.
"It's unlikely to be anything valuable," her husband said.
"Maybe not, but you know the saying: a man is like an eagle
- he should be out exploring the world, not sitting at home all day
doing nothing. So why not go have a look?"
So, to please his wife, the husband got up from the bed and
ran straight to the campsite to see what he could see. To his great
surprise, a large pack of tea lay on the ground before him, on the
exact spot his wife had said. He picked it up and brought it home
without a moment's hesitation.
He was delighted with his good fortune and said, "My dear,
you were right! There was something there after all."
"Oh, dear husband, it's just as I said. A man is like an eagle
and should be out exploring the world, not sitting at home all day
doing nothing. I am so happy you proved me right!"
"Well, if it makes you that happy, I will explore every day!"
"Husband, you could make a fortune if you tried a bit
harder."
From that moment on, Me nyug gser tog went out daily to
explore the world and see what he could see.
One day, he stole a sturdy cobbler's needle and noticed, by
chance, a small jeweled ornament dangling precariously from a
pilgrim's saddle. He was sure the ornament would work its way
loose if he waited long enough. Tagging along with the pilgrims, he
eventually came to an unfamiliar village. The pilgrims' leader
unfastened a flute from his waist and blew a message outside the
house of a wealthy local family to signal that they were pilgrims
begging for food.
At that very moment, the youngest daughter was milking a
yak. Alarmed by the sudden and unfamiliar sound of the flute, the
yak jumped up nervously, kicking the young girl. The precious jade
bracelet around her wrist broke and flew up. Unseen by others, it
•161•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
landed in some fresh dung near Me nyug gser tog. Quick as a flash,
he scooped up the bracelet, pressed it into fresh dung, and stuck it
to a wall where many other dung patties to be used for fuel were
drying in the sun.
Meanwhile, the whole family rushed around, searching for
the bracelet. Unfortunately, several hours later, there was still no
sign of the jade bracelet.
"If you like, I could do a divination to find the bracelet," Me
nyug gser tog offered.
"What kind of divining ritual can find jade?" asked the head
of the family.
"The famous pig head divination ritual, of course," Me nyug
gser tog replied.
"How is it done?" the family head asked.
"Well, if you cook me a delicious pig head, I'll show you."
And so, the best pig was slaughtered, and the head was
prepared for Me nyug gser tog. He was shown the best carpet in the
house and sat there in splendor with butter tea, cheese, sugar
crystals, and yak beef on the table before him. The pig head was
ready very soon. Giving off a heavenly odor, it was delivered
ceremoniously to the table and placed before him with the utmost
respect. The family sat in a circle and watched him relish his favorite
food.
"Now, let the divining ritual commence," said Me nyug gser
tog standing up.
Taking a stick in his right hand, he went to the yard with
everybody following. Rhythmically, he pointed the stick to the left
and the right, chanting simultaneously while performing odd little
dance steps and periodically murmuring, "Here or there? Here or
there?"
Wherever he pointed, all eyes gazed. He searched the yard
for several minutes, dancing slowly towards the part of the wall
where he had hidden the bracelet. Then, with an expression of utter
amazement and a great flourish of his arm, he pointed the stick at
the dung patty on the wall and announced grandly, "There! It's
•162•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
there!"
Hesitantly, the family's father approached the wall, picked
off the designated dung patty, and rubbed his fingers into the dung.
Everyone jumped up and down joyfully when the bracelet appeared,
proclaiming, "What a diviner! Never in our lives have we seen
anything like this!"
Me nyug gser tog returned home with generous gifts,
delighting his wife. "You see, a man is like an eagle - he should be
out exploring the world, not sitting at home all day doing nothing,"
she said, but she secretly worried about what he might do next if
somebody else needed help and suggested he stay at home for some
time.
The story of the pig head divining ritual was repeated
wherever locals went, and Me nyug gser tog was soon famous. A few
days later, a family lost a horse-head figurine made from solid gold.
The family's maid, Snga las 'Destiny', came to beg Me nyug gser tog
to perform a divination. Meanwhile, the other maid, Tshe las,
prepared a pig head at home as the family hopefully waited.
The diviner and the maid rode together on horseback. Me
nyug gser tog said nothing for some time, which prompted the maid
to ask, "Where will the horsehead be found, distinguished Diviner?"
Me nyug gser tog turned sharply to the maid and confidently
said, "Destiny. It was an act of Destiny."
Immediately after saying this, the maid leaped from the
horse, knelt, and confessed, "Pig Head Diviner, it was not only me.
I had an accomplice. The maid, Tshe las, and I stole the gold figurine
together."
"Tell me where you have hidden it," Me nyug gser tog said.
"We put it in the wall of a field," Destiny answered.
"I'll say nothing of your terrible deed if you hide it under the
doorstep tonight," Me nyug gser tog said.
Snga las agreed and thanked Me nyug gser tog for keeping
her secret.
The next morning, Me nyug gser tog savored the pig head
and went to the yard where the family was waiting eagerly. As
•163•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
before, he held a stick and pointed to the left and the right,
murmuring, "Here or there? Here or there?" with every step taking
him closer to the door.
Suddenly, the stick seemed to be pointing at the door, and
he proclaimed, "It is right here, under the doorstep."
Everybody held their breath while the doorstep was dug up.
"It is true!" yelled someone, and the gold horse was held high for
everybody to see.
Me nyug gser tog returned home laden with gifts, making
his wife even prouder of him. "A man is like an eagle - he should be
out exploring the world, not sitting at home all day doing nothing,"
she pronounced.
With enough wealth to last a lifetime, they agreed that Me
nyug gser tog would do no more divining. However, the king
learned of the great diviner's feats, summoned him to his castle, and
said, "I have heard of your great ability as a diviner. I will conceal
an object in my closed fist, and you will guess what it is. If you are
as clever as people say and guess correctly, I will reward you with
thousands of gold coins. But if you are lying and are wrong, you will
lose your head. Now is your chance to prove yourself."
Those in the palace settled down to watch. The king, unseen
by anyone, trapped a sbrang 'bu me nyug 'tiny fly' in the cup of his
hands, held a closed fist out to Me nyug gser tog, and asked, "What
is in my fist?"
Me nyug gser tog silently fell to his knees before the throne.
"What is in the king's hands?" hissed one of the ministers.
Me nyug gser tog shook his head and fell flat on the ground
gasping for breath as all eyes gazed at him.
"What is in the king's hands?" insisted the minister.
"Me nyug will surely die," whimpered Me nyug gser tog.
In astonishment, the king stood up from his throne and, in
full view of the assembled courtiers, raised his arms and slowly
opened the palms of his hands to let the tiny me nyug fly escape.
"He is right. See! What I had in my hands was a golden me
nyug fly! There it goes!"
•164•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The local people praised Me nyug gser tog, who returned
home with a large chest full of gold. When his wife saw these riches,
she repeated, "Skyes pa bya rgod nyal na mi dga' 'gro na dga' 'A
man is like an eagle - he should be out exploring the world, not
sitting at home doing nothing.'"
52: AN ARGUMENT ABOUT KARMA72
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
L
ong ago, people living in a remote place barbarously
struggled for a better life. Locals often discussed this new
concept when the idea of "karma" was first spread by an
itinerant guru.
One day, a kind man on a journey met a brute of a man who
did not believe in karma. The kind man took out a teapot, made tea
for lunch, and invited the brute to have tea with him. The brute went
over, drank all the tea himself, and watched the kind man with
sharp, deep eyes.
"It's our karma to share tea," said the kind man.
"There is no such thing as karma. Don't mention something
I will never believe. Show me where karma is. Tell me what karma
looks like. Is it white or red? Is it the size of a chicken or a yak?" said
the brute.
"I cannot show you karma, but a guru can," said the kind
man.
"Let's find and ask this guru. I will gouge out your eyes if he
cannot show me karma. If he can, you gouge out my eyes," said the
brute.
The kind man led the brute to where the guru was
meditating. "Did you say that there is karma?" asked the brute.
"Yes, karma is everywhere," replied the guru.
"Fine. Show me karma, or I will kill you," said the brute, who
took out his knife and put its sharp, shiny blade at the base of the
Rnam rgyal. 2017. An Argument About Karma in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:136-138.
72
•165•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
guru's shoulder.
"No, there is no karma," said the guru.
"I told you karma does not exist," said the brute, pointing
the knife at the kind man and then gouging out his eyes.
The brute proudly left the guru and the blind man and told
everybody he met that karma did not exist.
The blind man crept on his hands and knees like a dog until
he came to a door of a deserted house. He silently crept inside and
slept in a corner.
Late at night, some wild animals entered the room where he
was. "The beautiful girl in this village is mad. She has one red hair,
one white hair, and one yellow. She will recover if these three hairs
are removed, but nobody knows this," said a lion.
"The grassland near the village has a big stone. If that stone
is moved, a spring will flow. If the land surrounding it is plowed, it
will be a fertile field," said a leopard.
"There are two eyes under the peach tree, and if a blind man
finds them, he could use them to replace his own," said a bear.
The blind man stayed very still. When the animals left, he
crept outside and asked the first person he bumped into to take him
to the mad girl in the village. When he was brought to her home, he
told her father to remove the three hairs that he had heard
described.
The father did so, and the girl immediately recovered. The
villagers were moved and encouraged the girl to marry the blind
man. She agreed, and the new couple soon found the two eyes under
the peach tree. When he put these eyes in his empty sockets, his
vision was better than anyone in the village. Finally, they went to
the nearby grassland, removed the stone, and cultivated the land,
which proved very productive, thanks to irrigation water from the
spring.
More days passed, and the kind man happened to meet the
brute. They stared at each other for a moment. The brute asked,
"How did you get your eyes back?"
After the kind man told all that happened, the brute asked
•166•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
him to gouge out his eyes so he, too, could have a good life. The kind
man refused, so the brute gouged out his own eyes. Then, in great
pain, he began crawling. He also came to a deserted building, crept
inside, and felt his way to a corner.
The same animals discussed how the local people had
discovered their secrets late that night. Suspecting someone was
eavesdropping, the animals searched the room, found the brute,
and killed and ate him.
When the guru learned this, he said, "Rgyu 'bras med pa
min smin dus ma tshang ba red 'When the time comes, karma
ripens'."
53: A ROYAL GAMBLE73
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
O
nce upon a very sunny time, a small kingdom with lush
grassland produced livestock and horses that were much
sought after. In this kingdom, a herdsman lived, famous for
his honesty and never having lied. The king trusted this herdsman
completely.
The herdsman tended the king's horses and paid particular
attention to Rta khra shel gyi nyi ma, the king's favorite horse. It
had the most attractive gait, was the fastest, and had a mane as
shiny as a mirror sparkling in the sunlight. The people called the
horse Looking Glass and believed it knew what people were
thinking. It had helped the king win his many wars and helped in
making wise decisions in court.
A neighboring king visited the small kingdom one day. The
two kings talked about many things, including their herders and
livestock. When the conversation turned to human nature and
honesty, the visiting king said, "There isn't a man alive in this world
who does not lie when he has to."
"I disagree," said the host. "One man is living here who has
Rnam rgyal. 2017. A Royal Gamble in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:139-141.
73
•167•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
never in his life needed to lie."
"I don't believe it. There can be nobody alive who has never
told a lie. Who would it be if there were such a person?" said the
visitor.
"Why, my herdsman, of course," said the host king in all
honesty.
"Well, I cannot believe it, but if you think he does not lie,
let's have a wager and put him to the test," declared the visitor.
Both kings agreed and promised not to speak about their
wager. If the herdsman lied, his king would give away one of his
provinces; if he did not lie, he would win a province from the visiting
king.
The neighboring king sent one of his best maids to the small
kingdom to become intimate with the herdsman. As time went by,
they fell in love. Then, one night, the maid got sick, and the
herdsman tended to her. "Can I do anything for you?" asked the
herdsman.
"Bring me soup from the heart of Looking Glass, and my
problems will be solved. Without it, I will die," said the maid.
The herdsman pondered, sitting awake the whole night.
Finally, realizing he had no choice, he killed the horse, made soup
from its heart, and gave it to his lover.
"Oh, my dear, I am already better after drinking this soup,
but the king will be furious and may kill you when he finds out what
you have done to his favorite horse," the herdsman's wife said.
"I had no choice, and I have to face what lies ahead," the
herdsman said.
"Say the horse died suddenly of a disease. Maybe that will
work," the herdsman's wife suggested.
After a few days, the herdsman began his journey to the
palace feeling deeply conflicted. As he neared the castle, he stopped
at a stone cairn and said, "I will say an illness killed the horse."
As soon as he said this, the stones of the cairn crumbled.
"This is a sign. I will not lie. I will tell the king the truth about
the horse's death," he decided, and the cairn reformed and stood
•168•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
complete.
"It is a sign!" thought the herdsman.
When he reached the palace, he respectfully presented a
white scarf to the king sitting on his throne next to the neighboring
king, who was visiting again. All the people in the palace were
watching the herdsman intently.
"My distinguished king, forgive me, for I have done
something terrible. I killed your precious horse, Looking Glass, to
make a soup to cure my wife's illness," the herdsman announced.
The two kings sat dumbstruck until the herdsman's king
laughed and proudly said to the neighboring king, "You see, I told
you there is someone who never lies. My herdsman has just proven
it."
The neighboring king was annoyed at losing the wager, but
the herdsman's honesty impressed him, and he willingly gave up
one of his provinces to the king who had won the bet.
The king of the small kingdom rose and said, "There are
honest people who tell no lies in the world, and my herdsman is one
of them. He will be the head of my new province to reward his
honesty."
Everybody in the palace congratulated the herdsman, and
the king proclaimed, "A father's best achievement is the effort made
by his son - they share success. A bow's success in killing a deer is
its arrow's contribution - the kill belongs to both."
54: A WISE FATHER AND HIS FOOLISH SON74
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
verybody respected Pha skyong rgan a bo for his wisdom.
He was often asked for advice. Many believed he had come
to help people with Buddha's teachings. However, as if to
balance his great store of wisdom, he had a foolish son who was the
cause of many problems among the villagers.
E
Rnam rgyal. 2017. A Wise Father and His Foolish Son in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:151-152.
74
•169•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The father never gave up on his son and often gave him
suggestions and advice.
One day, Pha skyong rgan a bo heard that a deer had
drowned in a flood in an area between two villages. Pha skyong rgan
a bo called his son and said, "Go solve this problem. Two villages are
close to fighting over a deer that has died on the common ground
between them. The people need you to help negotiate who owns the
deer."
"How am I to solve this problem?" asked the son.
"Go there and confidently cut the deer into upper, lower,
and middle parts. Say that the upper part belongs to the upper
village, the lower part belongs to the lower village, and the middle
part belongs to you for settling the conflict."
Blun gti rog was delighted to hear this and went to where the
villagers angrily argued. "You need not fight over a dead deer," said
Blun gti rog as the villagers turned to him in surprise.
Someone in the group said, "What do you know about this?"
Blun gti rog introduced himself as the son of his well-known
father. Everybody relaxed after hearing the name of the great Pha
skyong rgan a bo.
Blun gti rog took out his knife, cut the deer into three parts,
and said, "The top part belongs to the upper village, the rear part to
the lower village, and the middle part belongs to me, the mediator."
The villagers were satisfied with Blun gti rog's solution and
praised him, saying a wise man must have a wise son. When Blun
gti rog got home with the middle part of the deer, his father praised
him and added that a clever man should think carefully before
attempting to solve a problem.
Exactly one year later, the corpse of a leper was found in the
same place between the two villages, and the people argued over
who should remove and bury the corpse. When Blun gti rog heard
about this, he went to the village and asked, "Why are you arguing?"
"This corpse has floated from the upper part of the river, so
the upper villagers should take it away," said someone.
Blun gti rog immediately took out his knife and said, "I will
•170•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
cut the corpse into three parts. The upper part will belong to the
upper village, the lower part will belong to the lower village, and the
middle will belong to me, the negotiator."
"Oh! You can take the whole corpse. We don't need it,"
someone said. Blun gti rog went home with the entire corpse,
disappointing his father.
Meanwhile, the villagers laughed and said, "A wise father
and his foolish son."
55: THE GREEDY KING AND THE TRICKY MAN 75
Lcags so lhun 'grub ^གས་སོ་_ན་འSབ། (Klu sgrub `་aབ།) (translator) and
Rgya mo skyid ?་མོ་4ིད། (teller)
Rgya mo skyid (b. 1992) of Mdo ba (Duowa) Town, Reb gong (Thun rin, Tongren)
County, Rma lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, told me this story in an
apartment in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province on 21 August 2016. She said, "When I
was about five years old, my grandfather (Kun bzang, b. 1939) told me many
stories before we went to bed every night. I forgot many stories, but this story is still
very clear."
T
here was once a greedy local king who collected taxes
monthly. There was also a destitute man known as Tricky
Tsag thul. The local king came to Tricky's home to punish
him for not paying taxes for several months. When Tricky learned
that the king would arrive, he ran to his uncle's home, borrowed a
piece of gold, returned home, and said to his wife, "While the king
is eating here, I will ask you to check to see if our horse has
defecated gold today. You will bring this piece of gold and give it to
me while the king watches."
A bit later, the king arrived and scolded Tricky for not
paying his taxes. Nevertheless, the king stayed for lunch.
Just before lunch, Tricky asked his wife if their horse had
defecated gold. Tricky's wife went outside, soon returned, handed a
Lcags so lhun 'grub (Klu sgrub) (translator) and Rgya mo skyid (teller).
The Greedy King and the Tricky Man in Plateau Narratives. 2017. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:115-119.
75
•171•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
piece of gold to her husband in front of the king, and said, 'What a
small piece today!'
"My bla ma!" the king murmured and sat stunned, drooling
over the sight of the gold, but he soon recovered and regained his
proud bearing. Then his greed won out, and he asked, "How can a
horse defecate gold?"
Tricky replied, "My dear king! It's easy! Give a generous
amount of flour mixed with warm water to a horse, and then it will
defecate gold in pieces as big as a human head."
Once the king heard this, he rode off without asking for
taxes. Meanwhile, Tricky laughed and enjoyed lunch with his wife.
Some days later, when Tricky saw the king heading to their
home in the distance, he told his wife, "Pour some water into our
big pot, boil it, and then drop three grains of rice into the pot after
the king arrives. Serve a lot of tea to the king. He will then surely
have to urinate. While he is outside, pour three bowls of rice into
the pot and boil it."
The king soon arrived, and Tricky ran outside to welcome
him. The king planned to take Tricky to his palace and punish him
because his horse had just died from diarrhea from overeating flour
mixed with warm water, as Tricky had suggested. The king solemnly
sat on a felt carpet while Tricky's wife dropped three grains of rice
into the pot and said, "My dear king! It won't take long. Please enjoy
your tea first, and then we'll have a nice meal with rice."
The king sniffed and thought, "Will I eat these three rice
grains? Is that all they plan to serve?" After several bowls of tea, the
king shouted at Tricky to hand him his leather boots and went
outside to urinate.
Meanwhile, Tricky's wife poured three bowls of cooked rice
into the boiling water. The king returned. After a few minutes,
Tricky's wife uncovered the pot startling the king, who noticed the
pot was full of rice. He was so stunned that he dropped his tea bowl,
which fell onto the white felt he was sitting on. It now seemed that
the king had urinated on the carpet.
The king nervously inquired, "How could a few grains of rice
•172•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
become this much?"
Tricky replied, "Your queen doesn't know this?"
The king's face reddened as Tricky's wife explained, "Oh,
dear king! You can do what I did today. Just put three grains of rice
into hot water and boil it for a long time."
The king returned to his palace and invited four monks to
the palace the next day to chant scriptures for his impending
hunting journey. He cooked two grains of rice per monk. Based on
his experience at Tricky's home, he was sure that was more than
adequate. The king's preparations perplexed the monks, but they
said nothing.
After the eight grains of rice had boiled a long time, the king
confidently removed the cover of his copper pot, revealing nothing
but gray liquid. Feeling flashes of heat and cold simultaneously, he
rushed to his horse and galloped to Tricky's home, determined to
kill the trickster couple.
When he reached Tricky's home, Tricky was returning with
a beautiful fox skin hanging from his right shoulder, which made
the king forget his anger. He immediately demanded, "Tricky, how
did you get such a beautiful fox skin?"
Tricky answered, " I rode my horse and took a dog to the top
of a mountain. Cold, wind, snow - many harsh experiences are there,
and it may be difficult for a king, but luckily my dog finally caught
this fox."
The king impatiently demanded to borrow Tricky's horse
and dog. Tricky agreed and suggested that the king keep the hunting
dog on a leash but release him when he strained at the leash, which
meant it was eager to chase after the game.
The next morning, the king took Tricky's horse and dog.
After a long while, the king reached the highest mountain peak and
waited for wild animals. As the sun eventually began to set, the
chilly wind struck his face, the dog, and the horse. It was unbearably
cold. The dog missed its home and pulled at the leash in the king's
hand. The king immediately released it and watched the dog's
dancing tail till it disappeared. Of course, the dog ran home. Finally,
•173•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
the king was so cold that he mounted the horse and returned to his
palace.
Early the following, the king took some men to Tricky's
home, pulled Tricky from his bed, locked him in a wooden case, and
dropped it into a big river near the palace. He happily concluded,
"This man will not trouble me again."
The river carried the case to the shore of a small lake. Tricky
kicked at the cover of the case just as a half-blind Muslim leading
an excellent horse passed by with his flock of sheep. The Muslim
man heard Tricky kicking the case, came over, and pulled off the lid.
"Why were you locked in this case?" asked the Muslim man.
Tricky replied, "Before, I was blind, but a tantric specialist
put me in this case, by the lake. Now, amazingly, I can see
everything! Just everything."
The Muslim man insisted on lying in the case as Tricky
refastened the lid and pushed it into the river. Next, Tricky mounted
the horse and drove the flock of sheep to his own home.
The king received news of Tricky's new wealth a few days
later. Shocked and amazed, the king visited Tricky to learn how he
had suddenly acquired so much property.
"When I was in the case, it rolled on the river's surface. I
was dizzy, tired, and finally fell asleep. When I woke up, I was
standing on land, holding the reins of a horse with a big flock of
sheep in front of me."
Inspired, the king ordered his servant to lock him in a case
and drop him into the same river Tricky had nearly died in. The
river seemed agitated, smashing the case into stones with an unruly
rhythm.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
56: SGANG BZANG STOBS LDAN76
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག (Yongzhong 拥忠)
Sgang bzang stobs ldan is known as Stobs ldan by locals in Rong brag County, who
consider him a reincarnation bla ma, originally from Sgang bzang Village.
Swapping Sheep and Goat Heads, The Origin of a Village Spring, and A Monastery
of Pebbles are local Stobs ldan stories.
SWAPPING SHEEP AND GOAT HEADS
illagers finished their breakfast as the sun rose. Each
household waited for Stobs ldan's call to release their sheep
and goats from enclosures so he could take them to the
mountains to graze. As Stobs ldan grew up, herding for villagers was
the only way to support his mother and himself.
One day, Stobs ldan was bored with doing the same thing all
the time and switched the sheep and goats' heads for fun. It was
already evening when he reached the village. A big storm blew up
when he was about to replace their heads, and the sheep and goats
rushed to the village. The villagers complained that they could not
identify their sheep and goats and asked Stobs ldan to separate
them according to household ownership. Knowing that he should
not reveal what he had done to the sheep and goats, Stobs ldan told
villagers that it was dark and that they should keep whatever
animals were in their enclosures until the next day when he would
separate them.
The next morning after Stobs ldan set off for the day's
herding, villagers talked about how the animals' heads had been
exchanged. Other villagers said they were crazy and were sure this
would prove true when Stobs ldan returned from herding that
evening.
When Stobs ldan reached the mountains, he saw how much
the animals enjoyed eating grass and decided to wait before
switching their heads again. A monk from outside the local area
V
G.yu 'brug (Yongzhong). 2012. Sgang bzang stobs ldan in Rgyal rong
Tibetan Village: Life, Language, and Folklore in Rgyas bzang Village.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 15:90-92.
76
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
happened to pass near Stobs ldan, who was sleeping on the back of
a tiger. Next to him, a giant snake was shading Stobs ldan's face
from the hot sun with his head. The monk sat there, closed his eyes,
and quietly chanted. About an hour later, the monk was interrupted
by Stobs ldan asking why he was sitting and chanting in the middle
of the path. The monk immediately bowed to Stobs ldan and asked
him for a blessing. Stobs ldan asked how a herder could bless a
monk and walked to the sheep and goats. Stobs ldan was sure he
had just slept on a rock under a small tree.
The monk reported what had transpired to the locals and
told them to take good care of Stobs ldan and send him to a
monastery to study. Locals considered this a joke but said nothing
because of the monk's respected status.
Stobs ldan exchanged the sheep and goat heads by holding
a sheep's head and a goat's head and calling, "All sheep heads
replace goat heads!"
Several villagers wanted to know what had happened to
their sheep and goats and waited for Stobs ldan near the mountains.
Stobs ldan understood the villagers' motivation when he
met them later while returning to the village. He tossed a handful of
soil at the herd, which separated into small groups according to
family household ownership. It was clear to the villagers there was
nothing wrong with their sheep and goats because the herd moved
in groups with some distance between the sheep and goats. Villagers
were in awe of Stobs ldan's power and said nothing about the
monk's suggestion because they did not want Stobs ldan to stop
herding and study in a monastery.
THE ORIGIN OF A VILLAGE SPRING
ne day, a large bird flew from the mountains to the village.
The villagers had never seen such a bird before. The bird
flew around the roof of Stobs ldan's home. Stobs ldan tried
to catch it but failed. The bird flew to the village fields, and Stobs
ldan followed. He was tired, picked up a stone, put it into his robe
pouch for two seconds, and then threw it at the bird. The bird fell to
O
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the ground not far from him. When he walked over to take a look,
the bird had vanished. In its place was a bowl of melted butter. He
picked up the bowl, drank the butter, and urinated on the spot
without thinking. Later, a small spring appeared where he had
urinated. Locals currently use this spring as a source of drinking
water.
A MONASTERY OF PEBBLES
tobs ldan was asked to study with a local sgom pa in
seclusion in a stone tower by a mountain. The sgom pa
asked him to fetch water from the spring where he had
urinated, Stobs ldan. Instead, Stobs ldan used pebbles to make a
miniature Bon monastery. One of the sgom pa's students
discovered this when he looked for Stobs ldan after Stobs ldan had
not returned for a long while.
At midnight, the sgom pa heard a drum beat, went to the
top of the stone tower to see what was happening, saw lit lamps
where Stobs ldan had made a miniature Bon monastery of pebbles,
and realized that Stobs ldan was so powerful that he could not teach
him. So he sent Stobs ldan back to the village the next day with one
of his students and told villagers to send him elsewhere to study.
The villagers then sent Stobs ldan to Lha sa. Many years
later, his deeds came to be told by ensuing generations in the local
area.
S
57: THE MERCHANT77
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
L
ong ago, a distinguished merchant, Tshong dpon nor bu
bzang po, and 1,500 of his companions were on their way
to their home in the Land of Snows. They passed barren
hills and deserts stretching far into the horizon. Yaks and horses
struggled as the sun burnt their skins, and their feet sank deep into
Rnam rgyal. 2017. The Merchant in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:142-147.
77
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
the sand, making every step increasingly difficult. Only the camels
looked comfortable and kept easily moving forward.
Suddenly, a windstorm blew in from the west, covering the
sky with low-hanging dark clouds. "Be careful! A black, evil wind is
coming!" shouted Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po.
His words were the last ones they heard as the wind swept
up everyone and threw them into another world, the West Siren
Region. When they woke from deep unconsciousness, they saw that
they were surrounded by sirens who looked strikingly beautiful,
sexy, and strong but also demon-like. They laughed, shouted, and
danced. Soon, each merchant had a woman of their own. They were
excited but soon tired of fulfilling the sirens' insatiable desire.
Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po and his fellows were
exhausted from working hard all day and entertaining the women
at night.
One day, Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po heard moaning from
a building corner and crept closer to investigate. Women with
sharp, long tongues licked an old man who was bleeding as the
excited women lapped up his blood. After the sirens left, Tshong
dpon nor bu bzang po moved near the old man and asked, "What
happened? Where are you from?"
"I was brought here by the storm. This place is the origin of
evil. These women have no love, only desire. When you get old, they
will suck your blood," the old man sighed.
Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po left the old man and prayed
to Guru Pad ma 'byung gnas. That night he dreamed of an old
woman who told him, "The day after tomorrow, a huge white horse
will roll on the sand near the river. You and the other men must pray
to your great bla ma, rush to the horse and, without doubt, mount
it, grip its mane, touch it, or at the very least, have faith that the
horse will take you back to your own land. You mustn't look back at
this evil land, or the holy horse will abandon you."
An evil woman woke Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po early the
following day and told him to do his usual work – carry the babies
that were the offspring of the sirens and the captive men. When
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po was able, he secretly told his fellows
about the old man and his dream. When he dreamt the same dream
the next night, he told his fellows they must pray to Guru Pad ma
'byung gnas as instructed in the dream.
The next morning, all the men went to work while constantly
watching the riverbank, hoping to see the white horse. When they
saw the large horse suddenly appear and roll on the sand, they all
prayed and rushed to it. Though all the men could not mount or
touch the horse, they all prayed and trusted it. Consequently, they
were taken away from the evil world that had been their prison.
However, one man forgot the warning and looked back. He
saw the evil women killing the babies and shouting, "We will kill all
the babies if you don't return!"
This man then began to fall. He landed on the sand and was
not severely hurt, but he soon was hungry and could find nothing to
eat. After walking for a long time, he encountered a big frog. The
man caught the frog but had no fire and did not want to eat it raw,
so he put it in a stone hole and waited. Soon, he heard many horses
neighing and other strange creatures emerging from the sea. The
sea creatures approached him and asked, "Have you seen our sea
princess? If you find her, we will give you whatever you request."
"Do you have a fire? I need to cook a big frog," the man said,
taking the frog out of the hole in the stone.
"That is our princess!" exclaimed the sea creatures, bowing
to the big frog. The sea creatures then urged the man to visit their
kingdom, "Sir, if you stay in our kingdom for three years, we will
treat you very well."
"No, thank you, I only wish to return to my land," the man
said.
"Then stay for three months, and we will give you whatever
you like," the creatures said.
Finally, the man agreed to come for one day. As soon as he
shut his eyes, he was taken to the Sea Kingdom. Musicians made
beautiful music, and the king and his subjects welcomed him. He
was intoxicated by the marvelous scenery, the delicious seafood, the
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
beautiful sea maids, and precious sea treasures.
Three years passed before he remembered his desire to leave
the sea kingdom. When the king offered him a parting gift, the man
visited a famous wise man and asked him what he should take from
the king.
The wise man told him to take a piece of black tent cloth near
the stove, a bit of yak horn below the ladder, and a flowery hen in
the chicken coop.
The king agreed, and the man was immediately returned to
his land with the three gifts. He walked all day toward his village
until he fell asleep under the black tent cloth.
The next morning, he found he was under a huge tent. He
could not find his yak horn but saw hundreds of sheep and yaks on
the grassland when he looked through the tent entrance.
Leaving the flowery hen in the tent, he went out and herded
the livestock. At noon, he returned to the tent and found cooked
food. Day after day, he herded animals and found delicious food in
the tent.
One morning, he left as usual but then hid near the tent. The
flowery hen became bigger, and then a beautiful girl took off the
hen's feathers and began preparing food.
The man rushed inside the tent, grabbed the feathers, and
threw them into the stove. "It's too early to burn them," said the
beauty.
The man lived happily with his beautiful wife until the king
heard about the beauty and came to see her. Lust grew in the king's
heart. Finally, he called the man to the palace and said, "We will
compete for the beauty. Each of us must throw one plate of seeds on
the floor. The one who picks them all up first will be the winner. The
beauty will be his."
The man returned home and told his wife, who said, "I told
you that it was too early to burn my feathers. Now you must go to
the sea kingdom and ask my family for a magic box."
The man did as his wife advised and brought a magic box to
the palace. When the king ordered the wager to begin, a group
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
quickly picked up the king's seeds.
A thousand hens flew out when the man opened his box and
picked up his seeds in just a few moments. The king lost the wager
but, refusing to accept defeat, said, "There are two small hills
covered with trees near here. Each of us must cut all the wood from
the foot of the hill to the top. The one who finishes first is the
winner."
The man returned home and asked what he should do. His
wife said, "You must borrow a magic box of axes from my family."
The man went to the seashore and shouted to his wife's
family, asking for a box of axes. When the box appeared, the man
took it to the foot of one hill as the king instructed. When the man
opened the box, 100,000 men with axes appeared and asked what
they should cut. The man nervously said, "Cut the trees and the
king."
In an instant, the ax men cut all the wood and the king into
pieces. The man thus won the wager and kept his wife.
There was no more trouble until one day, when they were
working together in the tent, the man pestered his wife to invite her
father for dinner.
"You should not invite my father, but you may invite my
mother. It is very inconvenient to invite my father, and it is also
dangerous for you. If you invite my mother, she only needs a small
wool carpet for a seat and a small pot of butter tea for a meal. But if
you insist on inviting my father, you must prepare a giant vat of
fresh milk."
The man filled a huge vat with milk and hid in the dark
quietly as his wife had instructed. Soon, a giant serpent broke
through the sea's surface with such force that this single leap carried
the giant sea creature through the village and to the home of his
daughter and son-in-law. The serpent made three circles around the
house and stuck its head through a window, where it immediately
stretched out its long tongue and lapped up all the milk.
The man could not control himself and said, "My father-inlaw is extremely powerful and handsome!"
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The serpent raised his head and opened his mouth, ready to
swallow the man.
"Please, Father, he is my husband. Forgive him," said his
wife.
The serpent withdrew its head, returned to the sea, and
never returned.
After several months, the stubborn man said, "You can use
your magic and be more beautiful."
"I already am the most beautiful woman in the world," his
wife replied.
"I want you to be even more beautiful," he insisted.
The next morning, the woman sadly went into the courtyard,
gazed at the man sympathetically, turned into a beautiful yellow
snake, slithered into the sea, and never returned.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
58: NOR BU BZANG PO78,79
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག
Nor bu bzang po was a well-known merchant in Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese
areas. His wealth was equal to that of local kings. His workers were treated as well
as if they were of noble birth. He was also considered to be compassionate. He
helped people without thought of a reward. Regardless of the supplicant's status,
he did his best to assist them. He was known as Tshong dpon nor bu bzang po. His
parents, sister (Rgya dkar),80 and locals were greatly concerned about his safety
when he left their village with his mastiff, a pack mule, and a horse to trade gold,
silver, and turquoise. He never lost in his transactions.
L
eaves began falling, attiring the earth. After recovering
from an illness for about two years, Nor bu bzang po was
busy making plans to trade. His sister suggested that there
was little business at this time of year and, trying to convince him
not to go, said, "Our parents are getting old, and I'm a woman.
Father is like the sun at the mountaintop, Mother is like a bridge
over the river, and I am like dew on the grass. How can you possibly
leave us?"
Nor bu bzang po vividly described business opportunities,
said he would return soon, and then set off with a servant named A
cog, a pack mule, a horse, and his mastiff. He headed down the track
he had walked many times before, singing on the way. Everything
around him was idyllic - birds sang, beasts ran, and people were
relaxed.
Later, harsh weather interrupted his enjoyment of the
beautiful scenery.
At home, Nor bu bzang po's sister and parents impatiently
Nor bu bzang is a well-known figure in narrations in many Tibetan
cultural areas.
79 G.yu 'brug (Yongzhong). 2012. Nor bu bzang po in Rgyal rong Tibetan
Village: Life, Language, and Folklore in Rgyas bzang Village. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 15:93-95.
80 She assumes various names in differing versions of the story, e.g., Sog
po 'Mongol', suggesting she spoke fluent Mongolian, and other names to
suggest that she spoke fluent Chinese.
78
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
waited for his return. Rgya dkar guessed something was wrong
because she felt A cog coveted her family's property. The family
waited anxiously, and his sister frequently stood on the rooftop
looking into the distance, hoping to see her brother returning home.
A cog put poison in Nor bu bzang po's bowl on the way back
home, hoping to kill him, but he failed because Nor bu bzang po
used ivory chopsticks to test all the food, tea, and soup he was
offered. The chopsticks turned dark when poison touched them. A
cog finally put poison on the tail of a fox skin hat when Nor bu bzang
po was washing his face. Later, he told Nor bu bzang po to hold the
fox's tail, put it close to his mouth, breathe deeply, and exhale. He
said he would feel warmer after doing this. Nor bu bzang po did so
and died.
A cog donned Nor bu bzang po's clothing and impersonated
the man he had murdered. He returned and became the
housemaster, forcibly taking the family's property. Nor bu bzang
po's sister knew he was not her brother. The mastiff confirmed this,
telling her his master had died while returning home.81 She decided
to search for her brother, even though she knew she might only
locate his bones. She told her parents she would visit a distant
relative for several days and set off with the mastiff.
One evening, she saw two blind ghosts eating each other's
flesh and then using a container to rub each other's bodies where
the flesh had been cut off. The flesh regrew immediately. Rgya dkar
slowly approached, quietly took the container as they passed it back
and forth, and fled.
The mastiff led Nor bu bzang po's sister to a complete
human skeleton in the snow. The mastiff began howling pitifully
and told her that this was her brother. The sister held the container,
lay on the skeleton, and wept. After a while, the mastiff began
barking happily and put its head under her armpit. She raised her
head and saw that flesh had grown on the skeleton. She then rubbed
the container everywhere on the skeleton. Her brother was restored
The story suggests the mastiff could talk to Rgya dkar in her own
language.
81
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
to life when she finished and spoke to her. Brother and sister wept
and then returned home.
A cog was enjoying a comfortable life, but when he saw Nor
bu bzang po, Nor bu bzang po's sister, and the mastiff returning, he
was so terrified that he jumped off the roof and died. Nor bu bzang
po stopped going out to trade and helped local people with the
magic container.
Afterward, the family lived a happy life.
59: THE THREE BROTHERS82
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག
L
ong ago, a Han Chinese family surnamed Ha moved to Kha
mdo Valley. There were five people in the family - the
parents and three sons. The family had a good relationship
with local Tibetans and was ambitious. Sadly, however, this led to a
family tragedy.
Men in Kha mdo Valley must have skills to support a family
to marry. Without such skills as metalsmithing, carpentry, and
painting, no woman would marry them. The father held a family
meeting and said he wanted his sons to find local Tibetan women to
marry. This would empower the family and strengthen their
position in the local community. He told his sons that they must
leave home and learn skills. The three brothers could not
understand Tibetan, so they went to a Chinese area to learn skills.
One day, the three brothers came to a valley where three
roads led in three directions. Each chose a different road.
Gunfire sounded when the oldest brother was drinking at a
spring. He searched for the sound source and found a middle-aged
hunter sitting by a fire, roasting and eating meat with great gusto.
The oldest brother asked for meat from the hunter, chatted with
him, relished the meat, decided to become a hunter, and asked the
G.yu 'brug. 2012. The Three Brothers in Rgyal rong Tibetan Village:
Life, Language, and Folklore in Rgyas bzang Village. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 15:96-97.
82
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hunter to teach him how to hunt. The lonely hunter agreed. Quickly,
the oldest brother became an excellent marksman and was ready to
return home.
The second brother met a blacksmith and became his
apprentice. After a few months, he had learned most of his teacher's
skills and left.
The youngest brother encountered a funeral. A woman very
emotionally called, "My dear son..."
He thought this was very interesting and decided to learn
how to lament. After several months his lamentation skills were
such that everyone who heard him was deeply touched.
The three brothers returned home at the same time. The
father invited several Tibetans to their home for a meal to welcome
his sons' return. The three brothers were drunk when their father
asked them to demonstrate their newly-acquired skills. The oldest
brother took out his gun and shot his father in the forehead. As the
father fell, he pointed at the second son, who thought his father was
asking him to demonstrate his skill, so he took his smithing tools
and plugged the bullet hole in his father's forehead with a piece of
silver.
The shocked mother looked at her youngest son, who stood,
held his father, and began lamenting, "My dear son…"
60: HELPING OTHERS WILL BRING YOU WHAT YOU NEED83
G.yu lha གR་L།
When I was about seven years old, I enjoyed visiting a neighbor's house where my
favorite childhood playmate lived. I liked listening to her grandfather's stories. One
of my favorites - "Helping Others Will Bring You What You Need" - features a poor
old man. I summarize the story below without dialogue. This story teaches the
Buddhist belief that helping others brings you what you want, if not in this life,
perhaps in the next life. The storyteller was my friend's grandfather, who has
passed away, but his story is told today and may still be told in the future. Maybe
G.yu lha. 2012. Helping Others Will Bring You What You Need in
Warming Your Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions
and Culture. Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:47-48.
83
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
he is now in Heaven, 84 watching me and listening to his story. He would be
delighted to hear his story because he loved telling stories. As our ancestors'
descendants, I hope we can preserve these valuable stories.
espite working hard all his life, a very poor old man had
hardly any clothes or a roof to shelter himself from the rain
and snow. He decided to visit the Buddha one day and ask,
"Why can't I be rich? Why can I never own anything?".
On the way, he met a pair of birds that couldn't fly away from
a tree and constantly bickered with each other. He also met a deer
that couldn't stand because its knees were worn out. Finally, he met
a solitary horse that couldn't be with other horses and with whom
no one else wanted to be near.
When the old man said he would question the Buddha, each
of the animals asked him to inquire about their situation.
He asked all their questions when he met the Buddha. The
Buddha said two thieves had stored a piece of gold under the tree
where the two birds perched, and if someone dug up that gold, their
problem would vanish. As for the deer, a wish-fulfilling jewel grew
on the deer's head. If the treasure were removed, the deer would
walk normally. As for the horse, if it had a master, it would be fine.
The old man set off home, and when he met the horse, he
conveyed the Buddha's message. The horse asked the old man to be
his master. The deer asked the old man to remove the treasure from
atop his head, and the two birds asked the old man to take the gold
after hearing the Buddha's message.
Just as he got home, the old man realized he had forgotten
to ask the Buddha about himself but was now rich.
This story has finished.85
D
84 People
think of ɮɑ jəɮ 'Heaven' as a peaceful, wonderful place with no
suffering, no killing, and no conflict. After death, a person goes to Heaven
if they have been good. Bad people go to χɳæɮ vɑ 'Hell'.
85 People normally end stories by saying, "ɳæn χbi nə yoɯ 'My story has
finished'" or "næ xhɛ pəjær 'Was that fun'?" as a concluding formula.
"χnɑ, 'Long, long ago'," is an opening formula.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
61: A LAKESIDE WOODEN FENCE
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
childless couple lived with very little property on a
mountain near a lake. Skyabs lo, the husband, was a lazy,
fickle wanderer. His wife, G.yang mo, was very different.
She was hardworking and responsible and never scolded her
husband when he returned from roaming around, which was
frequent.
One morning, each family in the local community prepared
to take their livestock to graze in the mountains. Women began
doing house chores. Skyabs lo and his wife started their breakfast.
Skyabs held a milk tea bowl and sat cross-legged outside their tent.
His wife put gray yak dung into the hearth fire with one hand while
sipping tea from a bowl in her other hand.
Skyabs lo said, "Dear wife, I know how we can acquire more
property."
"How?" his wife asked.
"Local herders graze their sheep near the lake every day. I
will make a wood fence there, and the sheep will rub against it. I'll
collect the wool when they leave every afternoon. I'll make a carpet
with the wool in time and sell it. Later, I'll buy a mare with the
money. The mare will give birth, and we will sell the pony after it
matures and make even more money."
The wife thought for a moment and said, "What a good
chance for me to ride the mare to visit my parents and siblings after
you buy it!"
Skyabs lo angrily said, "What? Who said you could ride a
pregnant mare? What would I do if the mare miscarried?"
He threw down his bowl, picked up a tent stake, and tried to
beat his wife, who fled in terror.
Late that night, he realized he had done nothing except lose
his wife.
A
•188•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
62: THE FALSE PAZI'S REVENGE86
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ།)
L
ong ago, a family lived alone in a forest. To leave the forest,
they needed to walk for a month. The family had eight
members - the parents and their six daughters. They all
lived happily together. One day, the father began worrying about the
future and told his wife, "We don't have a son. Why don't we have a
son?"
The wife looked at her husband in surprise, thought about
it, and said, "I'm too old to have another child."
Her husband explained that an old man in a particular
village was the most famous pazi 87 in the Namuyi area. "When
many families like ours had no son, they invited him to chant
scriptures and conduct rituals. Soon after that, they produce an
heir," he said.
The couple decided to invite that pazi to their home to do
rituals.
One cool morning in southwest Sichuan, the sun hid in the
cloudy sky while people snored in their beds. The father was
awakened by the cock's crow, got out of bed, and began preparing
to visit the pazi, who lived far from the family.
He wrapped up bread and meat. Once ready for his journey,
he kissed his wife's thin face goodbye and left. Even though the
journey was long and tiring, the father was happy when he thought
of his future son. After a month, he reached the pazi's home. The
pazi's family took one look at the exhausted man and immediately
prepared food for him. After the meal, they urged him to rest.
It was lunchtime when he woke up. The pazi's family
Li Xiaoqiong (Sgrol ma). 2012. The False Pazi's Revenge in A Namuyi
Tibetan Woman's Journey from Chinese Village to Indian City to Beijing.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 30:29-33.
87 A pazi is a Namuyi religious practitioner who plays an important role
in community affairs, especially during life-cycle rituals associated with
birth and death.
86
•189•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
prepared food for him again. After eating, the husband explained
why he had come. The pazi looked at him silently and said, "It will
be very difficult for you to have a son, but I'll do my best to help
you."
The visitor was delighted to hear this. They immediately
began preparing to leave and set out the next morning. On the way,
they saw many trees and smiling flowers. Everything was beautiful.
Dew glistened on flower petals, and the husband's heart brimmed
with joy. He imagined a wonderful future for himself and his family
as they went along. A month passed like minutes.
The night they reached his home, the family prepared a
sheep, two chickens, and some pork for the pazi. All the daughters
were nicely dressed. Everybody got ready to begin the ritual that
night.
The pazi began the ritual with the husband assisting. The
girls sat quietly and politely while the ritual was carried out.
Everybody in the family respected the pazi and treated him well.
The ritual continued, and their hearts filled with hope.
Unfortunately, the poor family didn't know the pazi was a terrible
liar who had cheated countless people.
Suddenly, the austere atmosphere was broken by a titanic,
"Brrr rr r!" Everyone turned to the pazi. The youngest daughter
laughed, pointed at him, and said loudly, "You farted!"
The pazi's face was red, but he finished the ritual by
controlling his shame and anger. The pazi informed the father that
something evil in the family prevented them from having a son. He
said, "In a dream last night, an old man told me that your youngest
daughter was bringing misfortune to your family. You'll never have
a son if you do not give your youngest daughter to tigers in the deep
forest."
The father was terrified to hear this, and his heart ached. He
told his wife what the pazi had said, which made her faint
immediately. Ultimately, they decided to send the girl deep into the
forest. "We love you, but our family needs a son," they said the
morning they sent off the daughter with a big bundle of meat.
•190•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The girl understood this was the pazi's revenge, kissed her
mother, walked out of the house, and strode into the deep forest.
She walked alone; her mind full of fear. She looked up at the sky
with a fixed smile, thinking she must be the stupidest person in the
world. Knowing the inevitable outcome, she mindlessly accepted
her parents' decision to send her away. She walked for almost two
days without eating. It seemed that the entire world was laughing at
her. Her mind was sometimes empty, sometimes full. She was sure
she would die.
One morning she felt a pain in her belly - a real pain,
stabbing her body. That was the first time she had known real
hunger. She thought, "Will I die now? What will happen next?"
She eventually collapsed in exhaustion and rolled down a
hill into a deep hole. Though she thought this was a terrible disaster,
it was a stroke of luck. The hole she fell into belonged to a wealthy
family, but all the family members except one son had died from an
illness. That boy was very lonely and spent every day waiting for
someone to keep him company. He left his home to check the holes
he had dug in the forest occasionally, hoping to catch tigers and
other wild animals.
As the boy checked his traps that day, his foot bumped
something strange. He screamed, looked down, and saw a girl. He
called to her but, receiving no answer, he picked her up, carried her
to his home, and fed her rice and water. Strength slowly returned to
her body. Finally, she opened her eyes and asked the boy, "Is this
Heaven?"
The boy explained how he had met her and where she was.
Overcome with gratitude, she poured out her heart to the boy,
telling him why she was in the forest. In return, the boy told her the
sad story of his life and why he was alone.
They lived and worked together. Time passed - days,
months, and years. Eventually, the girl gave birth to a daughter. One
day, as the mother lay on the bed with her daughter, the little girl
turned to her and said, "Where are my grandparents?"
This innocent question made the mother recall her past life.
•191•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Suddenly filled with longing to see her parents, tears filled her eyes.
Wiping away a tear, she said, "They live far away, but I'll take you to
see them."
Mother, father, and daughter soon set off. When they
reached the girl's home, an old man lazily chopped wood in front of
the door. Beside him, an old woman was washing clothes in a pot.
When the old woman saw the young mother, she cried and rushed
to her. The daughter also cried and exclaimed, "Mother! I missed
you so much!"
The family still had no son. The girl asked her mother, "What
happened after I left?"
The old woman told her daughter everything: After she had
left, the family waited for a son. Time passed. Eventually, she
realized she was too old to have a son and went to find the pazi who
had cheated them. However, by the time they arrived, the pazi had
died during an earthquake that had destroyed his village and
everyone in it.
The old mother said, "Your father and I wallowed in regret
for many years. Finally, after we figured out that the pazi had lied
to us, we searched for you, but we didn't find any trace after two
years of looking, so we gave up."
"I missed all of you," the girl said, tears filling her eyes.
They hugged and smiled, and the daughter's husband's eyes
glistened with tears as the granddaughter stared at everyone in
utter bafflement.
63: CUONUMI88
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ།)
A
few families lived in a small village deep in the forest. One
family had two sons and one daughter. The mother had
raised the children alone after a cuonumi - a ghost that
Li Xiaoqiong (Sgrol ma). 2012. Cuonumi in A Namuyi Tibetan
Woman's Journey from Chinese Village to Indian City to Beijing. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 30:33-36.
88
•192•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
eats humans - had taken her husband away. Cuonumi are more
intelligent than people. In this village, cuonumi usually took a
person away, and then the person would be gone for a long while.
When the villagers had almost given up hope, the missing person
might reappear in the village, but just as often, they never returned.
The village population decreased yearly as residents steadily lost
their loved ones. The whole village was becoming hushed and full of
fear. People stopped farming and rarely left their homes. The village
was a very sad place.
Even though the villagers seldom left their homes, cuonumi
found ways to catch and take them away. One winter afternoon, the
family's mother thought about going out to look for something to
eat since they had eaten everything there was to eat in the house.
The mother decided to go to her aunt's home, far away, to ask for
food. It would take three days for her to go and return. Before she
left, she told her two sons and daughter, "Cuonumi are very
dangerous. Be careful and don't go outside the house. Don't open it
even if someone comes and knocks on the door. When I come back
in three days, I'll sing the rabbit song, and only then should you
open the door," and, taking a long deep breath, she started.
It was a freezing morning when she left. On the way, she
heard the sounds of nature - trees rubbing each other. She
continued, though she knew a cuonumi might appear at any
moment. On the second day of her journey, she was exhausted and
famished. Suddenly a cuonumi appeared. She was so scared that she
could not run or struggle. She knew cuonumi were very fast. The
cuonumi killed her and took her corpse and belongings to the
mountains.
Many days passed, and the cuonumi decided to go to the
woman's home and eat her children. She put on the dead mother's
clothes and started her journey. When she reached the dead
woman's house, she knocked on the door loudly and rudely
bellowed, "Sons and daughters! Mother is home!"
No one opened the door. The two sons and daughter inside
the home were afraid and worried. The daughter said, "We should
•193•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
not open the door until she proves she's our mother."
The daughter asked the cuonumi to show them her hand.
The cuonumi put her hand in a small hole over the door, and the
daughter touched it. She felt it was hairy and said, "This is not our
mother. Our mother has not even a single hair on her hand."
The cuonumi angrily went home, removed all the hair on her
hands, returned to the house, and knocked on the door again. She
put her hand through the window when nobody opened it and told
the children to touch it. She said, "I'm your mother, and I've brought
lots of food."
The two starving sons were eager to open the door and get
the food. However, the daughter insisted on not opening the door
because she still wasn't sure it was her mother, and she had not sung
the rabbit song. The daughter and two sons had an argument, which
the cuonumi overheard. She then sang the rabbit song and pushed
a little food through the window. The sons were delighted to see the
food and insisted on opening the door. When the door opened, the
cuonumi ran inside, grabbed the boys, and began eating them.
Meanwhile, the daughter grabbed some oil and a rope and
fled. She stopped and climbed to the top when she reached a huge
tree. She sat quietly, her heart pounding, and then she heard the
cuonumi approaching. When the cuonumi got to the tree, it began
climbing up, bit by bit. The daughter was terrified, sure she would
be eaten, just like her other family members. Suddenly, recalling
that she had the oil, she poured some down the tree. The tree trunk
became very slippery. The cuonumi lost her grip and fell to the
earth. The cuonumi tried many times to climb up but was
unsuccessful. Finally, she gave up and vanished into the forest.
The girl stayed in the tree for three and a half days.
Exhausted and starving, she was near death and wanted to climb
down, but she was afraid the cuonumi would return at any moment.
Finally, an old man with a big ax passed by on the fourth day. The
girl called, "Save me! Help me!"
The old man looked up, saw the girl, and asked what had
happened. The girl climbed down and told everything to the old
•194•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
man, who said, "Don't worry, I'll help and protect you."
The powerful old man, who hunted and killed cuonumi, took
her to his village, where she lived happily with his family.
64: BKRA SHIS' ADVENTURES89
Tshe dpal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ།
B
kra shis was a strange young man who stayed in his room
most of the time reading scriptures. His father wanted him
to come out of his room and do something. Deciding to
lure him out of the room, he tossed a gold coin on the
porch and said, "Come out, Bkra shis!"
Bkra shis came out, noticed the gold coin, and called happily
to his father, "Father, I found a gold coin on the porch!"
"Lucky man! You found a gold coin! What will you find in
the yard?" replied his father.
The next day his father threw a gold coin in the yard and
B
Tshe dpal rgyal. 2001. Bkra shis's Adventures in Thomas et al.:259266.
89
•195•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
called, "Bkra shis, come out to the yard!"
Bkra shis found the gold coin in the yard and told his father.
On the third day, his father threw a gold coin outside the
gate. You can guess what Bkra shis did on that day.
Bkra shis' father said, "Now take these three gold coins and
buy us some food."
Bkra shis started to the market. On the way, he saw several
children torturing a cat. Bkra shis thought the cat was very pitiful,
bought it from the children with a gold coin, and took it home.
"What did you buy?" asked his father. Bkra shis pointed to
the cat. His father said nothing.
The next day on the way to the market, he met some children
tormenting a dog, which he bought for a gold coin and took it home.
His father was upset but remained silent.
On the third day, Bkra shis met a hunter holding a white
snake. Bkra shis said, "Please sell the snake to me for a gold coin,"
and the hunter agreed.
Bkra shis asked the hunter where he had caught the snake.
The hunter pointed and said, "Under that rock."
Bkra shis thanked him, went to the rock, and put the snake
on the ground. When Bkra shis turned to leave, the snake said, "If
you need my help, come find me here."
When Bkra shis got home, his father's face was ugly with
anger. Knowing Bkra shis had not bought food, he loudly and
angrily said, "Take your cat and dog and leave!"
Bkra shis took the two animals he had bought and sadly left.
Recalling what the snake had said, he went to the rock. The snake
said, "Don't be sad. I'm Dragon King's son, and I'll help you. Go to
Dragon Palace. My father will offer you a lot of gold and silver. Don't
take it. That gold and silver will become dirt as soon as you leave the
palace. Instead, ask for the gold bowl on the stove. My father will
give it to you."
Bkra shis did exactly what the snake said and obtained the
gold bowl. It was a magic bowl that gave him whatever he wished.
When Bkra shis and his two animals felt hungry, he closed his eyes
•196•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and asked the gold bowl for some food. Very soon, delicious food
appeared. With the bowl's help, they continued their journey for
many days.
One day after they reached a riverbank in a very beautiful
place, Bkra shis closed his eyes and asked for a house. When he
opened his eyes, a wooden house appeared. He, the cat, and the dog
lived happily there.
The king who lived on the other side of the river heard about
the gold bowl and wanted it very much. He sent for a devil and said,
"I promise to give you a person a day if you get me that gold bowl."
The devil agreed, became a man, and went to the riverbank.
Bkra shis saw the man waving to him from the other side of the river
and thought, "That man must be poor like me," and said to the gold
bowl, "Please bring that man to this side of the river."
An instant later, the man appeared in front of Bkra shis, who
thought he was a good man and asked him to live with them.
One day Bkra shis said, "I'm going home to see my father.
Please look after my cat and dog while I'm away."
He did not take the gold bowl when he left, which the devil
stole and gave to the king. Understanding what the man had done,
the cat and dog decided to get the gold bowl and bring it back home.
They snuck into the king's palace and overheard the devil and the
king talking. The devil said, "Where is the gold bowl? We must take
care, or Bkra shis will take it."
The king said, "Don't fret. It's very safe. It's in King Mouse's
hands."
The cat went to King Mouse's gate and pretended to be dead.
When some mice noticed that their enemy, the cat, was lying dead
at the gate, they happily jumped up and down and urinated on the
cat, who never moved.
A mouse informed King Mouse, who came and jumped on
the cat. The cat immediately grabbed King Mouse with his teeth and
said, "Give me the gold bowl, or I'll eat you!"
The cat was soon given the gold bowl. After taking the gold
bowl and eating several mice, the cat left.
•197•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The dog and cat had to cross the river on their way home.
The cat held the bowl in his mouth. The dog asked, "Do you have
it?"
The cat nodded his head.
The dog asked this repeatedly. Finally, the cat angrily and
loudly said, "Yes!"
As soon as he said this, the gold bowl tumbled into the river.
Fortunately, the cat noticed a big fish swimming in the river and
caught it. The gold bowl was in the fish's mouth, so the two happily
went home with the gold bowl and waited for Bkra shis' return.
When Bkra shis eventually returned, they gave him the gold
bowl and described what had happened. A short time later, the devil
disguised as the same man waved his hands from across the river.
Bkra shis realized the man was a devil from his faithful
animals' account and asked the gold bowl to put the man in the
river. The man suddenly disappeared, but Bkra shis and the animals
heard faint cries of "Help! Help!"
One sunny morning, Bkra shis went to the king's palace to
ask the princess to be his wife. Bkra shis had heard that the princess
was beautiful and kind.
After Bkra shis made his request, the king looked at Bkra
shis carefully and shook his head. He thought, "This man is very
poor but wants to marry my daughter!"
The king shouted, "Cut off his head!"
However, when the princess saw Bkra shis, she instantly fell
in love. Believing he was handsome and kind, she pleaded. "Dear
Father, don't kill him. I want to be his wife."
"I will not let you marry this poor man," said the king. Then
he thought a moment and said, "Well, Bkra shis, if you want to
marry my daughter, you must do several things. You must bring me
a bag of gold, a square egg, and a big pearl, and it must thunder
three times on the fifteenth of the twelfth month."
Bkra shis agreed, left, and decided to ask a famous bla ma
for advice. Walking to the bla ma's place, he passed a temple, went
inside, and saw a Buddha image. The image said, "I don't know why
•198•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
no one worships me."
Bkra shis replied, "I will ask the bla ma," and continued his
journey.
Soon he met a man wailing under a tree. "I don't know why
the tree has suddenly withered. I rely on this tree for my life," said
the man.
"I'll ask the bla ma," assured Bkra shis.
Bkra shis walked on and encountered a dragon. "I came here
to drink some water. I don't know why I can't fly," said the dragon.
"I will ask the bla ma," promised Bkra shis.
Bkra shis walked on and met an old man whose hair was as
white as snow. "Boy, where are you going?" inquired the old man.
"I'm going to visit a bla ma," Bkra shis replied and said the
bla ma's name.
"That bla ma is me," the old man announced.
Bkra shis was overjoyed, told his story, and asked the bla
ma's help for those he had met on the road. The bla ma said, "There
is a big pearl in the dragon's mouth. If you remove it, the dragon will
fly again. There is a bag of gold under the dry tree's roots. If you
remove the gold, the tree will come back to life. Take a square egg
from under the Buddha image, and many people will worship the
image."
Bkra shis thanked the old bla ma and began his return
journey. When he met the dragon, he promised Bkra shis to make it
thunder three times on the fifteenth of the twelfth month. Bkra shis
took the other things to the palace, astonishing the king.
Bkra shis' wedding started on the fifteenth of the twelfth
month, and the dragon made it thunder thrice that day.
Soon afterward, Bkra shis became the king and led a happy
life.
•199•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
65: MCHIG NGES90
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ།
T
en a jo - pilgrims on their way to Lha sa - met Mchig nges
one day, who asked, "Where are you going?"
They answered, "We are on a pilgrimage to Lha sa
to see the holy Buddha image, the Jo bo. We will also visit all the
holy places there."
Mchig nges said, "There are many holy things in my home to
see if you'd like to come and see them."
The a jo asked, "What kind of holy things are in your home?"
Mchig nges replied, "I have Sgo gtsig drog, 'the gate which
can sound zi once'; the Lha khang nyi ma dgu shar 'the temple with
nine shining suns'; and I also have Ra ka gtag 'the goat tied to a post'
in my home."91
The pilgrims then decided to visit Mchig nges' home. When
they arrived, he opened the gate, which was so old it made the sound
zi. He introduced this gate as the famous Sgo gtsig drog. Then they
saw a goat tied to a post. Mchig nges said, "This is the Ra ka gtag."
Next, they entered the house, which was very shabby. Light
poured through holes in the walls. Mchig nges said, "This is the Lha
khang nyi ma dgu shar."
The pilgrims angrily said, "You mocked us! We spent an
entire day coming here because you told us that you had holy things.
We're not going to let you play tricks on us," and then they beat him.
Later, when they took him to the local leader, Mchig nges
said, "I showed them every holy thing I had, but they beat me. What
should I do?"
The pilgrims described everything Mchig nges had shown
and how he cheated them. The leader said, "I know Mchig nges
mocked you. He often does such things. However, he is destitute
and has nothing we can take from him as punishment, but you can
Zla ba sgrol ma. 2011. Mchig Nges. Asian Highlands Perspectives
10:391-401.
91 These names resemble names of pilgrimage sites in or near Lha sa.
90
•200•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
shit on his roof above the stove to punish him for his mockery. Now,
go back to Mchig nges' house, climb to the roof, and shit above his
stove."
The pilgrims said, "OK, let's go to Mchig nges' house."
Once they got there, they climbed up on the roof and
prepared to shit above his stove.
Mchig nges said, "Now, you all go ahead and shit above my
stove because it's what the leader ordered. No one can oppose his
decision, but when you are shitting above my stove, don't urinate,
or I'll shove the chimney up your butt."
The pilgrims said one after the other, "I can't shit without
pissing," and they all left without taking revenge.
66: REPAYING A DEBT OF GRATITUDE
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ།
L
ong ago, an only son lived with his old mother, who wove
cloth while the boy tended the family's donkey. The two of
them had a happy life. One day the old woman finished
weaving two pieces of cloth. When the boy asked his mother to give
him the cloth to sell in the market, she refused, saying he didn't
know how to do business. However, the boy insisted on taking his
donkey and leaving to sell the cloth, no matter what his mother said.
Finally, she consented, so he tied the cloth to the donkey's back, set
off, and eventually reached a place he had never been.
Some boys had caught a monkey at the bottom of a valley
and were trying to kill it. The boy went over and said, "Please don't
kill that monkey."
The boys replied, "We will kill it unless you give us
something."
The boy thought for a minute and said, "I can't give you
anything except some cloth," and gave them a piece.
The boys freed the monkey. So the boy started again and
walked until he got to a place where several boys had caught a
mouse and were trying to kill it. He said to the boys, "Please don't
•201•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
kill that mouse."
They replied, "We will kill it unless you give us something."
The boy gave them his other piece of cloth, and they freed
the captive mouse.
Eventually, he came to where some men had caught a bear
in a trap. He pleaded, "Please don't kill the bear."
The men replied, "We will kill it unless you give us
something."
The boy gave them the donkey, so they freed the bear.
The boy walked alone until he came to a big village where a
wealthy merchant lived. The boy went to the rich merchant's home,
where there was a well where the family's servants fetched water.
He sat there and begged for food from the wealthy merchant, who
ignored him.
A few days later, the servants said, "That strange boy has
been here a long time. He must be a thief. He shouldn't stay here
any longer. We need to drive him away from the village."
The wealthy merchant grabbed the boy, put him in a big box,
sewed up the box in yak leather, and threw it into a river. The boy
didn't even have a chance to explain to them that he was not a thief!
The box floated for some days until it eventually reached a
fork in the river, where it stopped right in the middle. The box's
leather cover had some fat, which attracted a mouse. The mouse
gnawed the fat, chewed through the leather, was surprised to smell
a person in the box, looked inside, and saw the boy who had saved
his life.
The mouse worriedly ran to his friend, the monkey, and
asked for help. When the monkey heard this and realized that the
boy had saved his life, he fetched his friend, the bear. The bear,
understanding it was the boy who had saved his life, immediately
came to the river to help. The monkey used his claws to tear the
leather covering the box, and the bear broke the box with his paws.
After climbing out of the box, the boy told them his story.
When he finished, the animals said, "Go to the other side of the river,
and we can help you live happily. You won't have to beg anymore."
•202•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The boy went to the opposite bank, sat, and waited for his
friends to arrive. After an hour, the monkey, the mouse, and the bear
came carrying a long stone. They told him to hold it and pray for
food, a house, and clothes, and he would get whatever he had prayed
for the following day.
The boy sat in the field that night, prayed for delicious food,
beautiful clothes, and a nice house, and then slept in the field. When
he awoke the next morning, he saw a nice house full of delicious food
and beautiful clothes, making him the richest man in the valley.
When the wealthy merchant heard about this, he visited and
asked, "How did you become so rich?"
The boy naively replied, "My friends - the monkey, the
mouse, and the bear - gave me a long stone. If I pray to it, I get what
I prayed for the next day."
The merchant said, "Let's do business. If you give me the
stone, I'll give you whatever you need."
Despite the boy's protests, the wealthy merchant took the
stone, returned home, and prayed to be more prosperous. The next
day he woke up surrounded by riches and decided to pray that the
things the stone had given the boy would come to him.
The next day when the boy woke up, all his possessions had
vanished, and he was sleeping in a field. As he wept in the empty
field, the monkey, the bear, and the mouse came and asked, "What
happened to you? We made you the richest man in the valley. Why
are you wailing like this?"
The boy said, "The rich merchant took my stone and all my
property. Now I have nothing."
The mouse said, "We can't let you be like this. We need to
find the stone. Tell us where the rich merchant lives."
The boy led them to the wealthy merchant's house, where
the mouse said, "You three hide here. I'll go listen to what they are
talking about."
The mouse went to every place in the house, but no one
talked about the stone, so he went to the well near the gate where
many women were fetching water, washing clothes, and talking
•203•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
about the boy. One woman said, "Did you hear that a few days ago,
the rich merchant threw a boy into the river?"
Another woman said, "No one knows what kind of person
that boy is. He built a big house in one day and became the richest
person in this valley overnight."
Another woman asked, "How did he get so rich so quickly?"
The woman replied, "He had a magic stone, but the rich
merchant took it. That's why the whole village has become much
richer."
The women talked, washed clothes, and ate puffed barley.
After a bit, another woman asked, "What does the stone look like?"
The servant of the wealthy merchant said, "It's an ordinarylooking long stone."
The same woman asked, "Where did they put it?"
The wealthy merchant's servant said, "The stone is in the
center of a room east of the room full of grain and colorful cloth. The
rich merchant prays to it, and he receives whatever he asked for the
next day."
The mouse returned to his three friends and happily
reported, "The stone is in a storeroom in the east of the house."
The monkey and the mouse went to the east side of the
building, but they could not enter the room, so the mouse dug a hole
into the room. After getting inside, he saw the stone in the center of
the room but could not go near it because the wealthy family had
tied a cat near it. The mouse ran back to the monkey and said,
"There's a cat near the long stone, so I can't go near it."
They discussed what to do next. The clever mouse suggested
he go to the wealthy merchant's and his wife's bedroom that night
and chew off all their hair.
The next day the mouse went near the well and heard a
woman say, "Last night, a mouse chewed off the rich merchant's and
his wife's hair. Tonight, they're going to tie a cat near their bed."
The mouse returned to his friends and reported what he had
heard.
That night, the mouse and monkey returned to the east
•204•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
room. The mouse looked into the hole he had dug the night before
and saw that the cat was gone, but the stone had been put atop a pile
of grain. The mouse returned to the monkey, saying, "The stone is
on top of the grain. I can't reach it."
The monkey said, "Dig grain from the bottom of the pile.
Eventually, the stone will fall to the ground, and we won't need to
climb on top of the grain."
The mouse returned to the room and dug through the
middle of the night until the stone finally fell to the floor. This
presented another problem because the stone was too heavy for him
to move. He returned to the monkey and said, "The stone is too
heavy. I can't move it. What should we do?"
The monkey said, "Tie a rope around the stone, give the
other end to me, and I'll pull the stone out. You also must make the
hole in the wall bigger because the stone is too big to pull out
through a small hole."
The mouse widened the hole inside the room, and the
monkey dug at the hole from the outside. When they had made the
hole large enough, the mouse tied a rope around the stone, took the
other end of the rope to the monkey, and the monkey pulled the
stone out, picked it up, and ran back to the bear and the boy.
The monkey and the mouse said to the bear and the boy,
"Let's go to the other side of the river."
The boy and the bear agreed. When they got to the river, the
mouse was exhausted because he had worked for several nights. He
climbed into the bear's ear and fell asleep. The monkey climbed on
the bear's back and held the stone in his mouth, keeping it steady
with both hands. The boy also climbed up on the bear's back as the
bear waded into the river.
When they reached the middle of the river, the bear asked,
"Am I powerful?" because he had carried all of them.
No one answered. The mouse was asleep in the bear's ear
and had heard nothing. The monkey used his hands and mouth to
hold the stone and could not speak.
The bear angrily said, "Am I strong? If you think so, please
•205•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
say, 'Yes.' If you don't think so, please say, 'No,' otherwise I'll throw
you both into the river."
The monkey was afraid, so he threw up his arms and said,
"Oh yes! You are very strong!" and the stone fell into the river.
The mouse woke up when they got to the other side of the
river. His friends told him what had happened. The mouse told the
others to wait for him and started wailing loudly as he ran upstream
to the river's source. He continued wailing until the animals and fish
of the river came and asked, "What happened to you? Why are you
crying?"
The mouse said, "The river will dry in seven days, and all
living things in the river will die. This is why I'm so upset and
wailing."
The living things in the river anxiously asked, "What can we
do?"
The mouse said, "Make a stupa of stones on the side of the
river to prevent this sad thing from happening."
The living things of the river were terrified and said, "Of
course, we will do it to stop the river from drying."
The mouse happily said, "Please bring stones from the river,
and I'll build a stupa for you."
All the living things of the river brought stones from the river.
Eventually, a very old frog brought the long stone to the mouse. The
mouse built the stupa and said, "Now we have made the stupa, so
the river will not dry up."
The mouse gave the stone to the boy, and the boy's three
friends said, "Now we have repaid our debt of gratitude. Go live a
happy life by yourself, take care of your stone, and don't lose it
again," and then the three friends left.
•206•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
67: THE LEVERET, THE SPARROW, AND THE PIG92
G.yu lha གR་L།
leveret, a baby sparrow, and a piglet were friends and
lived together. One day, the sparrow said to the leveret,
"Lo sar is coming, and we have no meat. We must find a
way to get some."
"You're right. I also thought that. But how can we get meat
now that it has snowed so heavily? We can't even take one step
outside," said the sparrow, looking at the leveret suspiciously.
"Tomorrow, we will tell the stupid pig that we must kill one
of us to eat for Lo sar. I'll say, 'If you kill me, I'm too small for you
both to eat.' Then you say, 'You could kill me, but I'm too hairy to
eat.' Then the pig will say, 'Kill me!' Then we will kill the pig."
The following day, they met, and everything went just as the
leveret planned. After the pig agreed to be killed, the leveret asked
the sparrow to steal seasoning from their neighbors. The cunning
leveret wanted to eat all the pig without sharing it with the sparrow
and thus tricked the sparrow, who was captured and nearly killed
by the neighbor's children when he went to borrow some seasoning.
After the leveret killed the pig, he took its tail, stuck it in a
crack in the wall, and waited for the sparrow to return.
When the sparrow escaped and finally returned, the leveret
said, "The naughty creature went through the stone wall when I was
trying to kill him! Now we can only see his tail. What can we do?"
The sparrow pulled the tail out of the wall. "Now we have lost
the delicious pig! What can we do?" cried the leveret, never
imagining that the sparrow was smarter than he.
The sparrow saw a piece of pork sticking out from under the
leveret's bed. Secretly, he later poisoned the pork and carefully put
it back. The leveret ate the poisoned meat and died. Thus, in the end,
the sparrow defeated the leveret at his own game.
A
G.yu lha. 2012. The Leveret, the Sparrow, and the Pig in Warming Your
Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:51-51.
92
•207•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
68: THE FLEA AND THE LOUSE93
G.yu lha གR་L།
man as cruel as a tiger often tortured and killed various
animals. One day when he was cooking his usual lunch of
a pot full of insects and snakes, he got tired of waiting for
the tiny fire to heat the pot. At that moment, he saw a louse drawling
near the stones surrounding the fireplace and decided to vent all his
anger on the innocent louse. He grabbed a half-burnt stick and
smashed the louse. The poor louse's back was singed, so lice have
black marks on their backs.
Burning the louse still did not erase the cruel man's fury. He
looked around and saw a flea struggling to escape from a crevice in
his door. He got up from the fire, rushed to the door, and slammed
it shut, squashing the little flea, which explains why fleas are flat.
A
69: THE BONE IN THE MEAT94
G.yu lha གR་L།
O
nce a few friends were having a small party in a dark room
near the main village road. They cooked a pot of mutton
and, while eating it, threw the bones out through a window.
Saluo threw a sharp bone that hit a man just as he passed by the
window, blinding his right eye.
The blinded person asked respectfully, "Who was so great to
aim so precisely?"
"I, Saluo, of course!" Saluo responded proudly.
Told by Khen thar (b. 1953). G.yu lha. 2012. The Flea and the Louse in
Warming Your Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions
and Culture. Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:51-52.
94 Told by Bsod nams sgron (b. 1957). G.yu lha. 2012. The Bone in the
Meat in Warming Your Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral
Traditions and Culture. Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:52.
93
•208•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
70: THE JAR BUYER95,96
G.yu lha གR་L།
L
ong ago, a man had saved two years to buy a liquor jar.97
Finally, after earning enough, he took his money, went to
the market, and bought a nice, big jar. He carefully
balanced the jar on his head while loudly chanting, "Buddha bless
me so I can take this jar safely home."
Just as he was ready to step over his threshold, he said, "OK,
Buddha, I don't need your help now," and stepped inside,
accidentally smashing the jar to pieces on the upper door frame,
leaving him holding two pieces of the shattered jar in his hands.
71: THE HELPLESS NOMAD98,99
G.yu lha གR་L།
L
ong ago, a nomad went here and there on pilgrimage. He
traveled to an agricultural place and stayed in the home of
a farmer who spoke Tibetan poorly. The farmer cooked
green soybeans100 in the pod for dinner. The nomad did not know
how to eat the soybeans and was too embarrassed to ask. All he
could do was imitate the farmer. The only light in the room was from
a feeble butter lamp. In such dim light, the nomad thought the
farmer was touching the soybeans to his nose and then throwing
G.yu lha. 2012. The Jar Buyer in Warming Your Hands with
Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 13:52.
96 Told by Tshe ring dpal ldan (b. 1949).
97 Clay jars are used for storing liquor made by every family in Siyuewu to
be consumed during celebrations and daily life.
98 G.yu lha. 2012. The Helpless Nomad in Warming Your Hands with
Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 13:55-57.
99 Told by 'Brug skyid (b. 1944).
100 Green soybeans that are almost ripe and very green are a favorite dish.
The green outer shell and a thin inner white shell are peeled. The soft
bean is eaten.
95
•209•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
them away. The traveler wiped the beans on his nose one by one and
then threw them away.
"Dear friend, are you full now?" asked the farmer.
"No, but my nose aches!" shouted the nomad resentfully.
The poor farmer had no idea what the nomad was talking
about and looked at him innocently. They did not speak until the
farmer said, "Grogs po lags. Khyed do nub gang la nyal. Khang
gcig dang po la nyal nag sha za khrag thung yod. Gnyis pa la nyal
na gnam du rdib. Gsum pa la nyal na ro khang yin. I don't know
where you want to sleep. If you sleep in the first room, there is a
flesh-eating bloodsucker. In the second room, the sky might fall, and
corpses are stored in the third room."
The nomad could hardly believe his ears hearing the
farmer's description of the three rooms. He thought the flesh-eating
bloodsucker's room sounded less dangerous than the falling sky and
corpses. Besides, he thought, he had his sword to protect himself.
He dared not close his eyes when he went to his room, afraid
that the flesh-eating bloodsucker would appear. Suddenly, the
nomad heard a small creature moving in the room. Thinking it was
a flesh-eating bloodsucker, he took out his sword and slashed at it,
killing the farmer's cat. Terrified, he cried out, "I killed one flesheating bloodsucker, but I'm not sure if there are more!"
"There are many more," murmured the half-asleep farmer,
so he stayed up all night without shutting his eyes.101
'Flesh-eating, bloodsucker meant "flea" to the farmer. "If you sleep in
the second room, the sky will fall," meant the roof leaked. "The third
room is where corpses are stored." Ro 'corpse' in A mdo Tibetan is
identical in pronunciation to Lavrung for 'granary'.
101
•210•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
72: THE HUNTER AND HIS WIFE102,103
G.yu lha གR་L།
hunter had two sacred dogs and a wife, who eventually fell
in love with a giant and planned to kill the hunter.
One day the wife asked the hunter to go hunting
but prevented him from taking his dogs. The giant waited in the
forest, caught the hunter, and said he wanted to eat him. The hunter
said he needed to give final instructions104 to his parents, climbed
up a tree, and called his dogs to save him. The two dogs then came
and killed the giant.
The hunter was angry with his wife and chopped her in two
with his sword. He fed one dog one piece and fed the second dog the
other half.
A
73: DIVIDING HOUSEWORK105
G.yu lha གR་L།
L
ong ago, a needle, a turnip, an earth clod, an earthenware
jar, and some butter lived together. One day they divided
the housework. The needle said, "I'll sweep the floor," and
fell into a crack in the floor.
The turnip said, "I'll go feed the cows," and the cows ate it.
The clod said, "I'll fetch water," and turned to mud.
The jar said, "I'll go atop the cabinet and be the king," but
later fell and shattered.
G.yu lha. 2012. The Hunter and His Wife in Warming Your Hands
with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 13:57.
103 Told by Sgrol las (b. 1927).
104 People leave instructions before they die, including what should be
done with their corpse and what they want their family to do in the
future.
105 Told by Wang Yong (b. 1978). G.yu lha. 2012. Dividing Housework in
Warming Your Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions
and Culture. Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:55.
102
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The butter said, "I'll make a fire," and melted.
The story is finished.
74: A WILD BOAR ATTACKS106, 107
G.yu lha གR་L།
I
was weeding my family's potato field. The entire field had
been dug up, and all the potatoes had been half-eaten by a
disgusting wild pig. The sun was hidden behind a thick
cloud. My neighbor, Tshe lo, was working in his field and called out,
"My potatoes were eaten, and I don't feel like working there. What
about your field?"
"Mine is like yours. What can we do about this pig?" I
replied.
The trees near the field shook, and I heard strange sounds. I
removed my knife from its sheath in my faded old Tibetan robe. The
sound came nearer, and my heart beat faster and louder.
Suddenly, a black bristly wild pig appeared among the dense
trees. It was so fat that its eyes were invisible. Tshe lo and I were like
two trees - we couldn't move.
The pig charged. I was too afraid to run for a second, but I
turned and bolted. The brutish pig chased me like it hadn't eaten for
a century. When the pig almost reached me, a tree appeared before
me. I quickly jumped and grabbed a branch, but the wild pig still
tried to catch me. My feet were hanging, and I pulled them up
whenever the pig leaped at me. I had forgotten the knife. Tshe lo was
standing far away. He could see me from where he stood but dared
not approach and help.
After about half an hour, the pig tired and left. I was just like
a fruit hanging from that tree. I couldn't move or speak for a while.
G.yu lha. 2012. A Wild Boar Attacks in Warming Your Hands with
Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 13:61-62.
107 This true close-call story was told by Bkra shes don grub (b. 1940).
He was eleven years old when these events happened.
106
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
I only remembered having a knife when I got back on the ground.
I asked Tshe lo why he hadn't helped me, but he was even more
frightened than I. He couldn't even remember what had just happened.
75: BLO RING AND zæn tʂi108
G.yu lha གR་L།
L
ong ago, Blo ring lived in the upper part of a valley, and zæn
tʂi lived at the bottom. They were friends and shared
ownership of a gold Buddha figure. One day, Blo ring
decided he wanted the statue all for himself. He told his mother to
go to the pine forest opposite their house and say, "Yes, Blo ring take
it," when she heard Blo ring and zæn tʂi's voices.
Next, he invited zæn tʂi to have dinner with him. After
dinner, Blo ring said he had been thinking about a minor problem
between him and zæn tʂi, and he wanted to ask the pine trees to
solve the problem. zæn tʂi thought this was fair and agreed. They
went outside. "Who should take the gold statue, zæn tʂi or Blo ring?
Tell me, pine trees," Blo ring shouted sincerely.
"Blo ring, take it," came the reply from the distant pine trees.
zæn tʂi was unconvinced and so indignant that he set fire to
the forest, killing Blo ring's mother. Blo ring went to collect her
corpse, carried it near the water mill, propped it up to look like she
was milling, and called zæn tʂi. Blo ring shouted several times to his
mother, "Mother, I asked you to mill, did you hear me?" and threw
a dʒɐ zdoŋ zgæ ɮæx109 at her, knocking over the corpse.
"I have killed my mother! All I can do now is sell her flesh
tomorrow," he said, hanging his head.
Blo ring took the corpse, set it outside a local king's home,
and went inside to ask for something to eat. The king had many dogs
Told by Bsod nams (b. 1929). G.yu lha. 2012. Blo ring and zæn tʂi in
Warming Your Hands with Moonlight: Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions
and Culture. Asian Highlands Perspectives 13:53-55.
109 A dʒɐ zdoŋ zgæ ɮæx is a large pestle used to pound shelled walnuts
into small pieces, mixed into rtsam pa dough, and eaten.
108
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
that roamed about. When he left the king's house, Blo ring saw that
the dogs had eaten his mother, leaving nothing but bones. He wailed
sadly and demanded gold, pearls, and livestock in compensation.
On the way home, he passed by zæn tʂi's home with much new
treasure and livestock.
"Where did you get all this?" asked zæn tʂi.
"I sold my mother's flesh," Blo ring said proudly.
zæn tʂi asked where he was and sold it. He then killed his
mother and went to sell her flesh at the king's home. The king nearly
beat him to death when he announced he was selling his mother's
flesh. He returned home angrily and burnt Blo ring's house down.
"I'm going to sell the earth that remains from my house," Blo
ring announced the following day. He caught two butterflies on the
way to sell the earth and put them in a leather bag with the burned
earth. When he reached another local king's home, he told some
children playing there not to open the leather bag or his treasure
would escape. He entered the king's home and asked for something
to eat. Unable to contain their curiosity, the children opened the
sack, and the two butterflies flew away.
Blo ring returned a bit later and he found his "treasures"
were not in the bag. He told the king that his treasure had turned to
earth, cried, and asked for payment and thus got butter, cheese, silk,
and livestock. He went home, noisily driving his newly acquired
livestock past zæn tʂi's house.
"Where did you get all this?" zæn tʂi asked Blo ring from a
window of his house.
"I need to thank you for burning my house down! I sold the
earth from my burnt house and got all these," said Blo ring.
zæn tʂi asked how and where he had sold the earth, burnt
his own house down, and visited the king Blo ring had visited the
day before. That king nearly beat him to death.
zæn tʂi returned and bellowed at Blo ring, "I'll kill you! You
liar! You kept the gold statue. I killed my mother and burnt my
house because of you!" He was so angry he could hardly speak.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
76: DO LO110
G.yu lha གR་L།
DO LO'S LIFE
ome local stories are about Do lo, a local historical figure.
The following information was provided in Lavrung by
Zhangs skyong (b. 1958) while I was having dinner with his
family. I was told not to retell or play the Do lo recording because it
might embarrass his descendants. That was the first time I heard
the name Do lo since people hardly ever tell his stories, even though
they know them.
•••
111
Do lo ɮɑ jəɮ was a funny, rather stupid villager who lived in
Siyuewu Village about 150 years ago. He owned land and worked
hard. His father died from sickness when Do lo was just a year old.
His mother then did all the work at home but died of exhaustion
when Do lo was just two years old. One of his mother's elderly aunts
who lived alone then cared for him. She could not see well and
therefore needed Do lo's help. Although they lived happily together,
the deities never supported Do lo. One day, his aunt stumbled over
a stone while fetching water from the river and died.
Poor Do lo was alone again. He collected mushrooms and
roots to eat and worked for other families, who paid him in food. He
started hunting in the mountains near the village when he was six
years old after learning hunting skills from a hunter in a nearby
village.
The days passed and Do lo escaped from many difficulties
he faced. One rainy day he fell off a cliff, landed on a tree, and then
S
G.yu lha. 2012. Do Lo's life in Warming Your Hands with Moonlight:
Lavrung Tibetan Oral Traditions and Culture. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 13:48-50.
111 There is a taboo against saying the names of deceased people,
especially females. ɮɑ jəɮ 'Heaven' is affixed after a deceased person's
name. For example, locals say Do lo ɮɑ at the beginning of a story, but
afterward, just say ɮɑ jəɮ.
110
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
crawled down to safety bit by bit.
Despite his hard life, Do lo had been strong since birth. He
could easily lift 250 kilograms, so villagers asked him to help carry
timber and stones when they built houses. They fed him but never
gave him any other payment because he had an enormous appetite.
He could eat almost two kilograms of rtsam pa in one sitting. After
helping a family transport logs for a new house, he ate a cow's leg
and two loaves of baked bread. A normal man could only eat one
such loaf of bread.
He was short-tempered and stubbornly did whatever he
wanted at such times. It was impossible to reason with him when he
was in a bad mood.
Do lo married a local woman when he was fifteen, and they
later had a son. If Do lo returned from a day of hunting emptyhanded, he would become angry with his wife, son, and livestock.
People say that his appearance and simple mind made him like a
vəcæɾ ŋi.
DO LO DIVIDES A MDZO112
Do lo lived on the shady side of the Dadu River and shared a mdzo
with a family on the sunny side of the valley. Almost every
household had one or two mdzo to plow and transport goods. Mdzo
were taken to a high mountain pasture with plentiful water and
fodder. They stayed there until it was time to plow. The mdzo were
visited every six months to see if they were still there.
Twice yearly, Do lo went to the mountain to get the mdzo
before returning to the village to plow. He shared the mdzo with the
zən pɑ rɛ Family, so he needed to cross the river and climb up the
slope to the other family's house, which was very far from his home,
to take the mdzo to them. The zən pɑ rɛ Family lives in Siyuewu
today and still tells this story.
Do lo eventually grew tired of repeatedly taking the mdzo
112
Told by Zhangs skyong (b. 1958).
•216•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
across the river and up the slope. One day, he took his sword, went
to the other family, and asked them where the mdzo was, checking
if they had brought it from the mountain. They told Do lo that the
mdzo was still on the mountain, and he decided to go and get it
without informing the zən pɑ rɛ Family why he wanted it, even
though it was not yet time to plow. The other family did not bother
to ask, thinking that Do lo, as usual, was up to something
inexplicable.
The mountain was high, and the sun was scorching as Do lo
climbed. When he saw the mdzo, he took a deep breath, took out his
sword, lifted the sword above his head behind the mdzo, and swiftly
brought the blade down, slicing the mdzo in two. The two halves
were precisely the same, except for the tail and one white spot on
one side of the forehead of the black mdzo. Even Do lo was
astonished at his swordsmanship.
He slung the left side of the mdzo over his shoulder and left
the right side on the mountain. When he reached the zən pɑ rɛ
Family home, he stood outside and called, "It was so hard for both
man and beast to cross the river to my home and then come to your
home. To end this suffering, I divided the mdzo and took my
portion. Your half is still on the mountain. Please get it. The poor
mdzo would thank me for making life easier if it could, and you
should thank me too!"
The family had no idea what had happened until they saw
the half-carcass slung over Do lo's shoulder as he turned to leave.
They didn't know whether to thank or scold him as he happily
disappeared into the distance.
DO LO THE HUNTER113
Do lo hunted in the mountains as usual. It rained constantly, and he
couldn't kill anything. Each time he was about to get his prey, it
evaded him. To make matters worse, he had no food and was
113 Told
by Khen lha sgron (b. 1985).
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
famished. He became angry at everything he encountered - he even
got mad at the trees and bit them. He bit one tree so hard that one
of his teeth came out. He thought it was a piece of wood and spat it
out. He was surprised when he saw the tooth and used one of his
huge fingers to touch the tender gum where the tooth had fallen out
and then yelped in pain.
Do lo walked home in a depressed mood. When he saw his
family's goats grazing near the path, he grabbed one in his huge left
hand and ripped it in two.
He got used to killing his goats when he returned from
hunting without any prey. The more goats he killed, the better he
felt. One time, he killed three goats and carried two on his back with
his right hand, dragging the third goat with his left hand. He looked
like a vəcæɾ ŋi walking home with his food. He was almost two
meters tall, and hair grew up and down his arms and legs, and all
over his face.
He thought that when villagers saw him bringing something
with him, they would think he had killed a wild animal and would
be suitably impressed. But the villagers knew he had killed his goats,
not wild animals, even though he returned very proudly. He
sometimes gave goat meat to the villagers and told them it was the
flesh of this or that wild animal. Even though the villagers knew
what it was, they played along with Do lo to get the meat.
He killed almost twenty goats - almost half his family's herd.
When his wife complained, Do lo told her to speak to the wild game,
not to him. He said that if she could get the game to kill themselves,
he wouldn't need to kill the goats.
The village leader told him to stop hunting because of all the
bad karma he was accumulating, herd goats, and help his wife in the
fields. Do lo responded that, with his strong physique, he was born
to hunt and that his only enemies were animals who might be
stronger than him.
He started drinking as the days passed and bit his wife and
children when he returned from hunting without meat. Villagers
thought he was crazy and shunned him. Everyone thought he and
•218•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
his family were stupid, and no one wanted to talk to them. Do lo
never realized this, but his wife and child understood. His wife often
asked him to act like an average person and not do things that made
villagers think he was an idiot. He responded that he was acting like
an average person and doing what he was supposed to. He angrily
asked, "What makes you think I'm abnormal?" and bit her, almost
killing her.
77: MȵEWZAMBƏMʂʨƏT114
Rdo rje 9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, there was a very good person named
Mȵewzambəmʂʨət,115 who was very fond of religious rites
and chanting ma Ni. One day, after Yama Dharmapala had
a dream, he summoned a mule-head soldier and a horse-head
soldier and said he had dreamed of a girl who would die. He told the
soldiers to go and bring him her soul. It was time for
Mȵewzambəmʂʨət to die.
The two soldiers left and brought back the soul of
Mȵewzambəmʂʨət. Yama looked and said that there were two girls
named Mȵewzambəmʂʨət, and the soldiers had brought the wrong
one - the soul of the girl who often practiced religion, but added,
"Well, since you two have brought this one, let it be."
Mȵewzambəmʂʨət and Yama looked at each other. The girl
was not frightened. Yama said, "It's OK that you brought this one.
You two take her to Hell."
Collected by Rdo rje from 'Brug rgyal (b. 1986), a native speaker of
Dpa' ris Tibetan. A lifelong herdsman and resident of Gzhug rub Village,
'Brug gu Township, 'Ju lag County, Mtsho byang Tibetan Prefecture,
Mtsho sngon Province, he never attended school. In 2021, 'Brug rgyal,
lived with his parents, who communicated in Dpa' ris Tibetan. 'Brug rgyal
recited long scriptures he had memorized, but did not write in any
language.
115 Mȵewzambəmʂʨət (Me bza' 'bum skyid) is the protagonist's name in
IPA. In the Gling Ge sar epic, she is King Ge sar's second wife (the first
being 'Bug mo).
114
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The two soldiers took Mȵewzambəmʂʨət to Hell and
showed her four tortures. First, she saw someone's tongue lying on
the ground. The second was someone whose eyeballs had been
gouged out and discarded on the ground. The third torture was a
man's hands that had been nailed and discarded. The fourth torture
was a person reborn as a hungry ghost with a big head and narrow
throat. These people received these punishments because they had
done bad things while alive.
After showing her these tortures, the soldiers brought
Mȵewzambəmʂʨət to Yama. Yama and Mȵewzambəmʂʨət looked
at each other. This time, Mȵewzambəmʂʨət thought Yama was very
scary because she thought he might throw her into Hell, so she
kowtowed three times to Yama and sat beside him.
After sitting for a while, a woman was brought to Yama, who
asked how many religious rites she had done and how many ma Ni
she had chanted while alive.
This sinful woman told Yama that singing was a custom in
her place, but they didn't have the custom of chanting ma Ni.
Yama held a mirror, looked into it, and knew she was blackhearted and had done no religious rites. Yama told one of the
soldiers to take her soul and throw it into Hell.
A doghead soldier came with a black iron chain, tied it
around her neck, and pulled. The woman begged Yama not to throw
her in Hell and said she would give him her pure gold finger ring.
Yama threw her into Hell without listening.
While sitting there, a hoary-haired old man chanting ma Ni
came to Yama and kowtowed three times. Yama asked how many
ma Ni he had chanted and how many religious rites he had done
while living.
The old man replied with the number of ma Ni he had
chanted, the number of religious rites he had done, the number of
ma Ni figures of Buddha he had carved on stones and bones, the
number of delusions he had abandoned, the number of wind horses
he had flown, and the number of stones he had picked up and placed
on boundary markers when he was crossing mountains from one
•220•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
valley to another.
As Yama looked into his mirror, he found that the old man
had done many religious activities and was a very good man, so
Yama let him go to the sacred realm.
Yama told Mȵewzambəmʂʨət to return to the human world
and ordered the horsehead and mule-head soldiers to escort her.
Halfway there, the mule-head soldier asked Mȵewzambəmʂʨət
what she feared the most. Mȵewzambəmʂʨət said that frogs scared
her the most.
The mule-head soldier said, "Today, you will find a frog in
your quilt when you get home. Just crawl into your quilt. Don't be
afraid."
After seeing Mȵewzambəmʂʨət off, the mule-head and
horse-head soldiers left.
Once Mȵewzambəmʂʨət returned home, she found a big
frog in her quilt. Unafraid, she crawled into the quilt and then heard
funeral music. She looked around and realized that she was dead.
Her family was doing religious rites for her. They had invited a sutra
chanter and were all sitting by Mȵewzambəmʂʨət.
This story, known as Mȵewzambəmʂʨət, is finished.
78: AN OLD COUPLE WITH COWS116
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
n old couple had twelve cows. The old man slaughtered
them one by one. They ate them until there was only one
cow left. One day, before the old woman went to fetch
water, she asked her husband not to kill their last cow because they
needed its milk. Before the old woman left to fetch water, her
husband stuck a needle into the water container made of animal
gut. When the old woman was ready to return home, she noticed
that the container was leaking, so she filled the small holes with
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Mgon po rdo rje (b. 2003),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
116
•221•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
strands of her hair.
Meanwhile, her husband slaughtered the cow, removed the
cow's teeth, threw the udder into the ash, and ate all the meat before
his wife returned home.
When the woman returned and realized that her husband
had slaughtered the cow, she cried, took the udder to a cave, and
put the udder on a stone. Milk flowed out from the teats. She lived
there until one day, she became very worried, imagining her
husband was starving. When she got near her home, she saw her
husband putting ash on a cow horn on a table, muttering, "This is
your breakfast, my dear wife."
Taking pity, she put a bucket of yogurt at the door and left.
Her husband followed her, tracking her footprints in the snow, and
found her in the cave. The old woman treated her husband with
plenty of dairy products.
Later, when she went to collect yak dung, her husband
boiled the udder and ate it. She was very upset when she realized
what he had done and fled to a distant place where she noticed a
tent. She entered the tent and found bowls filled with rice. She ate
some, and then a rabbit, tiger, wolf, and fox returned from hunting.
The tiger swallowed the old woman instantly.
The rabbit said, "Uncle, she could have been our cook if you
had not eaten her."
The tiger said, "I didn't chew. I just swallowed her," and
vomited the old woman out of his stomach.
Afterward, the old woman cooked for the animals. However,
after some time, her husband again found her. She offered him
much meat, dug a hole nearby, and told him to hide inside and not
make a sound. When the animals returned, the tiger leader divided
the meat they had got while hunting and asked, "Who didn't get his
share?"
The old man answered without thinking, "I didn't."
The tiger stretched his claws into the hole where the old man
hid, pulled him out, and devoured him.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
79: A LIAR117
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
O
ne day, a monk visited a liar and asked him to lie. The liar
wept while holding the monk and said, "How can I lie since
one of my family members died yesterday? Please come to
my home and chant tomorrow," Liar pleaded.
"Sure, your request is reasonable,'' the monk agreed.
The next day, the monk brought some other monks to Liar's
home and saw him sitting in the sunshine, sipping tea. The monk
asked, "Why are you happily sitting in the sun since one of your
family members has passed away?"
Liar responded, "You asked me to tell a lie, which is what I
did."
The monk had nothing to say and left.
80: AN OLD COUPLE ABANDONED THEIR CHILDREN118
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
couple with two children were very poor. They had only
five sheep and two goats. Each meal was a half-bowl of
milk and a handful of rtsam pa. Time passed, and they
were starving. The couple then discussed abandoning their children
in the forest.
A few days later, the husband took his children to the forest
and told them to play until a bell hung from a tree rang. He said he
would then come.
The wind made the bell ring, but the children's father never
came to take them home, even though they waited several days.
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from 'Brug 'bum skyid (b. 2001),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
118 Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Bde skyid (b. 2004), Ru sngun
zhol ma Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
117
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Realizing their parents had abandoned them, they searched for
ways to survive. Luckily, they found a childless rich man and lived
with him until he died.
After abandoning their children, the parents divided the
property. They argued as they divided the property and finally
separated, becoming beggars after their property was gone.
One day, the husband met the two children, who were now
in their twenties. They did not acknowledge their father and gave
him nothing. After some days, an old beggar woman came and told
them she was their mother. The children eventually took care of
their parents, even though they had abandoned them, and then they
led a happy life together.
81: POTATO AND PAPER119
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
young woman went to live with her husband in his home.
Her marriage and life were not what she expected, so she
wanted to ask her mother for permission to return home.
She wanted to send a letter but was illiterate, so she sent a potato to
her mother through a man going to her village.
Her clever, illiterate mother understood and sent a blank
piece of paper in reply. The girl returned after she received the
paper.120
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Gnam mthso sgrol ma (b.
2003), Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho
lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
120 "Potato" in A mdo Tibetan dialect is yong ma, pronounced the same
as "come." "Paper" in Tibetan is pronounced shog gu, which is similar to
"come."
119
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
82: THE KING AND NINE PRINCESSES121
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, a king had nine daughters who each had a
husband. The king liked all his sons-in-law except for the
youngest daughter's husband. One day he ordered his sonsin-law to catch a garuda, the king of birds, and said the one who
caught the garuda would gain half the king's territory. He also gave
fine horses, gold bows and arrows, and provisions to the sons-inlaw he liked. To the son-in-law he did not like, he offered only a
donkey, a wooden bow and arrow, an empty rtsam pa bag, and a
teapot.
The next day, the sons-in-law set off. After traveling far
away, they came to a large frozen river and decided to stay there
that night before setting off the next morning. The eight older men
rode horses and had a dog that understood human language. This
dog secretly spied on the son-in-law with a donkey and wooden
weapons. It listened as the prince said to the donkey, "The eight
men should scatter rtsam pa and dry cheese on the ice since they
have a lot of rtsam pa and cheese. The ice is slippery, but they can
then walk on the ice barefoot after washing their feet. They'll be able
to reach the other side easily."
After the dog reported this to its masters, the men said they
had a lot of food, so the next day, the eight men scattered rtsam pa
and cheese on the ice and walked on the ice after washing their feet.
The youngest husband crossed the river with his donkey while
collecting the rtsam pa and cheese the other eight men had
scattered.
The eight men met a passerby who told them they would
reach a place without stones or water. The eight men worried about
how they would cook without using stones for a hearth and sent
their dog to spy on the youngest man to hear his plan for the next
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Gnam mtsho yag (b. 2002),
Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
121
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
day. The man guessed the dog was listening and said, "The eight
men have many knees, so they could cook their meal using their
knees as hearthstones."
After the dog reported this to its masters, the eight men used
their knees as hearthstones. Later, when they reached the place with
no stones, their knees hurt so much that they couldn't cook, but the
youngest man cooked with stones he had carried on his donkey.
The eight men sent the dog to eavesdrop again on the
youngest man. The dog heard, "The eight men don't need to worry
about water because they have eight horses. If they drink horse
urine, they won't feel thirsty. Unfortunately, we only have a donkey,
so we must bring some ice blocks."
The dog reported this to its masters, who thought that's
what they should do.
They reached the place without water and planned to drink
horse urine the following day. However, the horses produced no
urine because they had not drunk any water. Finally, they reached
a place with eagles, thought they were garudas, hunted some, and
then tiredly but happily returned home.
The youngest man thought hunting garudas was not easy
and asked a local man, who explained that the garudas were not
there but in some mountain caves.
The man did as instructed, reached the caves, caught a
garuda, and returned to the king's palace.
After the older eight men returned, they proudly showed the
eagles and said they were garudas. The king saw only eagles but
noticed the youngest princess's husband had caught a garuda.
The king kept his promise and gave half his territory to his
youngest daughter and her husband, who had spent the rest of their
lives splendidly.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
83: CLEVER122
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
T
here was a king called Dran gsal 'Clever' and a poor man
who was very intelligent, so everyone also called him Dran
gsal.
One day, the king heard this and was very jealous. He said
to Poor Clever, "If you are clever, steal my turquoise necklace
without my knowledge within three days. I'll give you half of my
property and territory if you do that. But, if you can't, it means you
aren't clever and should not be called Clever, so you must die."
The king assigned horse riders around the compound and
put another group of men to circle the palace. Meanwhile, women
guarded inside the compound and offered food and drinks to both
groups of guards.
Poor Clever did not go to the palace the first night and did
not go on the second night. Everyone then concluded that Poor
Clever had fled. On the third night, when everyone was exhausted,
having kept careful guard the previous nights, Poor Clever came
disguised as a beautiful woman. He had put drugs into the tea,
liquor, and food he offered the soldiers. After the horsemen outside
the compound were unconscious, Dran gsal dragged them up on the
compound walls.
He also offered the women drinks and food, and after they
were unconscious, he tied their braids together.
Finally, he put stones into the sleeves of the palace soldiers'
Tibetan robes when they were unconscious, having consumed the
drugged food and drinks.
Poor Clever easily entered the palace, put an animal
stomach near the sleeping king's head, and took his turquoise
necklace. Once he had it, he mounted his horse and shouted, "Clever
stole the turquoise necklace!"
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from 'Brug 'bum skyid (b. 2001),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
122
•227•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The king woke up and bellowed, "My head! It's gone!"
Meanwhile, the women outside screamed, "My hair is
burning!" while jerking each other because their braids were tied.
The soldiers swatted at the fire with stones in their sleeves,
beating the women's heads with the stones.
Each horse rider thought he was on his horse and lashed the
"horses," eager to chase Clever but could only ride the wall.
Poor Clever came to the palace the next day and said, "Dear
king, you should give me half of your property and territory because
I stole your turquoise necklace."
The enraged king reneged on his promise, so Clever threw
the turquoise necklace to the ground. The king vomited blood and
died because the turquoise was invisibly connected to his soul,
protecting him like an amulet.
84: DIVINATION123
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
T
he wife of a couple who lived in Tibet ate their good food
when her husband was absent and served only bread,
rtsam pa, and tea to her husband. One day the husband
pretended to go to a distant place but hid in their compound and
watched his wife. He saw her boil meat, eat it, and hide the leftover
meat in a wooden bucket.
Late in the evening, when he pretended to return from his
journey, his wife offered only bread and tea as before. She said no
when he asked if there was other food to eat.
After having bread and tea, he said he wanted to divine and
asked his wife to bring some black and white pebbles. Holding the
pebbles, he gestured like a diviner and threw the pebbles one by one
into the wooden bucket where his wife had hidden the meat. He
then said the pebbles indicated that there was something else to eat.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Mkha' rgyal thar (b. 2003),
Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
123
•228•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
His wife gave him the remaining meat, which he enjoyed eating.
The next day, the wife thought, "Maybe I should put the food
into a wooden chest and lock it so he won't find it!"
She made dumplings after her husband left to drive the
livestock to the mountains. However, her husband had returned
secretly, and as the day before, he hid and watched her. After eating
some dumplings, she locked the remaining ones into the chest.
Having observed all this, the husband went to the mountains to
herd.
That evening, the husband returned home with the
livestock, and his wife offered him a bowl of rtsam pa. The husband
told her to bring the pebbles again, threw the pebbles at the chest to
divine, and said that the pebbles indicated that they had something
to eat.
The wife was now convinced that her husband had
divination skills. Believing he could learn all her secrets, she shared
all their food with her husband. She also told other villagers that her
husband was a good diviner. The husband continued to pretend he
could divine. He went to the fields, found a nest of birds, counted
the nestlings, and noted how many were males and females. He next
told the villagers he knew how many male and female birds were in
the nest. The villagers counted after he reported this and trusted
him.
After dinner one evening, the husband walked down a
village path and saw two thieves running away. He caught them and
told them to stand up when he said, "Sit," and sit when he said,
"Stand," otherwise he would report them to the villagers.
The next day, the family that had been robbed asked him to
divine and identify the thieves. The village leader called all the
young men to the village meeting hall. After they arrived, the diviner
said, "Stand up!" and the young men sat.
He next said, "Sit!" and the two men stood.
He then told everyone they were the thieves. Since then, the
villagers and his wife have completely believed in him.
•229•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
85: ROBBING124
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
thief named Don grub became wealthy after stealing
others' property for many years.
One day, Don grub met Zla ba, who understood his
history of thieving. Zla ba invited Don grub to his home the next
day. Though Zla ba did not want him to come, a Tibetan proverb
came to his mind: Grul ba khyim gyi rgyan, rma bya nags kyi
rgyan 'Guests are a family's ornaments, peacocks ornament a
forest'.
The next day, Zla ba's mother was winnowing grain from the
chaff when Don grub came.
Don grub asked, "What is your mother doing?"
Zla ba knew Don grub was curious and said, "She is counting
my family's many coins."
Zla ba approached his mother, took the family's only gold
coin, gave it to Don grub as a gift, and invited Don grub to visit again
so they could give him another coin.
Don grub thought in surprise, "I can get a gold coin once, so
how many can I get if I come here often?"
After the guest left, Zla ba's mother scolded, "What should
we do now that you have given away our only gold coin?"
Zla ba replied confidently, "Rather than losing a sheep,
maybe we can get a horse."
That night, Don grub dug a hole in the room's wall where he
thought the mother put the coins after counting them during the
daytime. He planned to steal the many coins that he imagined were
there. However, Zla ba was waiting inside the room and caught
Don's grub by the neck as he crawled inside. He yelled, "Mother,
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Tshe ring rgya mtsho (b.
2002), Glo rgya Village, and Mkha' 'gro tshe ring, Sha rgya Village, Mgo
mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture. Recorded in their homes, August 2016. Both told the same
story.
124
•230•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
come with a lamp! I caught the thief!"
When they identified the thief as Don grub, who had been
their guest, Zla ba said, "I gave you a coin when you came as a guest.
Now you are stealing. I'll report this to our village leader."
Don grub pleaded with the man to release him and not tell
the leader and agreed to give the man and his mother one hundred
coins.
In this way, Zla ba and his mother became rich.
86: PARENTS ABANDON THEIR DAUGHTERS125
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
O
ne day, the poor parents of two daughters said, "If we
abandon our children, each of us can enjoy two loaves of
bread and two cups of milk daily. We will lead a happy,
carefree life."
The next day, the father took his two daughters to a forest
and told them to play until he waved his hands. At this time, they
would all go home together. He put a cloth on a tree branch far from
his daughters and left. The daughters played for a long time, but
their father didn't wave his hands. The younger daughter asked her
sister, "Why hasn't Father waved his hands?"
The older sister replied, "Father will wave his hands after
cutting some wood."
When they finally noticed the cloth on the tree branch
moving, they thought their father was waving his hand, so they
walked to the tree, only to sadly realize that their father had
abandoned them.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Spyi 'dul tshe ring, Tsha nag
Village. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
125
•231•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
87: AN OBEDIENT DAUGHTER BECOMES THE QUEEN126
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
O
ne day, a father with three daughters asked his eldest
daughter for food, who replied, "If you pick a flower for me,
I'll give you food."
He went to his middle daughter, who also asked him to pick a flower
before giving him some food. He finally asked his youngest
daughter, who gave him food without asking him to do anything.
Next, the father went to the mountains to pick a flower for
his youngest daughter, but he cut a snake's head in the process. The
snake's mother approached him and said, "You cut my son's head,
so you must give one of your daughters in marriage to my son."
The father went to his elder daughter with the flower and
asked her to marry the snake. She refused, saying, "Why don't you
marry me to a man instead of a snake?"
He then approached his middle daughter, who repeated
what the eldest daughter had said.
When he asked his youngest daughter, she agreed and went
to the snake's home.
A bee flew to the eldest daughter one day and asked, "Who
wants to be the king's queen? If you do, follow me."
The eldest daughter killed the bee with her broom.
The next day, another bee flew to his middle daughter and
said, "Please follow me if you want to be the queen."
The middle daughter killed the bee with a rolling pin.
Another bee went to the youngest daughter the next day and
said, "If you want to be the queen, please follow me."
She followed the bee to the palace, where the king awaited
her.
The next day, she became the queen and had a happy life.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Bka' 'gyur sgrol ma (b. 2001),
Brag dkar Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
126
•232•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
88: POOR BOY127
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
n old mother lived with her son, who hunted birds. One
day, he shot a bird that suddenly disappeared. While
searching for the bird, he found a pair of excellent quality
shoes that needed repair. The cobbler was very surprised when he
saw the shoes because he said they belonged to the princess who
had disappeared some days earlier. The cobbler told the young man
to take the shoes to the king, who would reward him.
The son did as he was advised. When the king asked him
where he had found the shoes, the boy told him everything that had
happened. The king then sent a trustworthy servant to go with him
to search for the princess.
The next day they discovered a cave when they searched for
the princess where the boy had found the shoes. Looking inside,
they found a young woman and asked her if she was the princess.
When she said she was, the two men asked her to go to the palace
with them. She replied that she could not go until her shackles were
removed, adding that they could only be removed when they killed
a fish on a demon's shoulders.
The boy soon found the demon and killed the fish, rescuing
the princess. The king's servant took the princess home after
abandoning the boy inside the cave by destroying the wooden
ladder that led outside. With no way to escape the cave, the boy
stayed for a long time and found keys made of gold, silver, copper,
and iron. He opened a gold room using the gold key and found a
dragon bound in chains. He broke the chains with an ax, rescuing
the dragon, which flew out of the cave with the boy to the dragon's
home.
The dragon said, "When my parents ask what you want as a
reward for rescuing me, say that you need a dragon horn and gold
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Lha mo sgrol dkar (b. 2004),
Jo ser Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
127
•233•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
chopsticks."
When he met the dragon's parents, he asked for a dragon
horn and gold chopsticks. The dragon's parents said they could not
give him those things, but they could give him a drum, and when he
beat it three times, he could get whatever he requested. He then
took the drum and headed back to his own home.
On the way, he became very tired, so he beat the drum three
times, and a horse appeared, which he rode toward his home. When
it got dark, he approached a house and asked permission to spend
the night there. The master of the house asked if he needed food.
He replied that he only needed a place to sleep. The master of the
home then saw food appearing when he beat the drum. After eating,
the boy went to bed, and the greedy home master decided to kill the
boy and take the drum.
The next day, the man hid under a bridge, waiting for the
boy he planned to kill. But when the man attacked, the startled
horse reared, killed the man, and then vanished into the sky.
The boy walked on to his home. When he arrived, he beat
his drum three times and asked for clothes and food for his mother,
delighting her. The boy also asked his mother to attend the princess'
wedding the next day.
The next day, the princess was to marry the servant who, the
king believed, had saved the princess. However, when the princess
saw the boy, she told the king that the boy was her real savior.
Realizing the servant had cheated him, the king ordered him to be
buried under a tower and a hundred soil layers.
The king then asked the boy to be his son-in-law. The boy
thus married the princess and led a very happy life with his mother.
•234•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
89: THE GOAT-TAIL MOUSE128
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, a goat-herding couple often quarreled, so they
decided to separate and divide the goats. They agreed to
drive the goats to a river where one would stand on one side
and the other on the opposite side. After the goats had their fill of
water, those that went to the man would belong to him, and those
that went to the woman would be hers.
After the goats had drunk the water, they headed toward the
man. The woman screamed, "Oh my!" and grabbed the last goat's
tail, which broke off in her hand. That was all she got.
Later, she ate rtsam pa mixed with blood from the tail. Then
one day, when she was getting ready to boil the tail and eat it, the
goat tail became a small boy who pleaded with her not to kill him,
promising to help her if she didn't. Afterward, the tiny boy stole
property from others and was called Goat-tail Mouse because mice
are thieves.
After the minister reported that property in the treasury was
steadily diminishing, the king declared, "I know who is stealing
from me," and ordered his subordinate to summon Goat-tail
Mouse.
When Goat-tail Mouse arrived, the king said, "If you can
steal the mdzo129 in my yard, I will give you half of my property. If
you cannot, you must promise to stop stealing."
That night Goat-tail Mouse asked two of his thief-friends to
help, promising to give them all the meat of the mdzo except for the
head and legs. After they successfully stole the king's mdzo, Goattail Mouse went to the king, showed him the mdzo's head and legs,
and asked for his reward. The king refused and said, "If you can
steal my drinking cup, I will acknowledge that you are a good thief."
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Rdo rje don grub (b. 2000),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
129 A mdzo is the male offspring of a yak and a cow.
128
•235•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Goat-tail Mouse made a hole in the palace roof, lowered a
bamboo pole with a hook attached, and pulled up the drinking cup.
He went to the king, showed him the drinking cup, and asked for
his reward.
The king again refused but said, "If you can steal my
trousers, I will reward you."
After some time had passed, Goat-tail Mouse secretly went
to the palace, put wet yak dung on the king's trousers, and told
everyone that the king had defecated his pants. Embarrassed, the
king thought everyone would believe this, so he discarded the
trousers. Goat-tail Mouse then took the pair of trousers to the king
and requested his reward for the third time.
The king again refused but said, "If you can steal my
turquoise, I will give you the reward."
The king tied a lion and tiger at the palace gate to guard the
turquoise and put mounted guards around the palace compound.
Goat-tail Mouse disguised himself as a beautiful lady and
offered liquor to the soldiers. Once drunk, he put the soldiers from
the first floor onto the second floor and put the horse saddles on the
walls. Next, he put the soldiers from the second floor in the saddles.
Unexpectedly, after drugging them, the lion and tiger became
gentle. He unleashed them, replacing them with two big pots.
Next, Goat-tail Mouse then put a stone in one of a male
servant's sleeves. After successfully stealing the king's turquoise
from a drawer in the king's bedroom, he put a needle where the
turquoise had been, went outside, and hollered, "The king's
turquoise has been stolen!"
The king stretched out his arms, groping about for the
turquoise with his hands and shouting, "Where is my turquoise?"
The needle pricked him, so he ordered his servants to make
a fire. A female servant burned her hair because she was very
nervous as she made a fire. The king ordered another servant to
extinguish the fire. The servant flapped one of his sleeves to
extinguish the fire, killing the female servant because of the stone
in his sleeve.
•236•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
On the second floor, a soldier heard the king yelling and
thought he was on the first floor. When he stepped outside, he fell
from the building. The soldiers on the wall thought they were riding
horses, lashed the wall, and tried to go, but their "horse" did not
move. The king angrily went out to see why the lion and the tiger
were not attacking and found two pots in their place.
The next day, Goat-tail Mouse came, and the king finally
gave him half his property as promised. Goat-tail Mouse then
stopped stealing.
90: A MAN BECOMES RICH130
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, a poor man had nothing to put in his belly, so he
went to his brother's home to borrow some barley. He
wanted to grow barley to make a living and promised to
return the barley in autumn after harvest. His sister-in-law was a
bad woman who did not want to help him, so she boiled some barley
and then gave it to him.
After returning home, he planted the barley and waited for
it to sprout. Instead, a huge tree with fruit grew up. Everyone
admired this tree and its fruit.
One day, the poor man found the tree had been uprooted
and stolen. He followed the thief's footprints to a cave and found a
demon and her child living there. When the child asked his mother
to tell stories, she told him to stir the fire.
After the boy stirred the fire, he went to his mother, who told
him a magic stone was in the cave. Gold would pour out of it if they
turned it. She emphasized that they needed to protect the stone.
After the man heard this, he stole the stone and became rich.
One day, his brother visited and asked how he had become rich. The
poor man told everything, so the greedy brother went to the cave.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Gang dkar lha mo, Chos tsha
Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MTNBS, September 2016.
130
•237•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The demon sensed someone was there this time and asked her son
to extinguish the fire. The brother suddenly stumbled, which the
demons heard, and then they caught him.
91: THE GREEDY MAN AND THE LIAR131
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
A greedy man and a liar were friends. One day, Liar put the only
gold coin he and his mother had in donkey dung and said to his
mother, "When Greedy comes, please take this gold coin from the
dung."
Greedy soon came, and Liar's mother took the gold coin
from the dung. Greedy was surprised and asked why a gold coin was
in the dung. Liar said, "Our donkey defecates gold if we treat him
well and give him a lot of good grass and water."
Greedy asked if he could borrow the donkey and promised
to take good care of it. Greedy treated the donkey very well for
almost a week, but nothing happened, so he went to Liar's home,
but Liar was not there. He was enraged and killed Liar's mother.
When Liar returned, he found his dead mother and learned
who had killed her, so he placed his mother's corpse in a village lane,
seated against a rock. He put beans before the corpse and shouted,
"Come buy beans! Come buy beans!"
A man came, saw Liar's dead mother, and informed Liar.
When the man touched the corpse, it fell over. Liar shouted, "You
killed my mother!" and demanded a large sum of money in
compensation.
When Liar got home, Greedy soon noticed he had a lot of
money and asked, "How did you get this money?"
Liar said, "After you killed my mother, I sold her corpse in
the village lane, so I got rich.''
Greedy wanted to be rich and told Liar to kill his mother.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Kun bzang skyid (b. 2001),
Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MTNBS, September 2016.
131
•238•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
After Liar killed her, Greedy took her corpse to a village lane to sell.
Everyone scolded and beat him, telling him nobody wanted to buy
a corpse.
Greedy was so angry that he set Liar's house on fire.
Liar put some ash in a bag and went to a foolish man's home
to secretly exchange his bag of ash for the man's bag of money.
When Liar came home with the bag of money, Greedy asked,
"How did you get this money?"
Liar answered, "After you burned my house, I sold the ash."
Greedy believed this and told Liar to burn down his house.
Later, when Greedy tried to sell the ash, people said nobody bought
ash and beat him.
Greedy immediately asked Liar, "Why do you lie to me?"
He tied Liar to a tree on a small island in the middle of a lake
and said he would throw him into the lake the next day after
returning from a relative's wedding.
After Greedy left, Liar saw a one-eyed monk riding a donkey
and driving some goats. "Are you blind in one eye?" Liar asked.
"Yes," the monk replied.
Liar said, "I was blind until I hung from this tree."
The monk believed this, untied Liar, and asked Liar to hang
him from the tree.
The next day, Greedy came and threw the monk into the
lake.
When Greedy saw Liar driving a herd of goats a week later,
he asked, "Why are you here?"
Liar answered, "I got these goats from the lake. You didn't
throw me in the exact center of the lake, so I only have a few goats.
If you had thrown me in the center, I would have more."
Greedy believed this and told Liar to throw him in the center
of the lake.
Liar then threw Greedy into the lake's center and happily
walked away.
•239•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
92: JUNIPER LEAVES AND WOOL132
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
herdsman secretly herded his sheep onto his neighbor's
fenced pasture with plenty of grass and water. When he
saw his neighbor coming, he quickly drove his sheep out
and herded them outside the fence.
The neighbor saw wool on the juniper tree branches in his
pasture and asked, "Did you graze your sheep on my pasture?"
The man quickly answered, "No, I didn't."
The neighbor asked, "Where did the wool come from if you
didn't herd your sheep in my pasture?"
The man replied, "People used wool to mark those trees as
sacred."
"OK. Maybe that's true, but where did the sheep dung come
from? Did the trees defecate sheep pellets?"
The man had nothing to say, which said everything.
A
93: STEALING A GOAT133
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
W
hen a man saw his neighbor stealing one of his goats, he
asked, "What are you doing? Are you stealing?" as the
neighbor lifted the goat over the wall of his sheep pen.
The neighbor answered, "Why can't I weigh your goat?" as
he set the goat down.
The goat owner had nothing to say and walked away.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Dka' thub tshe ring (b. 2001),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
133 Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from 'Brug 'bum skyid (b. 2001),
Smar khams Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016).
132
•240•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
94: ROAD, CAR, GRASS, AND SHEEP134
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
herdsman was driving his sheep along a road when a car
crashed into the flock, killing several sheep.
The driver got out of the car and said, "Why did you
drive your sheep on the road? Is there grass on the road?"
The herdsman replied, "Why did you drive your car into my
sheep? Is there a road on my sheep?"
The speechless driver paid compensation.
A
95: A HERDER HAS NOODLES135
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
O
nce a farmer in a Tibetan place had a herder friend and
invited him to his home. The farmer asked his wife to cook
noodles for dinner, knowing that his friend did not know
how to eat noodles.
After the noodles were ready, the herder thought it was
shameful to say that he didn't know how to eat them, so he secretly
observed the farmer. Knowing his friend was watching him, the
farmer blew on his noodles before putting a long noodle on his
tongue.
He noticed the herder imitating him.
The farmer then secretly blew on a long noodle until it was
cool, put it around his neck, and sucked it into his mouth.
The herder imitated him but put a hot noodle around his
neck, which burned his neck.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Phag mo g.yang sgron (b.
2000), Glo rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
135 Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from 'Jigs byed 'tsho (b. 2002), Sha
rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, September 2016.)
134
•241•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
96: CHINESE FATHER AND TIBETAN DAUGHTER136
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
Chinese man had a Tibetan daughter. One day, while
fetching water from a stream, she accidentally broke her
wooden pail on a big rock. When she returned home, her
father asked her in the Qinghai Chinese dialect, "A me liao 'What
happened'?"
She thought he had spoken Tibetan and answered, "Mother
didn't break the pail."
Her father asked again, "Zale 'What happened'?"
Thinking he had spoken Tibetan. She answered that it
hadn't hit the ground (sa) but had struck a rock.
Her father then had nothing to say.
A
97: A TIBETAN SPEAKS CHINESE137
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
Tibetan once learned two Chinese words, shide 'yes' and
xiexie 'thanks', when he visited a Chinese city. Afterward,
he enjoyed demonstrating his Chinese "proficiency" to his
fellow villagers, who knew no Chinese.
One day, someone murdered a person near their village.
Many Chinese police officers came. Villagers asked him to talk with
the police officers because of his ability in the language. When he
approached the policemen, they thought he had come to confess his
crime and asked, "Are you the murderer?"
He said, "Shide 'Yes'."
After the policemen handcuffed him, he responded, "Xiexie
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Gnam thar gyal (b. 2002), Ru
sngun zhol ma Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
137 Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Gu ru rdo rje (b. 2002), Jo ser
Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
136
•242•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
'Thanks'."
98: EAT YOGURT THAT CAN TOUCH THE FINGER
Sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
wealthy family had one hundred female yaks. The
husband, A rig rgad po, said to his wife one day, "Dear
wife, we have one hundred female yaks, but I have never
eaten so much yogurt that I could touch what I ate with my finger.
Today I want to do that."
His wife said, "That's easy," and set a big wooden milk
bucket full of yogurt in front of him. He ate a bowl of rtsam pa,
drank a bowl of milk tea, and began eating yogurt. He ate and ate
and ate as his wife watched in surprise. After a while, he said, "It's
time to check with my index finger!"
Slowly, he put his index finger down his gullet until he
vomited dreadfully while shedding tears and slobbering sticky
saliva.
"No! No! No! Not enough! I will eat more!" he said and
continued eating until the expression on his face suddenly changed.
"My belly is now bigger than before, and I feel
uncomfortable. I want to sleep. Oh no, I must go to the toilet first!"
he exclaimed and slowly went outside, holding his belly with both
hands.
His wife was worried. Suddenly her husband screamed near
the tent. His wife went out to check and found her husband
unconscious on the ground. He never woke up.
A
•243•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
99: RABBIT138
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Locals admire rabbits for their cleverness and ability to cheat even the most
intelligent person. If we see a rabbit's sleeping place, we put our heads near it for
a while, believing it will make us clearheaded and wise. Here is a story about a
rabbit who deceived people.
W
hen the world was new, the first rabbit ran to the first
person and, out of breath, begged, "Please, compassionate
being, lend me your knee bones. A hungry wolf is chasing
me, wanting to eat me. I want to use your knee bones to run fast to
escape."
Rabbit's eyes brimmed with helpless tears as he whispered,
"Once I escape, I'll return your bones."
The person sympathetically exchanged his knee bones with
the rabbit. As the rabbit was about to thank him, he said, "Don't
dally. Run! You have no time to waste. We can chat the day you
return the bones."
The rabbit vanished in a flash and never came back. The
person waited a long time before realizing he had been hoodwinked.
He could not run as fast as before, which is why rabbits can run so
swiftly.
•••
I grew up hearing many different stories giving guidance to my life. Elders told
many stories about how rabbits cleverly killed large animals. I asked Grandmother
to tell me rabbit stories and King Ge sar stories whenever we slept together.
Sometimes this was the only reason I was willing to sleep with her. Below is
another rabbit story she told me.
One day, Rabbit was walking along a rough path when he suddenly
saw Tiger approaching. There was no alternative but death. In
desperation, he picked a small, sweet fruit, locally called "rabbit's
eye," and pretended he was eating something to attract Tiger's
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring. 2012. Rabbit in A Zorgay Tibetan Childhood.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 17:83-86.
138
•244•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
attention.
When Tiger got very near, Rabbit said, "Oh, good to see you,
Uncle Tiger. How have you been these days?"
Tiger did not even glance at him and said in his usual
arrogant tone, "None of your business. What are you eating?"
Rabbit almost blurted out, "It's none of your business!" but
swallowed these words and politely said, "Uncle Tiger, I'm eating
one of my eyes. They're really sweet. Would you like to try a piece?"
"Huh!" said Tiger, stretching out a paw for a piece.
"How do you like it, Uncle Tiger?" asked Rabbit.
"It's good, so give me more," Tiger said because it was
intensely sweet.
"Uncle Tiger, I already gave you my left eye. I can't give you
my right eye, or I won't be able to find food for you in the future,"
said Rabbit with his left eye closed.
"True. What can I do to get sweet eyes? You're the smart one,
so tell me," demanded Tiger, licking his lips with his long, red
tongue, savoring the sweetness.
"I have an idea, but Uncle Tiger, promise you won't get
angry. Will you promise?" Rabbit said.
"Tell me first; otherwise, I can't promise," Tiger said.
"Well, Uncle Tiger! My idea is… why not try your own eyes?"
Rabbit said.
"How dare you! You want me to become blind?" Tiger
roared.
"No, no… of course not. I mean, if you can't see, then I can
lead you. I'll be like your walking stick and lead the way," Rabbit
said.
"Hmm, let me think for a bit," Tiger said.
"Uncle Tiger, I will show you the way if you need me. On
smooth paths, I'll tell you to walk faster, and on rough paths, I'll tell
you to slow down," said Rabbit, yearning for Tiger to accept his
suggestion.
Tiger seemed lost in thought and was quiet. Afraid Tiger
would refuse, Rabbit pretended a small piece of his eye was left and
•245•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
gave another piece of fruit to Tiger. After eating it, Tiger could not
control himself and said, "Come on, my faithful rabbit, dig out my
left eye first!"
Rabbit immediately gouged out Tiger's left eye and gave
Tiger pieces of the fruit to eat. Tiger drooled for more and ordered
Rabbit to dig out his right eye. Without a shred of mercy, Rabbit
gouged out Tiger's right eye, blinding him, and gave him the eye to
eat.
Tiger tasted it, stuck out his tongue in disgust, and roared,
"What's this? I feel like vomiting!"
Tiger only heard Rabbit's laughter in reply. "Of course, it
tastes terrible. It's your real eye. Please follow me, you stupid tiger.
Let's find something to fill your den-like stomach where you've put
so many small animals. This is your retribution. Burn in Hell! You
are so stupid! Haven't you ever eaten an eye before? You should
know an eye is not as sweet as what I gave you. Haha!"
What Rabbit said frustrated and irritated Tiger, but he could
do nothing with his eyes gouged out except berate himself for his
donkey-like stupidity. Tiger suffered to purify his past sinful deeds
on the narrow path they were navigating. Rabbit asked Tiger to slow
down when they went through smooth places and told him to speed
up when they traversed rough places. Tiger bumped into boulders
along the path and injured his head unexpectedly. Sometimes his
feet caught on stones, and he tripped and fell. Soon, none of his
furry body was left uninjured. Blood oozed from his wounds, leaving
a bloody trail behind him. All he could think of was how he killed
small animals for food without compassion. "Who could ever
imagine a small rabbit would deceive me?" he agonized.
Rabbit had no pity because he thought Tiger deserved
punishment. Stupid was stupid. Tiger had chosen to follow him and
insisted on trusting him. Rabbit was unmoved and unsatisfied with
what he'd done to Tiger.
They reached a high mountaintop and rested after some
time. Rabbit built a fire and asked Tiger to sit near the cliff edge. As
the blaze grew, Rabbit pushed the fire nearer Tiger and said, "Uncle
•246•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Tiger, please move further. Otherwise, the fire will burn you." Tiger
did so without hesitating, for he was now entirely under Rabbit's
control.
Rabbit, whose vengeful heart burned like a blazing fire, said
next, "Uncle Tiger, move back more, or the fire will burn you."
Tiger moved back and tumbled down the cliff. Fortunately,
he gripped a tree in his powerful jaws and did not fall to the bottom.
Instead, he hung, swinging back and forth from the tree.
Rabbit shouted, "Uncle Tiger, if you're the son of a good
father, say 'ah', but if you're the son of a bad father, just say 'om'."
This shout echoed throughout the canyon.
Stupid Tiger said, "Ah," opening his mouth. Losing his grip
on the tree, he crashed to the ground and died. Rabbit darted to his
friends to announce the greatest news they would ever hear. The
rabbits celebrated Tiger's death, while Tiger suffered in Hell for
what he had done during his lifetime.
•247•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
100: WISE RABBIT139
'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>།
L
ion killed and ate many animals every day in a large forest.
Lion agreed when the other animals begged him to kill and
eat only one animal each day. When it was time for Rabbit
to be eaten, Rabbit walked to where Lion was waiting and noticed a
deep well. Lion roared, "Why are you so late?"
Rabbit replied, "A lion caught me."
Lion angrily demanded, "Who is this other lion?!"
Rabbit answered, "The other lion said, 'No one can compare
to me. Everybody is my servant'."
This enraged Lion, who ordered Rabbit to show him where
the other lion was.
Rabbit led Lion to the well and told him the other lion was
inside.
Lion looked inside, saw his reflection, thought it was his
139
'Brug mo mtsho. 2001. Wise Rabbit in Thomas et al.:40-42.
•248•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
enemy, and snarled. The "other lion" snarled. He shook his mane,
and the "other lion" did the same. Lion then jumped into the well to
attack his enemy and drowned.
101: THE PROVOCATIVE RABBIT140
Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
retreatant finished chanting for a family, packed up the
offerings from the host, and started back to his hermitage
feeling satisfied. A rabbit called Ja dkrug mgo
'Troublemaker' watched the retreatant through an evergreen bush
and decided to cheat him out of his offerings. Troublemaker came
out of the bush and stood before the retreatant in the middle of the
path. As the retreatant came closer, Troublemaker ran forward a
few steps and turned back to watch the retreatant, who chased the
rabbit for a while, but the heavy bag burdened him, and he was soon
exhausted. He finally threw down his bag and chased
Troublemaker, who ran just beyond the retreatant's grasp. Finally,
having left the retreatant far behind, Troublemaker doubled back,
picked up the retreatant's bag, and carried it off.
The rabbit took a jar of honey from the bag and scooped out
some honey with his paws. Soon, a bear approached and said,
"What's that you are eating?"
"I'm eating my eye. Did you know eyes will grow back after a
few days?" the rabbit said, closing its left eye.
"Really? What does your eye taste like?" asked the bear.
"Very sweet," said the rabbit.
The bear came up to the rabbit with much curiosity. The rabbit
took a bit of honey, put it in the bear's mouth, and asked how it
tasted.
"Delicious! Could you dig out my left eye? I want to eat it," said
the bear.
"Sure, bear's eyes are sweeter than rabbit eyes," said the rabbit,
A
Rnam rgyal. 2017. The Provocative Rabbit in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:148-150.
140
•249•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
gouging out the bear's left eye. The bear's eye was bleeding and in
great pain, but the rabbit put a dollop of honey into the bear's mouth
and asked, "How does your left eye taste?"
"It is painful but very sweet and delicious," said the bear.
"OK, bye. I must leave. Your eye will recover in a few days," said
the rabbit.
"Wait! I want to eat my right eye too, but I am worried nobody
will lead me around before my eyes recover," the bear said.
"I'm helpful and will be your eyes," the rabbit offered.
"Then please dig out my right eye," the bear said.
The rabbit took out the bear's right eye, put it in the bear's
mouth, and asked, "How does your right eye taste?"
"It's not very sweet," said the bear.
The rabbit led the bear. On level grassland, the rabbit told the
bear to be careful because they were on a stony road, so the bear
fearfully followed the rabbit. When they were on a rocky road, the
rabbit told the bear that they were on a level road, so the bear
walked more quickly and more freely. As a result, the bear often
tumbled, injuring himself.
The sky was darkening, so the rabbit and the bear stayed in a
cave at the top of a high cliff.
"Do you want to sleep in the inner or outside part of the cave?"
asked the rabbit.
"The inner part," replied the bear. The rabbit helped the bear
to the inner part of the cave and made a big fire at the cave entrance,
hoping it would burn and suffocate the bear.
"Do you want to stay in the inner part of the cave or go
outside?" asked the rabbit.
"Outside," said the bear.
The rabbit helped the bear to the edge of the cave and moved
the fire near the bear. Unable to bear the heat, the bear fell from the
cliff.
"Help! Help!" cried the bear, where it was hanging to some
brush.
"Raise both of your hands! I can't see you!" yelled the rabbit.
•250•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The bear raised its paws and fell further down the rocky face
but managed to grip a bush with its teeth.
"Yell! I don't know where you are!" shouted the rabbit.
The bear roared, fell into the deep valley, and died.
The rabbit joyfully ran to a nearby shepherd and said, "A big
bear has died in the valley. Why don't you go get it?"
"There's no one to watch my lambs," said the man.
"When wolves come, I'll shout to the sheep, 'Go back to the
yard,' and shout 'Ki hi hi!' at the wolves. Then I'll drive the sheep
into the yard," said the rabbit.
The man trusted the rabbit and went for the bear. At once, the
rabbit went to a den of wolves and said, "The shepherd has left to
get a dead bear. Why don't you go kill his sheep?"
"Well, I'd like to, but then no one would protect my newborn
cubs from the crow," said the mother wolf.
"I will. I'll whistle at the crows and point my ears at them,"
assured the rabbit.
The wolf left for the sheep. The rabbit immediately approached
the crow and said, "The wolf has gone for the sheep. Why don't you
go take the wolf cubs?"
"I'd like to, but I must look after my eggs," the crow said.
"I'll cover them with my smooth hair when the wind comes and
protect them from hunters," the rabbit promised.
The crow believed the rabbit and left. Meanwhile, the rabbit
broke all the eggs and ran on its way.
•251•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
102: THE KING OF SEVEN SEEDS141
Bsod nams rgyal mtshan བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚན།
My village had no electricity, TV, or videos when I was a child. Grandmother (Tshe
ring sgrol ma, b. 1926) told me stories every night. King of Seven Seeds was my
favorite because it described the friendship between people and a rabbit.
BKRA SHIS FINDS A RABBIT BROTHER
any years ago, there was a very kind, honest child named
Bkra shis whose parents died when he was ten. He was
alone with no sisters and brothers and, with both parents
dead, had to do everything alone. His wheat field was on a
mountaintop, and a rabbit often ate the wheat. He did not know how
to solve this problem, so he asked an old man to help him. The old
man and Bkra shis went to his wheat field and looked for where the
rabbit entered through a fence of thorny bushes. Finally, they found
the place and placed a trap there.
Three days later, Bkra shis returned to his field to check and
found a plump rabbit in the trap. He thought, "Today, I'll have the
best meal of my life!" and got ready to kill the rabbit.
Rabbit said, "Please don't kill me. I will do anything for you."
"You eat my wheat when I don't have enough food. How can
you help me? You must remember you are a rabbit, not a deity, OK?"
Bkra shis replied.
"I'm sorry I ate your wheat, but please do not kill me. I
promise I will repay you. Please give me a chance to change. Please!"
Rabbit pleaded.
Bkra shis thought, "This rabbit is very pitiful, so maybe I
should give him a chance to change. Also, I feel very lonely when I
go to work and stay home, so why don't I try to make him my
friend?"
Bkra shis said to Rabbit, "OK! I will spare you, but I have a
demand: you must promise to be my friend. We can work together
M
Bsod nams rgyal mtshan. 2010. Folktale: The King of Seven Seeds.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 6:313-320.
141
•252•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and live together. Is that OK?"
Rabbit nodded happily.
Bkra shis and Rabbit lived together and worked together.
Later, no animals came to eat the wheat, but they lacked food
because the weather was bad. Even so, they had a very happy time
together. They were like blood brothers, helping each other.
BKRA SHIS FINDS A BRIDE
Time passed, and Bkra shis was eighteen years old. One day, when
they went to their field to work, Rabbit discovered a cave of rich
ghosts on the mountaintop. These ghosts killed people at night and
brought the corpses to caves, where they ate them. The ghosts also
took things from those they killed and brought these things back to
their cave. For this reason, the ghosts were very rich.
That evening as they returned home from working in the
field, Rabbit asked Bkra shis, "Do you want to marry?"
Bkra shis was very surprised and did not know how to
answer, then he nodded and bashfully said, "You know how poor we
are, right? Nobody wants to marry me."
Rabbit laughed and said, "Don't worry! I have an idea. You
borrow five horses, two bags of wheat flour, two bags of wheat, two
bags of kha btags and silk, two very good shirts, two very good pairs
of trousers, and boots from the villagers. Then I'm sure we can find
someone to marry you. Right now, you need a new, better name."
Rabbit opened their lunchbox and noticed seven wheat
seeds inside, so he and Bkra shis decided King of Seven Seeds was
an excellent new name.
The following day, Bkra shis went to village homes and
borrowed what Rabbit had suggested. Some villagers lent horses,
others lent wheat and wheat flour, others lent kha btags and silk,
and one villager lent two good shirts, two pairs of trousers, and
boots.
The next morning, Rabbit helped Bkra shis put on the
clothes. Rabbit put kha btags in Bkra shis' boots instead of insoles.
•253•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
They put the other items Bkra shis had borrowed on a horse,
traveled for about a half-day, and came to a village where Rabbit
asked passersby which family was the richest.
"That family is the richest," one man replied, pointing to a
large, decorated house.
"How many daughters do they have?" Rabbit asked.
"They have three daughters," he said.
Rabbit and Bkra shis went to the wealthy family's courtyard,
where there was a large water container. Rabbit said, "Hey! Brother,
shall we stay here tonight?"
Bkra shis nodded.
Rabbit unloaded the horses, made a silk seat, and said,
"Master, please sit here," and Bkra shis sat on the silk seat.
The oldest daughter looked out the window and saw a rabbit
taking kha btags out of Bkra shis' shoes and adding new kha btags.
Rabbit said, "Master, your feet are sweating."
Oldest Daughter could not believe what she had just seen
and heard and reported to her parents, "Others say that we are the
richest family in this village, but I just saw a truly rich man in front
of our courtyard gate. He uses kha btags for his insoles and is seated
on silk."
Her parents did not believe her and told their middle
daughter to look out the window. She did so and watched as the
rabbit poured two bags of wheat flour into the big container of water,
which their horses began drinking. The middle daughter thought,
"We are rich, but we never pour flour into the pool and let our horses
drink it. Unimaginable! They must be very rich."
Reporting what she had seen, her parents didn't believe her
and told their youngest daughter to report. Looking out the window,
she saw Rabbit pour two bags of wheat on the ground, which the
horses began eating. "Oh! My Buddha!" she yelled.
Bkra shis turned when he heard this and saw a very beautiful
girl looking out a window. They looked at each other for a moment,
and each smiled. Rabbit noticed and knew what to do next.
Youngest Daughter told her parents what she had seen, and
•254•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
her parents believed her.
Bkra shis told Rabbit, "This girl is very beautiful, right?"
"Yes, she is beautiful. Master, if you want her for your wife,
I will help you," Rabbit replied.
Rabbit called to the family's father, "May we stay at your
home tonight, please?"
"Of course, you can," the father answered kindly.
Bkra shis and Rabbit entered the home, and the family
offered butter tea and delicious food, which Youngest Daughter
served.
Rabbit said, "He is our master, and his name is Bkra shis.
His family is called 'King of Seven Seeds', and his parents died when
he was ten. We are searching for a lady to marry our master. Are
your daughters married?"
"Yes, they are married, except for the youngest," the mother
answered.
"May your youngest daughter marry our master?" Rabbit
asked.
"We want our daughter to marry a rich man, but we must
ask her. If she agrees, her mother and I agree," the father said.
The mother and girl went to another room. They returned
after a bit, and the mother said, "My daughter wants to marry you."
"Thanks! Which day is the best to marry? I think tomorrow
is the best. Do you agree?" Rabbit asked.
"Yes, I agree. She is my youngest daughter. I want to make
this wedding grand," the father said.
Rabbit said, "OK! No problem! We also want to make the
wedding grand. I want your family to send one hundred men to my
home today and 200 men with guns with our master and his bride
to our village tomorrow. Also, send some people with drums."
"OK! We can do that, but please explain why we should send
men with guns?" the father said.
"I just want to make this wedding grand. Tomorrow when
you see smoke on the mountaintop, shoot the guns into the sky and
beat the drums loudly, OK?" Rabbit said.
•255•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"OK! Good luck!" the father replied, so Rabbit left with one
hundred men.
KILLING THE GHOSTS
The next day Rabbit told the one hundred men, "When you see
smoke on the mountaintop, set fire to the grass near the ghosts' cave
and come to the mountaintop quickly."
Rabbit went to the ghost cave and told the ghost leader, "I'm
your neighbor. This morning, I went to the village and heard the
villagers say they would come here and kill every ghost. You must
run away if you don't want to die."
"Do you think we will believe your lie? No, we are not
children! We are ghosts, and they are human. They cannot kill us,"
said the ghost leader.
"Really, my honorable neighbor? They invited a bla ma from
another village who kills using his beads and drums. Two hundred
men with guns will come here soon. If you don't want to die, you
must accept my help. I have a good plan to save you," Rabbit said.
Finally, the ghost leader believed Rabbit and said, "Tell us
your plan."
"You're brilliant, my neighbor. OK! You must go out and hide
in the grass near your caves. I will make smoke on the mountaintop
when I see the villagers and the bla ma coming. You must then move
down the mountain in the grass slowly. I'm sure they will kill you if
they discover you," Rabbit said.
After the ghosts hid in the grass, Rabbit waited for his
master and bride. He soon saw them coming and made smoke on
the mountaintop. When the one hundred men saw the smoke, they
set the grass on fire, while the bride's father ordered his men to
shoot and drum when they saw the smoke.
Meanwhile, the ghosts saw the smoke and heard the
shooting and drumming. They were terrified, stayed in the grass,
and didn't move. After half an hour, the ghosts were all burned to
death. Rabbit told the one hundred men to clean the ghost cave after
•256•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
they reached it.
Bkra shis and his bride soon arrived and were amazed to
find a cave full of gold, silver, and jewelry. That evening they all
drank, danced, sang, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
The next day the bride's father said, "Bkra shis, be kind to
my daughter. Daughter, your mother and I will visit you when we
can. You must visit your mother and me when you and Bkra shis
have time."
"Father, don't worry about your daughter. I will be kind to
her, and we will visit you and Mother," Bkra shis said.
Bkra shis' father-in-law nodded and left with his men.
RABBIT TESTS BKRA SHIS
Two years passed, and Rabbit enjoyed his life with Bkra shis, Bkra
shis' wife, and a three-month-old son, but he thought that now that
they did not need him, they might kill him. One day he lay in bed
and said, "Bkra shis, I think I'm sick. Would you and your wife visit
a fortuneteller rabbit who wears a black hat and lives in a cave?
Please ask him how I can get well."
"Surely we will! How do we reach this cave?" Bkra shis asked.
"When you go, you must climb up a rocky mountain. When
you return, climb through a rocky valley," Rabbit said.
"OK!" Bkra shis replied and left with his wife.
Rabbit got up a short time later, hopped along a shortcut to
the cave, put on a black hat, sat, and waited for Bkra shis and his
wife, who were coming slowly, climbing along a rocky mountain.
When they arrived, they saw a rabbit wearing a black hat that hid
most of his face.
"There is a sick rabbit in my home. Please tell me how he can
get well," Bkra shis said politely.
"OK!" Rabbit said and began chanting and divining. A short
time later, he said, "You have a son. If that sick rabbit eats your son's
heart, he will recover. There is no other way for him to recover."
Bkra shis thanked the rabbit and left.
•257•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
A very short time later, Rabbit hopped back home as Bkra
shis and his wife climbed through a rocky valley.
Bkra shis' wife said, "Will you kill our son for Rabbit?"
"I don't know. I must save Rabbit. Without his help, we
would not have all we have today," Bkra shis said.
Bkra shis' wife said, "I don't want to lose my son."
"Wife, we are young, and we can have another son, but if
Rabbit dies, I will regret it all my life," Rabbit said.
Finally, his wife agreed.
When they got home, Rabbit was lying on his bed.
"What did that fortuneteller say?" Rabbit asked.
Bkra shis didn't answer. His wife was crying. Bkra shis
bathed his son and prepared to kill him.
"Stop!" Rabbit said and got up. "I'm sorry. I pretended to be
sick. That rabbit wearing a black hat was me. I just wanted to know
if you cared about me! Please forgive me!"
Bkra shis angrily demanded, "Why did you do that? Am I not
good enough for you?"
"No! No! You two are very kind to me, but I thought we were
different. You are human, and I'm an animal. I thought you might
kill me one day because you no longer need me. I was wrong. I'm
very sorry! Please forgive me! Please!" Rabbit said sadly.
"My brother, I understand you, and I forgive you. But you
must promise never to do something like this again," Bkra shis said.
RABBIT LEAVES
"Thanks! Brother, I promised to repay you, and I have done that.
Now I must leave and find a life that is mine. I also want to find a
wife and have a family," Rabbit said.
"OK! I understand. I respect your choice, Brother. You are
welcome to return at any time. If you need help, come and tell me.
Our door of always open to you," Bkra shis said tearfully.
Rabbit left in search of a life of his own.
•258•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
103: RABBIT SAVES PILGRIM'S LIFE142
Dbang phyug rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ།
L
ong ago, during his travels, a pilgrim found a wolf caught
in a trap. Taking pity, he released it. Wolf said, "I am
ravenous and thirsty. I have been in this trap for three long
days. You must give me your flesh and blood to eat!" and sprang at
Pilgrim.
Pilgrim said in terror, "My people have honor. I saved you,
but now you want to eat me. You are a creature with a very different
idea of honor."
"I have never heard of honor. Everyone wants to eat when
they are hungry," said hungry Wolf and came near Pilgrim,
trembling in fear.
"Before you eat me, let's ask other animals if people have
honor. If they say people do have honor, you can't eat me. If they say
Dbang phyug rgyal. 2001. Rabbit Saves Pilgrim's Life in Thomas et
al.:173-176.
142
•259•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
people don't have honor, then you can eat me," Pilgrim quivered.
Wolf agreed, so they went across the grassland, searching
for animals. They first met an old horse, and Pilgrim asked, "Do
people have honor?"
"People have no honor. When I was young, people put a bit
in my mouth, a saddle on my back, and rode me everywhere. But
now they don't care about me. They have thrown me away. I'm old
and injured, and they don't care about me," said the old horse.
When Wolf heard this, he opened his mouth very wide and
showed his fangs to Pilgrim. "We still must ask two other animals.
If they say people have no honor, you can eat me," said Pilgrim in a
trembling voice.
Wolf agreed, and they continued until they met an old
female yak. When Pilgrim asked the same question, she answered,
"People have no honor. When I was young, they milked me and
drank the milk. They didn't give my calf any to drink. But now that
I'm old, they don't care about me and have discarded me."
Wolf delightedly exclaimed, "See! Everyone says people
have no honor. Now I will eat you," and moved near to Pilgrim.
Pilgrim said, "Let's ask one more animal this question."
They continued and met a rabbit and asked it the same
question. Rabbit thought for a long time and said, "I'm not sure. I'll
have to see the place where the trap is."
When the three reached the trap, Rabbit told Wolf, "Please
show me how you were caught in the trap."
After Wolf put his foot into the trap, Rabbit went near the
trap and said quietly and happily to Pilgrim, "From now on, never
take pity on a cruel wolf."
Pilgrim and Rabbit then went their separate ways leaving
Wolf in the trap, where he soon died.
•260•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
104: BEAR AND RABBIT (I)143
G.yu lha གR་L།
black bear mother and her daughter, and a rabbit mother
and her daughter lived in the same forest. The two mothers
went to the grassland every day to dig gro ma.144
One evening, the mother bear arrived home without the
mother rabbit.
Mother Bear, 145 did you see my mother? Is she coming?"
asked the baby rabbit.
"She will come if you make the fire bigger and boil some tea,"
replied the mother bear.
The baby bear made the fire as big as she could and boiled
tea, but her mother didn't come.
"Is my mother coming soon?" she asked the mother bear.
"Make the fire smaller, and she'll come," replied the mother
bear.
After a long time, the baby rabbit asked again, "Why is my
mother still not here? Is she coming?"
"If you continue asking me, I will eat you! Go to bed and
sleep," said the mother bear.
The baby rabbit went to bed, overhead the mother bear and
her daughter talking, and learned that the bear had eaten her
mother.
The mother bear went out as usual to search for gro ma the
next day. The baby rabbit was very clever and asked the baby bear
to play. The baby rabbit told the baby bear to put a piece of paper on
her chest while putting a flat stone on her own chest. Then they shot
at each other with arrows. The baby rabbit let the baby bear shoot
first, then the rabbit shot the bear and killed the baby bear. After
that, she fled for her life.
First, she saw a man herding sheep on boundless grassland.
A
Told by Thub bstan (b. 1936).
A small, red-skinned tuber that grows at high altitudes.
145 Mother Bear.
143
144
•261•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Uncle, is there anywhere where I can hide? The mother bear killed
my mother, so I killed her cub," said the baby rabbit to the shepherd.
"Climb into the ear of the oldest and biggest sheep," replied
the herder.
The baby rabbit climbed into the ear just as the mother bear
arrived. "Did you see a rabbit running across the grassland? Tell me
the truth, or I'll swallow you!" said the mother bear to the shepherd.
"It's in the oldest and biggest sheep's ear," said the shepherd.
The baby rabbit had taken some ash and gro ma with her
when she left home and threw the ash into the mother bear's eyes
and escaped as the bear wiped her eyes.
Next, the baby rabbit saw a horse herder in a dense forest.
"Is there anywhere that I can hide? The mother bear killed my
mother, so I killed her cub," said the baby rabbit to the horse herder.
"Get into the biggest horse's ear," he said, and the baby
rabbit climbed into the horse's ear just as the mother bear arrived.
"Have you seen a rabbit running past here? Tell me the truth,
or I'll swallow you," the mother bear yelled at the horse herder.
"It's in the biggest horse's ear!" the horse herder said.
The rabbit took a handful of ash, threw it in the bear's eyes,
and escaped as the bear wiped her eyes.
After running a long way, the rabbit met a tiger and asked,
"Uncle Tiger, can you hide me from the bear? The mother bear
killed my mother, so I killed her cub."
"Get into my ear," said the tiger, so the rabbit climbed into
the tiger's ear just as the bear arrived.
"Have you seen a rabbit running through here? Tell me the
truth, or I'll swallow you!" said the mother bear.
"Swallow me? I'll show 'swallow you'!" said the tiger angrily
to the mother bear, opened his mouth, and swallowed the bear.
"The tiger heard the rabbit chewing something in his ear and
asked, "What are you eating?"
"I was so hungry that I took out one of my eyes to eat. Would
you like to a taste?" said the rabbit and handed some gro ma to the
tiger.
•262•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"It's delicious. Can you take out one of my eyes?" said the
tiger.
The rabbit plucked out one of the tiger's eyes and put it in
the tiger's mouth. The poor tiger said, "Mine's not like yours! Mine
is bitter."
"That's strange. Try another piece of mine," the rabbit said,
giving the tiger another piece of gro ma.
The tiger chewed it carefully and wondered why the eye
given by the rabbit was sweet, but his was bitter. He was curious and
decided to try his other eye. "I want to eat my other eye, but I'll be
blind afterward. You'll have to lead me slowly where the road is
rough and lead me a bit faster when the road is flat," said the tiger.
Rabbit agreed, gouged out the tiger's other eye, and fed it to
him.
"My eyes were not as tasty as yours," said the blind tiger.
The rabbit led the tiger faster when the road was bad and
slower when the road was better, opposite to what the tiger had
asked. Finally, they reached a cliff top and made a fire to warm
themselves. The rabbit asked the tiger to sit near the cliff's edge,
pushed the fire near the tiger, and said, "Uncle Tiger, move back a
little, or your beautiful skin will be burnt."
The rabbit did this several times, and eventually, the tiger
fell down the cliff. The rabbit continued to a house where a couple
and their baby lived with some cows. "There is a dead tiger near the
foot of the cliff. If you want it, I'll take care of your baby and cows
while you are away," said the rabbit to the couple.
The couple thought this was a good offer and headed to find
the tiger. After they left, the rabbit killed the crying baby and the
annoying cows. She filled the baby with ash, put it in the bed, filled
the cows with straw, and stood them up outside. When the couple
returned, the wife tried to nurse the baby but couldn't, and ashes
flew up whenever she patted the baby. She went downstairs and
tried to milk the cows, but each fell over.
"You detestable, cunning rabbit! You can't escape from your
death today!" shouted the couple.
•263•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"You are right. I ought to die, but I want to tell you how to
kill me that will cause me great suffering. You, Wife, take the
millstone and wait for me atop the ladder. You, Husband, take your
bow and arrow and wait for me under the ladder. I'll stand halfway
up the ladder. When I say 'Go!' you, Wife, drop the millstone on me.
You, Husband, shoot at me with your bow and arrow. This way, I'll
die at both of your hands. Won't that be wonderful!" suggested the
rabbit.
The couple followed the rabbit's advice. The wife took the
millstone and waited at the top of the ladder, while the husband
took his bow and arrow and waited at the bottom.
"Go!" said the rabbit and quickly jumped up through a hole
in the wall near the ladder and flew up to the moon. The millstone
killed the husband, and the arrow killed the wife – both killed by the
rabbit's careful planning.
My story is finished. People say that's why there is a rabbit
on the moon today.
105: BEAR AND RABBIT (II)146
Snying dkar skyid \ིང་དཀར་4ིད།
O
nce a mother bear and her cute cub lived near a mother
rabbit and her baby. The two mothers went out daily to dig
their main food, gro ma. They left their babies at home to
play together when they were away.
One sunny day, the mother rabbit called the mother bear to
dig gro ma. They went to the mountains near their homes and
started digging. As she dug, the mother bear dug one gro ma and
ate it, dug another and ate it, and so on. Thus, her bag was empty.
The mother rabbit hadn't been greedy and hadn't eaten even
one gro ma, so she had a big full bag at the day's end. The mother
bear saw this and felt ashamed to go home with an empty bag. She
began to think of a way to get the mother rabbit's gro ma, and
Snying dkar skyid. 2011. Bear and Rabbit (II). Asian Highlands
Perspectives 10:375-382.
146
•264•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
eventually, she had an idea. She knew the rabbit had a big soul-wart
on her head, so the mother bear said, "We haven't rested for a long
time. Let's take a short break, OK?"
"OK. Just a short rest. Otherwise, our babies might worry
since it's getting dark," said the mother rabbit, smiling.
"Sure," the bear replied. "Let me scratch your head. I've
heard this helps you relax."
"How kind of you," said the mother rabbit as she lay on the
ground, putting her head on the mother bear's leg.
They talked about their babies and how cute and wellbehaved they were. Little did the mother rabbit know she was in
mortal danger. Suddenly, the mother bear cried in amazement,
"What is that big, black thing on your head?"
"Don't touch it! That is my soul! If you squeeze it, I'll die,"
the mother rabbit said nervously.
"Oh? OK then," said the mother bear and squeezed the big
black wart, killing the mother rabbit instantly, just for a bag of gro
ma.
Next, she pulled the dead mother rabbit into pieces and put
them in her bag, along with the mother rabbit's gro ma.
The day grew dark as the baby rabbit waited for her mother.
As the mother bear went along the path in front of the rabbits' home,
the baby rabbit called, "Mother Bear, where is my mother? Isn't she
coming with you? Where is she now?"
"Dear baby, boil some tea for your mother; she'll come soon.
Just wait for her with some hot tea," said the mother bear and went
off, carrying the mother rabbit's dead body and the gro ma in her
bag.
The poor baby rabbit boiled tea and went out again to wait
for her mother. When she didn't come, she shouted, "Mother Bear,
where is my mother now?"
"Your mother will come from behind the small hill. Prepare
noodles for her, and she'll come soon!" yelled the mother bear.
The baby rabbit cooked noodles for her mother and waited,
but no one came. The baby rabbit worried because it was very late
•265•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and her mother still hadn't come. Thinking that something had
happened, she went to the mother bear's house, climbed on the roof,
and saw the bear putting meat in a pot. She saw something hanging
from the ceiling. Looking closely, she realized it was her mother's
legs and head. The head was terrifying! She also saw her mother's
bag on the table and realized that the mother bear had killed her
mother. She whimpered and decided to take revenge.
The following day after the mother bear left her home, the
baby rabbit called, "Baby bear, come outside and play with me! I'll
take you to a place you've never been!"
"No! Go away! Mother said I couldn't go outside. It's too
dangerous," the baby bear yelled at the baby rabbit.
"Your mother is not at home. Play with me for a bit. Your
mother won't know," said the baby rabbit.
"Hm… a little while is OK, but I must return early. Let's go
now," said the baby bear happily.
"Just follow me," said the baby rabbit, hopping and smiling.
At last, they reached a threshing stone resting on two small
supports. The baby rabbit smiled and said, "It's nice to play with the
threshing stone."
"Wow! How do we play? I've never played with such a thing.
Teach me how to play," said the baby bear excitedly.
"OK, first I'll go under the threshing stone while you lift it,
then you can go under it while I lift it," said the baby rabbit.
"OK," said the baby bear and lifted the threshing stone.
After the baby rabbit had gone under it, she said, "It's your
turn! Come on!"
When the baby bear was under the threshing stone, the baby
rabbit dropped it, crushing the baby bear.
Having avenged her mother's death, the baby rabbit fled,
knowing the mother bear would try to kill her when she discovered
the dead cub.
While escaping, the baby rabbit overheard two yak herders.
One said, "Did you see a big bear asking people if they had seen a
rabbit? She was enraged: Someone must have made her unhappy."
•266•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The other herder said, "Yeah, I saw her. She was so strong!
Whoever she's looking for will surely die. That's the only possibility.
She'll be here soon."
When the baby rabbit heard that, she asked the two herders
to let her hide in the nose of one of their yaks. Just as she climbed
in, the mother bear ran up and asked if they had seen a rabbit. The
herders told her the rabbit had been there and left, pointing to show
the way. The bear ran off in the direction they indicated.
After a while, the rabbit jumped to the ground, thanked the
herders, and resumed her journey. In the same way, she hid in a
sheep's wool when the bear approached. The bear asked the
shepherd if he had seen a rabbit, and he answered, "I saw a rabbit.
It went that way just a minute ago."
The mother bear ran off in the direction the shepherd
indicated. The rabbit thanked the shepherd and resumed her
journey. She saw a strong yak eating grass with several calves when
she reached a field. Suddenly, she saw the mother bear standing
nearby with eyes glowing like coal and a wide-open mouth. The
rabbit realized she was going to swallow her. Without recourse, she
said, "Dearest Uncle Yak, my mother was killed by that bear, so I
killed her baby, and now she is going to kill me. She killed my
mother first! I'm not in the wrong. Please help me, I beg you."
"Is it true? If it is, I'll surely help you," said Uncle Yak.
"How would I dare lie to you?" said the rabbit, kneeling to
Uncle Yak, her front paws held together in supplication.
"OK! Now, look at me. I promise I will kill that demon in a
few seconds," said Uncle Yak gravely.
"Come! I'm not afraid of you!" said the mother bear,
grinding her sharp teeth on a huge stone, preparing to challenge
Uncle Yak. After a few seconds, they charged at each other. Finally,
the mother bear was defeated, and her face was covered with blood.
She turned and ran but said she would return and take revenge.
Old Uncle Yak said, "I helped you, so now what will you give
me as a reward?"
"I have nothing to give you, but I will say good words to
•267•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
praise you," said the intelligent rabbit.
"I would like to hear these good words," said Uncle Yak,
sitting on a big stone beside a wall with a hole.
"Uncle Yak's eyes are gold eyes, Uncle Yak's nose is a gold
nose, Uncle Yak's mouth is a gold mouth, Uncle Yak's hands are
gold hands, Uncle Yak's legs are gold legs…" said the rabbit.
"OK. What's next?" Uncle Yak asked happily.
"Uncle Yak's eyes are shit eyes, Uncle Yak's nose is a shit
nose, and Uncle Yak's mouth is a shit mouth," said the rabbit,
running to the other side of the wall.
Uncle Yak furiously charged the hole in the wall. Although
the hole was big, his head was bigger, especially with his two horns,
so he got stuck in the hole and died.
The rabbit went on, feeling hungry after meeting so many
difficulties. Fortunately, she saw a nearby house, approached it, and
knocked on the door. A woman opened it and invited her inside,
where the rabbit saw a baby sleeping on a bed. The woman offered
good food. After eating, she said, "I killed a large yak just a bit ago
in a field nearby. If you want its meat, go get it."
"Really? If it is true, my husband and I will go fetch it," said
the woman.
"It's true. Go, and I'll care for your baby," said the rabbit in
a friendly manner.
The couple took a long rope and left. As the baby cried
without stopping, the rabbit slit open the baby's belly, removed the
viscera, and stuffed a pigeon inside. Next, she cut the baby's head
off, put it under the quilt, and covered it. Lastly, she cut off the
baby's arms and legs and put them into a pot of boiling water.
When the couple happily returned with the yak's carcass, the
rabbit said she had cooked meat for them. The couple happily ate
the meat. Realizing their baby had been sleeping a long time, they
removed the quilt, and its head rolled onto the floor. They
immediately understood that they had eaten their baby's flesh,
screamed, and vowed to take revenge.
"These two just ate their own baby's flesh!" yelled the rabbit
•268•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
repeatedly as she hopped away.
The baby rabbit came in front of their house to yell like that
day after day. The man wanted to kill the rabbit, so he went outside
and told the rabbit that he would kill her if she came near their
house again.
One day, the man put some glue on a big stone in front of
their house. Later, the rabbit came to their house, sat on the stone,
and yelled as usual. The man came out and said, "This time, I will
not let you go. I want to avenge my dear baby."
The rabbit wanted to run away, but her bottom was stuck to
the stone, so that she couldn't move.
"Please put some ash in my ears before you kill me," said the
rabbit.
"OK, I'll listen to you one last time since you are about to
die," said the man, putting ash into the rabbit's ears. Suddenly, the
rabbit shook her head, and ash flew into the man's eyes. Then the
rabbit ran away.
106: MOTHER RABBIT AND MOTHER BEAR147
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
bear mother and a rabbit mother were neighbors. Each
lived with a child. One day, Mother Rabbit and Mother
Bear went to dig wild yams in the mountains. Mother
Rabbit dug wild yams diligently and put them in her bag. Mother
Bear didn't. Instead, she ate them one by one after she dug them up.
In the late afternoon, she saw Mother Rabbit's bag was full while
hers was empty. Mother Bear then killed Mother Rabbit and
brought her bag of wild yams and her carcass back home.
Baby Rabbit approached Mother Bear and asked, "Aunt
Bear, where is my mother?"
"She's coming home with yams as big as a horse," lied
A
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Tshe mdo skyid (b. 2003),
Rdo ra Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
147
•269•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Mother Bear.
Baby Rabbit went home and waited hopefully until the next
day, but Mother Rabbit did not return. He then consulted Uncle
Crow, who told him Mother Bear had killed his mother.
Baby Rabbit secretly went near the bears' home and
overheard Mother Bear say, "This is Mother Rabbit's head, and this
is Mother Rabbit's leg."
Baby Rabbit returned home and cried.
Before Mother Bear went to dig wild yams the next day, she
said to her son, "Don't play with Baby Rabbit if he asks you to play
with spears and knives."
Her son agreed.
After Mother Bear was gone, Baby Rabbit went to Baby Bear
and invited him to play with spears and knives. Baby Bears replied,
"Mother said I couldn't play with spears and knives today."
Baby Rabbit suggested, "Let's play with the millstone."
Once Baby Bear agreed, Baby Rabbit turned the millstone
by pulling the pole attached to the millstone at the front while Baby
Bear pushed the pole from behind. Baby Rabbit suddenly pulled the
pole very strongly and hopped away. Meanwhile, the pole struck
and killed Baby Bear.
•270•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
107: BABY RABBIT AND CRUEL BEAR148
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
other Rabbit lived with her son, Baby Rabbit, in an old
cave, near the home of Cruel Bear and her son, Foolish
Bear.
Cruel Bear often beat Mother Rabbit and made her dig up
edible roots.
Mother Rabbit and Cruel Bear went to dig edible roots in the
early morning one warm Spring day. Cruel Bear dug up half a bag
of edible roots, and then she slept on a big rock while Mother Rabbit
continued digging.
At noon, Cruel Bear woke up. She was hungry. Seeing
Mother Rabbit had two bags of edible roots, she said, "I'll take those
two bags of edible roots."
Mother Rabbit was frightened, took one bag of edible roots,
M
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2001. Baby Rabbit and Cruel Bear in Thomas et
al.:126-129.
148
•271•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and ran, but the bag was heavy, so she ran slowly. Cruel Bear caught
her near the opening of the old cave and killed her.
As poor Baby Rabbit cried in fear, Cruel Bear said, "You
must bring me a bag of edible roots. If you do not, I'll kill you just
like I killed your mother," and went to her cave.
Baby Rabbit sadly knew he could not fight Cruel Bear and
win, but he suddenly had an idea. He hopped to the bears' cave and
invited Foolish Bear to visit him. Before Foolish Bear left, Cruel
Bear warned him to be careful.
Foolish Bear entered Baby Rabbit's home, and Baby Rabbit
said, "Mother hid a bag of edible roots under the floor. I'm tired and
can't dig it up. Why don't you dig it up and take it to your home?"
Gullible Foolish Bear believed this and eagerly began
digging. Meanwhile, Baby Rabbit ran away.
Foolish Bear was powerful and soon was at the bottom of a
deep hole. Once he realized he could not escape the hole, he felt
tired and cried. When Cruel Bear heard him, she hurried to the old
cave. It was dark inside, so she could not see. She tumbled into the
hole and landed on top of her son. She was fat and heavy, so this
killed her son.
The hole was so large that Cruel Bear could not climb out.
Three days later, Baby Rabbit returned and saw Cruel Bear
and her son dead in the deep hole. Baby Rabbit was now safe and
lived a happy life.
•272•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
108: TWO RABBITS AND A BEAR149
Dge 'dun sgrol ma དགེ་འcན་,ོལ་མ།
s two young rabbits hopped through the forest; one said to
the other, "We're good friends. We must help each other.
I'll stay and help you if any beast comes at you."
The other rabbit said, "I will help you, too, if any beast comes
at you."
After a while, they heard a loud noise. It was a large bear.
One rabbit climbed up a tree. The other was too fat to climb up.
Instead, he threw himself at the foot of the tree and pretended to be
dead.
A moment later, the bear looked at the fat young rabbit and
sniffed him. The young rabbit held its breath. The bear thought he
was dead and left.
The young rabbit hiding in the tree asked his friend, "The
A
Dge 'dun sgrol ma. 2001. Two Rabbits and a Bear in Thomas et al.:2224.
149
•273•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
bear put his mouth near your ear. What did he say?"
The other rabbit answered, "He said, 'Don't trust your
friend. He ran away when you needed his help the most.'"
109: MONKEY, RABBIT, FOX, AND HORSE150
'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད། (Zhoumaoji 周毛吉)
onkey, Rabbit, and Fox lived together and did things
together. However, when Fox found something to eat, he
refused to share it with his friends. One day when Monkey
and Rabbit were in a forest looking for something to eat, they
noticed a horse sleeping under a tree. Clever Rabbit said, "Fox never
shares food with us. Why don't we tell Fox about this horse? He likes
horse meat, so he'll ask us to show him where it is."
Monkey and Rabbit returned home and told Fox about the
horse. Fox was delighted to hear this and asked Monkey and Rabbit
M
'Brug mo skyid. 2001. Monkey, Rabbit, Fox, and Horse in Thomas et
al.:82-84.
150
•274•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
to take him to the sleeping horse.
When they reached where the horse was sleeping, Rabbit
said, "Tie your tail and the horse's tail together. When you bite him,
he will run, but he can't get away from you with your tails tied
together."
Fox agreed this was a superb idea, and Rabbit quietly tied
their tails together.
Monkey climbed up the tree the horse was sleeping under,
and Rabbit stood behind it.
Fox bit the horse's leg. The horse jumped up and galloped
off, dragging Fox behind him. Monkey and Rabbit laughed at the
sight of the horse dragging Fox. Monkey laughed so hard that he fell
from the tree and landed on his butt, which is why monkeys have a
red bottom today.
Rabbit saw Monkey fall from the tree and laughed so hard
that he bit through his lip. That is why, today, rabbits have a cleft
lip.
The horse pulled Fox into the dirt, which is why foxes have
messy hair today.
•275•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
110: A MAN, A RABBIT, AND A WOLF151
Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན།
grol ma and her son, Blo bzang, lived in a house at the
bottom of three big deep valleys.
One day Mother Sgrol ma suddenly became ill and
died, leaving Blo bzang alone. Each day he went into the forest,
collected firewood, and sold the wood to earn money to live.
A year later, while collecting firewood, he heard a strange
sound. When he investigated, he saw an enormous wolf with long
sharp fangs and a bright red tongue dangling from its mouth.
When Wolf saw Blo bzang, he ran to him and said, "Ha, ha!
Today I have a sweet thing to eat and warm blood to drink. I haven't
smelled meat for seven days. I will eat you."
Blo bzang jumped back in terror and said, "Please don't eat
me today. I haven't eaten for three days. If you ate me now, you
wouldn't feel full. Please eat me tomorrow, Grandpa Wolf."
Wolf said, "What you said is true. You will taste better with
S
151
Blo brtan. 2001. A Man, a Rabbit, and a Wolf in Thomas et al.:190-194.
•276•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
more meat on your bones. But I don't believe that you'll return
tomorrow. You might be trying to trick me. You must swear an oath
that you'll come back tomorrow."
"If I'm not here tomorrow, come to my home and eat me,"
said Blo bzang.
Wolf then allowed Blo bzang to leave. Blo bzang was very
worried. On the way home, he met a rabbit who asked, "Brother,
why are you so sad? You aren't carrying any wood. What's the
matter?"
Blo bzang told his problem to Rabbit, who said, "Don't be
afraid. I can help you. I have a plan."
Blo bzang found this hard to believe. He thought the rabbit
was too small and too weak to help save him from the enormous
wolf. "Let's go to your home," said Rabbit.
They went together to Blo bzang's home. When they arrived,
Rabbit said, "Please make a wooden gun."
Blo bzang quickly made a wooden gun and used a piece of
rope for a gun band.
They got up early the next day, ate quickly, and went into the
forest. On the way to the forest, Rabbit said, "When I yell, you must
say, 'The king's hunter is coming.'"
Rabbit took the wooden gun and went along a path to a
hilltop. Meanwhile, Blo bzang went to meet Wolf. When he reached
their agreed meeting place, Wolf waited and said, "Now, I will eat
you," and lunged at Blo bzang.
Suddenly Wolf heard, "Be careful! The king's hunter is
coming. He's got a gun."
"Is the king's hunter really coming?" asked Wolf.
Rabbit shouted to Blo bzang, "Hey! What's that beside you?"
"Please tell him I am a piece of wood," said Wolf.
Blo bzang shouted, "It's a piece of wood."
"Please hit it with your ax," said Rabbit.
"Please hit me gently," said Wolf, so Blo bzang hit Wolf very
gently.
"Why does it make no sound?" said Rabbit.
•277•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"It hit me hard!" said Wolf.
This time Blo bzang hit Wolf's head so hard that he died.
Rabbit's plan had worked, saving Blo bzang! Blo bzang and Rabbit
became sworn brothers and had a wonderful and pleasant life
together.
Since that time, most people do not eat rabbit meat.
111: A SHEEP GOES ON PILGRIMAGE TO LHA SA152
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
W
anting to go on pilgrimage to Lha sa, Sheep prepared and
started walking. One day, Wolf saw her and asked, "Hello!
Dear Sister, where are you going?"
"I am going to Lhasa to worship," Sheep answered fearfully.
Wolf said menacingly, "I can eat you now."
"Uncle Wolf, please don't eat me! I have dreamed a thousand
times of going to Lha sa to worship," begged Sheep.
"I see. You want to go to Lha sa. OK, I won't eat you today, but
when you return home on this road, I'll be waiting for you and eat
you."
Sheep agreed and continued her journey, sadly thinking
about her bleak future. After a half month, she reached Lha sa,
visited many temples, and saw many Buddhist images. She
delightedly worshiped the deities and prayed for her next life,
wanting to become more compassionate.
However, when she recalled that Wolf was waiting for her, she
felt very sad. After finishing her worship, she started returning
home, walking and crying sadly. On the way, she met a clever rabbit
who said, "Mother Sheep, why are you crying so sadly?"
"Wolf is waiting to eat me as I return home," Sheep said.
Rabbit said, "Don't be sad. I'll think of a way to defeat him."
"You can't, but thank you for your kind heart. Wolf will eat me,"
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Rin chen rdo rje (b. 2001), Ru
sngun zhol ma Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in his home, August 2016.
152
•278•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Sheep said.
"I'll use grass to make something that looks like a gun. I'll carry
it on my back and frighten Wolf," Rabbit said.
They discussed everything and traveled together. When they
neared Wolf's cave, Rabbit hopped up a nearby mountain.
Sheep walked to the cave, and Wolf jumped out, declaring,
"Now, I will eat you!"
Rabbit shouted, "Mother Sheep, what is next to you?"
Sheep asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm a soldier of the king. I have a gun, and I am hunting for
a big animal. What is that next to you?" Rabbit demanded.
Wolf whispered to Sheep fearfully, "Please tell the soldier
I'm your bag."
Rabbit said, "I can't see it clearly because I'm far from you.
Take a tree branch and hit it. Then I'll know what it is."
Sheep picked up a tree branch. "Please hit me lightly," Wolf
said.
Sheep hit the wolf lightly.
Rabbit said, "I can't hear any knocking sound. I'm still not
sure what it is."
Wolf whispered, "Hit me hard."
Sheep hit Wolf's head with the branch as hard as she could,
killing him.
Sheep thanked the clever rabbit, and together they walked
and happily sang their way to Sheep's home.
•279•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
112: TWO FROGS153
Anonymous
O
lder Frog lived in a well, and his friend, Younger Frog, lived
in a big lake. When they met, Older Frog said, "Younger
Brother, let's go to my home today!"
Younger Frog agreed.
When they reached the well where Older Frog lived,
Younger Frog felt uncomfortable because the well did not have
much water, the water was dirty, he could not see the sky, and
coming in and out of the well was difficult. But he did not leave
quickly because he did not want to hurt Older Frog's feelings.
Younger Frog was uncomfortable and jumped up and down.
Older Frog noticed this and thought Younger Frog was admiring his
home. "How is my home?" he asked.
Younger Frog smiled and said, "What can I say?"
Older Frog proudly said, "The water in my home is the best
153
Anonymous. 2001. Two Frogs in Thomas et al.:115-117.
•280•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
in the world."
Younger Frog replied, "I don't think so."
Older Frog was unhappy with this answer, the two frogs
began arguing, and finally, Younger Frog said he wanted to leave.
Older Frog said, "Please take some water from here."
"No. My home has enough water," said Younger Frog.
"I want to see your home," said Older Frog, and the two set
off for the lake where Younger Frog lived.
Proud, arrogant Older Frog thought, "When I reach his
home, I will drink all his water. Then he will have to ask me for my
water to drink."
When they reached the lake, Younger Frog said, "Dear Older
Frog, we are very near my home."
Older Frog did not look out across the vast lake. Instead, he
only noticed some water in front of him, stuck his head into the
water, and began drinking. Although his stomach was soon full, he
had not reduced the size of Younger Frog's home. He thought for a
moment and decided to drink more. His stomach became bigger
and bigger. Suddenly, there was a "ping" sound as his stomach
burst, and he died.
•281•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
113: THE FROG PRINCE154
'Jam dbyangs sgrol ma འཇམ་དDངས་,ོལ་མ།
poor childless couple wanted a child very much. One day
the woman felt pain in one knee. That night a hideous frog
jumped out of her knee. The old couple was terrified and
wanted to kill the frog. However, the frog promised to marry the
local king's daughter and bring them wealth.
Later, the frog went to the king's palace and shouted, "Dear
King, I am your son-in-law. Please call your daughter."
The king was amazed. Everyone in the king's palace came
out and looked around. Finally, the king noticed the frog. Who
repeated, "I am your son-in-law. Call your daughter."
While everyone was laughing at the ugly frog, the king said,
"You ugly frog! I will not let my beautiful daughter marry you!"
The frog angrily replied, "You will laugh louder and louder
A
154
'Jam dbyangs sgrol ma. 2001. The Frog Prince in Thomas et al.:95-97.
•282•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and be unable to stop until you let your daughter come and marry
me."
It was true. The king laughed louder and louder. He could
not stop. The people of the palace screamed in fear. At last, he had
to call his three daughters to come.
All the girls were beautiful. The king told his oldest daughter
to marry the frog, but she refused because the frog was so ugly.
The king told the middle daughter to marry the frog, but she
refused.
When the king asked his youngest daughter to marry the
frog, she agreed, knowing her father would die if she did not. The
king gave his youngest daughter a lot of treasure to show his
appreciation.
A grand, wonderful wedding was held for the beautiful
princess and the ugly frog. The frog removed his frog skin during
the wedding and became a very handsome man.
The frog kept his promises, and the poor couple enjoyed a
wonderful life.
114: THE FROG BOY AND HIS FAMILY155
Mchod pa'i lha mo མཆོད་པའི་L་མོ།
Learning folktales was something I loved to do as a child. I asked my
parents, brothers, sisters, and familiar guests to tell stories every
night. Children who lived in remote herding pastures were proud of
knowing many stories. There was no electricity to watch TV and videos.
We children shared our stories when we herded yaks and during our
free time, especially after dinner. We shared stories in turn. When it
was my turn, I often told the story of the frog boy and his family
because, when I first learned this story from my eldest sister (Chos
nyid sgrol ma, b. 1975), I found the characters fascinating, mysterious,
and frightening.
THE FROG'S APPEARANCE
Mchod pa'i lha mo. 2011. The Frog Boy and His Family. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 10:383-390.
155
•283•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
n old woman lived alone. Her right knee ached one day,
which made her rub it repeatedly. To her surprise, a frog
suddenly came out of her knee. Thinking it was a bad sign,
she felt very depressed. The frog saw the old woman's sad and
worried expression and said, "Mother, don't worry. I won't
disappoint you. The king's daughter will be my wife."
The old woman said, "How can a frog possibly get a king's
daughter for his wife? Don't say such things! If the king hears this,
our lives will be in danger!"
The frog said, "Mother, you will see me come home tonight
with the king's daughter."
As the frog left, the old woman thought it was impossible he
would be successful.
A
THE FROG GETS A WIFE
When the frog neared the king's palace, the dogs barked loudly. The
king asked his eldest daughter to check. She went outside, looked
around, saw nothing strange, returned to the palace, and reported
that everything was usual. She added, "Maybe our dogs bark a lot
because they are too full."
After a while, the dogs resumed barking madly, and the king
asked his second daughter to check. She also found nothing unusual
and returned with the same report. The king trusted his daughters
and didn't think about it further.
A short time later, however, the dogs resumed barking
furiously. This time the king asked his youngest daughter to find out
the cause. The third daughter noticed a tree in their courtyard was
moving a little. She returned to the king and said, "A tree was
moving a bit. Other than that, nothing else is happening."
The king believed her as he had his other two daughters. The
daughters had not seen the small frog.
After the third daughter's report, the frog entered the palace
and spoke, shocking everyone in the palace, who were sure it was a
•284•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
bad omen. The king asked his servants to bring the frog nearer. The
frog said, "I came here tonight to ask one of your daughters to be my
wife."
The king laughed loudly, thinking it was utterly ridiculous,
while his first and second daughters made silly expressions. The
frog noticed that the king's third daughter's face was different and
realized she was prettier than the other two. The king said to the frog,
"Impossible! Servants, throw this frog out of the palace!"
The frog said, "Please wait! If you don't give me your third
daughter, I'll stretch out my body, and your palace will collapse."
The king laughed and said, "Please stretch out your body.
We do not fear frogs."
Without another choice, the frog began stretching his body.
The palace shook and almost collapsed. The terrified king begged
the frog to stop and promised to allow the frog to take his youngest
daughter for his wife.
The frog stopped, but the king didn't keep his promise. The
frog said, "If you don't grant my request, I will laugh loudly, and a
strong wind will destroy your palace."
The king said, "It's up to you. We're not afraid of a frog."
The frog started laughing. A strong wind came and almost
destroyed the palace. This forced the king to renew his promise and
plead with the frog to stop.
As before, the frog trusted the king and stopped. But, as
before, the king broke his promise, so the frog said, "If you don't
give me your daughter, I will shout. Your palace and the whole area
will be destroyed by heavy rain."
The king didn't believe this and told the frog to shout. The
frog shouted. Suddenly there was lightning and heavy rain. The king
again begged the frog to stop when the palace was almost flooded.
The frog said, "You must keep your promise, or I will shout
repeatedly."
The king had no other option and gave his daughter to the
frog. The frog stopped shouting, and everything returned to normal.
The frog cheerfully returned to his home with the king's
•285•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
third daughter and a lot of property and asked his mother to open
the door. She said, "Little frog, you can enter the tent anywhere.
There is no need to open the door."
The frog said, "Mother, it's OK for me, but your daughter-inlaw and her property cannot come inside without you opening the
door."
She still didn't believe him and said, "If you are with a
woman, tell her to speak."
The frog's wife said, "He's right. I am with him."
The astonished old woman opened the door and was
delighted to see her son's wife and the property they had brought.
The old woman began a happy life with her frog son and daughterin-law.
THE HORSERACE
One day, a horserace festival was held, and the frog asked his
mother and wife to dress up and attend. He said, "I'm a frog, and it
is unnecessary for me to go. I'll stay at home and tend the livestock."
His mother and wife dressed up in their best clothes and set
off. Once they were gone, the frog removed his skin, put on white
clothes, mounted a white horse, and galloped to the horserace. He
was now a very handsome young man.
When his mother and wife reached the horserace area, they
noticed a very handsome man they didn't recognize. He rode a white
horse, wore expensive white clothes, and won the horserace. The
audience endlessly speculated who he was, but none knew. To
everyone's surprise, he smiled at his mother and wife several times
but was a stranger to them.
The first day of the horserace ended, and everybody
returned home.
When the frog's mother and his wife got home, the frog
asked, "How was the horserace? Did you two enjoy yourselves?"
They said they had a great time, and his wife told him about
the handsome stranger, the horserace champion.
•286•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The frog asked them to describe the man.
His wife described the stranger in detail and began to
wonder if the stranger might be her husband, the frog.
The next morning, the frog told his mother and wife to
attend the second day of the horserace festival while he stayed home
and tended the livestock. That day, his wife and mother left together.
On the way, his wife said she had forgotten something and
told her mother-in-law to go on with their neighbors. "I'll catch up
with you soon," she said.
Wanting to know if the strange man was her husband, she
went behind the tent and peeked inside. She saw the frog remove
his skin and become the handsome man they had seen at the
horserace festival. She was delighted to see her very handsome
husband and waited until he left the tent. Just after his departure,
she entered the tent and burned the frog skin.
She wanted her husband to show his true appearance and
didn't consider what might happen if she burned the frog's skin.
Once at the horserace, she watched her husband win the horserace.
He smiled at his mother and her as he had done the day before.
When they finished the horserace, the frog rushed home and
found his skin had been burned. He was terribly worried when his
wife and mother returned and said, "If I show my real appearance,
the nine-headed devil will force me to be his servant. I cannot hide
without the frog skin; the nine-headed devil will soon take me away.
Wife, please care for my mother."
THE NINE-HEADED DEVIL STEALS THE FROG
His wife was very sad, regretted burning the frog skin, and had no
idea how to save her husband's life. Suddenly, a strong wind came
and took the frog boy away. His wife was full of regret and set out
searching for him with some food. She went a long way and met
many people, but none had seen her husband.
One day, she met an old man. She told him what had
happened and why she was wandering.
•287•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The old man was shocked, told her the mission was
dangerous, and suggested she return home.
The frog's wife insisted on continuing her journey until she
met her husband.
The old man said, "You can't meet your husband. The nineheaded devil has taken many. None have returned. If you go there,
the nine-headed devil will kill you or keep you as his slave for the
rest of your life."
The frog's wife insisted she continue searching for her
husband, so the old man finally showed her the way to the nineheaded devil's palace. After thanking him, she walked on toward the
palace.
A few days later, she reached the palace and saw her
husband wearing metal clothing and fetching water. She was very
excited to see him and ran to him in tears. Her husband said in
surprise, "You are fortunate today because the nine-headed devil
went hunting for human blood. He will return tonight, and we must
find a way to kill him."
They went to the palace, where the wife hid in an
underground room nine floors high. Her husband told her, "When
the nine-headed devil closes his eyes in bed, he can hear even a
mouse walking. You must not move at that time. But when his eyes
are wide open, it means he is deeply asleep and can't hear anything.
This is when you must come and thrust this spike into his heart. He
will die when the spike breaks into two pieces."
The nine-headed devil returned to the palace in an unhappy
mood, sniffed, and said, "I smell human blood."
The frog boy said, "Of course, because I have human flesh."
The nine-headed devil said nothing and went to bed.
KILLING THE NINE-HEADED DEVIL
At midnight, the nine-headed devil opened his eyes very wide and
slept. The frog boy got up and took his wife from the deep
underground room. She stabbed the spike her husband had given
•288•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
her into the heart of the nine-headed devil, breaking it in two. The
nine-headed devil gave out such a shuddering last gasp that the
palace shook.
The couple was thrilled, for they no longer needed to worry
about the nine-headed devil, and the frog boy also no longer needed
to live in the frog's skin. Many rooms in the huge palace had
prisoners. The frog boy and his wife opened each room and saved
many people. They also found many human corpses and dead
animals. In the last room, they discovered an old, thin woman with
white hair. She told them she had been put in the room when she
was very young and was delighted to learn the nine-headed devil
was dead. She gratefully thanked them.
A JOYFUL REUNION
The frog boy and his wife happily returned home. The mother was
delighted to see her son and daughter-in-law return. The frog boy
and his family had a wonderful, happy life together.
•289•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
115: MOUSE PRINCESS MARRIES A CAT156
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད།
L
ong ago, Mouse King and his pretty daughter lived in a
beautiful kingdom. Mouse King was very loving to Mouse
Princess and wanted to ensure that, after he died, a strong
husband would take care of her.
One day he called all the noblemen to his palace and ordered
them to find a strong man to marry Mouse Princess. One nobleman
said, "Mouse Princess should marry Wind. He can go anywhere he
likes. No one can stop Wind."
Mouse King agreed and spoke to Wind, who told him he was
not strong enough to protect his daughter. He said Wall was
stronger because he could stop Wind.
The king went to see Wall, who told him that even a cat could
jump over him, so a cat would better match his daughter.
Tshe dbyangs skyid. 2001. Mouse Princess Marries a Cat in Thomas et
al.:46-48.
156
•290•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Mouse King found a strong cat who agreed to marry Mouse
Princess.
Two weeks later, Mouse King held a grand wedding for his
daughter.
That night Cat, who Mouse King thought would protect
Mouse Princess, ate her.
116: THE YOUNG ROOSTER157
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན།
young rooster was so naughty that he made his sister cry
every day. When he was old, his mother took him to school,
told him to listen to his teacher and study hard. He
promised his mother he would be a good rooster. However, he was
still very naughty in school. He drew pictures on his desk in class
A
Skal bzang g.yang sgron. 2001. The Young Rooster in Thomas et
al.:61-63.
157
•291•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and never paid attention to his teacher. When his teacher scolded
him, he did not care.
One time the teacher was explaining to the class what fruit
was. The teacher said, "Fruit tastes good. Some fruits are red, sweet,
and sour. Some fruits are in fields."
Rooster was very happy thinking about tasty fruit. He did
not want to listen to the teacher and quietly left. He ran very fast. On
his way, he met an old sheep who asked, "Why aren't you in school?"
"I like to run and play. Besides, it doesn't matter if I don't go
to school," said Rooster and continued on his way.
When he reached a field, he found and ate some red fruits.
He played in the fields until he became exhausted and wanted to go
home. He walked and walked and started to feel hungry again. He
saw some red things growing in a field. He thought they must be the
tasty fruit he had enjoyed earlier in the day. He happily picked the
reddest one and began eating it. All of a sudden, his mouth was
terribly painful. Tears flowed from his eyes. He wept and wept and
was unable to speak. He had eaten a chili, not a sweet fruit.
When he got home, he told his mother what had happened
and was never naughty again. He became a good student and paid
attention in all his classes.
•292•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
117: THE TRICKY HORSE158
'Bum phrug འJམ་Kག
L
ong ago, a horse herd lived on a beautiful grassland and ran
wherever they liked. White Horse was very clever and very
beautiful, but he was arrogant because he was the strongest
and fastest horse. Sometimes he lied to the other horses. After some
time, the other horses believed nothing he said.
One hot day, the horses were walking across the grassland.
White Horse saw many weeds growing around a pool of clean water.
He was very thirsty, left the herd, and ran as fast as possible toward
the pool. He did not see the mud under the weeds. Suddenly his feet
sank into the mud. Knowing he must get out, he jerked and jerked,
which made him more deeply stuck in the mud. He neighed to his
friends, urgently needing their help, but they thought he was lying
and ignored him. They continued walking away and disappeared
158
'Bum phrug. 2001. The Tricky Horse in Thomas et al.:168-172.
•293•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
over the horizon. White Horse anxiously waited for someone to help
him.
Later a hungry wolf came to the pool to drink and saw White
Horse caught in the mud, which made him very happy. White Horse
was terrified, thinking, "If I don't think of something soon, Wolf will
eat me."
Wolf was delighted to see White Horse stuck in the mud,
went near the horse, and said, "Today, I am fortunate. I can eat
much meat and drink much blood."
When White Horse heard this, he shook like a leaf in the
wind. Nevertheless, he smiled and gently asked, "Uncle Wolf, may I
help you in some way?"
Wolf said, "I want to eat you."
White Horse said, "That's fine! But my feet are stuck in the
mud. I am filthy. If you want to eat me, get me out of the mud and
wash my body. Then I will taste much better."
Wolf thought, "What he said is true. He will taste better
when he is clean."
Wolf worked hard, got the horse out of the mud, washed his
body, and asked, "Now, is it OK if I eat you?"
White Horse sadly answered, "Of course it is, but because
my life is about to end, I want to know the meaning of the scriptures
written on my hooves. I can't see them. Can you please take a look
and read them to me?"
The gullible wolf thought, "He will die soon, so I will do this
for him," and lifted White Horse's right foot. At that moment, White
Horse kicked Wolf in the head and raced away as fast as a bird flies.
The poor wolf's head was seriously injured. He groaned as he lay on
the grass, knowing he would soon die.
•294•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
118: HORSE AND CAMEL159
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ།
L
ong ago, Horse and Camel were friends. People always
commented on how beautiful Camel's tail was when they
went to parties. No one ever said Horse's tail was beautiful,
which made Horse sad and envious of Camel's beautiful tail.
One day when Camel went to the river to drink, Horse ran
up and said, "Dear Camel, my friends are having a wedding
tomorrow. I don't want to go by myself. Please come with me. It will
be better if you are there because you are so beautiful. I'm sure my
friends will like you."
Camel was flattered to hear this but told Horse he could not
attend. Horse happily said, "Well, since you can't go, dear friend,
may I borrow your tail for the wedding? I will return it to you as
soon as it is over. I'll bring it to you here."
Camel agreed and let Horse borrow his tail. Horse ran away
159
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma. 2001. Horse and Camel in Thomas et al.:52-54.
•295•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
as soon as he got the tail.
Camel waited by the river for Horse to return his tail the next
day. He waited in vain because Horse never came, which explains
why, even today, when a camel takes a drink of water, it looks up
after each sip. The camel is looking for Horse to return his tail. This
also explains why the camel's tail is ugly today and the horse's tail
is beautiful.
119: HALF A BABY?160
Ye shes mtsho mo ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>་མོ།
T
ortoise and Bird were fishing when both gave birth to boys.
Several days later, Bird had something to do and asked
Tortoise to tend her son. Tortoise agreed.
As the days passed, she increasingly believed that her son was uglier
than Bird's, so she switched the two sons.
When Bird returned, she saw Tortoise's son lying in her bed,
and her son was lying in Tortoise's bed. She asked Tortoise, "Why
160Ye
shes mtsho mo. 2001. Half a Baby? in Thomas et al.:74-77.
•296•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
did you put your son in my bed and put my son in your bed?"
Tortoise said, "I didn't. That's your son. How can you ask me
such a question?"
Bird sadly went looking for the king of the forest - Tiger.
When she found him, she reported what had happened. Tiger said,
"I'll help you. Now, let's go," and the two set off.
A bit later, when they reached Tortoise and Bird's home,
Tiger asked Tortoise, "Which baby is yours?"
Tortoise pointed to Baby Bird in her bed. Bird said, "No,
that's my baby."
Tortoise and Bird began quarreling. Tiger interrupted with,
"I don't know who to believe. Give the baby to me. I'll cut it in two
and give each of you half."
Tortoise nodded in agreement while Bird sadly said, "No,
don't cut the baby. If you don't know who the mother is, please give
this baby to Tortoise."
Tiger smiled, took Baby Bird from Tortoise's bed, gave it to
Bird, and said to Tortoise, "No mother would ever agree to cut her
baby in half."
•297•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
120: A WOLF WAGS HIS TAIL161
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན།
n old sheep slowly walked over to a wolf in a trap. Wolf
said, "Good friend! Please help me."
Sheep said, "Who are you? Why are you caught in
this hunter's trap?"
Wolf feigned sincerity and said, "You don't know who I am?
I am a loyal dog. I was caught as I was rescuing a chicken caught in
this trap. I never think of my safety. I jumped into the trap, and now
I cannot get out. Please help a kind old dog."
Sheep looked at Wolf for a long time. He did not believe him
and said, "Are you really a dog? Why do you look like a wolf?"
Wolf said, "I am a wolf-dog, so I look like a wolf. Please
believe me. I'm a kind, gentle dog. Moreover, I can wag my tail.
Look, I am wagging my tail now."
Sheep stepped back and said, "Yes, you can wag your tail,
A
Skal bzang g.yang sgron. 2001. A Wolf Wags His Tail in Thomas et
al.:89-91.
161
•298•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
but not all animals that can wag their tails are dogs. Are you truly a
dog?"
"Yes, I swear it. Please help me. I will work for you. I like
sheep very much, and I like old sheep the best," Wolf said
impatiently.
Sheep hesitated and said, "I need to think it over."
Wolf lost patience, leered horribly at the old sheep, and
yelled, "Old friend, quickly! Will you help me or not?"
The old sheep soberly looked at Wolf and slowly said,
"Never! You are a wolf. I saw your fangs. Last winter, you tried your
best to catch and eat me. I almost died. I will never forget that. You
can wag your tail, but you cannot deceive me. Goodbye!"
The old sheep left Wolf in the trap and went on his way.
•299•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
121: THE CLEVER EWE162
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད།
L
ong ago, a very clever ewe named Re dgu ma mo met a wolf
who said he wanted to eat her. "If you want to eat me, you
must wash your hands and your mouth in clear water," Re
dgu ma mo said.
Wolf went to a place with clear water, but now it was winter,
and the clear water had become ice. "If you want to wash your hands
and mouth here, you must dig me with an antelope horn," said Clear
Water.
Wolf found an antelope. Antelope said, "If you want my
horn, you must let the fastest dog catch me."
Wolf found the fastest dog in the world. Dog said, "If you
want me to catch Antelope, you must give me some milk."
Wolf went to a yak and begged for some milk. Yak said, "If
you want my milk, give me some good grass."
162
Tshe dbyangs skyid. 2001. The Clever Ewe in Thomas et al.:130-133.
•300•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Wolf found some good grass. Good Grass said, "If you want
to cut me, you must use a sickle."
Wolf found a blacksmith. Blacksmith said, "If you want me
to make a sickle for you, you must give me some wild yak meat."
Wolf found a wild yak and begged him for his meat. "If you
want my meat, you must give me an eagle's wing," said Wild Yak.
Wolf noticed an eagle in the sky and shouted that he wanted
one of his wings. Eagle replied, "If you give me a horse's tail, I'll give
you one of my wings."
Wolf found a horse and asked for his tail. Horse gave him his
tail.
Wolf used the tail to get Eagle's wing.
He took the wing to Wild Yak, and Wild Yak gave him some
meat.
He took the meat to Blacksmith, who made a sickle.
Wolf used the sickle to cut some good grass and gave it to
Wild Yak.
Wild Yak gave him some milk, which he gave to Dog.
Dog caught Antelope, and Wolf took Antelope's horn and
used it to dig a hole in the ice.
However, when Wolf had finished washing his hands and
mouth, Re dgu ma mo was gone.
•301•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
122: THE MAGIC CHICKEN163
Dbang phyug rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ།
poor man had a clever, magic chicken. One day this
chicken picked up a wallet in the street. A gentleman saw
this and ordered his driver to take it away from Chicken.
Chicken angrily said, "Please give me my wallet!" and kept
squawking this as he ran alongside the gentleman's coach.
The gentleman said to his driver, "Throw that pesky chicken
into that old well by the side of the road."
The driver stopped the coach, caught and threw Chicken
into the well. Chicken drank all the water in the well, jumped out of
the well, and ran after the coach, squawking, "Please return my
wallet!"
The gentleman stopped the coach, got out, grabbed Chicken,
and got back in the coach.
When he got home, he put Chicken inside his stove and put
A
Dbang phyug rgyal. 2001. The Magic Chicken in Thomas et al.:134137.
163
•302•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
a large rock on top so Chicken could not escape. Chicken spat out all
the water he had drunk, extinguishing the fire, flew out of the stove,
landed on a window ledge, and squawked, "Give me my wallet!"
The gentleman told a servant, "Put that chicken with the
yaks. Let them kill this horrible creature."
After Chicken was with the yaks, he ate them all and became
as large as a hill. Chicken stretched out his wings, blocking the
sunlight from the man's house. The gentleman angrily took Chicken
and put him in his money box, thinking he would die if he ate all his
coins. Chicken ate all the gold coins, but he did not die. Instead, he
jumped out of the gold box and yelled, "Give me my wallet!"
The gentleman realized he could not win and gave him the
wallet. Chicken happily left. When Chicken reached the poor man's
house, he shouted, "Master! Please put a rug on the floor
immediately."
The poor man did so. Chicken began flapping his wings,
filling the poor man's yard with livestock and gold coins.
The poor man gave many gold coins and livestock to poor
people. He also built a lovely house for himself and lived in peace
and comfort for a long time.
•303•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
123: THE TORTOISE DIES164
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན།
T
wo storks and a tortoise lived together in a waterweed area
that was drying up. The storks said, "There will soon be no
water, so we must leave you. Goodbye."
The tortoise said, "Please take me with you."
"How?" a stork asked.
The tortoise said, "You two get a long stick. Each of you
holds one end of the stick, and I will hold the middle in my mouth."
The two storks agreed.
A bit later, the storks were flying over a small village. Each
stork held one end of the stick in their mouths. The tortoise was
holding onto the middle of the stick with his mouth.
A village child said, "What clever storks!"
The tortoise angrily shouted, "It was my idea!"
He lost his grip on the branch, fell from the sky, and died.
164
Skal chen. 2001. The Tortoise Dies in Thomas et al.:31-33.
•304•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
124: THE LITTLE MONKEY165
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན།
little monkey went down a mountain and into a cornfield.
He picked an armful after looking at the many large ears
of corn. Walking away, he noticed a peach tree laden with
big red peaches. He threw down the corn and picked two peaches.
He had to hold one peach in each hand because they were so large.
As he walked along with the peaches, he spied a watermelon
field. Noticing that the watermelons were larger than the peaches,
he dropped the peaches and started toward the biggest watermelon.
Suddenly he saw a small rabbit hopping away, so he turned
and chased the rabbit into a forest.
After a long chase, the monkey gave up, got lost deep in the
forest, and had nothing.
A
165
Skal chen. 2001. The Little Monkey in Thomas et al.:28-30.
•305•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
125: WHY PIKAS HAVE NO TAIL166
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས།
'Od dkar (b. 1983) is a native of Smin thang (Mentang) Township, Gcig
sgril (Jiuzhi) County, Mgo log Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. She is
a herder with two daughters (b. 1998; b. 2000) and two sons (b. 2000;
b. 2002). I recorded "Why Pikas Have No Tail" from her in the summer
of 2016 when I returned to my home in the same area where 'Od dkar
is from. She is a great storyteller and heard this story from her mother,
'Jig byed mtsho (b. 1953). She will share her stories with her and her
relatives' children. My retelling of "Pikas and Mice" reflects what I
heard and remembered from others and the version from 'Od dkar
featured in this collection.
L
ong ago, a family of mice and a childless pika couple lived
near a boundless, deep emerald lake. The mice and pikas
were kind and friendly to each other. No predators
bothered them, so they enjoyed living on the verdant grassland and
drinking fresh water. Their lives were as though they were living in
Paradise.
One day, Mother Mouse told her babies to collect wild baby
yams for supper while she visited the pika couple and invited them
for supper to express her concern for them. Mother Mouse was a
widow whose husband had died years earlier. Sometimes she was
lonely for adult company. During the meal, they all cheerfully
enjoyed the food.
Mr. Pika noticed the biggest wild yam was in the pot and felt
unhappy because it had not been offered to him. However, he
concealed his anger and returned home with his wife.
When it was time to move from the summer pasture to the
winter camp, Mr. Pika helped the mice move their belongings. They
reached their destination at noon and got ready for lunch.
After Mother Mouse left to fetch water from a distant river,
Mr. Pika saw the big wild baby yam was still in the pot and
Gu ru 'phrin las. 2017. Why Pikas Have No Tail. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:106-108.
166
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
immediately thought about getting it. He told the baby mice, "My
wife and I have invited a monk to chant scriptures so our lives will
be more secure and happy. We need to give something special to the
monk. It's good if we give him your big wild baby yam."
The baby mice said, "We can't do that without Mother's
permission."
Mr. Pika was annoyed, rushed to the pot, took the big wild
baby yam, and left.
When Mother Mouse returned with a bucket full of water,
she found all her children were crying. They said, "Mr. Pika stole our
big wild baby yam. We could do nothing to stop him."
Mother Mouse was angry, rushed to Mr. Pika's home, and
pulled off his tail. From that day on, the pika has had no tail.
Mrs. Pika wanted revenge but knew she could not defeat the
mice because of their many children. When Mr. Pika asked what
they should do, his wife said, "When a nation wants to control
another country, it must have many soldiers, or it cannot win
battles."
Mr. Pika did not understand until his wife said, "You're so
stupid! We must have many children!" which explains why there are
many pikas today.
Time passed. One day as Mother Mouse strolled along the
emerald lake, she noticed a very tall tree. She rested under the tree,
felt very comfortable, and slept until dusk when a breeze stroked
her cheeks and awakened her.
The next day the mice family moved away from the pika
couple and made a new home under the tall tree. They soon realized
a great eagle's nest was at the top of the tree. The eagle often bullied
them and defecated on them.
Mother Mouse wisely did not argue with the great eagle.
Instead, she told her children to dig around the tree's roots when
night came. Day after day passed, and the tree finally fell into the
lake, where all the great eagles drowned.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
126: WHITE COW AND POOR GIRL167
'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད། (Zhoumaoji 周毛吉)
A
mother did not love the youngest of her three beautiful
daughters. The two oldest daughters wore beautiful
clothes, while Youngest Daughter only wore old, dirty
clothes.
The mother owned a white cow. When she told her two
oldest daughters to take White Cow out to graze, she gave them
good food to take with them. However, when she told Youngest
Daughter to take White Cow out to graze, she gave her nothing.
One day Youngest Daughter was with White Cow in a
forested area. Youngest Daughter was hungry and began eating
some leaves. White Cow said, "Poor girl, come here. Shut your eyes
and don't open them until I tell you to."
'Brug mo skyid. 2001. White Cow and Poor Girl in Thomas et al.:214217.
167
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Youngest Daughter closed her eyes until White Cow said to
open them. When she did open her eyes, she saw a lot of food on the
ground. Afterward, White Cow always gave her food. Youngest
Daughter soon became even more beautiful.
One day, Youngest Daughter's mother discovered White
Cow was giving food to Youngest Daughter, so she decided to
slaughter White Cow.
The following day when they were far from Youngest
Daughter's home, White Cow said, "Youngest Daughter, your
mother and sisters know I am helping you. They will slaughter me
today. Don't be sad. After I die, they'll offer you some of my cooked
flesh. Don't eat it. Put some of my flesh and bones in a bag and put
it in the cave near the river. After three days, come to the cave. You
will meet someone."
White Cow was slaughtered that afternoon after they
returned home. Youngest Daughter followed White Cow's
instructions exactly. Three days later, she went to the cave and
found White Cow alive. Youngest Daughter was so happy that she
burst into tears.
"Don't cry," said White Cow. "I will help you again. You must
go home. If you don't, your mother will know what has happened."
Youngest Daughter agreed and went home.
The next day the prince of the local area invited all the girls
of the country to a party. The two oldest daughters dressed up and
got ready to go to the party with their mother. Youngest Daughter
wanted to go too. Her mother threw a handful of barley into the
ashes of their cooking fire and said, "After you put all the barley
back in the bowl, you may come to the party."
Youngest Daughter began weeping after the mother and her
two oldest daughters left. Suddenly, White Cow appeared with
many birds and gorgeous clothes and said, "Put on these clothes,
and come to the party with me."
Youngest Daughter looked at the ash and said, "But I must
separate the barley from the ash."
White Cow motioned to the birds. The birds quickly picked
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
up all the barley and put it in the bowl. Not a single grain remained
in the ash.
Youngest Daughter was thrilled, put on the beautiful
clothes, and mounted White Cow. Soon, they reached the party.
When Youngest Daughter went inside, everyone looked at her. No
one knew this beautiful girl, including her mother and sisters. The
prince saw her, fell in love, and danced with her all evening.
At the end of the party, he asked her to be his wife. She said
that she must ask her mother for permission. Surprised to learn that
the beautiful girl was her youngest daughter, she mumbled,
"Uh…yes, of course… she can marry you. She is my best daughter."
The prince and the girl married and lived happily with White
Cow.
127: A DOG SAVES HUMANITY FROM STARVATION168
G.yu 'brug གR་འQག
L
ong ago, with the blessings of the Buddha and local deities,
people lived a happy, peaceful life in Rgyal mo tsha ba rong.
People respected the Buddha and the local deities. When
they ate something, they offered a bit to the Buddha and local
deities while giving a short offering speech.
They had excellent harvests every year. Nine heads of
barley, which they called 'bru, grew on each stalk. Later, misfortune
struck, and they began to call barley khyi mchod 'offering to the
dog', because only one head of barley grew on each barley stalk. This
story is about how that happened.
Long ago, people ground barley with a water mill and baked
and steamed bread made of barley flour. With plenty of food, locals
became wasteful and gradually forgot to offer food to the Buddha
and local deities. They threw away bread if it was even slightly
burned. Buddha and local deities noticed this but compassionately
G.yu 'brug. 2012. A Dog Saves Humanity from Starvation in Rgyal
rong Tibetan Village: Life, Language, and Folklore in Rgyas bzang
Village. Asian Highlands Perspectives 15:95-96.
168
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forgave them.
Later, locals became so wealthy that they even began using
the outer part of steamed bread to clean babies' dirty bottoms when
they defecated. Local deities were so upset that they stopped barley
from growing in the fields. People soon began to die from
starvation.
An elderly couple had an old dog that they treated as their
child. They also could not escape hunger and almost died from
starvation. One day, the dog went to the couple's field, sat by the
white stone in the middle of the field, and started howling. After
nine days of howling, local deities came and asked the dog why he
was howling by the white stone.
The old dog said that people were suffering from starvation,
and his masters were dying. He asked the deities to show
compassion and let the barley grow again. Finally, they allowed
barley to grow again but with only one head per stalk.
Satisfied, the old dog returned and communicated this
information to the old couple, who told other locals that their dog
had begged the deities to allow barley to grow again. Locals doubted
the old couple. Some said that if their barley was growing the next
morning, they would provide the old couple with food afterward.
Locals discovered that barley was growing, and the old dog
had disappeared early the next morning. The old couple explained
that their dog had an agreement with the deities that it would
become a deity if local deities kept their promise.
Locals sincerely respected the old couple, kept their
promise, and took good care of them. They appreciated the dog's
dedication and began calling barley khyi mchod. Whenever they
made offerings to deities, they mentioned the dog.169
Villages did not mention this dog when making offerings to deities in
2010.
169
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
128: RABBIT AND WOLF170
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ong ago, Rabbit borrowed a sickle from Wolf, her neighbor,
when she had to cut grass. Rabbit began borrowing the
sickle from Wolf frequently, so Wolf asked, "What do you
do with the grass you cut?"
"I'm using it for my bedding," answered Rabbit.
Wolf asked, "Do you make a new bed every day?"
Rabbit replied, "It's very wet under my bed, so I have to
renew it frequently."
Wolf did not believe this.
One day, after Rabbit borrowed the sickle, Wolf went to
Rabbit's home, found a lamb, killed it, and ate everything except the
legs and the head.
Rabbit returned that evening. Realizing what Wolf had
done, she told Wolf the next day, "Please come to my home for
dinner. I'll boil some meat for you since someone killed my lamb."
Before Wolf reached Rabbit's home, she dug a deep hole
near the stove, covered it with a white rug, made a fire, and put a
black rug next to the white one. When Wolf arrived, she said, "If you
are kind, sit on the white rug. If you are evil, sit on the black rug."
Wolf said, "I want to sit on the white rug because I am
kindhearted."
Attempting to sit on the white rug, Wolf plunged into the
hole. Distraught, he begged Rabbit for help, who said, "Let me put
on my robe first, and then I'll help you."
Feeling the heat of the fire, Wolf pleaded, "Please help me!
I'm in pain!''
Rabbit said, "Let me tie my sash, and then I'll help you."
Wolf moved left and right as the fire continued to burn him. He
begged again, "I beg you. Please help me! I can't bear it any longer."
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Klu mo 'tsho (b. 2000), Glo
rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
170
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Rabbit replied, "I'll put on my shoes and help you. You killed
my lamb, so please stay there."
129: THE LION AND RABBIT171
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
L
ion and Rabbit lived in a big forest. Lion was lazy, proud,
and arrogant. Rabbit disliked him, came up with a great
idea, and said to Lion, "Dear King, although I obey and
serve you, someone stronger than you but with the same
appearance has come and told me, 'If someone can challenge me,
come now. Otherwise, you should be my servant.'"
Lion arrogantly and proudly said, "Where is he right now? I
must challenge him!"
Rabbit took the lion to a deep well, pointed to it, and said,
"Look inside!"
Lion saw his reflection, thought it was his enemy, and bared
his fangs at the strong animal in the well. The other one also showed
his angry teeth. The lion roared ferociously, and the sound echoed
back.
Lion could not control his anger and jumped into the well.
Rabbit's intrigue had worked, and Lion went to his final rest in the
well.
The smart rabbit killed the strong king of animals.
If you are wise, it is not a problem if you are weak.
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Btsun mo yag (b. 2000), Glo
rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded in her home, August 2016.
171
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
STORIES ABOUT SIMPLE A RIG
130: CROSSING THE RIVER
Blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་།
This story was commonly heard in my home community during my childhood. I
heard it from my family members. My home had no television then, so my family
often told and listened to such stories.
•••
ong ago, those who lived in A rig village were called A rig
glen pa. Five A rig glen pa went on a pilgrimage to Lha sa
one day. On the way, they came to a big river. They were
afraid to cross it, but there was no other choice. Hand in hand, they
crossed the river. When they reached the other bank, someone
said, "We didn't lose anyone, did we? Let's count!"
Someone counted "One, two, three, four" and then counted
again, "One, two, three, four." He rubbed his eyes and counted
again, "One, two, three, four," and said, "Oh! My Buddha! We lost
someone! Before crossing the river, we had five people, but now we
have only four!"
Another man counted his companions and got the same
number - four. The pilgrims silently stared at each other. After
a bit, they began looking for the missing man. They thought he
might have drowned but found no corpse or sign of a lost
companion.
They next went to a monastery and consulted a bla ma. One
pilgrim sadly said, "Bla ma rin po che! One of us was lost when we
crossed a river. Please chant some scriptures for the deceased!"
The bla ma said, "I'm very sorry to hear that! I'll chant for
him. Please tell me the deceased's name."
The pilgrims looked at each other and said, "His name
drowned with him."
The bla ma asked, "How many people were in your group?"
One man answered, "First, we had five people, but after we
crossed the river, we had only four."
The bla ma nodded and said, "Carefully count again,
L
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
maybe..."
Another man interrupted, "No! No! It's unnecessary
because we counted many times. There are just four of us. We are
sure one is lost."
The bla ma said, "OK! Did you bring your bowls? If
you brought them, please put them on the table."
The pilgrims put their bowls on the table.
The bla ma said, "How many bowls are there? Please count
them."
One by one, they each counted the bowls and realized that
there were five bowls.
Then the bla ma told them to put their bowls back in their
robe pouches and asked, "How many people are here now?"
Suddenly, one man excitedly said, "Oh, my Buddha! The
deceased pilgrim has returned from the dead!"
131: A RIG RGAD PO THREATENS THE BUDDHA
WITH HIS WALKING STICK172
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
I heard that A rig rgad po was from a place with the name he is known
by - A rig rgad po - near Mtsho sngon po (Qinghai Lake). The people
there are very traditional, very direct in their manner, and devoted
Buddhists. They often go on pilgrimage to Lha sa. Stories about A rig
rgad po describe their travels and encounters with Buddhas in Lha sa.
I heard stories about A rig rgad po from my father's brother, Mkhyen
rab rgya mtsho (b. ~1973), when I attended a school in Rwa rgya.
•••
rig rgad po was a very pious Buddhist. Every year he
walked on a pilgrimage from A mdo to Lha sa, visiting
various Buddhas. When he reached Lha sa, he prostrated
as usual to a Buddha image, offered a small skin bag of rtsam pa
and butter to the Buddha image, prayed, and told the Buddha image
A
Sangs rgyas bkra shis. 2017. A rig rgad po Threatens the Buddha with
his Walking Stick in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives
47:154-155.
172
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
that he was leaving. A rig rgad po had his walking stick on his back,
and when he tried to pass through the temple door, the walking
stick prevented him from leaving. Thinking the Buddha was holding
him back, he said, "Don't hold me! I have to leave."
He tried again to pass through the door, could not, and said,
"Please let me go! Don't make me angry. My wife and children are
waiting for me. They can't herd livestock without me."
He tried again to go through the door but could not.
Enraged, he turned, took his walking stick, and moved to strike the
Buddha. The Buddha then raised his right hand to protect his head.
"I told you not to make me angry, but you didn't listen. Now,
how was that?" A rig rgad po said, gripped his walking stick, and
passed through the door.
With his hand raised, we can still see this Buddha image in
Lha sa.
132: A RIG RGAD PO VISITS LHA SA173
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད།
I heard many A rig rgad po stories from my parents, siblings, and guests. A rig rgad
po became part of my childhood, and these stories bring back many beautiful
memories.
•••
ong ago, everyone thought Arig was stupid. Once, he set off
with a group on a pilgrimage to Lha sa. On the way, he went
to a woman's home and asked for food. When she kindly
offered a bowl of cooked rice, A rig rgad po felt offended and angry.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"No matter how stupid I am, I will not eat ant larvae," he
said.
Realizing A rig rgad po didn't like rice, she kindly asked,
"Oh, A rig rgad po, what kind of food do you want?"
"All I want is rtsam pa with cheese and butter," said A rig
rgad po.
The kind woman then gave rtsam pa to A rig rgad po and
L
Pad ma skyid. 2017. A rig rgad po Visits Lha sa in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:156-157.
173
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
rice to his companions.
133: STUCK IN A WINDOW174
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད།
O
ne late afternoon, A rig rgad po reached the Jo khang
Temple in Lha sa. Finding the temple door locked, he stuck
his head through a small window to see the Jo bo. After
gazing at it for some time, he found he couldn't pull his head out,
no matter how hard he pulled.
A wise man in his group asked, "A rig rgad po, what are you
doing?"
"I can't get my head back out of this window," answered A
rig rgad po.
"Hm, I see. How did you get your head into the window?"
asked the wise man.
A rig rgad po turned his head, pulled it out of the window,
saying, "I got my head into the window like this."
"Wow! I got my head out of the window!" A rig rgad po
exclaimed happily and circumambulated the Jo khang.
134: KEEPING WATCH175
Pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད།
rig rgad po circumambulated the Jo khang the whole
night. As soon as the door opened in the early morning, he
entered and sat on the floor across from the Jo bo. "I am
so happy to see you," A rig rgad po said.
The Jo bo image smiled in return.
"My feet ache from walking, but you are still smiling!" A rig
rgad po said. He continued, "If you've got nothing to say, keep an
A
Pad ma skyid. 2017. Stuck in a Window in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:158.
175 Pad ma skyid. 2017. Keeping Watch in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:159.
174
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
eye on my shoes. Please don't lose them. They are my only shoes. I'll
be right back."
A rig rgad po removed his shoes, put them on the Jo bo's
legs, and went outside to continue circumambulating.
A bit later, the temple manager was shocked to see a pair of
shoes placed on the Jo bo. Just as he was about to throw them away,
the Jo bo said, "Please don't throw them away. Pure-hearted A rig
rgad po asked me to watch them."
The temple manager was delighted that the Jo bo had
spoken and obediently put the shoes back where they had been.
A rig rgad po eventually returned, took his shoes, and said,
"I came back for my shoes. I know you are trustworthy. Thank you!"
Putting on his shoes, he happily returned to his home.
135: OUR FRIEND'S NAME ALSO DROWNED
Gtsang phun dbang གཙང་=ན་དབང་།
There are many stories about the A rig people, known as simple but very loyal and
religious. My mother (Nyi ma mtsho; Nyi do, b. 1968) told this story to me and my
sister (G.yang 'dzin, b. 1998). When Mother said, "What are you talking about,
Honorable Bla ma? Our friend's name also drowned," we laughed so hard that
tears came from our eyes, and our bellies hurt.
L
ong ago, a group of A rig people went as a skyo ba176 on a
pilgrimage to the City of the Sun, Lha sa. They walked for a
long time. After crossing a big river, they counted if
everyone was there. One person was missing, but they didn't know
who they were. Sadly, they chanted ma Ni for their deceased friend
while continuing their journey.
When they finally reached Lha sa, they first wanted to hold
a religious ritual for their deceased friend, so they visited a bla ma.
Lags 'Honored Sir', we are from A mdo and have finally made it
here. Unfortunately, one of our friends drowned in a river on the
way. Please give some bsngo smon 'blessings' for our unfortunate
176
A skyo ba are pilgrims who bring little food. Instead, they beg for food.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
friend," the oldest pilgrim said politely.
"What was your friend's name?" the bla ma asked.
The A rig people looked at each other silently in surprise.
Finally, one said, "What are you talking about, Honorable bla ma?
Our friend's name also drowned."
Of course, the bla ma didn't laugh.
"Nobody drowned. Put your bowls177 on the ground," the bla
ma ordered.
After all the A rig pilgrims put their bowls on the ground, the
bla ma said, "Count the bowls on the ground."
The A rig pilgrims did so and found that no one was missing.
"Now put your bowls back in your robe pouches," the bla ma
directed.
No bowl remained on the ground.
The pilgrims thanked the bla ma for saving their deceased
friend from the Bar do.178 Each prostrated three times to the bla ma
and left happily.
When they returned home, they told how the bla ma had
saved their deceased companion from the Bar do.
177
178
Everyone had their own bowl.
Bar do refers to an intermediate state between death and rebirth.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
136: THE BIRTH-GIVING POT179
Bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho བfན་འཛgན་?་མཚ>།
landlord had many pots. Though the poor people had no
pots for cooking, the landlord refused to lend any of his
pots to them.
One day Ston pa went to the landlord to borrow a pot. He spoke very
kindly to the landlord, who finally lent him a pot on the condition
that he return it in two days.
Two days later, the landlord came to Ston pa's home to take
the pot. Anticipating the landlord's visit, Ston pa had put a small pot
in the landlord's pot. When the landlord saw the small pot inside his
larger pot, he asked in amazement, "Where did this small pot come
from?"
Ston pa said, "Your pot had a baby. Because this pot is yours,
I am returning both pots to you."
The landlord was delighted with such unexpected good
fortune and happily returned to his home.
Later, Ston pa went to the landlord's home to borrow a pot.
A
Bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho. 2001. The Birth-Giving Pot in Thomas et
al.:122-125.
179
•320•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The landlord thought, "If I lend him one pot, he will return two,"
and happily lent Ston pa a big pot. After a few days, Ston pa put a
small pot inside the large pot and returned the pot to the landlord.
The landlord told his wife about this, who commented,
"Regrettably, we did not lend him a gold pot. If we lend him a gold
pot many times, we will have many small ones and become much
richer. Next time he wants a pot, lend him a gold one."
The next time Ston pa asked to borrow a pot, the landlord
insisted he take a gold one. As soon as he got home with the gold
pot, Ston pa broke the pot into many pieces and gave the pieces to
people who could not afford a pot.
After some days, the landlord came to Ston pa's home. He
was excited because he thought he would take two gold pots home.
Ston pa looked worried and miserable. When the landlord asked
what had happened, Ston pa said, "You had bad luck. Your pot
died."
The astonished landlord demanded, "How could a pot
possibly die?"
Ston pa said, "Why can't you believe this? Everything that
gives birth also dies. People, yaks, horses, sheep are all the same."
The landlord was furious, but he knew he could do nothing.
137: A KHU STON PA'S BELL
Gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས།
L
ong ago, a monk named A khu ston pa, who was both clever
and stupid, used his sly skills to gain the trust of others and
cheat them. He tried to show people how intelligent he was,
but he could not keep his secrets. He boasted to others about how
he had successfully deceived those he encountered.
A young couple lived in A khu ston pa's tribe. The husband
visited a local reincarnation bla ma, who suggested inviting a monk
to his home to chant scriptures. The husband then asked A khu ston
pa to chant scriptures for half a month.
The husband herded yaks every day while his beautiful wife
•321•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
did house chores and cooked for A khu ston pa, who chanted
scriptures after breakfast and lunch. The husband returned home
for lunch and returned to the herd after eating.
As time passed, the husband realized something was going
on. When he ascended a small hill one day after lunch, he could hear
a handbell ringing as his wife collected yak dung. However, after she
entered the tent, he could not hear any scripture chanting, but the
bell was ringing at a different rhythm than before. He paid little
attention to this but became increasingly curious and decided to
investigate after some days.
He descended the small hill, snuck under the tent, and saw
his beautiful wife rapturously facing A khu ston pa with her eyes
blissfully closed. It seemed she was listening to something carefully
as her hands tightly grasped A khu ston pa's back. More
surprisingly, A khu ston pa's handbell was not in his hand. Instead,
it was tied with his sash to his big, disgusting, bouncing bottom as
the bell rang rhythmically and urgently.
•322•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
138: DONKEY BUTTER180
Bkra shis dpal 'bar བA་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབར།
A
king had much property and charged the local people a
butter tax annually. He severely punished them if they did
not pay it. For this reason, the local people did not like the
king.
One day, Uncle Ston pa went near the king's home with his
son and began beating him. When the king saw this, he asked Uncle
Ston pa, "Why are you beating your son?"
Uncle Ston pa sadly replied, "My son killed my donkey. Now
I can't pay you your butter tax."
The king was speechless but then managed to ask, "You pay
your tax with donkey butter?"
"That's right," said Uncle Ston pa.
The king took Uncle Ston pa to his storeroom and asked, "Do
you know which is the donkey butter?"
"Yes," replied Uncle Ston pa.
180
Bkra shis dpal 'bar. 2001. Donkey Butter in Thomas et al.:34-36.
•323•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The king said, "I never eat donkey butter. Please take your
donkey butter out of my storeroom."
Uncle Ston pa chose the best butter and happily returned to
his home.
139: GREAT LIAR STON BA181
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
My brother and I often told each other folktales when we were in bed together.
From Gcod pa skyabs, I first heard tales about Uncle Ston pa, the classic Tibetan
trickster. Some stories were sexual. Mother and Grandmother never told me those.
We stopped laughing and burst into laughter again, our eyes filling with tears of
joy. Here is one story my brother told me.
O
ne day, Uncle Ston pa had nothing to do, so he sat by a wide
river alone, seemingly lost in thought. An unlucky passerby
saw him and went over, hoping to hear some interesting
jokes. The passerby looked rich and rode a stallion as vigorous as a
lion. His saddle's pommel and cantle were decorated in silver and
featured colorful woolen cloth. He wore a sheepskin robe with a
leopard-skin collar trimmed in otter fur. As if to further flaunt his
wealth, a shiny rifle was slung across one shoulder, and he wore a
sword in a silver scabbard decorated with coral.
"Great Liar Ston pa, tell me a lie," said the man as he
dismounted.
Uncle Ston pa looked up, stared at the man, and intoned
seriously, "Sorry, today I can't tell you any lies because I left my
book of falsehoods at home. If you want to hear some, come again,
and I'll tell you."
The man seemed very disappointed, so Uncle Ston pa
seemed to reconsider and said, "I know it's inconvenient for you to
come again. You're from far away, right?"
The man nodded.
"OK!" said Ston pa. "Since you are so interested in my lies,
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring. 2012. Great Liar Ston ba in A Zorgay Tibetan
Childhood. Asian Highlands Perspectives 17:24-25.
181
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
there is no reason for me to refuse. Please lend me your horse, and
I'll get the book."
The man eagerly lent his horse to Uncle Ston pa, who
mounted it, rode to the middle of the river, turned, and shouted,
"Hey, friend! I need your robe. Otherwise, your horse knows I'm a
stranger and won't cross the river."
The rich man lent him his robe. Now clad in the beautiful
robe, Uncle Ston pa started across the river again and yelled,
"Friend! I need your rifle, or your horse won't go forward."
The man was so gullible that he handed over his rifle.
Wearing the robe, carrying the rifle, and mounted on the beautiful
horse, Uncle Ston pa once again stopped in mid-river and shouted,
"You wanted to hear lies and got your wish. Goodbye, friend!" and
galloped away, leaving the man with nothing of value but his sword.
140: UNCLE STON PA AND THE THIEF182
Sgron dkar ,ོན་དཀར།
any years ago, there was a very poor but very intelligent
man known as Uncle Ston pa. One day he and a thief went
to steal treasures from a rich man. After the two thieves
climbed up on the rich man's roof, Uncle Ston pa lowered the other
man through the smoke hole. The thief put some treasures in a bag,
tied it to the end of the rope, and signaled Uncle Ston pa by tugging
the rope. Uncle Ston pa pulled the treasure to the roof and shouted,
"There is a thief! Catch him! Catch him!"
As Uncle Ston pa ran away, the rich man caught the other
thief and severely beat him.
The next day, they went to steal from another rich man.
When they got on this man's roof, the thief said, "Today, you go
through the smoke hole. I'll stay here and pull you up."
Uncle Ston pa agreed, took a bag, and the thief slowly
lowered him into the rich man's house. Uncle Ston pa stealthily stole
M
Sgron dkar. 2017. Uncle Ston pa and the Thief in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:161.
182
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
some treasures, got into the bag with the treasure, and pulled the
rope.
The bag was very heavy, delighting the thief, who was sure
it contained many treasures of great value. After he pulled the bag
to the the roof, he leaned over and shouted into the room below,
"Thief! Catch him! Catch him!"
Meanwhile, Uncle Ston pa jumped out of the bag and raced
away with all the treasure, thus becoming a very wealthy man.
141: UNCLE STON PA PLANTS GOLD183
Lha mo L་མོ།
O
ne day, Uncle Ston pa took some gold he had stolen from a
rich man's home, went to a field near the king's palace, and
began planting it, piece by piece. The king looked out his
window, saw Uncle Ston pa planting the gold, walked over, and
asked, "What are you doing?"
Uncle Ston pa explained, "I am planting gold. One year later,
it will be much more."
The foolish King thought this was a good idea and asked
Uncle Ston pa to plant ten measures of gold.
A year later, the king came to take his harvest. Meanwhile,
Uncle Ston pa had collected gold from the local people and had
accumulated enough to give the king twenty measures of gold.
The king was so delighted he gave Uncle Ston pa a hundred
measures of gold to plant.
The following year when the king visited Uncle Ston pa and
asked for his harvest, Uncle Ston pa sadly said, "Your gold died.
There is no gold for you this year."
Uncle Ston pa had given all the gold to local people.
183
Lha mo. 2001. Uncle Dunba Plants Gold in Thomas et al.:43-45.
•326•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
142: PRECIOUS JUNIPER184
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས།
U
ncle Ston pa's neighbor planted a juniper tree near Uncle
Ston pa's window. As time passed, the tree grew bigger and
bigger while Uncle Ston pa's home became darker and
darker.
Uncle Ston pa decided that he must do something, broke a
branch off the tree, and went to his neighbor's home. When the
neighbor saw Uncle Ston pa holding the branch, he asked, "Where
are you going with that juniper branch?"
Uncle Ston pa replied, "A trader is coming to town today to
buy juniper branches. One branch is worth one hundred yuan."
The neighbor said, "I have a tall juniper tree with many
branches. I'll sell them to him and earn a lot of money."
Uncle Ston pa said, "True. You probably will get a lot of
Tshe dbang bsod nams. 2001. Precious Juniper in Thomas et al.:6467.
184
•327•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
money. But you'd better hurry because he won't be in town long."
His neighbor quickly cut down the tree, cut off all the
branches, tied them together in bundles, loaded them on a horse,
and led it to town. But when he got there, he found no trader willing
to give him much money for his juniper branches. Finally, he
exchanged all the branches for a donkey.
When he returned to his village, he rushed to Uncle Ston
pa's home and angrily said, "You tricked me! There was no juniper
dealer in town!"
Uncle Ston pa said, "I didn't trick you. I told you he wouldn't
be in town for long."
Afterward, sunshine bathed Uncle Ston pa's home.
143: THE LANDLORD CUTS DOWN A TREE185
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
U
ncle Ston pa was a young man who lived in a hut near a
landlord's big orchard. These trees included a big dngul
sdong 186 'silver tree' that shaded Uncle Ston pa's house
from morning till evening. Uncle Ston pa was so unhappy that he
devised a clever plan.
One afternoon, Uncle Ston pa carried a few bundles of silver
tree branches as the landlord walked around the orchard. The
landlord saw Uncle Ston pa and asked, "Where are you going with
those branches?"
"I'm going to sell them in town," said Uncle Ston pa.
"Who'll buy them?" asked the landlord.
"A Chinese merchant. This morning, I saw him paying a high
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. The Landlord Cuts Down a Tree in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:217-218.
186 The dngul sdong 'silver tree' is similar to the desert date. Silver trees
have silver-colored leaves and yellow, strong-smelling flowers. Locals
often break off branches and bring them inside their homes for
decoration and purification during the fifth lunar month, especially on
the fifth day. This is Dragon Boat Festival, which is called Vavare in the
local Tibetan dialect and Duanwujie in Chinese.
185
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
price for silver trees. He told me he wouldn't be in town for very
long, so I've got to hurry!" Uncle Ston pa lied.
The landlord thought, "I have a big useless silver tree in this
orchard. Why don't I sell it and make some money?"
"Ston pa, wait for me," said the landlord. "I'll sell my big
silver tree branches to the Chinese merchant."
"Oh, you'll make a lot of money with that big silver tree, but
you've got to act quickly! The merchant won't stay in town very
long," Uncle Ston pa warned.
The landlord called several of his servants and ordered them
to cut down the big dngul sdong. Soon, Uncle Ston pa, the landlord,
and the servants started for the town, each with silver tree branches
on his back. The branches were heavy, so they didn't reach town
until sunset. By this time, few people were in the streets, and they
couldn't find the merchant.
The landlord scolded Uncle Ston pa, "Liar! Where is the
Chinese merchant?"
"He must have left. I told you he wouldn't be in the town for
long!" Uncle Ston pa said.
The landlord and his men were exhausted from carrying the
heavy branches, so they left them in the street and returned home.
Uncle Ston pa's house was comfortable and bright with warm
sunshine the following day.
•329•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
144: THE DEAD PIGEON187
Zla yag b་ཡག
son asked a monk to come and chant scriptures because
his mother was very ill. The monk said, "My chanting is
very efficacious, and your mother will be well soon."
The son believed the monk, borrowed some money, butter, and
rtsam pa from his relatives, and gave them to the monk. When the
monk finished chanting, the mother was dead.
The son sadly said, "Why is my mother dead?"
The monk noticed some flying pigeons and said, "Your
mother has already become one of those pigeons flying in the sky."
The son happily prostrated to the sky.
When Uncle Ston pa heard what the monk had done, he
angrily went to the temple, found the monk, and said, "My mother
is dead. Please come to my home and recite scriptures."
The monk agreed. As they walked to Uncle Ston pa's house,
A
187
Zla yag. 2001. The Dead Pigeon in Thomas et al.:155-158.
•330•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
the monk asked him to tell a joke. Uncle Ston pa impatiently replied,
"My mother is dead, so I'm in no mood to tell jokes!"
When they reached Uncle Ston pa's home, the monk asked,
"Where is your mother?"
Uncle Ston pa sadly pointed to something covered with
sheepskin and said, "There!"
The monk was shocked when he removed the sheepskin and
saw a dead pigeon. Uncle Ston pa calmly said, "Oh, my mother must
have become a pigeon and flown into the sky!"
As the monk blushed, Uncle Ston pa laughed merrily and
said, "You told me to tell you a joke. Isn't this a good one?"
The monk left Uncle Ston pa's house quickly. The monk was
very angry when he returned to his monastery and wanted revenge.
Uncle Ston pa had borrowed a pot from the monastery. He and the
other monks decided to beat Uncle Ston pa when he returned it.
A few days later, Uncle Ston pa started to the monastery
with the pot. He knew the monks wanted to punish him, so he had
made some small holes in the bottom of the pot with a nail. When
he reached the monastery gate, the monks ordered four fierce dogs
to attack him. Uncle Ston pa squatted on the ground, so the pot
covered his entire body. He could see through the holes he had
made. The dogs tried to bite through the pot, could not, and finally
gave up.
When Uncle Ston pa reached the monastery, he sadly said,
"What a pity! Look, those dogs made so many holes in the pot."
The monks realized what Uncle Ston pa had done but could
say nothing.
•331•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
145: THE BUDDHA IMAGE EATS RTSAM PA188
Pad+ma skyabs པiྨ་4བས།
L
ong ago, Uncle Ston pa was so poor that he had nothing of
value except a donkey. When Spring's lengthening days
arrived, he was quickly running out of food, so he asked his
rich but miserly neighbor, Stobs rgyal, for some rtsam pa 'barley
flour'. As he expected, Stobs rgyal refused.
Facing starvation, Uncle Ston pa considered how he might
be able to change his situation. The next day, Uncle Ston pa filled
two bags with sand, loaded them on his donkey, and slowly drove it
near Stobs rgyal's courtyard gate. Stobs rgyal asked in surprise,
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to sell my barley flour," Uncle Dun pa replied.
Stobs rgyal asked curiously, "Who will buy your old barley
flour? And if someone is foolish enough to buy it, what will you eat?"
"Didn't you hear that a rich businessman from Nepal has
come to Lha sa and is paying a high price for barley flour? I guess
he would give an even higher price for your fresh barley flour,"
Uncle Ston pa said.
Stobs rgyal thought for a moment and said, "A lot of money
could be made, right?"
"Surely," Uncle Ston pa encouraged.
Stobs rgyal went inside his courtyard and returned with two
donkeys, each loaded with bags of fresh barley flour. The two men
soon set off, driving their donkeys along a path that led to Lha sa.
Time passed, and the sun slowly went behind a mountain.
They neared an old, abandoned temple at dusk and decided to
spend the night there. The temple was full of dust, the walls were
broken, and half of the roof was gone, revealing a boundless sky
shimmering with countless stars. The temple also had an upright
Buddha image with a merciful face.
The two men collected dried branches, lit a fire, and boiled
Pad+ma skyabs. 2017. The Buddha Image Eats Rtsam pa in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:162-164.
188
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
tea. Stobs rgyal had never traveled like this before, was tired from
hours of walking, and slept as soundly as a pig.
Uncle Ston pa silently got up at midnight, went outside,
opened his bags, scattered the sand everywhere, and returned to
where Stobs rgyal was sleeping. He poured the barley flour from
Stobs rgyal's bags into his empty bags. Finally, he took a handful of
barley flour, scattered some near the Buddha image, and put some
on the Buddha's chest and mouth. Finally, he hung the empty bags
from the deity's right hand.
As sunlight struck their faces early the next morning, Stobs
rgyal's eyes suddenly became bigger when he noticed his bags of
barley flour that he had carefully put near his head were gone. He
was even more shocked when he saw the empty bags hanging from
the deity's right hand.
Uncle Ston pa exclaimed, "How lucky you are! The Buddha
ate your barley flour. Nothing bad will happen to you in the future.
What a wonderful blessing!"
Stobs rgyal's face turned pale. He took a deep breath and
sighed, "Ston pa, I can't go with you to sell barley flour in Lha sa."
Uncle Ston pa pretended to be sad and said, "I won't go
alone without you. I'll return to our village with you."
146: CHANTING, HERDING, AND CARRYING189
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
This is one of the many Uncle Ston pa stories I heard from my neighbor's uncle,
Lhun 'grub.
L
ong ago, a mother and her beautiful daughter invited a
monk to their home to chant scriptures to protect them and
their livestock. As she was walking down a path, she met
Uncle Ston pa.
"Where are you going?" Uncle Ston pa inquired.
"I'm going to invite a monk to chant at our home. Where are
Sangs rgyas bkra shis. 2017. Chanting, Herding, and Carrying in
Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:170-172.
189
•333•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
you going?" she asked.
"I was chanting at a home, and now I'm going to my own
home," Uncle Ston Pa answered, pretending to be a monk.
The woman was delighted to hear this and asked Uncle Ston
pa to chant in her home.
Uncle Ston Pa agreed and repeatedly mumbled the few
religious phrases he knew at different rthymns and speeds, as
though he were chanting.
The beautiful daughter got up every morning and drove
their sheep to the mountain. Wolves were a serious threat, and she
had to watch the sheep all day. Sometimes her mother went with
her.
One day, Uncle Ston pa heard that the mother would go to
another village and said, "Today, I'll help your daughter. I'll go with
her to the mountain and stay with her."
The mother happily thanked Uncle Ston pa. When they left
in the morning, the daughter's mother told them not to pee on the
mountain. "If you must pee, then go to the foot of the mountain
because the mountain is where deities live," she explained.
While Uncle Ston pa and the beautiful daughter were
herding sheep on the mountain, Uncle Ston pa saw a creek. He ran
there and drank some water. The girl saw this and asked, "Are you
thirsty?"
He said, "Your mother said this is where deities live, so this
is surely divine water."
The girl believed Uncle Ston pa and also drank a lot of water.
At noon, the girl told Uncle Ston pa that she had to pee. Take
care of the sheep until I return," she said.
Uncle Ston pa said, "I also must pee," looked thoughtful, and
added, "If both of us go pee, wolves will surely attack the sheep. I'll
stay here and herd if you take my pee."
The girl asked, "How can I do that?"
"I have a good way," Uncle Ston pa said and had sex with the
girl.
When the girl reached the foot of the mountain, she met her
•334•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
mother, who asked, "Who is herding the sheep?"
She told her mother they both needed to pee, so she had
taken Uncle Ston pa's pee so that he could stay behind and protect
the sheep. Her mother asked, "How did you take Uncle Ston pa's
pee?"
After the girl told her everything, her mother angrily scolded
her. The girl cried and returned to the mountain. Uncle Ston pa saw
her sad face and asked her what had happened.
"Mother scolded me because I took your pee," she sobbed.
"If your mother isn't happy about that, then I can take my
pee back," said Uncle Ston pa and had sex with the girl again.
147: GRAIN IN THE NAVELS190
Pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན།
Children my age often asked older men to tell them stories, and an old man who
knew many folktales told me the one I give below. Recently, children have been
keenly interested in TV programs and have very little interest in folklore.
U
ncle Ston pa had a beautiful, fair-skinned young cousin
with bright eyes and a slim body. One day, she felt
uncomfortable and went to town to see a doctor who
examined her pulse and prescribed some medicine. She took the
medicine but did not get better, so she went to Uncle Ston pa's home
and asked for advice.
Uncle Ston pa suggested she find a meditator who lived at
the foot of a mountain near her home. He said, "Don't look at his
face. Just listen to him. He'll tell you what to do. Climb up the
mountain and then come down. You'll be sure to see him."
She went home, collected some gifts, and set off. Meanwhile,
Uncle Ston pa put on a meditator's clothes and stuck a big piece of
fake hair that was actually part of a yak tail on top of his head.
Taking a shortcut, he quickly reached the foot of the mountain and
waited for his beautiful cousin. After some moments, she came and
Pad+ma dbang chen. 2017. Grain in the Navels in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:176-177.
190
•335•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
bowed her head in respect.
Uncle Ston pa said in an artificial voice, "I have already
divined your problem. I have a solution. Put a grain of wheat in your
navel. I'll put a grain of barley in my navel. We'll then exchange
them without using our hands."
The cousin hesitated but finally accepted the meditator's
suggestion. They removed all their clothes and tried to exchange the
barley and wheat grains by rubbing their bellies together. The
cousin felt something enter her body and said, "Something's wrong!
Did you feel it?"
"Please don't think about anything else. Concentrate on
exchanging the grains," Uncle Ston pa instructed.
Satisfied after sex, Uncle Ston pa returned home using the
shortcut. His cousin climbed up and then climbed down the
mountain. It took her a long time.
Uncle Ston pa's cousin soon recovered from her illness.
Happy about this, she went to Uncle Ston pa's home and thanked
him for giving her such a good suggestion.
148: SEWING UP THE QUEEN'S VAGINA191
Rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ།
This story is one of my favorite Uncle Ston pa accounts. I do not recall precisely
when I first heard it, but it was probably before I attended college. At this time, my
family still had some donkeys, cows, and a mule. My family owned between two
and three dozen cows at one time. We began selling them when my siblings and I
started school.
Grandmother (Dpa' mo skyid, 1929-2015) lived with my youngest
paternal uncle. Twenty-odd village families, including my youngest paternal
uncle's family, owned some sheep and goats and herded them in the steep
mountains, a two-to-three-hour walk from the village. In most cases, only older
adult family members grazed them. However, when family emergencies arose,
children substituted for adults. Families like mine, who owned only cows and
donkeys, herded them into nearby mountains and valleys. This short distance
Rin chen rdo rje. 2017. Sewing up the Queen's Vagina in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:165-169.
191
•336•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
meant that children were regularly responsible for herding cows, donkeys, and
mules.
Spring and summer demanded more work because they were times for
planting and harvesting, respectively. The village children kept animals from
invading the fields and eating the crops. Each village had a committee whose
members guarded the fields and put animals caught in the fields in the village
shrine courtyard or the courtyard of deserted village homes. The owners of these
animals had to pay a fine in grain to redeem their animals. Cash was also allowed,
but people rarely had money. This was evident from observing villagers carrying
sacks of grain to other mountain villages, trips that often took one or two hours.
Our village committee fined fellow villagers a small amount of grain for
offending animals that belonged to fellow villagers. However, they kept the
animals in walled enclosures, where the confined animals were not fed and
became emaciated over time. Villagers did not want to see their animals suffer
because they were essential for agricultural production.
I heard many stories during Spring and summer when I grazed my family's
livestock with my peers by the riverside and nearby hills and mountains. Children
had to be on constant guard since the fields were near the river. Among the
children were some adult men who had no children to graze their animals. They
asked us to watch their animals in rotation near the fields, taking advantage of our
tender age. In return, they told us stories, sang, and played the flute and guitar. We
were thus happy to be assigned such tasks in anticipation of being entertained.
These older men repeatedly told us the same stories, but boredom never
registered. Maybe the attraction was their humorous, eloquent style of storytelling
accompanied by dramatic gestures. The combination of all these factors invariably
had us convulsed in laughter. We felt connected to a world of humorous characters
in the stories that seemed very real.
In autumn, harvest occupied us all. In winter, herding was not required
since livestock were free to roam in and out of the village, including mountains and
valleys in the territories of other villages. In winter, we were busy with archery
competitions.
My pre-collage life was the most memorable time. When no elders were
around to tell stories, children formed their own groups for the same purpose.
Ghost stories were popular, but humorous stories like Uncle Ston pa were more
popular. Villagers understood Uncle Ston pa as a comical character, but their
•337•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
accounts featuring the humorous idiot-trickster were never called Uncle Ston pa.
Instead, the most popular idiot-trickster figure was Glen pa rta las rtug 'Big Idiot'.
When I attended middle school and college, I heard stories of a similar
genre with the same character called Uncle Ston pa. When I started telling my
stories, I told the story below and used Uncle Ston pa as the main character's
name. I knew my audience was unfamiliar with Glen pa rta las rtug. This story was
immediately accepted as an Uncle Ston pa story of the naughty kind.192
L
ong ago, stupid Uncle Ston pa's loyal character won the
king's heart. He soon completely trusted Uncle Ston pa and
enjoyed his company when they hunted and entertained
themselves.
One day, the king entrusted Uncle Ston pa with taking the
queen to the mountains on a hunting trip. Uncle Ston pa escorted
the queen and her entourage to a forested mountain far from the
capital. He had the group wait about halfway up the mountain while
he and the queen continued and hunted near the summit. After a
long time of hunting, they prepared to return to where the
entourage waited. After they started riding, Uncle Ston pa suddenly
pulled on his reins, stopped his horse, turned his head, and looked
up at the sky. He cupped both his hands around his left ear as
though listening intently and nodded.
Uncle Ston pa turned to the queen, who had observed all his
actions, and said, "It has just been revealed to me that we should
enjoy a feast that Heaven has specially prepared to celebrate our
hunting trip."
The queen hesitated but followed Uncle Ston pa because she
was exhausted and hungry after a long day. Uncle Ston pa took the
queen to a hidden place in the thick forest near the summit where a
profusion of foods and drinks was displayed on a large table he had
prepared earlier.
The queen was surprised but delighted at what she saw in
front of her. The arrangement Heaven had seemingly made
Rin chen rdo rje. 2017. Sewing up the Queen's Vagina in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:165-169.
192
•338•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
removed her earlier suspicion and confirmed her strong belief in
Heaven's power. After the feast, they rode down a trail leading to
the bottom of the mountain.
After a while, Uncle Ston pa stopped and repeated his
mysterious antics while prostrating to the sky. After nodding
towards the sky above the summit, he turned to the queen and said,
"Heaven has just proclaimed that today is the most auspicious day
of the year. As usual, Heaven wants to be entertained by the
spectacle of mortals having sex and has chosen us to be partners."
Already convinced of Heaven's power, the queen accepted
this latest expression of Heavenly will. Uncle Ston pa took her to
another secluded spot in the forest where he had prepared a bed like
the king's earlier. Uncle Ston pa enjoyed every second of the
pleasure that energetically followed.
The queen's white mount was endowed with human
intelligence and rushed off to report the incident to the king, who
was so furious that he wanted to behead Uncle Ston pa immediately.
Uncle Ston pa realized the white horse had gone to report to
the king. Shortly after Uncle Ston pa had finished with the queen,
the king appeared in the forest. By this time, Uncle Ston pa had
removed any trace of what he and the queen had been up to.
Holding a big needle with a long thread strung through the eye of
the needle, he was poised as though he was about to sew up the
queen's vagina.
The king could not have been more furious when he saw
Uncle Ston pa gazing at the queen's genitals and yelled at Uncle
Ston pa. Uncle Ston pa wore a sorrowful, confounded look as if he
was facing an emergency. Pointing at the queen's genitals, he said
to the king, "Dear King, I'm so sorry! I am responsible! The queen
fell off her white horse and tore herself here. How strange! The
wound doesn't bleed. Why would her flesh be torn if it is not a
wound?"
The king realized that, as usual, it was just stupid Uncle Ston
pa demonstrating his loyalty and him on the head, comforting him.
•339•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
149: CAN YOU SEE MY YAK?193
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建富, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
Uncle Ston pa stories are not told in my village. However, I heard many such stories
while studying in Dar rtse mdo (Kangding) and Zi ling. I listened to this story, which
I tell in Namuyi Khato.
ŋa³³ tɛ³³ na⁵⁴mʑi⁵⁴ la²¹kʰi³³ ja³³, li³³ bu33 la21 khi³³ mi²¹, o21ljo21
o54ndʐo54 la21ga³³ dʐə21qv21 dzu54 su⁵⁴. ŋa⁵⁴ so54 qʰfu²¹ khv54 ru21
du³³ ro21. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ kvu²¹sə²¹ ko³³ko³³ tʰa³³ ɡi⁵⁴
ma³³ ndzo²¹ tɛ³³ o²¹ljo²¹ kʰa³³ti²¹ na²¹ ɕə⁵⁴ni²¹ tʰa²¹ræ²¹ so²¹
tʰa³³ ɡi⁵⁴ dzo²¹. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ tʰi⁵⁴ ly⁵⁴ su⁵⁴ la²¹ ʂo³³ su⁵⁴
ŋa³³ ræ³³ ɡi⁵⁴ ka³³ la²¹ no⁵⁴ ʂo³³ su⁵⁴.
U
ncle Ston pa lived in a small village at the foot of a
mountain. Every morning, he drove his yaks up into the
mountain. He was very glad that his yaks came home by
themselves in the evening. One evening, however, one yak did not
return. Uncle Ston pa was worried, climbed a ladder up to the roof
of his home, and looked at the mountains, hoping to see his lost yak.
The village houses were built so close together that the roofs
touched each other. Not seeing his yak, Uncle Ston pa walked onto
the roof of his neighbor's home, where a newly married couple lived.
As Uncle Ston pa stood on the roof, he heard some excited giggling.
Curious, he tiptoed over to the smoke hole and looked down. He was
very interested to see the young couple completely naked, holding
each other, and talking to each other very sweetly. The husband
said, "My dear, please spread your legs wide apart. I've never seen
'it' very closely."
His wife said, "Sure!" and spread her legs as far apart as she
could.
Her husband looked and looked at "it" in a very interested
way.
The wife said, "What do you see?"
Zla ba bstan 'dzin. 2017. Can You See My Yak? in Plateau Narratives
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:188-190.
193
•340•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The husband answered, "I can see everything!"
When Uncle Ston pa heard this, he shouted through the
smoke hole, "Can you see my missing yak?"
ŋa³³ bu³³ȵi³³ nu³³ a²¹ ndo⁵⁴
i21ȵi21a33 ʂə33 te33, su54 a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ ŋu21 ti21 ɡvu33 dʑo33 di21
lɛ21. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ ti21ȵi21ma33 ta54 ji21tso54 bu33ȵi33 ty21 lɛ33
nu33ʁu54 tɕʰə21 ɕy54. hu21ɢvu21 tɛ21 bu33ȵi33 tʰi54ki54 jo21jo33 li54 da54
qvu21rə⁵⁴ ka33 ʁa21rə54 xε21 nda33 ji21 lɛ33. ti21 ha21 tɛ21 væ33qæ54 tʰi54ki54
o²¹ba21 li54 dʑy21 ro33 tɛ54 ti21 pʰa33 li33 ma54 dʑy21 ro33 ji21 lɛ21. a⁵⁴kʰə³³
tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ pʰa21 lɛ21 ji33mi33 do54 mo54 lo21 ɕy21 ka33 bu33ȵi33 tʰi54
pʰa54 lo21 tɛ21 ti21 ɡa21 ha33 ma33 ndo54. mɛ33 kʰa21 ka33 lo21pæ54 bo21ka21
ji33mi33 la21da33 lo21 ɕy21 ka33 lo21. bo21ka21 ji33mi33 tɛ21tɛ21kʰvu33kʰvu33
ka33 lo21pæ54 pʰa54 su54 lo33. o54 tɕʰə21ta21 lo21 mu21 tɛ21 o21mo21 ji33mi33
qo21lo33 su54 o33 kʰa21tʰo21 su21 ræ33 ɡi54 ro21. qvu54qvu54 qo21lo33 mi21
lo21 tɛ21 su54 ȵi33 pʰu54mi54 ba21tshə33 ma33 Ɣi54 mu54 qæ54 ʁo54 ʁa21rə33
di21 lɛ33. pʰæ21tɕə21 tʰi54 ɡu54 tɛ54 nu33 qa33qa54mæ21 do33qə54 mu54 tʰi21
ŋa21 ŋa33 tʰy21 mu21 ræ33 ndo54 ma54 ndzo21 sə33 lo33 di21. mbʐə21 tʰi54
ɡvu54 tɛ54 ʁa33 mε33 ŋu21 o54 tʰi21 ŋa21 tɛ54 ko33ma33pʰa54 mu54 o54 lo21
di21 lɛ21. tɛ33 ɡo54ɡo54 ndo54 lɛ33 ŋu21 te21, wa21 ma21 ji33 ɡo54 ha33 ndo54
pʰa54, ma33 ndo54 ʂo21 ma33 dʑo33 di21. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ ræ³³ ɡi⁵⁴
ro²¹ ka³³ li33 ma33 ʂu33 mu54 tʰi54ɳu²¹ɕə54 nu33 ŋa33 bu33ȵi54 li33 ma54
dʑy21 tʰi54 pʰa54 ræ33 a21 ndo54 ŋu21 di21 lɛ33.
•341•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
150: AN OLD YAK FINDS YOUTHFUL ENERGY194
Mo lha dgu 'khor མོ་L་དU་འཁོར།
herdsman was riding his old yak bull into town. The yak
walked slowly, with his head down. Sometimes, the
herdsman thought the old yak would stop completely, so
he would kick it in the sides. The old yak would walk a little faster
but soon slow down.
After about two hours, they reached the county town, which
had only one road lined with shops selling the usual food, clothes,
shoes, and various beverages. The herdsman noticed one shop with
a picture of a big yak on top. The yak looked very energetic. It was
running very fast across the grassland. The sign said: Pay fifty yuan,
and your old yak will run like a young yak! Your money will be
returned if the yak doesn't run very fast!
The herdsman said to himself, "Great! If that's true, it's
surely worth fifty yuan."
He rode up to the shop and knocked on the door. The door
was unusual because it was very wide. "I wonder why this door is so
wide?" the herdsman thought.
Uncle Ston pa opened the door and gave the herdsman a big
smile. "Hello! Just look at your old yak! I know why you came here!
You are here because you want your old yak to run like a young,
energetic yak! Right?"
The herdsman said, "That's exactly right. I'll give you fifty
yuan, and you'll make my yak run like a young yak, right?"
Uncle Ston pa said, "Sure! And if your old yak doesn't run
fast, I'll return your money immediately! Now, sir, please dismount
and back your yak into my shop. I'll then begin my work. The whole
process will take less than a minute."
The herdsman dismounted and slowly backed his yak into
the shop through the wide door. When the yak was inside the shop,
with only its head and front feet outside the door, Uncle Ston pa
A
Mo lha dgu 'khor. 2017. An Old Yak Finds Youthful Energy in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:191-192.
194
•342•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
said, "OK! Stop! That's far enough. I'll now begin my treatment."
Uncle Ston pa took two bricks, pushed the old yak bull's back
legs apart, and smashed the yak's testicles together between the two
bricks. With an angry roar, the yak raced down the street so fast that
only a cloud of dust remained several seconds later.
"Oh, my Buddha! Your treatment really works!" said the
herdsman. "Wonderful! It is surely worth fifty yuan! But I have one
question - how will I ever catch my yak?"
Uncle Ston pa smiled, held a brick in either hand, looked at
the herdsman, and said, "Sir, that's no problem. Just pull down your
pants, and you'll soon run so fast that you'll catch your yak in a
jiffy!"
151: A CLEVER BUS DRIVER195
Khro bo rkyal stong kོ་བོ་•ལ་fོང་།
U
ncle Ston pa was driving a bus down a dirt road in the
countryside. The only empty seat on the bus was just
behind the driver's seat. The seat was for two people. The
open seat was next to a nun sitting quietly by the window.
Uncle Ston pa noticed a handsome young soldier waving at
him on the road. Eager for another paying customer, Uncle Ston pa
stopped, and the soldier got on the bus. There was only one empty
seat, so the soldier quickly paid and sat by the nun. From the corner
of his eye, the soldier noticed that, despite her short hair, the nun
was quite pretty, stimulating his male organ.
About five minutes later, the nun stood up and asked the
driver to let her off so she could return to her nunnery. When she
got off, Uncle Ston pa turned to the soldier and murmured, "She's
pretty, right?"
"Yes, very pretty," the soldier said.
"I guess you'd like to have sex with her, right?" Uncle Ston
pa said.
Khro bo rkyal stong. 2017. A Clever Bus Driver in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:193-194.
195
•343•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"Of course," the soldier said.
"I'll tell you how," Uncle Ston pa said. "Every evening at
exactly six-thirty, she goes to a little forest at the bottom of the hill
where her nunnery is. You can hide behind a tree. You're lucky
because I've got a bag full of 'cham masks I'm taking to the
monastery up the road. I'll give you one now. Just before six-thirty,
put on the mask. When she comes to the grove and starts
prostrating, you jump out and tell her you are a deity. She'll do
whatever you tell her."
"Great!" the soldier said, took the mask Uncle Ston pa
offered, and got off the bus.
An hour later, at almost six-thirty, the soldier put on the
mask, and, sure enough, at precisely six-thirty, the nun came to the
little forest and began prostrating and chanting. The soldier jumped
out from behind the tree and said, "Oh! I'm a deity!"
The pious nun said, "Oh! A deity! What should I do?"
The soldier, disguised as a deity, said, "You have to have sex
with me!"
The nun said, "Oh! Yes! You are a deity. I'll do whatever you
say. But please remember that I'm a nun, so I must keep my
virginity. You must do it here," and patted her bottom.
The soldier hesitated, but remembering how pretty the nun
was, he agreed.
They both pulled down their pants, and each assumed their
position. After a few minutes, the soldier finished and pulled up his
pants. The nun did the same.
The soldier looked at the nun, pulled off his mask, and said,
"Ha! Ha! I'm the soldier from the bus! How stupid of you to believe
I was a deity!"
Uncle Ston pa pulled off the nun's mask and said, "Ha! Ha!
I'm the bus driver!"
•344•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
152: UNCLE STON PA TAKES A BATH196
Mi chag don 'grub མི་ཆག་དོན་འSབ།
U
ncle Ston pa had not had a bath for a long time. It was
summer, so he thought he'd go to a small beach he knew by
the river that ran by his village and wash up. When he got
to the small, secluded beach, he looked around and saw nobody, so
he took off his filthy clothes, washed them, hung them to dry on
nearby bushes, and walked into the river. He had a good time
moving around in the water, pretending he was a frog. It was a
scorching summer day, so he enjoyed the cool river water.
After some time, Uncle Ston pa got tired of this. He wanted
to dry off, put on his clothes, and leave. He looked at the beach and
didn't see anybody. He carefully walked out of the water onto the
beach. The sand felt good under his feet. The bright sun on his wet
body also made him feel very relaxed. He decided that he would take
a nap. Noticing an old newspaper under a bush, he walked over,
picked it up, lay down on the soft sand, and, just to be safe, put the
newspaper over his genitals.
A short time later, Uncle Ston pa was awakened by a little
girl shaking his shoulder. When she saw his eyes flutter open, she
asked, "Uncle, what's under that newspaper?"
Uncle Ston pa said sleepily, "It's a bird. You must never
touch that newspaper. If you do, the bird might fly away," and went
back to sleep.
Later, when he woke up, he was in the hospital. His genitals
felt incredibly painful - as though they were on fire! When the
doctors asked him what had happened, he could only remember the
little girl by the river.
A few hours later, two policemen went to the little girl's
village home and asked her what she had done. She explained, "I
like birds, so I decided to play with Uncle's bird. I took off the
newspaper and started playing with it. While playing, it got long like
Mi chag don 'grub. 2017. Uncle Ston pa Takes a Bath in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:195-196.
196
•345•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
a snake and shot something at me. I was so angry that I kicked its
eggs, broke its neck, and set its nest on fire."
153: NOT REMAINING QUIET197
Dpa' rgod khyi nag དཔའ་lོད་mི་ནག
L
ate one morning, Uncle Ston pa got up, pulled himself out
of bed, and had the breakfast his wife had prepared. After
breakfast, he left his unwashed cup and bowl on the table,
mounted his motorcycle, and headed to the township town. On the
way, he thought about what he might do for fun. He knew many
things to do for fun, but the problem was that he only had one yuan
in his pocket.
When he got to town, he went to a small, dirty room where
pornographic videos were shown twenty-four hours a day. Uncle
Ston pa paid one yuan and sat on a stool, joining several other men
in the room.
He had seen such films before, but for two hours, he was
mesmerized by the sound of women squealing ecstatically as men
had sex with them in various positions. Uncle Ston pa was
terrifically aroused by all this and thought, "As soon as I get home,
I'll have sex with my wife and tell her to make such sounds. How
exciting that will be!"
Uncle Ston pa drove his motorcycle quickly back home and
rushed. His wife was lying on their bed, resting after hours of work
outside. He jumped on her and said, "Let's have sex immediately!"
Dutifully, she removed her clothes, lay on her back, and
said, "OK, go ahead."
Uncle Ston pa said, "This time, I want you to make some
loud sounds! That will be even more exciting!" and began madly
pounding his wife, who, as usual, didn't say anything until suddenly
she screamed, "Ah…hiiiii!" which so disturbed Uncle Ston pa that
he could not continue.
Dpa' rgod khyi nag. 2017. Not Remaining Quiet in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:197-198.
197
•346•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
154: THE LOTTERY198
Rgod po ltag khra lོད་པོ་nག་k།
O
ne cold winter, Uncle Ston pa bought an old donkey for one
hundred yuan from a villager named Rin chen, who agreed
to bring the donkey to Uncle Ston pa's home the next day.
However, the next day, Rin chen walked over to Uncle Ston pa's
house and said, "I'm very sorry, but I have sad news."
"What has happened?" Uncle Ston pa said.
"The donkey died," Rin chen said.
"Well, give me my money back," said Uncle Ston pa.
"I can't. I've already spent it all," replied Rin chen.
"OK. Just bring the dead donkey over," said Uncle Ston pa.
"What will you do with the dead donkey?" asked Rin chen.
"I'm going to sell lottery tickets with the donkey as the
prize," replied Uncle Ston pa.
"You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" exclaimed Rin chen.
"Just watch me. I won't tell anyone the donkey is dead," said
Uncle Ston pa.
Rin chen and two of his sons put the dead donkey in a cart,
pulled it over to Uncle Ston pa's home, and dumped it in his
orchard.
A month later, Rin chen met Uncle Ston pa in the local
market and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"
"I sold 500 tickets at three yuan each. I made a profit of
1,497 yuan," said Uncle Ston pa.
"Didn't anyone complain?" inquired Rin chen.
"Just the man who won, so I gave him his three yuan back,"
said Uncle Ston pa.
Rgod po ltag khra. 2017. The Lottery in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:199-200.
198
•347•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
155: THE LANDLORD KILLS A PIG199
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
fter Uncle Ston pa tricked his landlord into cutting down
the silver tree, he was assigned difficult tasks. For a week,
he had to feed a pig and clean the pigsty. Uncle Ston pa got
very upset with such work and devised an ingenious plan.
One afternoon while feeding the pig, Uncle Ston pa noticed
the landlord riding his strong stallion from place to place, checking
his servants' work. When the landlord approached the sty, Uncle
Ston pa gave one of the pig's ears a vicious pinch, causing a highpitched, very loud squeal. This frightened the landlord's stallion,
and it reared up, sending the landlord tumbling to the ground.
When the furious landlord regained his footing on
trembling legs, he shouted, "Who scared my horse? I'll kill you!"
Uncle Ston pa pointed at the pig and said, "This pig did it.
Do you want us to kill it?"
"Yes! Do it now!" commanded the landlord.
Uncle Ston pa and the other gathered servants stoned the
pig to death. Uncle Ston pa didn't have to feed the pig and clean the
pigsty from that day on.
A
156: THE LANDLORD COOKS THE PORK200
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
fter killing the pig, Uncle Ston pa and other servants were
eager to cook and eat the pork for supper. When they asked
the landlord what he wanted them to do with the dead pig,
he told them to sell the pork in town. Uncle Ston pa devised a
cunning plan to ensure the servants could eat the pork.
The pig had been stoned to death, so its flesh was spotted
A
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. The Landlord Kills a Pig in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:219.
200 Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. The Landlord Cooks the Pork in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:220-221.
199
•348•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
with bruises and wounds. When they got to the town with the pig
carcass, Uncle Ston pa told the servants to shout, "Buy dead spotted
pork! Buy dead spotted pork!" When potential buyers heard this,
they guessed that the pig had died of illness and told their friends
and family members to avoid the dead pig. No one then came to buy
the pork.
When Uncle Ston pa and his friends returned to the landlord
with the pig carcass, Uncle Ston pa said, "My dear landlord, because
of the bruises on the carcass, we couldn't sell any pork at all. What
should we do with the carcass?"
The landlord pondered and ordered, "Cook half of it for
supper. My family members will eat the meat. You servants can have
the soup!"
Unhappy, Uncle Ston pa told his friends to boil the pork for
a long time. They enjoyed the rich, tasty soup once the fat and flesh
dissolved. After finishing the soup, they handed the bones and skin
to the landlord. Uncle Ston pa said, "My dear landlord, we didn't
know how to cook the pork well. The only things remaining for your
family are bones and skin."
"Then, bring me the soup!" ordered the landlord.
"Sorry, my dear landlord! You said we could have the soup,
and we have just finished it for our supper," said Uncle Ston pa.
"OK, tomorrow you and the other servants eat the meat and
bring the soup to me," commanded the landlord.
The next day, Uncle Ston pa and his friends took the meat
from the water as soon as it was cooked, gobbled down the pork,
and offered the landlord the flavorless, watery soup.
•349•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
157: TRICKING THE LANDLORD'S WIFE201
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
fter tricking the landlord a few times, the news spread
among servants, so they all knew Uncle Ston pa. One day,
the landlord's wife also heard this news. Unhappy to hear
about her husband's humiliation, she was eager to take revenge. She
wore her best robe and rode her best stallion to meet Uncle Ston pa,
whom she found washing his dirty clothes by a village stream. When
she saw Uncle Ston pa, she yelled, "Hey, you! You have become
famous for tricking my husband. Now trick me. Display your skills,
or I'll tell all my servants you are a stupid, incapable man!"
Ston pa thought momentarily and replied, "Oh, my dear
landlord, how can I trick you? I forgot my book of tricks at home. If
you want me to trick you, I must borrow your stallion to get my book
of tricks first."
"Ha! You have a trick book?" the landlord's wife laughed and
added, "Sure. Here's my stallion. I want to see you trick me today!"
Uncle Ston pa took the stallion and said, "Also, my dear
landlord, I need to borrow your nice robe, or your stallion will sense
I'm a stranger and won't let me ride him."
The landlord's wife removed her robe, threw it to Uncle Ston
pa, and said, "Here you go. Be quick! I can't wait to see your book of
tricks."
Uncle Ston pa put on the robe, jumped on the stallion, and
galloped across the stream. When he got to the other side, he yelled,
"My dear landlord, see how I tricked you today!"
A
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Wife in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:222-223.
201
•350•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
158: TRICKING THE LANDLORD'S DAUGHTER202
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
fter tricking the landlord's wife, Uncle Ston pa was given
even more difficult tasks. One day, the landlord and his
wife had to go to other villages to invite their best friends
and relatives for their daughter's skra ston 'hair changing ritual'203
to be held a week later. They called Uncle Ston pa to their daughter's
room and told her to keep an eye on Uncle Ston pa. Before they left,
the landlord said to his daughter, Lha mo, "Sweetie, today Ston pa
is your servant. Order him to do whatever you like! But remember,
don't let him out of your sight!"
"Thank you, Father. I'll keep him in my room and make sure
he cleans every corner and does whatever I tell him," responded Lha
mo in glee.
Immediately, she threw her foot towel to Uncle Ston pa,
ordered him to kneel, and told him to scrub the floor. When Uncle
Ston pa knelt and started scrubbing the floor, Lha mo jumped on
his back, whipped him like a horse, and said, "Faster! Faster!
Faster!"
Seeing how Lha mo maltreated Uncle Ston pa, the landlord
and his wife left in delight. Meanwhile, Uncle Ston pa was very upset
and devised a clever plan to take revenge.
After some time, Lha mo jumped off Uncle Ston pa and
started to leave the room. Uncle Ston pa asked, "Where are you
going?"
"I'm going out to pee," said Lha mo.
"Didn't your father tell you not to let me out of your sight?"
said Uncle Ston pa.
"Yes, you're right," said Lha mo, "but I need to pee now, and
my parents won't return soon. What should I do?"
"How about I take your pee, and then I'll go pee when your
A
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Daughter in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:224-225.
203 A coming-of-age ritual held locally for teenage girls.
202
•351•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
parents arrive?" suggested Ston pa.
"Excellent! But how can we do that?" said Lha mo.
"It's easy. We'll both take off our pants, and then you ride on
my belly while jumping up and down. It's more exciting than riding
on my back," Uncle Ston pa instructed.
"That sounds wonderful! Let's do it now!" Lha mo said in
excitement and pulled off her pants.
Ston pa removed his pants, lay on his back, and covered his
hard penis with both hands. Lha mo straddled Uncle Ston pa's groin
and bounced up and down. An instant later, as Lha mo raised her
buttocks during one of her bounces, Uncle Ston pa uncovered his
hard penis, which pierced right into Lha mo when she flopped her
buttocks against him. Lha mo felt a sudden pain and tried to stop,
but Ston pa told her that this was how he could extract her pee. She
continued bouncing up and down until she climaxed.
Afterward, Lha mo often asked her parents to order Uncle
Ston pa to serve her. Consequently, Ston pa had a wonderful time
regularly taking Lha mo's pee until the day Lha mo told her best
friend what she and Uncle Ston pa were doing.
159: TRICKING THE LANDLORD'S DAUGHTER AGAIN204
Tshedbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne afternoon, Lha mo's best friend, Sgrol ma, visited. It was
right after Uncle Ston pa left Lha mo's room after "taking
her pee." Seeing that Lha mo looked tired, Sgrol ma asked,
"Are you OK? You look exhausted!"
"Yeah, I'm OK. I just let Ston pa take my pee," replied Lha
mo.
"What! How did Ston pa take your pee?" asked Sgrol ma in
puzzlement.
After Lha mo explained, Sgrol ma said in astonishment,
"Oh, no!"
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Daughter Again in
Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:226-227.
204
•352•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"What's wrong?" asked Lha mo.
"He tricked you! He didn't take your pee! He…" said Sgrol
ma.
Before Sgrol ma finished her sentence, Lha mo dashed to
Uncle Ston pa's dilapidated room and said furiously, "You liar! You
didn't take my pee!"
Seeing Lha mo's angry face, Uncle Ston pa was scared to
death. He thought, "Now I'm in big trouble! I hope she doesn't tell
our secret to her parents. Otherwise, they'll kill me."
"Don't you dare not take my pee this time!" screeched Lha
mo.
Uncle Ston pa's fear vanished when he heard this. He took
off his hat, bowed to Lha mo, and said, "Oh, Princess, please forgive
me! I'll surely take your pee this time to make you happy. But you
shouldn't tell anyone about this!"
"Sure, I won't tell anyone if you take my pee this time, but
how are you going to take my pee?" asked Lha mo.
"It's not difficult. You have to take off your pants and lie
down on your back as I did before," said Uncle Ston pa.
"That's easy!" said Lha mo. She jerked off her pants and lay
down on her back with her hands covering her groin.
Uncle Ston pa immediately removed his pants, went over,
straddled Lha mo, and started bouncing up and down as fast as
possible with his penis in Lha mo's vagina. It didn't take much time
for Lha mo to cry out, "I peed! I peed!"
160: TRICKING THE LANDLORD'S FRIEND205
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne evening, when Lha mo's mother was walking to the
toilet, she passed by Lha mo's room and heard strange
panting sounds. She opened the door using a butter lamp,
walked toward the sounds, and was shocked to see a naked man
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Friend in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:228-230.
205
•353•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
bouncing up and down on Lha mo. She was so startled that the
butter lamp flew into the air as she shrieked, "Help! Help! A thief is
in my daughter's room!"
Uncle Ston pa, terrified by this sudden intrusion, grabbed
the nearest robe, which was Lha mo's, dashed out of the window,
and ran with all his might, leaving the landlord's home far behind.
After a few minutes, Lha mo's father arrived in the room
with several loyal servants and anxiously inquired, "What's wrong?"
Lha mo's mother didn't know what to say, thinking, "It will
humiliate our daughter and our family if they know the truth," so
she said, "A thief stole our daughter's robe! Catch him!"
"Did you see the thief's face? Is it a man or woman?" asked
Lha mo's father.
"I didn't see the thief's face clearly, but I'm sure it's a man. I
saw his oily penis in the moonlight when he was jumping out the
window," replied Lha mo's mother.
"Go and catch that man with an oily penis wearing my
daughter's robe!" Lha mo's father angrily commanded.
His loyal servants immediately mounted horses and
galloped in all four directions, intent on catching the thief with an
oily penis. They couldn't catch Uncle Ston pa at night because of the
darkness, but as soon as daylight came, it didn't take much time to
track Uncle Ston pa. When his pursuers got close, Uncle Ston pa
met his landlord's friend, Tshe ring, a young merchant selling flour.
Tshe ring asked in surprise, "Where are you going in such a
hurry? Why are you wearing a woman's robe?"
"My dear Tshe ring. How nice to see you! I was coming to
meet you to give you this nice robe," replied Uncle Ston pa,
breathing hard.
"Why do you want to give me this robe?" asked Tshe ring in
astonishment.
"Don't tell me you don't know this nice robe! This robe
belongs to my landlord's beautiful daughter, Lha mo. She's going to
have her hair-changing ritual in a few days. I'm sure you've already
been invited. Very early this morning, my landlord told me to give
•354•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
you this robe as a marriage proposal!" said Uncle Ston pa.
Tshe ring inspected the robe, concluded it was Lha mo's, and
cheerfully said, "Great! Today is auspicious! I'm going to your
landlord's home now to do some oil business. Give me the robe, and
I'll propose marriage today!"
"Sure, but may I borrow your robe and a horse? Otherwise,
I can't go back! I would be naked and barefoot," said Uncle Ston pa.
Tshe ring noticed Uncle Ston pa's bare feet and thought,
"True. It would be difficult for Ston pa to return naked and barefoot.
I can take my robe and horse after he reaches Lha mo's home," so
he gave Uncle Ston pa one of his several horses and his own robe.
After putting on Tshe ring's robe, Uncle Ston pa said,
"Thank you, Tshe ring! Since you're so nice to me today, I'll tell you
one of my landlord's daughter's secrets. Being a servant in her
home, I have learned one of her secrets."
"What secret?" asked Tshe ring.
Uncle Ston pa jumped on the horse, galloped off, turned his
head, and yelled, "I heard that Lha mo likes a man with an oily
penis! I suggest you oil your penis if you want to have Lha mo!"
Pleased with this information, Tshe ring leaped off his
horse, took an oil container off the back of a packhorse, and swirled
his penis in the oil. Before Tshe ring finished putting the oil
container on the horse's back, the landlord's loyal servants dashed
up on their horses. When they saw Tshe ring wearing Lha mo's robe,
they grabbed him and jerked off his pants. When they found that his
penis was oily, they tied him up and took him to the landlord.
161: TRICKING THE LANDLORD'S FRIEND AGAIN206
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne morning, Uncle Ston pa was about to have breakfast
when he saw Tshe ring, the oil merchant he had tricked,
coming to take revenge. Uncle Ston pa jumped up and ran
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Friend Again in
Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:231-232.
206
•355•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
for a long time on an empty stomach. At around noon, he saw a
nunnery in the distance. Though exhausted from hunger and thirst,
he used his last strength to dash to the gate. It was locked. Many
nuns were loudly chanting inside. He called the nuns to open the
door but was so exhausted that his voice was very low. Finally, he
gave up and lay in the shade of a prayer pole by the gate, hoping
someone would eventually come.
While he was lying on the ground, looking at the sky, he saw
several bits of white clouds right above him and the prayer pole. He
imagined the clouds to be big pieces of thick bread, giant pots of hot
noodles, large plates of steaming mutton, and many other delicious
foods. The clouds slowly moved far behind the prayer pole, and he
felt the pole was falling on him. He closed his eyes, hoping someone
would save him.
Suddenly, Uncle Ston pa heard footsteps. He opened his
eyes and saw Tshe ring glaring at him. "Stand up! You devil!" yelled
Tshe ring.
"Oh! Thanks for coming. Do you have any food with you?"
replied Uncle Ston pa.
"I have no food, but I have you!" shouted Tshe ring.
"The nuns are chanting inside. They might give us some
food if you tell them that this prayer pole is falling," said Uncle Ston
pa.
"What? Do you want to trick me again by saying this prayer
pole is falling? This prayer pole is standing straight. It isn't moving!"
replied Tshe ring.
"No! It is falling. Look at the top of the prayer pole and the
clouds above it," explained Uncle Ston pa.
Tshe ring gazed at the top of the prayer pole and the clouds
above it for a while. The clouds were moving, and the distance
between the pole top and the clouds seemed to get bigger,
convincing Tshe ring that the pole was falling. Without a second
thought, Tshe ring started yelling loudly, "Oh my Buddha! This pole
is falling. Please come help!"
"Call more loudly," said Uncle Ston pa, "They're chanting
•356•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and won't hear you if you don't yell very loudly."
Tshe ring used his mightiest voice. A few young nuns dashed
out and screeched at Tshe ring, "You're crazy! The prayer pole is not
falling!"
Tshe ring looked at the nuns in surprise, rechecked the
prayer pole, and realized it was standing straight up. Tshe ring tried
to explain, but the nuns were furious because they thought he was
bringing bad luck to the nunnery by shouting, "The prayer pole is
falling!"
The nuns then threw stones at Tshe ring, chasing him away.
Luckily, the young nuns noticed Uncle Ston pa lying on the ground
in hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. They carried him into the
nunnery where he was safe from his enemy, Tshe ring.
162: TRICKING NUNS207
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
U
ncle Ston pa worked very hard once he realized many
young, beautiful nuns lived in the nunnery. Every day, he
got up early and went to bed late, cooking, cleaning, and
doing other chores for the young nuns. They enjoyed his delicious
food and other thoughtful services, such as washing clothes. The
young nuns slowly stopped cooking and cleaning and relied on
Uncle Ston pa. They also treated Uncle Ston pa well, giving him a
good room, warm blankets, and nice robes.
One evening, Uncle Ston pa didn't take supper to one of the
most beautiful young nuns. Instead, he waited for her to come to his
room for food. After a while, she started walking towards his room
as he had predicted. As soon as she reached the door of his room,
he started moaning and trembling as though he were in great pain.
"Oh, Uncle! What's wrong?" asked the beautiful nun.
"It's my old stomach problem," replied Uncle Ston pa in a
broken, quavery voice.
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking Nuns in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:233-235.
207
•357•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"I'm so sad to see that you are in such pain. How can I help
you?" inquired the nun.
"Thanks, but you can't help me! I had this illness when I was
a child. Only a sage can cure me with her special treatment."
"What is it? Please tell me. I'll help you!" said the nun.
"The method is called 'wheat-barley rubbing'. The wheat
and barley have to be rubbed together with butter," explained Uncle
Ston pa.
"That's easy! We have wheat, barley, and butter here. I can
rub them for you now," exclaimed the nun.
"But…" said Uncle Ston pa, "the wheat with butter has to be
in my navel. The barley with butter has to be in your navel."
"That's not difficult. Let's do it now!" exclaimed the nun.
"You're a wonderful nun! But no… no… let me die!" moaned
Uncle Ston pa. "Don't pollute your body to save me. I'll see you in
the next life."
These touching words moved the nun, who became very
emotional and began weeping. Please don't say that, Uncle. You
can't die. I need you!"
"Please don't cry!" said Uncle Ston pa sorrowfully. "Bring the
wheat, barley, and butter; let's cure this awful illness!"
Uncle Ston pa smeared his navel with butter and three
grains of wheat. He then put three grains of barley coated with
butter in the nun's navel. As soon as the nun lay on his bed, he rolled
on her and rubbed his belly against hers. Their body heat soon
melted the butter, which flowed down to her thighs, and at the same
time, the liquid butter lubricated Uncle Ston pa's erection, which
made it easy for it to slip through her buttery thighs and touch her
virginity.
"Uncle, Uncle! There's something strange…" the nun
nervously exclaimed.
"Don't worry. It's just the butter from our navels!" replied
Uncle Ston pa.
As soon as she relaxed her thigh muscles Uncle Ston pa's
buttered erection penetrated her vagina. After several of Uncle Ston
•358•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
pa's skillful humps and bumps, they both started moaning in great
pleasure.
Over the next few months, Uncle Ston pa used the same trick
to sleep with most of the beautiful young nuns. He also worked very
hard to serve the nuns he loved dearly. Thus, none of his lovers
reported him to the abbess until the most beautiful nun became
obviously pregnant.
163: TRICKING THE ABBESS208
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne day, at a ritual gathering, the abbess noticed the most
beautiful nun was pregnant. She then called the pregnant
nun to her room and asked who the father was.
When the pregnant nun refused to answer, the abbess
thought, "Hm, this man in disguise must be handsome. Otherwise,
she wouldn't protect him. I must find and keep him for myself!"
Next, she locked the nunnery gate, stood in a deep ditch, and
ordered everyone to jump over the ditch so that she could check
between their thighs. The nuns then jumped over the ditch one by
one.
Worried that the abbess would see his dangling penis while
jumping over the ditch, Uncle Ston pa secretly tied his penis with a
string from his robe and carefully jumped over the ditch when it was
his turn. Luckily the abbess did not see his penis. He also got lucky
the second time when the abbess still did not see his penis. Uncle
Ston pa giggled and thought, "You'll never catch me! Let me jump
over your head one more time!"
He pulled up his robe arrogantly and jumped over the ditch
for the third time with all his might. Unfortunately, the string broke,
and the abbess saw Uncle Ston pa's long penis dangling between his
legs. She immediately ordered her disciples to grab him and said,
"As punishment, I will lock this immoral man in my room and teach
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Abbess in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:236-238.
208
•359•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
him how to be good. What do you think?"
"No! No! No!" said some nuns, "This is a nunnery. We
shouldn't keep any men here. Make him leave now!"
"It's a pity that I can't have him. He has the longest, thickest
penis I've ever seen. It must be very comforting. I want to have it.
What should I do?" thought the abbess.
Meanwhile, a masculine nun, who hadn't been cared for as
well as the others by Uncle Ston pa, said, "This devil raped some of
our nuns. We should cut off his thing before we drive him out!"
"Cut it off? What a good idea. I can keep his penis for myself
after we cut it off!" After a short pause, she yelled, "Yes, we should
cut it off to teach him a lesson!"
As the abbess was about to chop off Uncle Ston pa's penis
with a cleaver, Uncle Ston pa cautioned, "My blood will pollute your
holy nunnery if you do this here. I suggest you do it outside."
The abbess thought, "Yes, it's not good to spill blood in the
nunnery." Doubting herself, she asked, "But how and where should
I do it?"
"If you want to cut it off, please do it in a civilized way,"
implored Uncle Ston pa.
"Ha! What civilized way?" said the abbess.
"Tie it with a long rope and put me outside of the nunnery
with my hands tied up," said Uncle Ston pa, "Then, you all pull it off
with all your strength."
"Sure, let's do that now!" said the abbess angrily, ordering
her disciples to tie Uncle Ston pa's hands and take him outside.
The abbess tied one end of a long leather rope to Uncle Ston
pa's penis and ordered her disciples to hold the other end of the
leather rope.
Before the nuns pulled the leather rope, Uncle Ston pa said,
"Please coat it with a lot of butter and close the gate before you pull."
"Why?" asked the abbess.
"Butter helps stop bleeding and reduces pain. Coat it with
much butter, and the blood won't spill everywhere. Close the gate,
and your gentle nuns won't see this horrifying scene. I'm afraid that
•360•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
most of your disciples will have nightmares if they see it," explained
Uncle Ston pa.
The abbess thought, "That's a good idea. It's bad if a lot of
blood spills in front of my nunnery, and I also won't be able to sleep
well if I see bleeding."
She brought a big chunk of butter, untied Uncle Ston pa, and
ordered him to coat his penis. Uncle Ston pa smeared lots of butter
around his penis slowly, thus also lubricating his hands. He did it
deliberately to coat the rope, his penis, and his wrists. After Uncle
Ston pa liberally buttered his penis, the abbess tied his hands again,
went inside the nunnery, and ordered her nuns to shut the gate
securely.
Uncle Ston pa had slipped the ropes off his oily hands and
penis in less than a minute and tied the long rope to the prayer pole
by the gate. While running away, he heard, "One, two, three, pull!
Pull again! Pull harder!"
The nuns pulled the rope as hard as they could again and
again, but nothing happened. Initially, they all thought Uncle Ston
pa had a very hard, tough penis. After a few pulls, they began to
imagine something had gone wrong. Uncle Ston pa was out of sight
when the abbess opened the gate. The abbess yelled furiously, "You
horrible creature! I'll kill you!"
The nuns were shocked to hear this. Some young nuns
giggled and whispered, "Ha! She was tricked!"
164: HELPING A POOR MAN209
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
W
hile fleeing the nunnery, Uncle Ston pa heard, "Help me!
Buddha!" He followed the sound and saw a poor young man
kneeling on the ground and shouting. Seeing the man's
patched clothes and worn-out shoes, Uncle Ston pa asked, "Hey!
Young man! What's wrong?"
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Helping a Poor Man in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:239-240.
209
•361•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"My turnips…" replied the man with a trembling voice, "are
not growing!"
"Well, plant something else," suggested Uncle Ston pa.
"It's easy to say that…" retorted the man angrily, "Do you
know how much I've lost in this evil field?"
"Sorry, I don't know. Please tell me," urged Uncle Ston pa.
"I've lost everything!" exclaimed the man. "My only ox
suddenly died while we were plowing this field. I lost my family's
only treasure, a coral necklace, while sowing seeds in this field. My
wife and only son got a strange illness while irrigating this field.
They both passed away today!"
"I'm very sorry to hear that," Uncle Ston pa commiserated.
"I've lost everything in this evil field! The turnips that we
planted in this field are not growing. What should I do?" the man
exclaimed, wailing even more loudly.
"Please stop. I can help you," said Uncle Ston pa.
"Really?" asked the man in surprise.
"Yes, but you must do what I suggest!"
"Tell me. I'll do it even if I die. I'm a man with nothing!"
"It's not difficult. Just chant, 'I wish my turnips would grow
as big as a donkey's penis' 108 times every day for a month. After a
month, take all the turnips, lay them in front of your village's
nunnery, and shout, 'Penises for sale!' With the money you earn,
invite the nun to your home who asks about Ston pa and take good
care of her."
"I'll do as you say, but who is Ston pa?"
"It's my name. I'll visit you after a year!" concluded Uncle
Ston pa.
The farmer did what Uncle Ston pa suggested. After a
month, the field was full of turnips as big as donkey penises. He
brought them to the nunnery gate and shouted, "Penises for sale!
Penises for sale!"
First, the abbess snuck out and bought the longest penisshaped turnip. Other nuns soon dashed out and bought more.
Finally, at sunset, a pregnant nun asked, "Dear Uncle, do you know
•362•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
a man named Ston pa?"
"Yes!" replied the man in great surprise. "He is my savior!"
"Is he well? Does he live with you?" asked the eager nun.
"Yes, yes, he's very well! He left on the same day we met. But
he is coming back in a few months. May I invite you to my home? I
promised him that I would take good care of you!"
"Really? He's a great man!" exclaimed the nun joyfully.
"Yes, yes," agreed the man. "He'll be back in a few months.
Let's go to my home."
The nun followed the man, stayed at his home, and soon
gave birth to a lovely boy who had Uncle Ston pa's face. The man
took good care of the mother and the son. They had a happy life
together.
165: HELPING AN OLD WOMAN210
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne day, on the way to the turnip seller's home, Uncle Ston
pa saw an old woman weeping by the road and asked,
"Dear Aunt, why are you crying?" The old woman wiped
her tears away, replying, "My husband is sick, and I'm too weak to
plow the field."
"Don't you have any children?" asked Uncle Ston pa.
"I do. I have three sons."
"Don't they live with you?"
"Yes, we all live in one yard, but they…" and the woman
started wailing more loudly.
"Dear Aunt, please don't cry and tell me more. I'll help you,"
comforted Uncle Ston pa.
"My sons took our family property from my husband and me
after they married. So now my husband and I only have our family's
oldest room and this unyielding field. My husband got sick this
morning, and I'm too weak to do heavy labor. I don't know what to
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Helping an Old Woman in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:241-243.
210
•363•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
do!"
"Don't worry," comforted Uncle Ston pa. Then he asked,
"Which is your home?"
"That one," replied the woman, pointing at a house near a
big tree by the Yellow River.
"I see," Uncle Ston pa commented, thought for a while, and
added, "Go home and rest. You and your husband should say 'No' to
everything from today."
The woman thanked Uncle Ston pa and went home. While
the woman's sons were all at home, Uncle Ston pa knocked on the
door and said loudly, "I'm a fortune teller, and I'm very thirsty. May
I ask for some water?"
"No," said the old woman.
"I'll tell your fortune if you give me a bowl of water," yelled
Uncle Ston pa.
"No," said the old woman.
"I know you don't believe me," yelled Uncle Ston pa."Let me
tell your family fortune first. If I'm right, give me a bowl of water."
He chanted loudly for a few seconds and said, "You have
three sons, right?"
"No," said the old woman.
Her sons and their wives thought, "He is right," and listened
closely to the conversation.
"Your sons took your family property, leaving you an old
room and the worst field, right?"
"No," said the old woman.
Her sons and their wives looked at each other and listened
even more carefully.
"Yesterday, while your husband was plowing the field, he
found treasure and started pretending to be sick, right?"
"No," said the old woman.
Her sons and their wives looked at their father and noticed
that he was lying in bed. They wondered, "Why is Mother lying to
this fortuneteller? What he says is true!"
"The treasure is very small, but it is worth as much as all the
•364•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
properties that your village temple has, right?"
"No!" the old woman yelled back.
"You and your husband divided the treasure into several
parts and hid it in many different places, right?"
"No!" yelled the old woman again.
Her greedy sons immediately dashed out, opened the gate,
invited Uncle Ston pa inside, offered him their best tea and food,
and asked him where the treasure was and how they could find it.
Uncle Ston pa said the same thing secretly to each of the three sons,
"According to my divination, the treasures are in the room, field,
and clothes of your parents. They will give them to the kindest of
you three children."
From that day on, the three sons and their wives were very
nice to their parents. Hoping to get the treasure, the wives washed
their parents' clothes, cleaned their room, and cooked good food
daily. The sons plowed, irrigated, and carefully harvested the field
until their parents passed away.
166: TRICKING THE ABBESS AGAIN211
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
U
ncle Ston pa finally arrived at the farmer's home, whom he
had helped to grow and sell penis-shaped turnips. Uncle
Ston pa then lived with his wife, the most beautiful nun,
and his son in a new home built by the farmer.
One day, the farmer visited Uncle Ston pa and said, "My
dear savior! How are you?"
"I'm very well, my friend!" greeted Uncle Ston pa, "How are
you?"
"I'm… well," replied the farmer with some hesitation.
"Friend," said Uncle Ston pa, "You don't look well. Please tell
me what troubles you."
"You always see my heart. I…" continued the farmer, "I fell
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017 Tricking the Abbess Again in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:244-246.
211
•365•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
in love with…"
"With whom?" asked Uncle Ston pa.
"The… the abbess," replied the farmer shyly.
"Oh, my friend… haha!" Uncle Ston pa chortled. "How? How
did you fall in love with her?"
"She is kind to me," said the farmer. "Every time I bring my
turnips to the nunnery, she is always first to buy and always gives
me extra money. My mind is full of her beautiful face and warm
words these days and nights!"
"Wow! You did fall in love with her! Did you tell her that?"
said Uncle Ston pa.
"No. I can't… I'm speechless in front of her. I don't know how
to tell her my feelings."
"I understand. Don't worry, I'll teach you."
"Thank you, my dear savior!" exclaimed the farmer in
excitement, "Please teach me!"
"Sure," said Uncle Ston pa and taught the farmer the "rolling
turnip" trick. After learning all the details, the farmer thanked Uncle
Ston pa and left.
The next day, the farmer stopped going to the nunnery to
sell turnips. Before even a week had passed, the abbess came to see
him. As soon as she reached the door, the farmer started moaning
and trembling in his bed, seemingly in great pain. The abbess ran
to him and asked, "Oh! What's wrong?"
"My belly… hurts!" replied the farmer in a broken, trembling
voice.
"Oh, you're in great pain. Let me go find a doctor for you!"
said the abbess.
"No doctors! They can't help me. I've been suffering from
this stomachache for many years. There is only one way to cure it."
"How? I'll help you!" said the abbess.
"It's called 'rolling turnips','' replied the farmer.
"That's easy!" exclaimed the abbess in excitement, "You
have so many turnips here. Where should I roll the turnips?"
"Please roll the turnips on my belly very hard," replied the
•366•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
farmer.
While the abbess was rushing towards him with one turnip,
the farmer said, "One won't help. Please bring two more."
The abbess brought three turnips, placed them on the
farmer's belly, and started rolling them with her soft hands. The
farmer's penis started rising instantly, which he quickly covered
with both hands and said, "Ah…painful! Your hands are very gentle,
but it's helping! Please sit on the turnips and roll them with all your
strength."
The abbess went over, straddled the farmer, and started
rolling the turnips up and down on his belly with her buttocks.
"It's working," said the farmer, "Roll harder! Roll harder!"
An instant later, as she rolled the turnips down with her
buttocks, the turnips slipped away. The farmer uncovered his hard
penis, which pierced into her as she plopped her buttocks against
him. Feeling a sudden pain, she asked, "What's that?"
"Don't worry! It's just a turnip," replied the farmer.
She kept doing it until she climaxed.
From that day on, she visited the farmer every evening to
roll turnips on his belly. She soon became pregnant and stopped
going to the nunnery when her belly was too big to hide. A few
months later, she secretly gave birth to a lovely daughter at the
farmer's home.
167: HELPING THE FARMER AGAIN212
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
T
he abbess missed her life in the nunnery after some months
of living with the farmer. She had to do many family chores
such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, fetching water,
and so on. When she had been an abbess, all these things had been
done for her, so she decided to leave the farmer.
Noticing her discontent, the farmer consulted Uncle Ston
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Helping the Farmer Again in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:247-248.
212
•367•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
pa, who taught him three things to say. He suggested he say the first
when she was about to leave the room, the second when his friends
asked for the reason, and the third when she was about to leave with
their daughter.
One early morning while the farmer and his daughter were
playing with some toys in bed, his wife said, "My dear husband, I'm
returning to my nunnery now. Please forgive me! I don't enjoy living
here."
The farmer was shocked and didn't know what to say, but
after remembering Uncle Ston pa's suggestions, he said, "Please
don't feel sorry, dear. I understand. Let's have a farewell party with
my friends."
Happy to hear that her husband would let her go, she agreed
and started preparing a big meal. The farmer got up and went to
fetch water. On the way, he invited his friends to the party. Soon the
food was ready, his friends arrived, and the party began. During the
party, one friend asked, "Thanks a lot for this meal. May I ask what
the occasion is?"
The farmer repeated the second sentence taught by Uncle
Ston pa, "This is for my dear wife. She gave me a lovely daughter.
But, today, she is going to leave this home forever!"
All the friends were shocked and asked, "Why?"
The farmer looked at his wife, and they all gazed at her for
an answer.
She said nervously and sorrowfully, "I… I just miss my old
life!"
"Miss your old life? Haha!" the friends laughed. "Won't you
miss your lovely daughter if you leave?"
"I'll take her with me!" the wife declared.
All the friends gazed at the farmer, expecting him to say he
would miss her. But instead, he repeated the final phrase taught by
Uncle Ston pa, "Turnips belong to the farmer, not the field after the
harvest. Children are their father's, not their mother's, after their
birth! This is the nature of the world. If anyone violates it, they will
go to the darkest part of Hell!"
•368•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
His wife felt cold fear running through her body and said
brokenly, "I'm... I'm just joking. I'm not leaving!"
From that day on, she never again thought of leaving the
farmer. Instead, she lived with him and their lovely daughter for the
rest of her life.
168: TRICKING THE WIFE213
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
O
ne day, a few soldiers came and told Uncle Ston pa that
their king wanted to see him. Uncle Ston pa was not
worried about himself, but he was concerned about his
beautiful wife. He would be away for a few weeks since the king lived
far away, and he knew she was interested in an unmarried man
living in a nearby home.
Before leaving, Uncle Ston pa cautioned his wife, "Be very
careful with the man in our neighbor's home. He has a penis as big
as my leg!"
He then went to the neighbor's home and told the
unmarried man, "I know you like my wife, but be careful. She has
teeth in her vagina!"
The wife and the unmarried man were pleased to know
Uncle Ston pa was leaving. But, at the same time, they were curious
about what Uncle Ston pa had said.
That evening, Uncle Ston pa's wife couldn't sleep. She was
hoping the neighbor man would visit her, but she was also afraid
that the man had a penis as massive as Uncle Ston pa's leg, which
would kill her. So she slept with a pair of small scissors in her hand.
At midnight, when most villagers were deeply asleep, the
man snuck into Uncle Ston pa's home and was delighted to see
Uncle Ston pa's beautiful wife alone in bed. But, just as he was about
to sneak under her quilt, he remembered what Uncle Ston pa had
told him. He then slowly put his knee inside her quilt to check her
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Wife in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:249-250.
213
•369•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
vagina. As soon as his knee touched her thigh, she thought, "Oh, my!
His penis is as big as my husband's leg. It'll kill me!" and stabbed it
with the scissors.
The man screamed in pain and thought, "Oh, my! She does
have teeth in her vagina! Luckily, I put my knee in first. Otherwise,
my penis would have been cut off!"
He immediately jumped through the window and landed
like a frog, hitting the ground with his knees, hands, and forehead,
leaving clear prints. Then, he fled with a bleeding knee.
The next morning, Uncle Ston pa's wife saw these prints and
thought, "Luckily, I didn't sleep with him. Otherwise, I would've
been killed by his gigantic penis."
Looking at the print made with the man's head, she said,
"The head of his penis is as big as my head!"
Looking at prints made by the man's knees, she said, "His
testicles are as large as my knees!"
Looking at the fingerprints, she said, "Even each of his pubic
hair is as thick as one of my fingers!"
From that day on, the neighbor never again tried to sleep
with Uncle Ston pa's wife.
169: TRICKING THE KING214
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
T
he king was very curious about Uncle Ston pa after hearing
many stories of him tricking others. The king waited for
Uncle Ston pa by the river near his palace. When Uncle
Ston pa arrived, the king scrutinized him and exclaimed, "So you're
Uncle Ston pa! I don't see anything special except your curly
mustache!"
"My dear king, yes, I'm Uncle Ston pa, and I'm ordinary.
There is nothing special about me."
"I've heard many stories of you tricking my men. So I want
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the King in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:251-152.
214
•370•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
to see how you're going to trick me. If you can't trick me, I'll put you
in jail forever!" proclaimed the king.
"Oh, my dear king, please forgive me! I need my magic book
to trick people. But, unfortunately, I forgot to bring it with me."
"Where is your magic book?"
"It's at my home."
"I see. Let me send a soldier to your home to get the book
quickly!"
"I've hidden the magic book. No one can find it, not even my
wife! If you want me to trick you, please let me go and get it!"
The king wanted to see the book, so he said, "Sure, you go
back now and bring the book here as soon as possible!"
"My dear king, it took me two days to get here from my
home. May I borrow your best horse to go back to get the magic
book?"
Thinking that he'd be able to see the magic book soon if he
lent him a good horse, the king said, "Here, take my stallion. It can
run as fast as a flying eagle. You'll be able to return tomorrow
morning."
The king's stallion was startled when Uncle Ston pa got near.
Uncle Ston pa said, "My dear king, your horse doesn't like me. May
I borrow your robe, so your horse will obey me."
"Oh, yes, my horse doesn't like strangers!" said the king with
a smile. He removed his nice robe, threw it to Uncle Ston pa, and
said, "Here you go. Be quick! I can't wait to see your magic book!"
Uncle Ston pa put on the king's robe, jumped on the horse,
and galloped across the river. As soon as he reached the other side,
he yelled, "My dear king, this is how I tricked you today!"
•371•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
170: TRICKING A VILLAGE LEADER215
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
U
ncle Ston pa passed a village where he saw many beggars
lining the road on the way home. When he asked them why
they were begging, they said their greedy village leader had
taken all their property, including their pots.
Uncle Ston pa went to the village leader's home and knocked
on the gate. A servant came out and asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm the king's messenger," replied Uncle Ston pa while
dismounting from the stallion. "Tell the village leader that I have
come to borrow a pot."
The servant dashed back inside and told the village leader
that the king's messenger was outside and wanted to borrow a pot.
Surprised to hear that, the village leader went to the gate, peeked
out, and was shocked to see Uncle Ston pa riding the king's horse
and wearing the king's robe. He thought, "He must be the king's
messenger. Otherwise, how could he have such a good horse and
fine clothes? The king might give me more land if I lend him a pot!"
He greeted Uncle Ston pa and lent him a big pot. Uncle Ston
pa thanked the village leader and went home with the big pot.
The next day, he went to the village leader and returned the
big pot with a small pot inside. The village leader asked in surprise,
"What's this small pot?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you that your big pot gave birth
last night, and this is the baby pot!" said Uncle Ston pa.
"Wow! Thanks! How did this happen?" asked the village
leader.
"The stove at home always makes pots pregnant. Every time
I put a pot on it to cook food, a small pot appears the next day!"
replied Uncle Ston pa.
"Interesting!" exclaimed the greedy village leader. "I have a
gold pot. Can you help me get it pregnant?"
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking a Village Leader in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:253-255.
215
•372•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"I've never put a gold pot on my stove, but I can try," replied
Uncle Ston pa.
"Great!" said the village leader in great excitement and
handed his most precious gold pot to Uncle Ston pa.
"I'll come to visit you tomorrow at this time," said Uncle
Ston pa and left. As soon as he got home, he smashed the gold pot
into many little pieces and gave them to the poor villagers.
The next day, Uncle Ston pa took a bag of ash and went to
the village leader's home. As soon as he reached the gate, the village
leader dashed out and asked about his gold pot. While weeping,
Uncle Ston pa handed him the bag of ash and said, "My stove and
your gold pot both died last night!"
"What? How did it happen?" yelled the village leader.
"I don't know. Last night, I put your pot on my stove, used it
to cook, and went to bed as usual. This morning, I found that my
stove had collapsed, and only a pile of ash was beneath it. I think
the ash is your gold pot. It's dead!" replied Uncle Ston pa.
"How is that possible?" yelled the village leader.
"If a pot can become pregnant, it can die! My father told me
that the stove would make the pot give birth if the pot was
appropriate. Otherwise, it would turn the pot into ash and die!"
After hearing that, the village leader fainted from sadness
and regret. Uncle Ston pa apologized and left.
From that day on, the village leader was too sad to be cruel,
and the villagers started leading happy lives.
•373•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
171: TRICKING A SOLDIER216
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
s soon as Uncle Ston pa galloped away with the king's
stallion and clothes, the king sent a soldier to catch him.
Although the soldier tried his best, he couldn't catch Uncle
Ston pa the whole day because the king's stallion was the best horse
in the country.
In the evening, the soldier reached the village where Uncle
Ston pa helped the poor villagers. Uncle Ston pa noticed the soldier,
hid the king's stallion and robe, and made a flag by tying a piece of
his sash to the handle of a shovel. Disguising himself as a diviner,
he held the flag and yelled, "I'm the best diviner! I can tell you where
to find lost property and people!"
The soldier approached and asked, "Diviner! Can you truly
locate lost people?"
"Of course I can! I'm the best diviner!" said Uncle Ston pa,
"Test me if you don't believe me!"
"Really!" said the soldier doubtfully, "Then tell me who I'm
looking for!"
"That's easy!" replied Uncle Ston pa, chanting quietly while
rubbing prayer beads in his palms. "You're looking for a man in a
very nice robe with a good stallion!"
The soldier was shocked and asked, "Where can I find him?"
"I can tell you, but you won't catch him unless you speed up
your horse," replied Uncle Ston pa.
"Yes, you're right. Unfortunately, I can't catch him because
he has our king's best stallion!" said the soldier. "How can I speed
up my horse?"
"It's easy!" said Uncle Ston pa, "But what will I get if I tell
you?"
The soldier threw a bag of silver coins to him. After checking
the coins, Uncle Ston pa continued, "Great! Let me help you. Please
A
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking a Soldier in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:256-258.
216
•374•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
close your eyes and hold your horse tightly!"
When the soldier closed his eyes, Uncle Ston pa went to the
back of the horse, raised the flagstaff, and smashed the flagstaff on
the horse's buttocks with all his might. The horse whinnied,
jumped, and dashed away in pain, causing the soldier to take such
a painful tumble that it took several minutes for him to get up.
When he finally stood, he saw his horse was almost out of sight. He
exclaimed, "How did you do that? My horse is running fast!"
"Yeah, your horse can run fast because of my magic
flagstaff," replied Uncle Ston pa.
"But how am I going to catch my horse now?" asked the
soldier.
"That's easy. Turn around and close your eyes. I'll help you."
As soon as the soldier closed his eyes, Uncle Ston pa used all
his strength and hit the back of his head with his flagstaff. After the
soldier fell unconscious, Uncle Ston pa took him to the top of a hill
and left him with his flag.
It was dark when the soldier regained consciousness. He
looked around, saw a light at the bottom of the hill, and walked
down towards the light. When he got near, he heard giggling and
noticed that the light and the sounds were coming from a house
skylight. He climbed a ladder to the roof on a ladder and looked
down through the skylight. He saw a man and a woman in bed. The
woman was covering her face with a quilt and giggling. The man was
holding a lamp with one hand, lifting the end of the woman's quilt
with the other, and looking at the woman's vagina.
The woman giggled and said, "Quick! Quick! I'm cold!"
"Wait! Wait! It's amazing!" said the man, lowering the lamp
and sticking his head under the quilt.
"What do you see?" asked the woman.
"I see everything!" replied the man.
"Do you see my horse?" shouted the soldier from the roof.
•375•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
172: TRICKING THE KING AGAIN217
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰)
ot long after Uncle Ston pa arrived home, the king's soldiers
came and took him and his whole family to the king's
palace. When they reached the palace, Uncle Ston pa
started yelling and viciously beating his wife and son. The king
noticed and asked, "Why are you beating them?"
"My dear king, my stupid wife burnt my trick book while
cooking when I was away. So, sadly, I can't give you my book of
tricks."
"I see. But why are you also beating your son?" continued
the king.
"My stupid son slaughtered our family's female donkey for
food while I was away!" replied Uncle Ston pa, "Now we can't give
you butter for this year's tax."
"What? You gave me donkey butter?" exclaimed the king.
"Please don't get upset, my dear king. Our village has only
donkeys, so it is called Donkey Land. We live our life with donkeys.
We rent the male donkeys, milk the female donkeys, and slaughter
some old donkeys yearly. This is the way we live."
"You people from Donkey Land are disgusting! I never
knowingly eat donkey meat and butter."
"Sorry, dear king, but villagers in Donkey Land don't know
that. But we three can help you by removing the donkey butter and
meat in your storehouse. We all grew up with donkeys and enjoy
donkey products."
"Great idea! Come with me," the king said, led them to his
storehouse, and commanded, "Remove all the donkey products!"
"At once!" chorused Uncle Ston pa, his wife, and his son,
taking three horse loads of the best butter, meat, and cheese to their
home.
N
Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the King Again in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:259-260.
217
•376•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
173: FOREIGN ADVENTURES218
Pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན།
U
ncle Ston pa was asked to accompany a high-ranking bla
ma to Thailand and translate for him while attending a
meeting to discuss religious points of view and rituals. One
early morning, Uncle Ston pa and the bla ma went to the nearest
airport for a non-stop flight to Bangkok. Once on the plane, a
beautiful airline hostesses immediately aroused Uncle Ston pa. He
wanted to trick one of them, but passengers were forbidden to move
about the plane. Still unable to control himself, he winked at the
hostesses and did his best to behave flirtatiously when they served
drinks and food to the passengers.
The hostesses were true professionals and returned smiling
faces, which he interpreted as a keen interest on their part in
making further contact with him.
Uncle Ston pa was a bit nervous because this was his first
airplane flight. He was also afraid the bla ma might scold him, so
he could do nothing but suppress his raging lust.
After landing in Bangkok, they went to the meeting venue.
After the first day of meetings, the sponsor took all the participants
to a luxury hotel where a room had been prepared for each. Uncle
Ston pa happily rested in the hotel, where visions of the beautiful
hostesses he had encountered on the plane repeatedly appeared in
his mind.
Suddenly, a telephone rang. He answered. A low smooth,
feminine voice said, "Sawadee cup."
He understood no Thai but pretended that he did, repeating
whatever she said.
The woman said many things, and he answered, "Lags so,"
each time she paused.
Soon after the woman hung up the phone, a robust knock
sounded on the door. Uncle Ston pa opened the door and beheld a
Pad+ma dbang chen. 2017. Foreign Adventures in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:178-180.
218
•377•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
young, tall woman who was so attractive that his mouth hung open,
and his heart stopped beating for several seconds. He had never
seen such a beauty. Clutching his hand, she came into his room.
Uncle Ston pa assumed that, as a foreign woman, she was eager to
have sex with a Tibetan man. However, when the woman greeted
him in a vaguely masculine voice, Uncle Ston pa thought in surprise,
"Hm, foreign women and the young women back home are
different!"
Unable to communicate verbally, Uncle Ston pa thought it
was an excellent chance to trick a foreign woman and made various
sexual gestures. The visitor removed all her clothing except her
panties, thinking, "Stupid man! Just see how I cheat you."
After the two tricksters lay together, Uncle Ston pa noticed
that the "woman" had a penis. When the lady-boy gestured at his
bottom, Uncle Ston pa smiled. After he finished having sex with the
lady-boy and the lady-boy had left the room, Uncle Ston pa lay
contentedly, thinking he was the cleverest man in the world.
The next morning, several young volunteers came to invite
the bla ma, Uncle Ston pa, and other participants to breakfast and
a day of sightseeing. When they checked out, they learned that
Uncle Ston pa had incurred a 600 US dollar expense for the services
of a young lady-boy the previous night. A young volunteer said,
"Uncle, you spent 3,600 yuan on services last night that you'll need
to pay from your personal funds."
Uncle Ston pa was so stunned that he fell to the floor,
pretending to have lost consciousness. One of the volunteers said,
"Poor bumpkin, let's send him to the hospital. He is our
responsibility."
Uncle Ston pa smiled inwardly because he knew he had
diabetes and thought this would allow for free treatment and,
possibly, a permanent cure.
•378•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
174: UNCLE STON PA VISITS XI'AN219
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
U
ncle Ston pa heard people talking about monks from his
home community who visited big cities like Beijing and
Shanghai, where they met many wealthy people, collected
a lot of money, and bought expensive cars and houses after
returning home.
Uncle Ston pa thought about it and decided to go to Zi ling
by bus. When he arrived, he went to a store and bought an outfit of
monk's clothes. By this time, he was famished and went to the area
near the train station where many Tibetans operated businesses. He
met a man he knew and said, "Hello! What are you doing here? Such
a lucky coincidence to meet you here!"
"Yes, I'm here to buy coral. How about you?" the man
replied.
"I'm here to buy a car. I did some caterpillar fungus business
this year and earned a lot. Come and eat something with me," Uncle
Ston pa said, putting his arm around the man's shoulder.
The man trusted Uncle Ston pa and followed him to a
Tibetan restaurant where Uncle Ston pa ordered a big platter of
boiled mutton, two bowls of noodles, and a thermos of milk tea.
They enjoyed the food and tea as Uncle Ston pa talked
authoritatively about his successful business.
"I've got to go to the toilet," Uncle Ston pa said when he was
full.
His companion waited for Uncle Ston pa until it got dark.
When he didn't return, the boss forced him to pay for the food and
tea.
Meanwhile, Uncle Ston pa found a cheap hotel and was
soon blissfully asleep.
Early the next morning, he got up, put on the monk's
clothes, bought a ticket, and started his journey to Xi'an. When he
Sangs rgyas bkra shis. 2017. Uncle Ston pa Visits Xi'an in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:173-175.
219
•379•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
arrived, he asked people how to reach the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
After getting the directions he needed, he took a bus and soon
admired the large image of Tang Seng near the Pagoda, where he
sat cross-legged and pretended to chant.
Many Chinese noticed his unusual clothes and curiously
came and listened to what none of them could understand. A bit
later, Uncle Ston pa heard someone softly calling to him. He slowly
opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged woman. He spoke to her in
broken Mtsho sngon Chinese dialect, which the woman could barely
understand. She began weeping and told him that she had divorced
her husband a few days earlier and confided that this was her third
divorce. Uncle Ston pa closed his eyes, pretended to meditate, and
said, "There is something wrong with you. I can help you if you like."
The woman joyfully invited Uncle Ston pa to her luxurious
apartment, where she offered fruit and cooked and served delicious
food. After eating, belching loudly, and farting silently, Uncle Ston
pa took out an ancient scripture book and pretended to read and
chant. After a couple of hours, the woman asked Uncle Ston pa to
rest.
She cooked more food for their supper, which they ate
together. "It's already dark, and you can't easily find a hotel now. So
why not stay here tonight?" the woman suggested.
Uncle Ston pa pretended to be very reluctant, but, of course,
he eventually agreed. The woman then suggested he take a bath and
showed him to the bathroom. Uncle Ston po enjoyed bathing,
hoping his host would pay him for chanting. After finishing his bath,
Uncle Ston pa returned to the living room, where the woman was
lying on a long sofa, wearing only panties and a red bra. She held up
a big towel and rubbed Uncle Ston pa's body gently and
suggestively. Uncle Ston pa could not control himself, and they soon
made love on the thickly carpeted floor.
The next morning, neither mentioned anything about the
previous night. The woman thanked Uncle Ston pa for chanting and
gave him 5,000 yuan. Uncle Ston pa looked very regretful and sad,
gave her his cell phone number, and went to a sauna where he
•380•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
enjoyed himself. While there, he got a text message from the woman
that said, "I'm sorry to have seduced you. I heard that the monks are
very fresh and pure, and women who have sex with them will
become younger. That's why I cheated you. I've never been married.
I'm sorry."
When he finished reading this, Uncle Ston pa laughed loudly
and responded, "It's OK. Don't be sorry. I'm not a real monk. I have
three children."
175: UNCLE STON PA ASKS FOR HIS GOLD220
G.yang skyabs rdo rje གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
U
ncle Ston pa needed to go somewhere and asked his
neighbor to take care of a bag of gold while he was gone.
After Uncle Ston pa returned from his journey, he
asked his neighbor to return his gold. The neighbor gave him a bag
of sand. Uncle Ston pa opened it and asked, "How did my gold
become sand?"
The neighbor answered, "You are unlucky, so your gold
became sand."
Uncle Ston pa said nothing, understanding his neighbor had
cheated him. Uncle Ston pa waited a long time until his neighbor
got ready to go to a distant place and entrusted his three children to
Uncle Ston pa.
While the neighbor was away, Uncle Ston pa brought three
monkeys from the mountains, trained them, and gave them the
children's names.
When the neighbor returned, Uncle Ston pa called the three
children. The three monkeys presented themselves, so he gave them
to his neighbor. The frightened neighbor asked, "How did my
children become monkeys?"
Uncle Ston pa answered, "You are unlucky, so your children
Collected by G.yang skyabs rdo rje from Chos mtsho (b. 2001), Sha
rgya Village, Mgo mang Town, Mang ra County, Mtsho lho Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture. Recorded at MCSNMS, September 2016.
220
•381•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
became monkeys."
When the neighbor asked Uncle Ston pa how the monkeys
could change back into his children, Uncle Ston pa said there was
no way. Distraught, the neighbor confessed that he had stolen Uncle
Ston pa's gold, and returned the gold, so Uncle Ston pa returned the
children he had hidden.
176: BOXING A MONSTER221
Pad+ma skyid པiྨ་4ིད།
fat doctor died, leaving three sons. The youngest and
cleverest son told his two older brothers, "Our father was
killed. I'm going to find our enemy and kill him."
He left and climbed the highest nearby mountain, where he
found animal bones and bits of flesh in a cave. He sat and waited to
see who would return to the cave. A bit later, a monster came and
asked, "Who are you?"
A
221
Pad+ma skyid. 2001. Boxing a Monster in Thomas et al.:159-162.
•382•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
"I'm your brother," Youngest Brother answered.
Gullible Monster thought, "I never knew I had a brother,"
and let Youngest Brother stay with him.
Some days later, they noticed a businessman driving 300
yaks in the valley below. The first yak was very fat. Monster wanted
to kill it but said he did not know how. Youngest Brother said, "You
are silly. I'll kill it," and left.
A short time later, Youngest Brother returned carrying yak
meat. Monster said, "I thought I was powerful, but you are stronger
than I am."
Youngest Brother said, "This meat is very fat. I've never seen
meat like this before."
Monster said, "I have. I killed a fat doctor who had three
sons. His flesh was fatter than this yak's."
Youngest Brother now understood who he needed to kill,
but he said nothing.
Youngest Brother descended the mountain the next day,
met his brothers, and said, "I found our enemy. A monster lives in a
cave on a high mountain. Every day, he walks near here. Tomorrow
when he comes, beat him and then let him go."
The following day as Monster passed near the brothers'
home, the two older brothers caught him, beat him, and released
him. Monster ran back to the mountain cave, moaning in pain.
Youngest Brother asked, "What happened?"
Monster said, "Two boys beat me."
Youngest Brother said, "I will fight those two boys, but I
need a good metal box."
Monster ran outside and came back with a metal box.
Youngest Brother said, "Please open this box, and I'll get inside. If I
can't get out, I'll know it's strong enough to hold those two boys."
Monster opened the box. Youngest Brother got inside and
found that the box was solid. He could not get out, so he asked
Monster to open the box. After getting out, he said, "Please get in
the box. You are stronger than I am. Let's see how strong the box is."
After Monster got in the box, Youngest Brother locked it and
•383•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
never opened it again.
177: A MOTHER AND BABY GHOSTS222
Li Xiaoqiong 李小琼 (Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ། Drolma)
L
ong ago, a woman and her child died in childbirth in our
village. Everyone was very sad and wept bitterly. They
buried the mother with the baby inside her body. Tragedy
ensued because neither mother nor baby was dead. The woman
awoke deep in the ground and made sounds, wanting to get out, but
no one heard her. So she and her baby died, and their souls lingered
around the village as ghosts.
Village children vanished one by one as the days went by.
Nobody knew where the children had gone. Some said they had
gone together to another town. Others said the ghosts had taken
them. There was no agreed-upon explanation. Some people were
waiting for their children to return home. Some were crying as they
searched and waited for their beloved children, but no one ever saw
their children again. It seemed they had just disappeared into thin
air. People grew more anxious. The whole village looked disordered
and had a somber atmosphere. One day, they invited a famous pazi
from a neighboring village to divine where the children were.
The pazi summoned all the young, strong men of the village
to gather at the village center and told them to bring sheep, pigs,
and roosters. When the men and sacrificial animals were gathered,
the pazi cut the throat of a bright red rooster and tossed it to the
ground. Following this, he took holy water he had fetched from deep
in the forest where nobody lived and sprinkled it on the pig and
sheep. Next, he told the young men to make a big fire and stand
around it in a circle. Then, holding a religious implement
resembling a water dipper, he blew into it, making a loud sound.
Finally, he told the men to repeat what he had chanted.
Li Xiaoqiong. 2012. A Mother and Baby Ghosts in A Namuyi Tibetan
Woman's Journey from Chinese Village to Indian City to Beijing. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 30:36-38.
222
•384•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Several hours later, the pazi stopped and told the men to sit
and listen to his explanation of why the children were missing. "A
mighty mother ghost is in your village. She was buried alive and
died underground. She is full of hatred and is taking your children
in revenge."
The villagers were shocked and wondered if this could be
true. However, they followed the pazi's instructions, dug into the
woman's grave, and were shocked and worried about finding an
empty coffin. Suddenly, a man stood and asked the pazi how to
prevent the ghost from taking more children and make the ghost
leave the village permanently.
The next day, the pazi used grass to make two human
figures. One figure symbolized the mother ghost, and the other
represented the baby ghost. Everyone returned to the grave, where
the pazi ordered the women to close their eyes and block their ears.
He told the men to remove the coffin from the grave, bring it near
the fire, and put the two grass figures inside the coffin. Then he
chanted, "Oh, pitiful mother and baby, you both died for no reason.
We did not intend to kill you. Now you are taking revenge by taking
the village children. This is unacceptable. It's time to stop. I will now
burn you two and send you to Hell. You both will be banished."
After chanting, he burned the coffin and put all the ashes in
a pot. The pazi and the village men took the pot to an intersection
of three roads and buried it.
After the ritual, the pazi told the villagers that the ghosts had
been banished and would never return. He also said that no more
children would vanish. After that, everything returned to normal;
from then on, corpses were cremated.
•385•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
178: CAPTURED BY GHOSTS223
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
Gdugs dkar described how ghosts had captured her. Afterward, we were so scared
that we dared not go outside, even during the daytime. It happened when the sun
nearly hid behind West Mountain just as we drove our cattle home. The sunshine
is not bright then. Local people call dusk "the time of sunshine for ghosts."
ll the cattle came home except one belonging to Gdugs
dkar, who went searching for it in the forest above our
village. She looked everywhere but could not find it. To her
surprise, she heard someone calling her name from deep in the
forest. Walking toward the sound, the more distant the sound
became. About to turn back, she heard someone invisible talking
nearby.
By the Three Jewels! She realized it was a ghost, a hairraising truth, but it was too late. Invisible ghosts gripped her
shoulders tightly and began leading her away. While putting dust in
her mouth, the ghosts said, "This is rtsam pa; eat it. We must take
good care of her, or her family will be angry with us when we take
her back."
It seemed they were kind. They gave her tree bark and said,
"This is bread. Eat it. You won't be hungry."
Gdugs dkar understood what the ghosts were saying, but she
could not reply nor see the many ghosts walking with her. They
chatted, were full of laughter, and walked so fast that she could
barely keep up. They pulled her roughly when she lagged.
When it was entirely dark, and Gdugs dkar had not returned
home, her worried husband called some villagers to help search for
her. Elders guessed ghosts had captured her and suggested shouting
her name as loudly as possible in the forest to frighten the ghosts
away. Elders stayed home, chanted ma Ni, and prayed to the Lord
Buddha to release her from the ghosts as young people went to the
forest and called her name, frightening the ghosts, who said to each
A
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring. 2012. Captured by Ghosts in A Zorgay Tibetan
Childhood. Asian Highlands Perspectives 17:99-100.
223
•386•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
other, "People are here for her. Let's leave her, or we'll be in
trouble."
Gdugs dkar regained consciousness, responded to the
villagers' calls after the ghosts released her, reported everything
that had happened, and fainted as soon as she returned to her
home.
Villagers put a thang ka on her head and burned a small
piece of cloth from a venerable bla ma's clothing to awaken her. She
could not speak when she regained consciousness. She could not
even open her mouth very wide. Elders say that if ghosts catch you
for one or two days, you lose your ability to talk for life. In time,
however, Gdugs dkar got better and finally became her old self.
She was fortunate. In another village, a woman caught by
ghosts died two days after they released her.
179: PULLED BY A GHOST224
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
I heard many different stories about ghosts in my home area. Grandmother told
me that if ghosts caught you, you could go anywhere, even walk through walls, and
the ghosts pulled you roughly behind them. One of my cousins told me this story
related to a poplar tree planted by a man who died some years ago along the road
to our village. When we reach the tree, we usually rest there.
I
t was late and very dark when I started home from a day of
shopping in the main township town. I walked fast, hoping
to reach home quickly and not worry my parents. I heard a
bird flapping away from the tree. I felt sorry for the bird because it
is bad karma to frighten a bird at night. I murmured the six-syllable
mantra under my breath and stood ready to continue my journey
home. Suddenly, I saw the man who had planted the tree. Every
single hair on my body stood up. I was about to run, but someone
grabbed my shoulders. I was terrified and couldn't move. No one
was there when I looked over my shoulder. I tried to shout, but I
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring. 2012. Pulled by a Ghost in A Zorgay Tibetan
Childhood. Asian Highlands Perspectives 17:100-101.
224
•387•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
couldn't make a sound. My legs were as heavy as if stones were
weighing them down.
I ensured my back was well covered, but I felt I was being
pulled backward. I struggled with all my might to walk forward. The
ghost following me whispered to me, but I couldn't understand. I
heard the crying of women and children who seemed to be walking
beside me, yet I couldn't see them. I was too afraid to chant
scriptures or murmur ma Ni to frighten them away. The ghost
whistled as he tossed pebbles and dust at me. A dog barked when I
saw our village, and he stopped following me. I felt better, and it
seemed that no one was pulling me anymore.
180: VANQUISHING GHOSTS225
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
T
he story about the poplar tree ghosts made us afraid when
we passed it on our way to and from school. Elders also
worried and asked our bla ma to exorcize the ghost so we
could live peacefully. The bla ma knew everyone who had died in
our village and made a list of those he thought had not yet been
reborn as sentient beings. It was a matter of great joy for us that
Mother's name was not on the list. The bla ma and the monks who
came with him chanted scriptures for nearly four days in
preparation for the battle against evil beings. The bla ma gathered
all the villagers in a house where he chanted scripture on the fifth
night. No matter your age, you were expected to come, even babies.
Villagers were to leave their doors unlocked or open.
The bla ma chose seven people born in the most ferocious
animal years, such as the Year of the Dragon and the Year of the
Tiger, and ordered them to run with a monk with a big leather bag
and iron chains tied loosely around him. The bla ma told them in
which direction to run. Those seven also carried various
implements. Father held two short wooden sticks in one hand and
Mkha' 'gro tshe ring. 2012. Vanquishing Ghosts in A Zorgay Tibetan
Childhood. Asian Highlands Perspectives 17:101-102.
225
•388•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
a half-burned piece of firewood in the other. He ran and marked
whatever his sticks touched. Another man held a large hammer and
a sword to frighten the ghosts. It was difficult for them because they
had to run a lot.
The bla ma chanted inside the house with an angry
expression. He told men to run everywhere the ghosts were hiding.
Once again, without anyone telling the bla ma, he told them which
family's house to run to and described the family, the color of their
livestock, and so on. He was always right. Other villagers stayed in
the house and whistled as loudly as their skill allowed, luring the
ghosts into that house and creating a ghost hall.
The ghosts were captured in the big leather bag. When the
runners returned to the bla ma, they opened the bag for the bla ma
to inspect, but we were blind to whatever he saw. Inside the bag
were pieces of wood with black lines drawn on them. The bla ma
chanted over those pieces every time the men ran out and returned.
They ran back and forth like this for quite some time.
Many women shouted frantically, pulled their hair, became
hysterical, and were so strong that young villagers could not hold
them down. When they were pulled to the bla ma, he hit their back
once with his fist, and they calmed down. How incredible he was! At
last, the bla ma said, "Well done! All the devils have been captured."
Only then could he and the runners rest. When we all
returned to our homes, we found they were disordered by people
running around inside.
The bla ma said he could bury the captured ghosts in a hole,
but this was not ideal because we would hear the ghosts moan after
many years passed. So he burned the pieces of wood from inside the
bag. Afterward, no one saw a ghost. There was not even a single
rumor about a ghost. We were grateful to the bla ma for helping us.
Afterward, students were no longer afraid as they went to and from
school.
•389•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
181: THE'U RANG226
Rdo rje tshe brtan 9ོ་:ེ་ཚ8་བ]ན།
any years ago, a very clever boy lived with his old mother.
They had only rtsam pa and black tea for their meals and
had no livestock. Their lives depended on the few fields
they cultivated near the village. After working in the fields all day,
the boy went to a village water mill where his mother was grinding
barley. He watched the upper grindstone turn on the lower
grindstone, grinding the barley into flour that softly fell on a board.
"These grindstones are wonderful! They grind whatever you
add. They're valuable for our village, especially a poor family like us,
aren't they?" the boy said as he put barley flour into a bag.
"Only our poor family uses this watermill. Others no longer
use it," replied his mother, putting the last of the roasted barley into
the hole of the upper grindstone.
"I would take these grindstones home if I were strong
enough because we are the only ones who use this mill in our
village," the boy said.
His mother laughed and said, "What a good idea! It would
be convenient for us, but how would you move them to our
courtyard?"
"I don't know," the boy replied, took the barley flour, and
went home, where they ate simple food, wore simple clothes, lived
in a simple room as usual, and slept in a simple bed as usual.
The next morning, when the boy went out to pee, he was
astonished to see the grindstones in the courtyard. He wondered
who had put them there, why, and how? He hurried to his mother
to report what he had seen. "They do not belong to us; the villagers
will certainly find them. We must put them back as quickly as
possible, " his mother said regretfully.
"How can we put them back?" the boy asked.
"We must put them back before the villagers notice," she
M
Rdo rje tshe brtan. 2012. The'u rang in A Thewo Tibetan Childhood.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 22:35-38.
226
•390•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
said.
"Yes, we must, or the village will surely fine us heavily," the
boy said, covering the grindstones with a large, tattered cloth. They
locked the outside gates securely and stayed quietly inside the home
without even making a fire the whole day.
Meanwhile, some village families wanted to be rich and
wanted a the'u rang because they were extremely poor and because
rich people denigrated them. The'u rang are terrified of fire and
light. Sacred scriptures on prayer flags and ma Ni-stones are like a
big fire, especially scripture chanting. The'u rang flee when they see
them. Afterward, the'u rang call to the family they had helped from
a far distance. "What has happened to our family? Who did this?"
When family members hear this, they must answer
convincingly, "Our house burned in an accidental fire. We don't
know what caused this fire. We don't know how we will live from
this day onward. Please flee and never return."
The family continues this religious ritual for seven days.
Finally, the'u rang leave that place forever. If the family is unlucky
and does not know how to trick the'u rang, they return after several
months and burn their home and everything they have helped them
accumulate. Certain families do not want to have the'u rang
because they are terrified of their homes burning after they become
wealthy.
The boy entered the courtyard the following day and saw
that only the large cloth remained. The grindstones were gone. The
boy realized this was done by the'u rang that elders talked about
and rushed inside to tell his mother. They soon began to benefit
from things the'u rang brought from outside the home. The boy first
asked for daily necessities. They received all they requested.
Gradually, they obtained furniture like that in wealthy homes, and
the boy eventually married a beautiful woman with whom he had
two sons in three years. Several years later, the boy's family became
far more prosperous than any other local family. The boy and his
family had everything they desired.
One beautiful morning, the family was having breakfast
•391•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
when the mother said mournfully, "I had a nightmare last night. A
giant with wild hair and a sword came and killed us all. Blood was
everywhere in the courtyard. He set fire to our home and fled as the
villagers stood, laughing happily in front of our gate."
"We must do something quickly. What a bad omen! How can
we avoid the'u rang?" the son said.
"We must ask for things that are very difficult to obtain," his
mother said.
"Perhaps we could ask for things that never existed in the
past or present, but things that people often wonder about," the son
suggested.
"A rabbit's horn, a frog's tooth, a snake's horn, a horse's
wings, and turtle hair are the five treasures. I don't think there are
such things. People have said that such things may be found far
across the oceans but are very difficult to get. We can ask for such
things," the mother decided.
The son did as his mother instructed. The'u rang listened as
usual to what they requested. When the'u rang left, they invited the
local monastery's incarnate bla ma and other monks to chant
Buddhist scriptures. Villagers brought the Bka' 'gyur and Bstan
'gyur from the local monastery and spread the volumes in their
courtyard. Older people chanted the Six Sacred Syllables while
young villagers put sacred prayer flags around the home. They held
religious ceremonies for seven days. In the late afternoon of the
seventh day, the bla ma, monks, and villagers chanted as the blue
sky grew dark. The'u rang yelled from far away, on the other side of
the west mountain, "What has happened to our home? Who set fire
to our house? I cannot come to help you. What should I do?"
The son shouted, "All of our possessions and home were
burnt. We saved nothing from the fire. We must move to another
place. We don't know who made this fire. We will leave and never
return. We have no home from this day onwards."
"I have what you requested, found across the ocean. I will
put them here. Come and take them if you wish. I will leave and
never return," the'u rang said sorrowfully, leaving forever.
•392•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Finally, the son lived happily in this area for the remainder
of his life. His family was the richest in the world, with five treasures
unlike any other. People still talk about those five treasures.
182: A NINE-HEADED MONSTER227
Lha 'brug rgyal L་འQག་?ལ།
king had two wives. One was Yum mtsho, who had two
lovely children. The girl was Chos kyi lha mo, and the boy
was Rnam rtog rgya mtsho. The other wife, Mtsho lha, was
childless and hated Yum mtsho's children. She often thought of
cruel ways to kill Yum mtsho's children, but her plans failed.
One day Mtsho lha pretended to be so sick she could not get
out of bed. This went on for many days. It seemed she would soon
die. The king was frightened and called for the best doctors in the
country to come and cure his ill wife. They examined her but could
A
Lha 'brug rgyal. 2001. A Nine-Headed Monster in Thomas et al.:253258.
227
•393•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
do nothing to make her better. After the doctors left, Mtsho lha said,
"Great King, I am sorry to tell you I must eat your two children's
hearts. If I don't, I will die soon. Oh, great King, help me…"
Although the king did not want to kill his children, he greatly
loved Mtsho lha and finally ordered his executioner to kill them and
take their hearts. The executioner was kind and hated to kill
children. He said to the children, "Run away. Mtsho lha wants to eat
your hearts. I am supposed to kill you, but I cannot. Please run as
far away as you can and never return."
It was a hot day with a brightly shining sun as the children
began running. Meanwhile, the executioner killed two dogs and
took their hearts to Mtsho lha.
The children became very thirsty. Finally, Rnam rtog rgya
mtsho was so thirsty that he was too weak to walk. His sister had to
carry him. She carried him for two days and two nights. On the third
day, they reached a black tent belching smoke. Outside the tent, an
old woman was making butter. "Please give us some water,
Grandmother," said Chos kyi lha mo. "We are very thirsty."
"I can't. I have no water on such a hot day," replied the old
woman in a low, angry voice."
Suddenly Rnam rtog rgya mtsho fainted. He was almost
dead from thirst. The girl begged the old woman to look after her
brother while she went to look for water. At last, she found a stream
behind a small hill. She quickly drank ten mouthfuls of water, took
another mouthful, and rushed back to her brother. When she
reached the tent, she found her brother had vanished, and the old
woman was happily counting money.
"Where is my brother?" Chos kyi lha mo demanded.
"A rich man bought him. He said he would care for him,"
said the old woman in a quavering voice.
Chos kyi lha mo felt very sad and sorry for her poor brother
and wept for a long time.
Chos kyi lha mo reached Dur mdo Town in Spring five years
later. She went to the big, beautiful house of a rich man and begged
for food. Looking through the door, she saw a boy resembling her
•394•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
brother. He stared and ran to her. They embraced and wept. Chos
kyi lha mo had found her brother!
The rich man allowed the brother and sister to live together
in his home, so they had a good life together for ten years. Rnam
rtog rgya mtsho became brave, strong, and handsome during this
time.
When Rnam rtog rgya mtsho was nineteen, he told his sister
that he had decided to kill Mtsho lha and must return to their
parents' home. He set off.
One evening, Rnam rtog rgya mtsho reached the palace
where the king and queen lived. He could see nothing moving in the
palace. Skeletons were lying everywhere. Too frightened to look at
them, he moved quietly as he looked for his parents. When he came
to a bedroom, he saw the king lying sadly in his bed. His poor father
was so thin that you could see his bones.
When Rnam rtog rgya mtsho was about to speak to his
father, he felt the air move. Someone was coming! He hid under a
table in the bedroom just as a terrible nine-headed monster
appeared. As she neared the king, each of her nine heads smiled
evilly. She said something, and the ground began trembling. She
sucked the king's blood, smiled, and flew into the forest.
After the monster left, Rnam rtog rgya mtsho called to his
father and began weeping. When the king saw his son, he cried, "You
must not stay here. Leave at once. The monster will devour your
heart!"
"I will kill her," said Rnam rtog rgya mtsho.
"No. You can't. Don't risk your life. Leave quickly," said the
king.
Rnam rtog rgya mtsho left his father, returned to the rich
man's house, and told his sister and the rich man everything he had
seen in the palace. His sister was too afraid to speak. Rnam rtog rgya
mtsho asked the rich man, "Do you have a sword sharp enough to
cut off nine heads at once?"
"Yes," replied the rich man.
"Do you have a torch strong enough to make a forest burn in
•395•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
three directions?" asked Rnam rtog rgya mtsho.
"Yes," replied the rich man.
Night came. Rnam rtog rgya mtsho took the sword and the
torch, returned to his father's bedroom, hid behind the door, and
waited for the monster to arrive. Hours passed. Rnam rtog rgya
mtsho swung his sword when she appeared, slashing off eight of her
nine heads. The frightened monster ran into the forest as fast as she
could. Rnam rtog rgya mtsho followed. However, when he reached
the forest, the monster was nowhere to be found.
He took out his torch and started a fire in three directions.
The monster was in the middle of the forest and tried to escape. She
ran to the east, but all she saw was fire. She ran to the west, but all
she saw was fire. Rnam rtog rgya mtsho was waiting with his sword
when she ran south. As she ran back toward the forest's center, she
found herself surrounded by fire. She could not escape and
screamed horribly as the greedy flames consumed her.
Rnam rtog rgya mtsho saved his father, but it was too late
for his mother. The monster had killed her many years earlier. Chos
kyi lha mo, Rnam rtog rgya mtsho, and their father lived together
again happily. They always remembered the monster with nine
heads. They also praised Buddha for giving them a calm life.
•396•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
183: HUMAN-SON LEHWHEROW AND SKY-NAHGOOME
DESCENDANTS228
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; lu11 tʙu53 a53 zo44 mbʐə44 m̩55, teller
I collected and translated stories 184-193 that were told to me in the
na53 mʑi53 Tibetan language. See Libu Lahki et al. (2009) for details
about the tellers and locations where I collected these stories, which
are presented in the na53 mʑi53 Tibetan language (IPA), English, and
Chinese.
L
ong ago, the youngest of three brothers was named ManSon Lehwherow. The brothers often opened new land, cut
down trees and bushes, used a long-handled pick to dig up
the soil, scattered the trees and bushes on the new fields, burned
them to fertilize the fields with the ash, and then used a longhandled mattock to turn the soil over to mix the ash with the soil
and loosen the soil.
One day, after eating a meal at home, they returned to their
fields and were surprised to find that the fields that they had dug up
the first time had been flattened, as though they had done no
digging at all. The three sons were very puzzled about this. When
evening came and they had finished re-digging the new land, they
hid behind some trees and watched. A short while later they saw an
old man bring a metal walking stick to the fields and used it to
overturn the soil and pack it back down.
The brothers caught the old man and the oldest brother said,
"Let's kill him quickly."
The middle brother said, "Let's tie him to a tree."
The youngest brother said, "He's so pitiful, let's not kill
him."
The brothers asked the old man, "Why did you come here
Materials not originally in the stories but understood by the local
teller and their audience were added to make the stories be more
accessible to a general English-reading audience.
228
•397•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and do this?"
The old man said, "Soon, water will bubble up, fill the earth
and drown everyone who lives in the world, so what is the point of
digging up fields?"
The three brothers were frightened and asked, "What
should we do?"
The old man said, ''The eldest brother should make a metal
boat, the middle brother should make a wooden boat, and the
youngest brother should make a leather boat. When the floods
come, each of you jump into your own boat."
Later, floods really did come. The eldest brother jumped in
his metal boat, the middle brother jumped into the wooden boat
and the youngest brother and their younger sister, Shosho Bahme,
jumped inside the leather boat. The two elder brothers' boats were
heavy and sank, leaving only the youngest brother and Shosho
Bahme.
Only Lehwherow and Shosho Bahme were alive in the world
after the water receded. Everybody else had drowned. They were
very hungry and walked and walked. After seven days and seven
nights passed, they saw two columns of smoke. One column was
dense, and one was thin. Lehwherow took out his flute and gave it
to Shosho Bahme. He kept his knife and the flute bag. Shosho
Bahme kept the flute and the knife's sheath. Lehwherow walked
toward the dense column of smoke and Shosho Bahme walked
toward the thin column of smoke.
Elder Brother reached the home sending out a dense column
of smoke and peered through the door crack. He saw a child and
many human corpses. It was a family of man-killing ghosts, which
terrified Lehwherow.
Lehwherow asked the child, "Where are your parents?"
The ghost child said, "We didn't pull two corpses out of the
water. My parents went looking for them in the valley."
Lehwherow was even more frightened when he heard this.
He ran and ran and lived by eating tree and bamboo leaves. In time
he came to a riverbank, heard a flute, slowly went toward it, and
•398•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
found a girl who was weeping while playing the flute. She asked,
"Have you seen my brother?"
Lehwherow asked, "Have you seen my sister?"
Then each recognized the other because of the knife, sheath,
flute, and flute bag they carried. Shosho Bahme took Lehwherow to
her husband's home. Before they arrived, Shosho Bahme said, "You
must eat only one mouthful of food after Father-in-law eats three
mouthfuls."
Lehwherow was so hungry that he forgot what Shosho
Bahme had told him and ate very quickly. Shosho Bahme's fatherin-law, Jebuh, then angrily beat Lehwherow to death.
Shosho Bahme sobbed to Jebuh, "I am your son's wife. I
fetch water and cook meals, but you have killed my brother. I will
no longer be your son's wife."
Jebuh scolded, "Go wherever you like. If there is no one to
make a fire, then crows know how to make cooking fires very well;
if there is no one to fetch water, then frogs are very able to carry
water; if there is no one to grind grain, then dragons are very able
to grind grain and if there is no one to herd goats, then pheasants
can herd the goats."
After Shosho Bahme fled, wild animals came to help Jebuh.
Although crows knew how to make fires, they didn't know how to
add fuel to the fire; frogs knew how to fetch water but they didn't
know how take a shoulder pole off their shoulders; dragons knew
how to grind grain but they didn't know how to put seeds into the
millstone hole; and while pheasants knew how to herd goats, they
didn't know how to keep the goats together and bring them back
home.
Jebuh's wife said, "Only Shosho Bahme knows how to care
for the family. We must find her and bring her back at once."
Jebuh had no choice but to bring Lehwherow back to life.
After Lehwherow was alive again, Shosho Bahme returned home
and was very worried about finding a wife for her brother.
One day as Lehwherow was picking fruit from trees, he
noticed Sky-father-in-law's seven daughters wearing feather wings
•399•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
flying down to a lake to bathe. Lehwherow was immediately
attracted to the youngest daughter, Nahgoome, and hid her feather
wings after she removed them and entered the lake. The other girls
left when they finished bathing, but Nahgoome could not.
Nahgoome saw Lehwherow and asked, "Did you see my
wings?"
Lehwherow said, "Your wings were hidden in a clump of
nettles by the mice."
Nahgoome said, "I'll marry whoever brings my wings to
me."
Nahgoome took Lehwherow back to her home in the sky
when she found her wings but dared not tell anyone about
Lehwherow. She hid him behind a mill and secretly took him food.
One day, when Sky-mother-in-law came to grind grain,
Lehwherow supposed it was his wife and stood up. Sky-mother-inlaw was so frightened that she screamed again and again because,
in those days, human beings were covered with hair, just
like monkeys. Sky-father-in-law came running when he heard Skymother-in-law screaming, grabbed Lehwherow by the hair and
jerked him out of his hiding place. They decided to cook and eat
him. They emptied their metal rice steamer, filled the pot under the
steamer with water and boiled it. After the hot water boiled, Skyfather-in-law scalded Lehwherow with it. At this time Nahgoome
returned and stopped them. Only a little hair remained on
Lehwherow's head and in his armpits, where the hot water did not
reach. This explains why people today are no longer hairy.
Nahgoome then explained in great detail who Lehwherow
was and why he had come to their home. Father-in-law didn't want
his daughter to be Lehwherow's wife and said to Lehwhereow, "You
go open up nine pieces of land for farming and then I'll give my
daughter to you," because he was sure it as a task Lehwherow would
be unable to do.
Lehwherow was frightened and said, "Who can do this? I
cannot. I will return home."
Nahgoome said, "Take nine mattocks to the edge of the land
•400•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and say, 'You nine mattocks dig, dig nine fields.' You don't need to
do any digging."
Lehwherow did as Nahgoome said, and the land became
nine fields. Then Lehwherow said, "Father-in-law will you now give
me your daughter?"
Father-in-law said, "Return and burn the wood and bushes
on those nine new fields."
Nahgoome said to Lehwherow, "Light nine torches, put
them on the edge of the fields and say, 'You nine torches burn, burn
nine fields.'"
Lehwherow went to the fields, lit nine torches, put them on
the edge of the nine fields and said, "You nine torches burn, burn
nine fields," and the bushes and trees all burned.
Lehwherow returned to Father-in-law and said, "The wood
and bushes on the fields are all burned, will you now give your
daughter to me?"
Sky-father-in-law said, "You finished burning all the
bushes? Then go turn the land over to put the ash inside the
ground," which made Lehwherow shake his head hopelessly.
Nahgoome said, "Take nine mattocks, put them at the
field edges and say, 'You nine mattocks overturn, overturn nine
fields.'"
Lehwherow went to the fields, did as Nahgoome had
instructed, returned to Father-in-law, and said, "I finished
overturning the fields."
Father-in-law said, "Take nine packets of buckwheat seeds
and sow them."
Lehwherow asked Nahgoome what to do. Nahgoome said,
"Don't worry, don't worry. Take the nine packets of seeds, put them
at the edge of the nine fields and say, 'You nine packets of
buckwheat seeds sow, sow nine fields.'"
As before, Lehwherow went to the fields and did as
Nahgoome instructed. He said, "Sow your nine packets of
buckwheat seeds, sow nine fields," and the sowing was finished in a
moment. Lehwherow went back to Father-in-law and said, "I
•401•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
finished sowing the buckwheat seeds."
Sky-father-in-law said, "If you collect the buckwheat seeds
that you planted, then I will give my daughter to you."
Lehwherow found Nahgoome and said, "Your father will
never let us marry."
Nahgoome said, "Don't leave if you really love me. One day
he will agree. Now take nine sacks and say, 'You nine sacks collect,
collect nine fields of buckwheat seeds.'"
Lehwherow collected the seeds according to Nahgoome's
instruction, but three buckwheat seeds were missing. Sky-father-inlaw said to Lehwherow, "If you don't bring me those three missing
buckwheat seeds, I will not give my daughter to you."
Lehwherow said, "How can I find those three missing
buckwheat seeds?"
Nahgoome asked, "Was there anything there when you were
collecting buckwheat seeds?" Lehwherow said, "A turtledove was
there."
Nahgoome said, "Shoot it when it returns tomorrow
morning."
The next morning, Lehwherow took a gun and aimed at the
turtledove on a tree branch but, he didn't know how to fire the gun.
He shot the turtledove only after Nahgoome hit his hand.
Lehwherow took the three missing buckwheat seeds from the
turtledove's crop, went to Sky-father-in-law and gave him the
three buckwheat seeds.
Father-in-law said, "Find your mother-in-law and bring her
229
here."
Lehwherow was again at a loss and didn't know what to do.
Nahgoome said, "This evening, hug the neck of the sheep that is
in front of the flock and say, 'Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law.'"
That evening Lehwherow hugged the neck of the sheep in
the front of the flock and said, "Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law," and
229
Sky Father-in-law and Sky Mother-in-law could transform themselves
into various animal forms. In this instance, Sky Father-in-law wanted
Lehwherow to find out which animal they were to gauge his intelligence.
•402•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
thus found Mother-in-law.
Lehwherow asked, "Father-in-law, is it time for you to give
your daughter to me?"
Father-in-law said, "Find and bring me back."
Lehwherow said to Nahgoome, "What should I do?"
Nahgoome said, "This evening, hug the yak in the
front of the herd and say, 'Father-in-law, Father-in-law.'"
Lehwherow thus found Sky-father-in-law, who was at a loss
and said, "Don't come back home from today." Then Sky-father-inlaw's family gave the new couple grain and livestock, and they got
ready to return to earth.
Sky-mother-in-law warned, "You two mustn't make a single
sound on your way to earth."
The two drove their livestock, took their grain, and started
down to earth to start a new family. Nahgoome was very sad and
started singing when they reached Semyahnee Pass, 230 which
made all the livestock run away. Nahgoome used her skirt and
quickly covered as many of the escaping animals as she could. The
livestock that Namyi raise today are descended from those covered
by Nahgoome's skirt. Wild animals are descended from those that
Nahgoome didn't cover on Semyahnee Pass that day.
They drove the livestock that Nahgoome had covered on
down to earth. Life there was very difficult because they didn't know
how to irrigate fields and they mixed all the seeds together that they
had brought with them and planted them. Also, Nahgoome did not
become pregnant. They did not know how to build a house, so they
lived in a hut made of branches. They dared not ask Sky-father-inlaw for help. When Crow visited their home one day, they asked
Crow for help and gave it nine cups of tears. When Crow got halfway to Sky-father-in-law's home it felt very hot and drank all the
tears. After reaching Sky-father-in-law's home Crow said, "Your
daughter's family is amazingly rich," which delighted Father-in-law
and Mother-in-law.
230
Semyahnee Pass is between the sky and the earth.
•403•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Then Crow said, ''Your daughter's family is so rich that they
burn pork for fuel and use grain to clean up shit."
Sky-father-in-law was enraged when he heard this, drove
Crow away and sent three groups of tigers and three groups of wild
boars down to the earth to destroy what little grain Lehwherow and
Nahgoome had managed to save.
One day Bat came to Lehwherow and Nahgoome's home and
said it could take a message to Sky-father-in-law's home and asked
for only nine teardrops. Bat gave the teardrops to Sky-father-inlaw and Mother-in-law and reported what had really happened
down on earth. When Bat finished talking, Sky-father-in-law and
Mother-in-law were unsure what to do. When it came time to sleep
that night, Bat said he would sleep outside and hung from a spear
that was inserted in the center of Sky-father-in-law's home
courtyard. A bit later, Bat flew secretly to the bed where Sky-fatherin-law and Mother-in-law lay together.
At midnight, Sky-mother-in-law talked about her daughter,
Nahgoome: ''Don't they know to place three stones on the hearth if
there are no children? Don't they know they should put up columns
and build if they don't know house construction? Don't they know
they should make irrigation ditches if the harvest is poor?''
Then Sky Father-in-law noticed Bat and was so angry that
he picked up a pestle and threw it at Bat, flattening his nose, which
explains why bats have flat noses today. Bat then asked if SkyFather-in-law had three bad messages or three good messages but
received only silence in reply. Bat returned to earth and repeated
what it had heard. It was only after this that humans were able to
live well and multiply.
This also explains why bats are viewed positively and crows
are viewed negatively.
•404•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
184: FAMILY CLAN
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; mbʐə44 m̩55, teller
H
uman-son Lehwherow and Sky-Nahgoome had nine sons
and seven daughters that became sixteen families. The nine
sons were not very filial, which made Sky-father-in-law so
angry that he sent floods. After the floodwater receded, the sun
shone, and the earth was so hot that it cracked. The only humans
who remained alive were Sky-Nahgoome and Human-son
Lehwherow's youngest son and youngest daughter.
Sister said, "The two of us should become a family."
Brother said, "We will each carry a millstone to a
mountaintop and roll them down. If the two millstones join
together in the valley, then we will marry."
Next, one went up one side of a mountain valley and the
other went up another side of the same valley and rolled the two
millstones down into the valley. When they walked into the valley,
they found that one millstone was on top of the other one - a perfect
match. They thought, "The two millstones have come together
perfectly so we must marry."
They were very happy after they married. Later, it was time
for Sister to give birth, but she could not. Two more months passed
and out of Sister passed what looked like cow excrement. This upset
them so much that they both wept loudly. After three days and three
nights passed, Sister said to her husband, "Take this and go here
and there. Put one scoop here and stick one scoop there."
Brother took it and went everywhere, putting blobs of it here
and there. When he finished, he sadly slept where he had put the
last blob.
When woke, he found a family at each place where he had
put a blob. Columns of smoke rose here and there. They named the
families Tree where the blobs had been put on trees and Stone
where the blobs had been stuck on stones.
Now, we, these Li families and Wang families, trace our
•405•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
names to that time. People are descended from families created at
that time.
185: AHPEE RAHNGAHN
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ndzə53 tʰʙu11, teller
L
ong ago a very powerful Namyi man named Ahpee
Rahngahn was born in a place that is now called Nan
Loocha. He had magic powers and could not be killed
though the Han people tried very hard to do so. Later, the Han
brought the daughter of a Han lord and gave her to Ahpee
Rahngahn. Later, they had a daughter. Even when the daughter was
old enough to walk Ahpee Rahngahn refused to explain to his wife
his secret; how he did not die when he was chopped to pieces by the
Han but became whole again.
One New Year's Eve, Ahpee Rahngahn thought, "She is now
my real wife so I will tell her the truth." Then he drank, became
drunk and said to his wife, "From tonight on I will trust you. One
of the roots of my soul is in the Hasahbumy Mountains, one is in
the Daya Mountains, one is in the Ondro Ahahku Mountains, one is
in the Loogoo Yeeneeme Mountains, one is in the Chalahma
Mountains, one is in the Nibo Zibo Mountains, one is with Mother,
and one is with you. The one with you is under the hearth stone
here."
His wife had no time to go and bring back a pen, so she bit
off half of her little finger and, with her blood, quickly wrote what
her husband had just revealed to her. Then she said, "You are very
powerful. Can you shoot a letter about our New Year celebration to
the third door of my father's home?"231
He said, "How easy! If there were ten doors, I could shoot
through them all. Put the letter on my arrow."
231
Long ago, kings lived in houses with three doors or entrances. The
outer two were huge gates and the king lived inside the third or inner
entrance.
•406•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The wife took the letter, put it on the arrow tip and he shot
it through the three doors. The paper was not even a little torn. This
ancient arrow was so powerful that it could reach and kill people
who had been walking away from the arrow for a month.
After receiving the letter, the lord's family's soldiers dug in
the places he had mentioned for the roots of his soul. They dug in
today's Hasahbumy Mountains for more than a month but found
nothing. Each day they went to dig in the mountains and the next
day when they returned, the places where they had dug were filled
in. It seemed no one had ever dug there. The root of his soul, they
believed, was inside the mountain and if they could cut it, then
Ahpee Rahngahn would die. Then one night the solders said, "We
will soon leave and not dig anymore."
Then an old man who had forgotten his pipe near the place
where the soldiers were digging went back to get it and heard the
root of Ahpee Rahngahn's soul saying to itself, "Oh, they are very
near me."
Then the old man yelled, "Come back quickly!" and called
the soldiers back. They dug for just a moment and the black root of
his soul appeared. The soldiers cut it and a huge amount of blood
gushed out, drowning all the soldiers. The blood covered the soil
and stones of the Hasahbumy Mountains, which explains their red
color. Other soldiers then set out to catch Ahpee Rahngahn but they
could not. Though he was without the root of his soul, he was still
very powerful.
He was chased from Nan Loocha. He passed by and above
the Dayi Mountains. One valley was just one step of his horse. After
reaching Tholo, Ahpee Rahngahn leapt to Makahlo, where you can
see his horse's footprint on a stone. From Qimgo he went on and
reached Luma where the Han soldiers who were pursuing him
found his footprints. This is why Han call Lu ma 'Lizhou'.232 They
went further up in the area and then found new footprints, so they
232
In Sichuan Chinese Dialect, li 礼 means 'found something,' which
explains why Lizhou 礼州 was so named.
•407•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
called that place Xinhua. 233 They continued and reached 'Lugu'
where they lost the footprints. The name Lugu comes from this
story.234
Later, the soldiers caught and bound him in chains. When
they almost reached the Hasahbumy Mountains, Ahpee Rahngahn
said, "I'm thirsty," so they let him drink. When he put his head down
to drink, he drank and drank and didn't stop.
The soldiers said, "This is not good," looked into the water
and saw two dragons that had come to save him. They had almost
swallowed him with their wide-open mouths. He would have been
swallowed by the dragons and saved if the soldiers had waited a
moment longer.
The soldiers pulled him back up with the chains, took him
to the lord's place and killed him.
186: LIBU DANDEE
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ndzə53 tʰʙu11, teller
L
ong ago, Dandee from our Libu Clan had powerful magic
and was expert at doing religious activity. Whatever he
summoned during his religious activity came. He was able
to change things—he could make an ill person well, make a healthy
person sick and bring such disasters to a family that ensured their
crops would fail and that their livestock suddenly died. Whatever
deities he called, then those deities came. If he needed one small
measure of deities, then a small measure of deities came when he
chanted. And if he needed a large measure of deities, then a large
measure of deities came when he chanted.
A Han family struggled to get power from a powerful king's
family that lived at the same time as Libu Dandee. They often
schemed to provoke the king's son. Later the Han people said to the
新华. 新 = new; 华 = Han (as in Han Chinese); fancy, beautiful.
Lu 泸 is similar in sound to luo 落 in Sichuan Chinese Dialect that
means 'lose', thus the place was called 'Lugu'.
233
234
•408•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
king, "Take your metal hat and our grass hat and put them on the
lake surface. The person whose hat doesn't sink will take power."
The king's metal hat weighed 600 kilograms. The Han's
grass hat weighed less than one kilogram. The Han thought that the
king's hat would surely sink. Then the king was cheated and went to
Chonghai Lake in Ondro, where the Han had prearranged
everything. They waited for the metal hat to sink all day but finally,
it was the grass hat that disappeared. The king's hat did not sink.
Then a Han man gestured with his lips to a boatman, who used his
paddle to push the metal hat under the water.
The king's family didn't know what else to do so they posted
notices along the streets announcing a search for someone who
could retrieve the metal hat from the lake. The notice said, "I will
reward whoever takes the metal hat from the lake. If he asks for
silver, I will give silver, and if he asks for gold, I will give gold."
Libu Dandee said, "I can do that." Then the king's people
brought a horse to Dandee's home and asked him to help. Dandee
did rituals and called two large measures of deities. He gave the
deities to his apprentices and said, "I will shake the rope when I grab
the hat at the lake bottom. You then pull the rope. Crush these
deities and put them in my eyes and nose if I die."
They then made ropes from plant material for seven days
and seven nights, tied the ropes around his waist and lowered him
into the lake. Three dragons were twined around three sandalwood
trees at the lake bottom. The hat covered the top of the middle tree.
When he tried to take the hat, the dragons came to bite him again
and again. He could not get the hat and shook the grass rope, but
the water was very deep, and his helpers did not feel the rope was
shaking. Thus, Dandee died in the lake and that evening, his corpse
floated on the water surface. Dandee's sad apprentices crushed the
deities and put them in his mouth and nose as he had instructed. A
short time later, Dandee vomited much water and then returned to
life.
The king's family then asked, "What do you need?"
Dandee said, "Give me three dogs, three chickens, and three
•409•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
cats."
He had failed and was full of self-contempt. The king's
family gave him three dogs, three chickens and three cats and he
came back here on the Dayi Mountains and killed the chickens,
dogs, and cats, and then swore a solemn oath to stop doing rituals.
He returned home and found his wife was sick because the
mountain deity was unhappy that he had killed the animals. He
didn't know what to do because he had just sworn never to do rituals
again. But to save her, he did rituals and, as part of the rituals, killed
animals again. When she recovered, he didn't do rituals again, so he
lost his magic powers. It was not that he was unable to be powerful;
he lost his power because he had sworn not to kill animals for ritual
purpose.
So now our Libu Clan does rituals, but we invite pahsuh
from other families. This is why there are now no pahsuh in the Libu
Clan.
187: THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建 Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; a44 ma55 do53 dʐə53, teller
L
ong ago a family had seven daughters. The parents were
very worried that they had no sons so the father went to
consult a fortuneteller who said, "Kill your seven girls then
you will have sons."
The father hoped his daughters would die, but he was
unsure how to kill them. Then he remembered there was a pond on
a mountain used for terrace irrigation. Villagers used water from a
stream that flowed near the village to irrigate the terraced rice fields
on the lower part of the mountain, but the water was so limited that
only a few of the rice fields could be watered. Consequently, they
dug a pond to ensure that every family had enough water to irrigate
their individual fields. The pond was ten meters long, five meters
wide, and about two meters deep. Every year, except for the time
people plant rice in the terraces, the pond filled with water. Children
•410•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
climbed inside and played in the soft sand when the pond was dry,
and their animals were grazing on the mountains. Sometimes,
children collected wild onions on the mountains for pig food.
Everyone believed that many monsters lived near the pond in deep
forests. Thinking about all these things, the father said to his
daughters, "Let's go collect wild onions."
So they left and went to the mountains. The father told the
seven daughters to stand in the pond, began filling it with water,
and said, "I'll tell you when it's time to pull onions."
The girls said, "Father, Father, the water is up to our knees.
It's time to pull onions."
Their father said, "Oh, it's not time to pull onions. There's
no need to hurry. Later, we also need to make backpacks to carry
the onions back home. We'll pull the onions when the water is waist
high."
When the water was waist high the girls said, "Father, may
we go pull onions now?"
The father said, "It is still not the right time. We'll pull
onions when the water reaches your armpits."
Later the father said, "We'll pull onions only after the water
reaches your necks."
Six girls drowned in the pond. Then monsters took the girls
one by one out of the water, and because they were looking for dead
girls to eat, they tickled them, taking the ones that didn't respond
back to their home. The youngest girl was not dead, but the
monsters thought she was, because she did not respond when they
tickled her, so they also took her back to their home where they
butchered the corpses and ate them.
Only the youngest girl remained. She had all her sisters'
jewels. The daughter of the monster family liked these jewels and
said, "Please give me your jewels."
Seventh Daughter said, "If you want my jewels, let's change
bedrooms."
The monster daughter agreed so they changed bedrooms.
Meanwhile the monster parents decided to kill Seventh Daughter
•411•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and eat her, so they went to the bedroom where they thought
Seventh Daughter was sleeping.
The monster's daughter said, "Father! Father!"
The monsters said, "Your father is far away."
The monster's daughter said, "Mother, Mother."
The monsters said, "Your mother is far away," grabbed the
girl, and killed her.
The parents got up at one o'clock the next morning and
called, "Come and take meat to our relatives and friends." They
still didn't know that they had killed their own daughter.
Seventh Daughter fearfully said, "I have a stomachache,"
and would not get up.
Later, when she did get up, the monster parents scooped
meat out of a pot and told her to divide it among the neighbors.
The monster scooped up a bowl of soup and meat made from their
cooked daughter and said, "Go give this to the family over there."
When she got half-way, she pulled up her skirt a bit above
her belt, poured the soup on the ground, and put the meat in the
small pouch she had formed with the skirt top. After she did this
several times, the small pouch she had made was full of meat. Then
she ran away. At the same time, the monster parents realized what
had happened and yelled, "Neighbors! We unknowingly killed our
daughter and ate her flesh. Untie the dogs! Quickly untie them!"
The loudly yelping dogs got near Seventh Daughter, who
dropped some of the dead monster daughter's flesh. The dogs
stopped and fought over the flesh while she ran a little bit ahead.
The dogs quickly finished eating the meat and resumed the chase.
After she tossed the last piece of flesh to the dogs, Seventh
Daughter came to a simple wooden bridge made of two poles over
a river. She crossed the bridge, lifted the ends of the two poles and
dropped them into the river. Noticing a straw pile, she hid inside.
Her two sash ends were outside the straw pile, and looked just like
the leaves of a plant that emerges in Spring, signaling the time to
begin plowing and sowing.
The dogs thought, "Oh, it's time for spring sowing,"
•412•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and left.
How pitiful Seventh Daughter was. She ran and ran, and
then found a monster spinning hemp.
The monster said, "Oh! It is very good of you to come to
help spin hemp. I'll go cook lunch for us."
After the monster left to fix lunch, a child came, munching
on a piece of snot.
Seventh Daughter asked, "Where did your father and
mother go?"
The child said, "My father and mother are heating the
steamer. They will kill and eat you."
Seventh Daughter fled again. She ran until she almost
died and then met another hemp-weaving family. A monster in
this family said, "Quickly, come help for a moment. I'll go cook
lunch and bring it here."
Then a child came squeezing and munching on a ball of snot,
which made the girl run back to her own home. The night she got
back, one of her brothers died and her father would not
acknowledge her as his daughter.
Later he said, "First, cut a log into two pieces, roll them
down from up here, and see if the two pieces are close to each other
in a flat place when they stop rolling. If they are, it means you are
my true daughter."
Seventh Daughter did this and the two log ends were close
to each other, but the old man would still not acknowledge her,
saying, "You roll two millstone halves down into the valley and see
if they are close to each other in a flat place."
Seventh Daughter did this and when the two millstone
halves stopped rolling, they were joined together. Her father still
would not acknowledge her. He took a pot, baked it on the hearth,
and said, "Spit into the pot and if bubbles come, then you are my
daughter."
Bubbles came when she spat but he still would not
acknowledge her.
Then her mother said, "My daughter, your father will not
•413•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
acknowledge you and I am at a loss. I will divide our property, give
you one of all I raise here, and you must leave and marry in a place
where all the livestock make noises. Here are some rapeseeds.
Scatter them as you walk, so I can find you later."
Seventh Daughter walked and walked and reached a place
where there were very attractive houses. Half of the cows and goats
made noises there, but the other half didn't, so the daughter walked
on and at a simple hut made of corn stalks, all the livestock made
noise. She thought, "Mother said that I should stay where all the
livestock make noises," entered the hut, and found an old woman
sitting inside.
The girl asked, "Mother-in-law, do you have sons? I will be
your family's wife. "
The old woman answered, "I have a son."
When the son returned, he was so shy he would not come
inside. The old woman said, "She says she will be your wife. Come
inside," and then the boy came inside with a bag of birds he had
trapped.
Seventh Daughter made a fire, carried the old woman near
the fire to get warm, roasted a n d g a v e the birds to the old
woman to eat. The old woman said, "Oh, roasted is tasty, tasty."
Later the girl asked the boy, "Where did you trap these
birds?" but he would not tell her.
She then took a needle and threaded the string from the
string ball into the bottom of his jacket. The string trailed after the
boy as he went to the place where he trapped birds. The girl followed
the string and found him on a silver island taking birds out of his
traps.
As the two returned home together, the boy said, "Don't be
scared when you hear frightening noises at night."
There were strange noises that night, and a beautiful house
appeared in less than seven days.
Later when rape blossomed, her mother followed the rapeflower road that grew from the rapeseeds her daughter had planted
earlier. She found her daughter, stayed with her for some days,
•414•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
returned home, and said to her husband, "Oh! You wouldn't
acknowledge my daughter! Now she is very rich."
The old man said, "I should go visit once," and followed the
rape-flower road. When he reached his daughter's home she asked,
"Father, will you go through the gold door or silver door?"
The father answered, "I will go through the gold door," but
his daughter made him go through a wooden door, which nearly fell
and crushed him.
That night the daughter asked, "Father do you want to sleep
in the gold or silver bed?"
The father said, "My daughter, I will sleep in the gold bed,"
but later he slept in the silver bed and gnawed on the silver, making
a strange sound.
The daughter said, "Father, you don't need to bite. I'll give
you silver and gold when you return home."
The day her father was to leave, the daughter said, "This is
your lunch," and gave him a bag containing wasps, snakes, and
frogs and said, "When you get to the pass between my home and
your home, tie the horse reins to your legs and have lunch."
When he reached the pass, he opened the bag. Wasps and
snakes came out and stung and bit the horse. The old man was
pulled by the galloping horse and torn apart, so that only one of his
legs returned home pulled by the horse.
The old woman said, "That is because you would not
acknowledge your own daughter," untied the leg and cremated it.
188: THE PUPPY
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator); li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 ə53, teller
L
ong ago, a son lived with his father, who often went
hunting. One day the father took the big hounds with him,
leaving only a little puppy at home, which followed the son
when he herded their livestock. Every day when he left home, the
son took a ball of rice for his lunch. When he ate lunch the puppy
•415•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
whimpered, "I want a rice ball. I'm very hungry."
The son angrily said, "I don't have enough to eat, so you get
away!"
The puppy yelped, "Wah! Monster said she will come, kill
and eat you tonight."
The son felt very scared and quickly asked, "Friend, did she
really say she was going to come eat me?"
The puppy answered, "Yes, she really will come."
The boy said, "What should I do? Father went to hunt so I'm
alone. What should I do? My friend, if you don't help me, who will?"
The puppy nonchalantly said, "Don't worry. When we return
home, I'll tell you what to do."
Later, when they drove all the livestock back home, the boy
was so frightened that he could hardly sit or stand. The puppy said,
"Tonight, hide in the cattle stable."
The boy thought, "Who knows what will happen?" and hid
in the loft of the cattle stable.
As darkness slowly descended, the monster came and
thrashed here and there with her long breasts, breaking open the
cattle stable door. When she got inside, the cattle butted her from
one to another and she finally fled when dawn came.
The next day, the son made a very big rice ball for lunch. At
lunchtime, he divided the rice ball with the puppy and said, "What
will we do tonight?" as tears streamed from his eyes.
The puppy said, "Don't be scared, don't cry. Tonight, hide
in the horse stable."
That night, the son hid in the horse stable. When it got dark,
just like the night before, the monster used her very long breasts to
thrash here and there and broke inside the horse stable. The son
was so scared he didn't dare breathe. The monster was kicked here
and there by the horses u n t i l s h e finally left.
The next day, they went to herd livestock again. The boy
divided the rice ball and gave the bigger half to the puppy to eat and
asked, "Friend, tonight, what should I do?"
The puppy said, "Don't be scared. Hide in the sheep stable."
•416•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
After they returned home with the livestock, the son hid in
the sheep stable. When darkness slowly came the monster arrived,
broke open the sheep stable door, was butted here and there by the
sheep, and fled when dawn came.
The next day at noon when they were herding, the boy gave
all the rice ball to the puppy and said, "Friend, I hid in the cattle,
horse, and sheep stables. There are no more stables to hide in.
Tonight, where will I hide?" and began sobbing.
The puppy said, "Don't be scared. Tonight, hide in our
family loft. Father will return."
After the son put the livestock in the stables that evening the
puppy said, "Keep the charcoal red in the hearth. Put a back-basket
near the hearth. Cover the back-basket with a jacket. Carry two
buckets of water up into the loft. Bolt the door tightly. If I whimper,
then Father is coming back and you open the door. But if I say
'piang piang', then it is the monster coming so don't open the door."
After they ate, the boy bolted the door and hid in the loft.
Later that night the puppy called piang piang, and soon the
monster used her breasts to thrash here and there, broke open the
door and entered. She happily thought the back-basket was the boy
and blew on the charcoal in the hearth until it glowed red in
preparation for roasting him.
As she chewed on the back-basket, the son carefully poured
a little water onto the hearth from the loft. The monster said, "Cat,
don't pee. We will roast and eat the boy together if you stop that."
She again blew on the charcoal. The boy scooped a little
water out of a bucket and dribbled it on the hearth. The monster
said, "Don't pee in the fire. Let's roast the boy and eat him together."
The monster blew and blew on the fire, and the boy dribbled
water on the fire again and again until she fled at dawn.
The next day the son cried again. The puppy said, "Don't cry.
Tonight, your father will truly return."
The night, after they had brought all the livestock back
home, Father returned with much game. The son wept, hugged his
father, and said, "I thought I would never see you again."
•417•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
After the father heard all that had happened, he was so
angry that he wanted to hack the monster into pieces and sharpened
his ax. That night after eating a meal, they made a fire in the hearth
and the father took the ax and hid behind the door.
The monster came, saw the door open and thought,
"Tonight, I can eat the son."
As soon as she stepped inside the door, the father hacked
her feet and she fell to the floor. The hounds then fought each other
over the monster's flesh and quickly devoured her.
189: BROTHER AND SISTER
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 pə53, teller
L
ong ago a brother and a sister were very kind to each other.
The brother often was away hunting. When he was at home,
his wife was very kind to the sister but when he was gone,
the wife beat and scolded her.
One day when Brother was away hunting, the wife scolded,
"Go wherever you like. This is not your home," which made the
sister weep.
Later the wife gave Sister very little food and said, "Don't
sleep here anymore. This is not your home."
Sister had no choice but to sleep under the eaves of the
family's pig sty. When the wife saw this, she angrily beat her and
said, "Go wherever you want, don't come back here again."
Sister was so sad she went looking for her brother. She
picked fruits from trees, and when she couldn't find fruit, she ate
tree leaves and grass. She met some chicken herders and asked,
"Did you see my brother?"
The chicken herders answered, "Your brother passed by
here with a gun and some hounds."
Sister wept and went on until she met some pig herders in a
valley. She asked, "Did you see my brother?"
They answered, "Your brother passed by here with a gun
•418•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
and some hounds."
Sister cried and went on until she met some cattle herders
around a hill. She asked, "Did you see my brother?"
The cattle herders answered, "Your brother passed by here
with a gun and some hounds."
She cried and went on until she met some sheep herders in
the forest. She asked, "Did you see my brother?"
They answered, "Your brother passed by here with a gun
and a hound."
Brother returned home nine days and nine nights later.
He put down the game he was carrying by the door and asked,
"Where is my sister?"
His wife answered, "Your sister said she missed you and
went looking for you. Didn't you meet her?"
The brother was so angry and sad that he cried the whole
night. The next day, he went looking for his sister. When he met
the chicken herders, he asked, "Did you see my sister?"
They answered, "Your sister passed by here, holding fruit
and sadly singing 'I'm looking for Brother,' with streaming tears."
Brother went on and met pig herders in the valley. He
asked, "Did you see my sister?"
They answered, "Your sister passed by here, holding fruit
and sadly singing 'I'm looking for Brother,' with streaming tears."
Brother went on and met cattle herders on the hill and
asked, "Did you see my sister?"
They answered, "Your sister did pass by here, holding fruit
and sadly singing 'I'm looking for Brother,' with streaming tears."
Brother was now very hungry, so he picked fruit and ate it
and continued until he met some sheep herders in the forest. He
asked, "Did you see my sister?"
They answered, "Your sister did pass by, holding fruit and
sadly singing 'I'm looking for Brother,' with streaming tears."
He shouted, "Sister! Sister!" and went on, searching for his
sister, shouting her name, deep in the forest.
When it rained, he fretted, "She is surely soaked," and
•419•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
continued searching for her.
When it snowed, he worried, "My sister is chilled by the
snow," and looked for her in the snow.
He searched for her until tree flowers blossomed again.
One day when he called in the forest, he heard a sound and rushed
there. Sister had turned into a cow and was eating bamboo leaves.
Brother hugged the cow's neck and called, "Sister, Sister," but Sister
could no longer speak; she could only shed streaming tears.
190: THE rə53 tʂə53 li53 la53 RITUAL
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44 ʙu55 ʂə11 pə53, teller
father and his son set net traps for wild animals and
caught a deer. After they killed and butchered the deer,
they left but forgot their knife. They were already half-way
home when they remembered the knife. The son said to his father,
"Go back and get the knife."
The father said, "You go back and get it."
The son was very lazy and refused so the father started back to
get the knife. When he got to the place where they had butchered
the deer, a monster family that collected the souls of dead animals
was there. The father was taken, put in a metal cage, tied up and
taken away by the monster family.
Meanwhile, the son waited three days and three nights at the
foot of a mountain. When his father didn't return, he went looking
for him, passing through nine jeh forests, nine she forests, and nine
dooby forests. He finally reached the monsters' home where his
father was in a metal cage that had been placed above the hearth.
The son asked, "Have you seen my father?"
The monsters said, "We haven't seen your father."
How pitiful his father was, for his soul had been taken! He
could not speak, but a tear dripped from his father's eye and fell on
his son's knee.
The son looked up above the hearth and said, "You said you
A
•420•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
didn't see my father but in fact, you have put my father in a cage."
The monsters said, "Do you need the soul or body? We will
only return one."
The son was unsure what to say for he wanted to take the
soul of his father and leave, but he was afraid of leaving the body.
He also wanted to take the body and leave but he was afraid of
leaving the soul. Finally, he said, "I want the body," and the
monsters then gave him the body, which he carried on his back
through nine jeh forests, nine dooby forests and nine she forests.
When they came out of the she forest, wind and clouds blew,
making the sound bong. After the wind and clouds finished
blowing, he discovered that his father had vanished from his back.
He had no idea where his father had gone or what he should do. He
grabbed here and there. His right hand caught she branches, and his
left hand caught heru grass. Then he thought, "My father's soul may
have become these blades of grass and branches of she."
He took the grass and branches back home. This explains
why we Namyi in the Cut-Back-Soul Ritual use she branches and
blades of he ru grass to call back the soul.
191: ja
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; mbʐə44 m̩ 55, teller
I
want to tell you about the history of tobacco smoking.
Three wives went to cut druhhi235 together one day. They
crossed a bridge when they were returning home with
bundles of druhhi on their backs. A crow cawed, "There is a son in
the knee of the woman in front."
The wife in front then ran back so that she was behind the
other two wives. The crow cawed, "There is a son in the knee of the
woman in the rear," and then the wife ran so she was between the
235
The druhhi plant is cut and taken home to put in livestock enclosures.
The animals' feet mix the plant with manure in the enclosures. Later, the
manure is dug out and put on fields as fertilizer.
•421•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
other two wives.
The crow cawed, "A son is in the knee of the woman in the
middle. If you don't believe me, prick your knee with your sickle."
The wife with the swollen knee took her sickle, pierced her
knee, and a frog hopped out. She was so angry that she wanted to
beat the crow. The frog then said, "Mother, Mother don't chase the
crow! You are carrying a heavy load. Give me the sickle and I'll carry
it."
The wife angrily threw the sickle down. The frog picked it up
in his mouth and hopped toward the woman's home. The wife
quickly followed the frog who, when he reached the home, put the
sickle inside the home near the door and sat by the hearth.
Later, when they were eating, the wife threw a few grains of
rice on the floor which the frog ate.
The frog said, "Mother, it's time for me to marry," a few
days later.
"Your finding a wife is as impossible as me finding another
husband!" the frog's mother said.
The frog said, "Mother, sew a little bag for me, put several
hemp seeds inside and then I'll buy a wife and bring her home."
The frog's mother wondered what the frog would do, sewed
a tiny bag and put it around the frog's neck. He hopped away with
the bag hanging under his neck. He reached a home and said,
"Father-in-law's family, are there dogs? I have come to buy a wife."
The family really wanted to laugh but said, "Oh! Our
daughters have been given to other people. Please put your hemp
seeds in the mouse hole in the wall behind you."
The frog found that the hemp seeds had been eaten by mice
when he got up the next morning. He said, "If you can't find and
return the hemp seeds then catch the mouse and give it to me."
The whole family worked together, smoked out the mouse,
tied it up, and gave it to the frog, who then left and went to another
home. He said, "I have come to buy a wife. Where can I tie my
mouse?"
The family members said, "Tie it to the leg of the cat beside
•422•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
you."
When the frog found that the cat had eaten the mouse when
he got up the next morning, he said, ''I was using that mouse to buy
a wife. Please catch the cat and give it to me or I won't be able to
find a wife.''
The family caught the cat and gave it to him. The frog left
and went to another home. The frog said, "Father-in-law, do you
have daughters? I have come to buy a wife. Where should I tie my
cat?"
The family really wanted to laugh when they saw the frog.
Finally, Father-in-law said, "Tie the cat to the leg of the dog beside
you."
The next morning, when the frog got up, he found that the
cat had been eaten by the dog. He said, "Father-in-law's family, if
you don't have girls to give me then give me the dog. I need it to buy
a wife."
At a loss as to what to do, they gave him the dog.
The frog hopped to another home and said, ''Father-in-law,
do you have any dogs? I'm here to buy a wife. Where should I tie
up my dog?"
Father-in-law said, "Tie the dog to the leg of the horse
beside you."
The next morning the frog found that the dog had been
kicked to death by the horse. He said, ''If you don't give me the horse
then I am not able to get a wife," and the family gave the horse to
him.
Frog took the horse and hopped to another family that had
seven daughters.
The father of the family said, "Dogs are barking, go see what
it is," to his eldest daughter.
She left, came back, and said, "There is nothing there."
The barking continued and then the second daughter went
to look. She returned and said, "Mother, nothing is there."
The barking continued and then the third daughter went to
look. She returned and said, "Mother, nothing is there."
•423•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The barking continued and then the fourth daughter went to
look. She returned and said, "Mother, nothing is there."
The barking continued and then the fifth daughter went
to look. She returned and said, "Mother, nothing is there."
The barking continued and then the sixth daughter went to
look. She returned and said, "Mother, nothing is there."
Finally, the youngest one went, returned, and said, "Oh!
Mother! A frog leading a horse is standing at the door."
The frog entered the home and said, "Father-in-law, I have
come to buy a wife."
The father of the daughters said, "Drive out that frog!"
The mother said to the youngest daughter, "Dress up like a
bride! Take a pestle and when you are half-way to the frog's home,
beat it to death and return home."
The youngest daughter did dress like a bride, took a pestle,
mounted the frog's horse, and left. The daughter, the horse, and the
frog walked for a short time and then the girl took the pestle and
repeatedly threw the pestle at the frog, but he hopped away each
time and was not beaten. Each time she threw it at the frog, she
missed and then the frog bit the pestle and gave it back to the girl,
who did this again. They repeated this all the way to the frog's home.
When they reached the home, the frog said, "Mother, I bought a wife
and have returned. Come open the door."
The mother said, "If you really bought a wife and brought
her back here it must mean that it is no longer necessary to pay
bridewealth."
The frog said, "If you don't believe me, peep through the
door crack."
Then the girl shouted from outside and the frog's mother
saw her.
Three days later a neighboring family was holding a
wedding and came to the frog's home to invite them to attend.
Frog's mother and wife went to the wedding while the frog remained
at home, squatting by the hearth.
The girl thought, "I have a frog husband," and was so sad
•424•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
that she ate nothing at the wedding. Instead, she wrapped up a few
pieces of meat and returned to the frog's home. She handed the
meat to him and scornfully said, "Frog, other people marry by
having banquets with wonderful food."
The frog said, ''Go to the storebox and eat as much as you
want. We have never eaten other people's leftovers."
The girl then opened the storebox, found that it was full of
meat, and asked, ''Where did you get this? Where did it come from?"
but the frog would not tell.
One day, there was a big horserace and the frog's wife
attended. When she returned, the frog asked, "Whose horse won?"
The frog's wife said, "Sehzee Baho's horse is famous."
Later, when she opened the storebox she found it was full of
meat again. She then realized it was no ordinary home.
Some days later another family came to invite them to a
wedding. The wife pretended to go to the wedding but hid in the loft
of the home. As soon as the frog's mother left, the frog somersaulted
three times, became a very handsome young man, tossed the frog
skin behind the door, and left. The wife took the skin and burned it
in the hearth fire.
When the frog returned, he said, "Oh! If only seven more
days had passed, I would have permanently become a handsome
young man!" became a frog again and died.
His wife was very sad. Every time she swept the house, she
swept the trash behind the door. After some days, three bamboo
shoots sprouted. She thought the middle one was her dead husband
and broke the other two. Some days later as she was sweeping the
house, the end of her skirt struck the young, brittle bamboo shoot,
breaking it, which made her cry and cry.
Later, a tobacco plant sprouted. She picked some leaves,
smoked them, and felt better.
This explains the origin of smoking tobacco.
•425•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
192: TWO SISTERS
Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; a44 ma55 do53 dʐə53, teller
L
ong ago the mother of two daughters started off to a hemp
field to weave hemp into cloth. Then a monster came to eat
the mother. When it reached her, it said, "Please look for
lice on my head."
The mother agreed, began searching for lice, found many
lice, and gave them to the monster, who ate them. When she
finished, she said to the monster, "Now, it is my turn. Please look
for lice on my head."
The monster used her long fingernails, stabbed into the
mother's head killing her, sucked out her brains and went to her
home, hoping to also eat the two daughters.
When the monster reached the doorway of the daughters'
home she said, "My daughters, open the door."
The elder daughter peeked through the door crack and said,
"You are not our mother. Our mother wears a hemp skirt."
The monster returned to the dead mother, took off her hemp
skirt, put it on, returned to the home pretending that she was the
girls' mother, and told them to open the door. The elder daughter
said, "You are not our mother. Our mother usually wears a large
cloth hat," and refused to open the door.
The monster waved her large, long breasts by the door crack.
The younger daughter was thirsty for milk and when she saw the
breasts she said, "Mother, just one hemp stalk is propped against
the door."
The monster easily pushed open the door and came in. The
two sisters gave her one loaf of round bread and she ate it all. Then
the daughters said, "You are not our mother. When our mother is
given a loaf of bread, she breaks it in half and gives half to us."
The monster broke another loaf of bread in half and gave
each of them half to eat. Later the monster said, "If you have no
head lice, come sleep with me."
•426•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The elder daughter said, "I have head lice," so the younger
daughter agreed to sleep with the monster.
The monster said to the elder daughter, "Bring a rooster, a
bucket of water, a ball of string, and some hemp seeds and put them
by my pillow."
The elder daughter obeyed and then went to sleep.
Later, the monster was chewing something so loudly the
elder daughter woke up and asked, "Mother, what are you
chewing?"
The monster said, "I'm chewing hemp seeds."
The elder daughter asked, "Mother, what is that wet thing
in your bosom?"
The monster said, "That awful rooster splashed water out
of the bucket."
The elder daughter asked, "Mother, what is rolling around
in your bosom?"
The monster said, "This bad rooster is rolling the ball of
string around."
Then the daughter knew what had happened and said,
"Mother I want to go outside to pee."
"Pee in the kitchen," the monster said.
"The kitchen may bite me," the daughter said.
"Squat by the millstone," the monster said.
The daughter said, "The millstone may bite me. Mother,
use nine ropes to tie me, and pull me back when I call you from
outside."
The monster agreed and tied nine ropes around the girl.
Once outside, the daughter untied the ropes, fastened them around
something else and ran to the tree above the spring where the girl's
family fetched water.
The monster took the younger daughter's intestines to the
spring to rinse the next morning. The elder daughter wept when she
saw this. A teardrop fell on the monster who then looked up and
saw the elder daughter. The daughter said, "Mother, do you want to
eat some fruit? I'll pick some for you."
•427•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The monster said, "Yes, I want some."
The daughter picked a fruit and threw it to the monster,
who quickly ate it and said, "It is tasty."
The daughter said, "Mother, go home, bring a piece of pig
fat, come back here, rub it on the tree trunk and climb up."
The monster agreed, came back, and rubbed fat on the tree
trunk, which was then too slippery for her to climb up. The daughter
said, "Mother go home and bring the spear behind the door. I'll use
it to get more fruit for you to eat."
The monster returned, got the spear, brought it back to the
spring, and said, "Oh! Don't kill and slaughter me! If you do, my
flesh will turn into nettles, my blood will become an ocean and my
bones will turn into cliffs. You will not be able to escape."
The daughter then picked a fruit, gave it to the monster and
asked, "Is it tasty Mother?"
The monster said, "Yes, it is very tasty."
The daughter picked another fruit on the end of the spear
and passed it to the monster. When the monster put it in its mouth,
the daughter stabbed down and killed the monster, whose body
became nettles, blood became an ocean, and bones became cliffs.
Later, when a deer passed by, the daughter said, "Deer, help
me get out of here." The deer said, "Dogs are chasing me. I can't help
you."
A short time later, dogs came, and she said, "Dogs, help me
get out of here."
The dogs said, "We are busy chasing a deer. We can't help
you."
Later, two deer hunters came. She said, "Help me get out of
here, and I'll be your wife."
One man put his goat-skin vest in the upper place under
the tree and the other man put his goat-skin vest in the lower place.
She jumped, fell on the upper one and rolled onto the lower one.
The two men fought for the girl.
The two men later wanted to kill her as a part of a ritual and
brought some branches to use. The girl took a handful of hemp
•428•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
seeds, chewed a few of the seeds, and daubed them on the branches.
Later, when the men noticed this, they thought, "There are bird
droppings on the branches. They are dirty so this is not a good day
to do a ritual."
The two men brought more branches, but each time the
daughter did the same thing again. Each time the men were gone,
the daughter called to her mother in the sky and her mother always
replied in the same way: "I am still steaming, washing, spinning.
and weaving hemp."
But one day, her mother lowered a bag woven of hemp cloth
down from the sky. The girl jumped into the bag. The two men used
a knife and slashed at the bag because they wanted her to stay for
the ritual, but the bag moved up so quickly that their knife only
slashed the girl's toes. That is why today, people's toes are uneven
in length.
193: RABBIT FATHER-IN-LAW
Lakhi (Li Jianfu 李建富, Zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།)
collector and translator; li44ʙu55 ʂə11pə53, teller
O
rphan's parents had died and then he had to work for
others for four or five years. One day, Rabbit came and
befriended him. He said, "Han businessmen will pass by
here carrying nine baskets of cloth. On that day, I will slowly run in
front of them, and they will put down the cloth to chase me. When
they do that, grab the cloth and hide it."
When the businessmen came, Rabbit hopped and danced in
front of them. The businessmen said, "Oh! Such a big rabbit! Let's
catch him!" put down their cloth and chased Rabbit.
At this time Orphan came out from where he was hiding,
picked up the cloth and hid it.
The next day, Rabbit and Orphan took the cloth and went to a
home that had seven daughters. To show how rich they were, both
Rabbit and Orphan tore strips of cloth, pretended to spit into the
cloth and then wrapped up the spit.
•429•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
The seven girls thought, "Maybe he came to buy you! Maybe
he came to buy me!"
They were so nervous and excited that they were unable to sit
still and pinched each other.
Rabbit and Orphan bought the youngest one and then chose a
day for the wedding that was one month and three days later for the
wedding. Rabbit said, ''On that day, the girl's family will send
guests. When you come, shout and yell.'
Orphan and Rabbit returned to Orphan's home while the girl
stayed in her parents' home. Next, Rabbit, and Orphan went to a
king's home. Rabbit so frightened the family that they let them dig
a hole in front of their house. Rabbit said, "Oh! When soldiers from
the Rowrow family come, jump into this pit to save yourselves!" and
told Orphan to take knives and spears and put them heads-up in the
pit.
Later, when the bride's entourage could be heard in the
distance shouting and yelling as they had been told to do, Rabbit
shouted, "Oh! How terrible! Rowrow's family's soldiers are coming!
Haven't you already jumped into the pit?"
Then the whole family jumped into the pit and died. Orphan
buried the family, and the wedding was held in the king's home. The
king's family was very rich. Orphan said, "Make yourself at home
and butcher and cook as many goats and yaks as you wish."
In time, a son was born. Rabbit later fell seriously ill and said
to Orphan, "Up there in a cliff cave is an outstanding fortuneteller.
Visit him and ask what kinds of rituals we should do so I'll recover."
Just after Orphan left for the cave, Rabbit disguised himself
as a fortuneteller, raced to the cave and got there before Orphan
arrived. When Orphan entered the cave and asked what to do, the
'fortuneteller' said, "Oh! Rabbit will not recover if you don't kill your
son. Dig out a piece of his liver and give it to Rabbit to eat."
Orphan returned home and sharpened his knife again and
again. Rabbit asked, "What are you doing my son?" but Orphan
wouldn't say.
After Rabbit asked again and again, Orphan finally said, "I
•430•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
was told I should kill my son and give a piece of his liver to you to
eat for only then will you recover."
Rabbit said, "Oh, my son, I was the fortuneteller. I was testing
to see how much you appreciated me. Now everything is fine
because I understand how much you love me."
They continued to love one another and lived together happily
as one family.
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
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Rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ། 2017. The Provocative Rabbit in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:148-150.
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ། 2001. Horse and Camel in Thomas et
al.:52-54.
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ། 2001. Oilyball and Meatball in
Thomas et al.:55-57.
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། 2017. Chanting, Herding, and
Carrying in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:170-172.
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། 2017. Threatening the Buddha with
a Walking Stick (A rig rgad po Threatens the Buddha with
his Walking Stick) in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:154-155.
Sangs rgyas bkra shis སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས། 2017. Uncle Ston pa Visits Xi'an in
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:173175.
Sgron dkar ,ོན་དཀར། 2017. Uncle Ston pa and the Thief in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:161.
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན། 2001. A Wolf Wags His Tail in
Thomas et al.:89-91.
Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན། 2001. The Young Rooster in
Thomas et al.:61-63.
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན། 2001. The Little Monkey in Thomas et al.:28-30.
Skal chen Iལ་ཆེན། 2001. The Tortoise Dies in Thomas et al.:31-33.
Snying dkar rgyal \ིང་དཀར་?ལ། 2001. White Cow and Poor Girl in
Thomas et al.:218-222.
Snying dkar skyid. 2011. Bear and Rabbit (II). Asian Highlands
Perspectives 10:375-382.
Sonan Jetsun (Bsod nams rgyal mtshan བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚན།). 2010.
Folktale: The King of Seven Seeds. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 6:313-320.
Thomas, Allie and Kevin Stuart (English editors); Dpal ldan bra shis
དཔལ་Gན་བA་ཤིས། and 'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>། (Tibetan
editors); Rgyal bu nor b+he ?ལ་J་ནོར་བྷེ། (illustrator); Bsod nams
skyid བསོད་ནམས་4ིད། and 'Ug spu Xག་Y། (checkers); 'Jam dbyangs
sgrol ma འཇམ་དDངས་,ོལ་མ། Nyi ma g.yang mtsho ཉི་མ་གཡང་མཚ>། and Zla
yag b་ཡག (editors); Skal bzang g.yang sgron Iལ་བཟང་གཡང་,ོན། 'Brug
po rgyal འQག་པོ་?ལ། Tshe ring g.yang drung ཚ8་རིང་གཡང་šང་། Gu ru chos
sgron U་V་ཆོས་,ོན། Dbang phyug tshe ring དབང་Zག་ཚ8་རིང་། Dbang phyug
rgyal དབང་Zག་?ལ། Dbyangs mtsho sgrol ma དDངས་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ། Tshe
dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ།, Tshe dpal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ། Dkon me དཀོན་མེ།
Yum chen mtsho mo Rམ་ཆེན་མཚ>་མོ། Snying dkar rgyal \ིང་དཀར་?ལ།
Sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ། and Ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>། (English checkers);
Bkra shis dbang mo བA་ཤིས་དབང་མོ། 'Brug mo mtsho འQག་མོ་མཚ>། Bsod
nams phun tshogs བསོད་ནམས་=ན་ཚ>གས། Bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho བfན་
འཛgན་?་མཚ>། Dge 'dun sgrol ma དགེ་འcན་,ོལ་མ། Dpal rgyal དཔལ་?ལ། Kun
bzang skyid Œན་བཟང་4ིད། Lcags mo mtsho ^གས་མོ་མཚ>། Lha ri mtsho
mo L་རི་མཚ>་མོ། Mkha' skyod sgrol ma མཁའ་4ོད་,ོལ་མ། Pad+ma skyid པiྨ་
4ིད། Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད། Tshe ring pad dkar ཚ8་རིང་པད་དཀར།
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Tshe ring sgrol ma ཚ8་རིང་,ོལ་མ། U rgyan skyid €་?ན་4ིད། Ye shes
mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>།, and Zla ba mkha' 'gro b་བ་མཁའ་འNོ། (exercises);
Chos sgron ཆོས་,ོན། Mtsho phrug མཚ>་Kག Skyid mtsho 4ིད་མཚ>། and
Tshe sgron ཚ8་,ོན། (folktale sources); 'Gyur med phun tshogs
འHར་མེད་=ན་ཚ>གས། and Dbyangs dpal 'dzoms དDངས་དཔལ་འཛ>མས།
(illustrations); Don 'grub rgyal དོན་འSབ་?ལ། (Tibetan checker &
translation); Chos mo byams ཆོས་མོ་Dམས། Tshe dbang bsod nams
ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། 'Bum phrug འJམ་Kག Dge mo དགེ་མོ། Lha 'brug rgyal L་
འQག་?ལ། Ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས། Mgon thar skyid མགོན་ཐར་4ིད། Bkra shis dpal
'bar བA་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབར། Skal rgyam Iལ་?མ། Blo brtan !ོ་བ]ན། Rig grol རིག་
Nོལ། 'Brug mo skyid འQག་མོ་4ིད། 'Gyur med rgya mtsho འHར་མེད་?་མཚ>།
Rnam rgyal sgrol ma Wམ་?ལ་,ོལ་མ། Tshe ring lha mo ཚ8་རིང་L་མོ། and
Lha mo L་མོ། (translation); 2001. Tibetan English Folktales.
http://bit.ly/2EGWkvU, accessed 15 January 2018.
Tshe dbal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ། 2001. Two Lazy Men in Thomas et al.:150154.
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། 2001. The King and the Pork in
Thomas et al.:71-73.
Tshe dbang bsod nams ཚ8་དབང་བསོད་ནམས། 2001. Precious Juniper in
Thomas et al.:64-67.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Helping an Old Woman in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:241-243.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Helping the Farmer Again in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:247-248.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Helping a Poor Man in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:239-240.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰). 2017. The
Landlord Cooks the Pork in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:220-221.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰). 2017. The
Landlord Cuts Down a Tree in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:217-218.
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Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰). 2017. The
Landlord Kills a Pig in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:219.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking a Soldier in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:256-258.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking a Village Leader in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:253-255.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Abbess in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:236-238.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰). 2017 Tricking
the Abbess Again in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:244-246.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the King in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:251-152.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰) 2017. Tricking
the King Again in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:259-260.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Landlord's Daughter in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:224-225.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Landlord's Daughter Again in Plateau
Narratives. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:226-227.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Landlord's Friend in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:228-230.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Landlord's Friend Again in Plateau Narratives.
Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:231-232.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Landlord's Wife in Plateau Narratives. Asian
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AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Highlands Perspectives 47:222-223.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking Nuns in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:233-235.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才 项 多 杰 ). 2017.
Tricking the Wife in Plateau Narratives. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 47:249-250.
Tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ། (Caixiangduojie 才项多杰). 2001. Baby
Rabbit and Cruel Bear in Thomas et al.:126-129.
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད།. 2001. Mouse Princess Marries a Cat in
Thomas et al.:46-48.
Tshe dbyangs skyid ཚ8་དDངས་4ིད།. 2001. The Clever Ewe in Thomas et
al.:130-133.
Tshe dpal rgyal ཚ8་དཔལ་?ལ།. 2001. Bkra shis's Adventures in Thomas et
al.:259-266.
Tshe lha ཚ8་L། 2017. A Clever Man in Plateau Narratives. Asian
Highlands Perspectives 47:113-114.
Tshe ring be dkar ཚ8་རིང་བེ་དཀར། 2001. Two Thieves in Thomas et al.:2527.
Tshe ring dbyangs sgron ཚ8་རིང་དDངས་,ོན།. 2001. Heart-Eyes in Thomas et
al.:195-199.
Tshe ring lha mo ཚ8་རིང་L་མོ། 2001. A Lazy Man Becomes Hardworking
in Thomas et al.:200-204.
Ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས། 2001. The Donkey-Tiger in Thomas et al.:49-51.
Ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>། 2001. Gold Girl, Silver Girl, and Wood Girl in
Thomas et al.:223-227.
Ye shes mtsho mo ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>་མོ། 2001. Half a Baby? in Thomas et al.:7477.
Yum chen mtsho mo Rམ་ཆེན་མཚ>་མོ། 2001. Zla ba's Father in Thomas et
al.:15-18.
Zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ། 2011. Mchig Nges. Asian Highlands
Perspectives 10:391-401.
Zla yag b་ཡག. 2001. The Dead Pigeon in Thomas et al.:155-158.
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TIBETAN TERMS
'bo spa འབོ་ƒ།
'bru འQ།
'brug yul འQག་Rལ།
'cham འཆམ།
'dzam thang འཛམ་ཐང་།
'gro phan འNོ་ཕན།
'khor lo sang འཁོར་ལོ་སང་།
'od dkar འོད་དཀར།
'od pa འོད་པ།
'brug 'bum rgyal འQག་འJམ་?ལ།
'brug 'bum skyid འQག་འJམ་4ིད།
'jigs byed 'tsho འཇིགས་Dེད་འཚ>།
a jo ཨ་ཇོ།
a khu ston pa ཨ་p་fོན་པ།
a ma che che ཨ་མ་ཆེ་ཆེ།
a ma dred mo ཨ་མ་œེད་མོ།
a ma ཨ་མ།
a mdo ཨ་མདོ།
a myes bya khyung ཨ་•ེས་D་žང་།
a myes dmag dpon ཨ་•ེས་དམག་དཔོན།
a myes stag kung ཨ་•ེས་fག་Ÿང་།
a phyi sgrol ma ཨ་|ི་,ོལ་མ།
a rig ཨ་རིག
a rig glen pa ཨ་རིག་ ེན་པ།
a rig rgad po ཨ་རིག་lད་པོ།
a skyo ba ཨ་4ོ་བ།
aku jaku, a khu spyang ki
ཨ་p་•ང་ཀི
apa, a pha ཨ་ཕ།
awu, phu bo =་བོ།
ba brgyad than, ba bdun
g.yang བ་བ?ད་ཐན་བ་བcན་གཡང་།
ban de བན་དེ།
ban de rgyal བན་དེ་?ལ།
bar do བར་དོ།
bde skyid བདེ་4ིད།
bde skyid sgrol ma བདེ་4ིད་,ོལ་མ།
bka' 'gyur sgrol ma བཀའ་འHར་,ོལ་མ།
bka' 'gyur བཀའ་འHར།
bkra shis བA་ཤིས།
bkra shis 'bum བA་ཤིས་འJམ།
bkra shis bzang bo
བA་ཤིས་བཟང་བོ།
bkra shis don 'grub
བA་ཤིས་དོན་འSབ།
bkra zhing kha བA་ཞིང་ཁ།
bla brang !་#ང་།
bla ma !་མ།
bla ma rin po che !་མ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།
bla ma tshe ring !་མ་ཚ8་རིང་།
bla ma'i gsungs la nor ba
med !་མའི་གyངས་ལ་ནོར་བ་མེད།
blo bzang !ོ་བཟང་།
blon chen gshed ma nag po
!ོན་ཆེན་གཤེད་པ་ནག་པོ།
blun gti rog ¡ན་གཏི་རོག
brag dkar #ག་དཀར།
bsam pa'i don 'grub
བསམ་པའི་དོན་འSབ།
bsam pa'i nyi ma བསམ་པའི་ཉི་མ།
bsam pa'i rgyal mtshan
བསམ་པའི་?ལ་མཚན།
bsngo smon བ¢ོ་£ོན།
bsod nams 'gyur med
བསོད་ནམས་འHར་མེད།
bsod nams rdo rje
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བསོད་ནམས་9ོ་:ེ།
bsod nams rgyal བསོད་ནམས་?ལ།
bsod nams rgyal mtshan
བསོད་ནམས་?ལ་མཚན།
bstan 'dzin བfན་འཛgན།
bstan 'gyur བfན་འHར།
btsun mo yag བzན་མོ་ཡག
bu sems rdo thog J་སེམས་9ོ་ཐོག
bya khyung D་žང་།
bya mi la gser gron
D་མི་ལ་གསེར་,ོན།
byang thang Dང་ཐང་།
chos dbyings rgya mtsho
ཆོས་དDིངས་?་མཚ>།
chos kyi lha mo ཆོས་rི་L་མོ།
chos mtsho ཆོས་མཚ>།
chos nyid sgrol ma ཆོས་ཉིད་,ོལ་མ།
chos skyong skyabs ཆོས་4ོང་4བས།
chos tsha ཆོས་ཚ།
dar rtse mdo དར་{ེ་མདོ།
dbra ltag, ra rtags ད#་nག Š་]གས།
dga' ldan དགའ་Gན།
dge lugs pa དགེ་Ÿགས་པ།
dgra nag zangs ma'i 'dzer ru
can དN་ནག་ཟངས་མའི་ཛ8ར་V་ཅན།
dinba fོན་པ།
dka' thub tshe ring
དཀའ་Žབ་ཚ8་རིང་།
dkar mdzes དཀར་མཛ8ས།
dkon mchog nyi ma
དཀོན་མཆོག་ཉི་མ།
dmag khrang དམག་kང་།
dmangs glu དམངས་¤།
dme ru ma དམེ་V་མ།
dngos grub sgrol ma
དངོས་Sབ་,ོལ་མ།
dngul sdong ད¥ལ་‡ོང་།
dokang 9ོ་ཁང་།
doko, rdo rko 9ོ་¦ོ།
dolav, rdo leb 9ོ་ལེབ།
don 'grub དོན་འSབ།
don grub དོན་Sབ།
don yod don grub དོན་ཡོད་དོན་Sབ།
don yod rdo rje དོན་ཡོད་9ོ་:ེ།
dpa' mo skyid དཔའ་མོ་4ིད།
dpa' rgod khyi nag དཔའ་lོད་mི་ནག
dpen zen དཔེན་ཟེན།
dran gsal œན་གསལ།
drug pa'i lha rtse šག་པའི་L་{ེ།
dur mdo cར་མདོ།
g.yang 'dzin གཡང་འཛgན།
g.yang chen གཡང་ཆེན།
g.yang mo གཡང་མོ།
g.yang skyabs rdo rje
གཡང་4བས་9ོ་:ེ།
g.yang skyid sgrol ma
གཡང་4ིད་,ོལ་མ།
g.yu 'brug གR་འQག
g.yu lha གR་L།
gangs dkar lha mo གངས་དཀར་L་མོ།
gcan tsha གཅན་ཚ།
gcig sgril གཅིག་,ིལ།
gcod pa skyabs གཅོད་པ་4བས།
gdugs dkar tshe ring
གcགས་དཀར་ཚ8་རིང་།
ge sar གེ་སར།
genga Œན་དགའ།
glang dar ma ང་དར་མ།
glen pa rta las rtug ེན་པ་]་ལས་§ག
(yul skad Rལ་Iད།)
•442•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
glo rgya ོ་?།
gnam lha thar གནམ་L་ཐར།
gnam mtsho ma གནམ་མཚ>་མ།
gnam mthso sgrol ma
གནམ་མཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
gnam mtsho skyid གནམ་མཚ>་4ིད།
gnam mtsho yag གནམ་མཚ>་ཡག
gnam skyid yag གནམ་4ིད་ཡག
gnam thar rgyal གནམ་ཐར་?ལ།
gnyen chen གཉེན་ཆེན།
gom mo གོམ་མོ།
gro ma Nོ་མ།
gser chen གསེར་ཆེན།
gser thub གསེར་Žབ།
gtsang phun dbang
གཙང་=ན་དབང་།
gu ru 'phrin las U་V་འdིན་ལས།
gu ru pad ma 'byung gnas
U་V་པད་མ་འ¨ང་གནས།
gu ru rdo rje U་V་9ོ་:ེ།
gyo mo vོ་མོ།
ja dkrug mgo ཇ་ད©ག་མགོ།
jo bo ཇོ་བོ།
jo khang ཇོ་ཁང་།
jo ser ཇོ་སེར།
kan su'u ཀན་yX།
karma ཀˆ།
kha btags ཁ་བཏགས།
kha mdo ཁ་མདོ།
khen thar ཁེན་ཐར།
khra la'i k་ལའི།
khrang dmar kང་དམར།
khri ka kི་ཀ
khro bo rkyal stong kོ་བོ་•ལ་fོང་།
khro mo rgyal kོ་མོ་?ལ།
khyi mchod mི་མཆོད།
ki hi hi ཀི་ཧི་ཧི།
klu mo `་མོ།
klu mo 'tsho `་མོ་འཚ>།
klu rgyal tshe ring `་?ལ་ཚ8་རིང་།
klu sgrub `་aབ།
kun bzang Œན་བཟང་།
kun bzang skyid Œན་བཟང་4ིད།
kun dga' Œན་དགའ།
kun thar rgyal Œན་ཐར་?ལ།
kun thar yag Œན་ཐར་ཡག
lags ལགས།
lags so ལགས་སོ།
lan yid ལན་ཡིད།
lcags 'bum rgyal ^གས་འJམ་?ལ།
lcags 'tsho sgrol ma
^གས་འཚ>་,ོལ་མ།
lcags mo tshe ring
^གས་མོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
lcags so lhun 'grub
^གས་སོ་_ན་འSབ།
lha khang nyi ma dgu shar
L་ཁང་ཉི་མ་དU་«ར།
lha mgon rgyal L་མགོན་?ལ།
lha mo L་མོ།
lha mo sgrol dkar L་མོ་,ོལ་དཀར།
lha sa L་ས།
lha yul L་Rལ།
lhun 'grub _ན་འSབ།
lo khog ལོ་ཁོག
lo sar ལོ་སར།
ma Ni མ་ཎི།
mang ra མང་ར།
mching nges མཆིང་ངེས།
mchod pa'i lha mo མཆོད་པའི་L་མོ།
•443•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
mdo ba མདོ་བ།
mdo lho མདོ་Lོ།
mdzo མཛ>།
mdzo 'dar མཛ>་འདར།
mdzo mo མཛ>་མོ།
me nyug མེ་-ག
me nyug gser tog མེ་-ག་གསེར་ཏོག
me tog མེ་ཏོག
mgo log མགོ་ལོག
mgo mang མགོ་མང་།
mgon po mtsho མགོན་པོ་མཚ>།
mgon po rdo rje མགོན་པོ་9ོ་:ེ།
mgon skyabs མགོན་4བས།
mgyogs pa'i lham lu pos མvོགས་
པའི་Lམ་Ÿ་པོས་པོས།
mi chag don 'grub མི་ཆག་དོན་འSབ།
mi rig zhwa mo nag re
མི་རིག་®་མོ་ནག་རེ།
mi la tsi tsi མི་ལ་ཙg་ཙg།
mkha' 'gro tshe ring
མཁའ་འNོ་ཚ8་རིང་།
mkha' rgyal thar མཁའ་?ལ་ཐར།
mkhyen rab rgya mtsho
མmེན་རབ་?་མཚ>།
mnyam las khang མཉམ་ལས་ཁང་།
mo lha dgu 'khor མོ་L་དU་འཁོར།
mo ston phag mgo མོ་fོན་ཕག་མགོ
mtsho kha'i shing ra
མཚ>་ཁའི་ཤིང་ར།
mtsho lha མཚ>་L།
mtsho lho མཚ>་Lོ།
mtsho mo མཚ>་མོ།
mtsho shar མཚ>་ཤར།
mtsho sngon མཚ>་¢ོན།
mtsho sngon po མཚ>་¢ོན་པོ།
ne'u na ནེX་ན།
nyi chos bzang bo ཉོ་ཆོས་བཟང་བོ།
nyi do ཉི་དོ།
nyi ma ཉི་མ།
nyi ma mtsho ཉི་མ་མཚ>།
nyin mtha' ཉིན་མཐའ།
pa po པ་པོ།, pha b+ho ཕ་བྷོ།
pad ma པད་མ།
pad ma skyid པད་མ་4ིད།
pad+ma dbang chen པiྨ་དབང་ཆེན།
pad+ma mtsho པiྨ་མཚ>།
pad+ma skyabs པiྨ་4བས།
pan yag པན་ཡག
pardo, phar rdo ཕར་9ོ།; also
ardo, 'ar rdo/འར་9ོ།
pha sems bu thog ཕ་སེམས་J་ཐོག
pha skyong rgan a bo ཕ་4ོང་lན་ཨ་
བོ།
phag mo g.yang sgron ཕག་མོ་གཡང་
,ོན།
phag mo lhun grub
ཕག་མོ་_ན་Sབ།
phu ma =་མ།
phun chung =ན་wང་།
phun tshogs =ན་ཚ>གས།
phun tshogs dbang rgyal
=ན་ཚ>གས་དབང་?ལ།
phyag phreng |ག་dེང་།
phyug mtsho skyid Zག་མཚ>་4ིད།
po po པོ་པོ།
ra ka gtag ར་ཀ་གཏག
rdo dbus 9ོ་དJས།
rdo dpa' 9ོ་དཔའ།
rdo khang 9ོ་ཁང་།
rdo ra 9ོ་ར།
•444•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
rdo rje 9ོ་:ེ།
rdo rje dngos grub 9ོ་:ེ་དངོས་Sབ།
rdo rje don grub 9ོ་:ེ་དོན་Sབ།
rdo rje rgyal 9ོ་:ེ་?ལ།
rdo rje skyid 9ོ་:ེ་4ིད།
rdung len °ང་ལེན།
re dgu ma mo རེ་དU་མ་མོ།
reb gong རེབ་གོང་།
rgan gya lན་v།
rgod po ltag khra lོད་པོ་nག་k།
rgya dkar ?་དཀར།
rgya mo skyid ?་མོ་4ིད།
rgyu 'bras med pa min smin
dus ma tshang ba red
x་འ#ས་མེད་པ་མིན་£ིན་cས་མ་ཚང་བ་རེད།
rig 'dzin རིག་འཛgན།
rig 'dzin tshe ring རིག་འཛgན་ཚ8་རིང་།
rin chen རིན་ཆེན།
rin chen 'tsho རིན་ཆེན་འཚ>།
rin chen lha mo རིན་ཆེན་L་མོ།
rin chen rdo rje རིན་ཆེན་9ོ་:ེ།
rin chen skyid རིན་ཆེན་4ིད།
rin chen thar ba རིན་ཆེན་ཐར་བ།
rkang tsha ¦ང་ཚ།
rma lho bod rigs rang skyong
khul ˆ་Lོ་བོད་རིགས་རང་4ོང་pལ།
rma lho ˆ་Lོ།
rnam rgyal Wམ་?ལ།
rnam rtog rgya mtsho
Wམ་]ོག་?་མཚ>།
rnga ba ±་བ།
rta khra shel gyi nyi ma
]་k་ཤེལ་vི་ཉི་མ།
rta mgrin rdo rje ]་མNིན་9ོ་:ེ།
rta ra ]་ར།
rtsam pa {མ་པ།
ru V།
ru sngun zhol ma V་²ན་ཞོལ་མ།
rwa rgya Š་?།
sa ས།
sangs rgyas bkra shis
སངས་?ས་བA་ཤིས།
santuk, sen thug སེན་Žག
sbrang 'bu me nyug, me tog
nyug ba
³ང་འJ་མེ་-ག མེ་ཏོག་-ག་བ།
sde dge ‡ེ་དགེ
sde rong ‡ེ་རོང་།
seng rdor སེང་9ོར།
sgang bzang ‹ང་བཟང་།
sgang bzang stobs ldan
‹ང་བཟང་fོབས་Gན།
sgo dmar ‹ོ་དམར།
sgo gtsig drog ‹ོ་གཙgག་œོག
sgom pa ‹ོམ་པ།
sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ།
sgrol ma rgyal ,ོལ་མ་?ལ།
sgrol ma yag ,ོལ་མ་ཡག
sgron dkar ,ོན་དཀར།
sha rgya ཤ་?།
shog gu ཤོག་U
si khron སི་kོན།
ska chung I་wང་།
skor rol thang Iར་རོལ་ཐང་།
skra ston ´་fོན།
sku 'bum µ་འJམ།
skya mi 4་མི།
skyabs lo 4བས་ལོ།
skyes pa bya rgod nyal na mi
dga' 'gro na dga'
•445•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
tshe dpa' ཚ8་དཔའ།
tshe las ཚ8་ལས།
tshe lha ཚ8་L།
tshe mdo skyid ཚ8་མདོ་4ིད།
tshe ring ཚ8་རིང་།
tshe ring rgyal mtsho
ཚ8་རིང་?་མཚ>།
tshe ring sgrol ma ཚ8་རིང་,ོལ་མ།
tshe thar skyid ཚ8་ཐར་4ིད།
tshong dpon nor bu bzang po
ཚ>ང་དཔོན་ནོར་J་བཟང་པོ།
tshwa kha º་ཁ།
vavare, ba ba re བ་བ་རེ།
ya rdzi ཡ་…ི།
yar klung ཡར་`ང་།
ye shes ཡེ་ཤེས།
ye shes mtsho ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>།
ye shes mtsho mo ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚ>་མོ།
yo lag ཡོ་ལག
yong ma ཡོང་མ།
yum mtsho Rམ་མཚ>།
zhaxi བA་ཤིས།
zho mdzug rtsebs ཞོ་མ»ག་{ེབས།
zi ling ཟི་ལིང་།
zla ba b་བ།
zla ba bstan 'dzin b་བ་བfན་འཛgན།
zla ba sgrol ma b་བ་,ོལ་མ།
4ེས་པ་D་lོད་ཉལ་ན་མི་དགའ་འNོ་ན་དགའ།
smar khams £ར་ཁམས།
sne na ¶ེ་ན།
sngas las ¢་ལས།
snying dkar skyid \ིང་དཀར་4ིད།
snying dpal tshe ring
\ིང་དཔལ་ཚ8་རིང་།
sprel nag ·ེལ་ནག
spyan gsum pa •ན་གyམ་པ།
spyi 'du tshe ring •ི་འc་ཚ8་རིང་།
sras mchog rdo rje dgra 'dul
¸ས་མཆོག་9ོ་:ེ་དN་འcལ།
stag rig fག་རིག
stobs ldan fོབས་Gན།
stobs rgyal fོབས་?ལ།
ston pa fོན་པ།
Tara, sgrol ma ,ོལ་མ།
thang ka ཐང་ཀ
thejol, 'thu sgro འŽ་,ོ།
thub bstan Žབ་བfན།
thun rin Žན་རིན།
thun rin rdzong mi rigs slob
'bring རེབ་གོང་…ོང་མི་རིགས་¹ོབ་འ#ིང་།
tsag thul ཙག་Žལ།
tsamba, tsam pa, rtsam pa
{མ་པ།
tsha nag ཚ་ནག
tshe dbang rdo rje ཚ8་དབང་9ོ་:ེ།
CHINESE AND OTHER TERMS
a me liao 阿么了
Aba 阿坝
Beijing 北京
Caixiangduojie 才项多杰
Chaka 茶卡
Chanaihai 查乃亥
Changmu 常牧
Dala 达拉
•446•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Dashui 大水
Dege 德格
Derong 得荣
Douhoulou 豆后漏
Duanwujie 端午节
Duohua 多华
Duola 多拉
Duowa 多哇
fen 分
Gangcha 岗察
Gannan 甘南
Gansu 甘肃
Ganzi 甘孜
Gongbo 贡波
Gonghe 共和
Gu'ertong 古尔通
Guide 贵德
Guinan 贵南
Guoluo 果洛
Guomaying 过马营
Haidong 海东
Hainan 海南
Haixi 海西
Henan 河南
Hezuoshe 合作社
Huangnan 黄南
Hui 回
Jianzha 尖扎
jiao 角
Jiaose 角色
Jintajiu 金塔酒
Jiuzhi 久治
Kangding 康定
Li Jianfu 李建富
Lianyi 联谊
Liuyuehui 六月会
Luojia 洛加
Luoke 洛科
Ma Bufang 马步芳
Maierma 麦尔玛
Mashigan 麻什干
Mentang 门堂
mianpian 面片
Mingshen 民胜
Namuyi 纳木依
Nancuoma 南错玛
Nina 尼那
Ninaxincun 尼那新村
Puma 普马
Puxi 蒲西
Qiang 羌
Qiezha 切扎
Qinghai 青海
Rangtang 壤塘
Reda 热达
Rianxiuma 日安秀麻
Rong da 绒达
Salar, Sala 撒拉
Shaanxi 陕西
Shajia 沙加
Shanghai 上海
shazaoshu 沙枣树
shide 是的
Shinaihe 石乃核
Sichuan 四川
Siyuewu 斯跃武
Tongren 同仁
Tongren xian minzu hongxue
同 仁县民族中学
Wulan 乌兰
•447•
AHP 65 TIBETAN FOLKLORE བོད་%ི་དམངས་*ོད་གནའ་གཏམ་/ོགས་0ིག AHP 65
Xi'an 西安
Xiangcheng 乡城
xiexie 谢谢
Xining 西宁
Xunhua 循化
Yeye 爷爷
Yongzhong 拥忠
yuan 元
zale 咋了
Zhala 扎拉
Zhang 张
Zhihai 直亥
Zhiyue 直跃
•448•
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