At Sumdo, Rupsho : With Aba Dorjey Tsetup le , Now 86

Dorjey Tsetup is a Tibetan refugee and a former professional gold miner, known in Tibet as a Thokpa. He has lived in India since 1959, after fleeing Tibet, abandoning his ancestral profession as a gold miner.

In Tibet, Dorjey worked in a goldfield located in his native village of Mugnak. The site was widely known as Mugnak Thok: the Mugnak Goldfield. According to him, the hamlet of Mugnak lay approximately two days by horseback from Rudok.

Gold mining at Mugnak was carried out solely by the local villagers. Each family had its own assigned pit from which gold-bearing soil was extracted. A miner would be securely tied to a rope and carefully lowered into these vertical shafts, often more than 20 feet deep.

Inside, the miner would use animal horns to dig out chunks of earth, which were then pulled up by family members stationed at the surface.

This demanding work continued year-round. During the harsh winters, when the soil became frozen and unyielding, miners employed a traditional method to soften it: they would burn large quantities of dried animal dung at the bottom of the pit overnight. The fire’s heat would thaw the earth by morning, allowing the digging to resume. Since the interiors of these pits remained dark even in broad daylight, miners relied on lamps fueled by animal fat for illumination underground.

Dorjey recalls regularly descending into these pits on behalf of his family. Once the soil reached the surface, it was crushed into finer granules using animal horns. The loosened earth was then washed to separate out the gold. Water for this process had to be fetched from a faraway river known as Changding Tso, and was transported in bags made from sheepskin. The washing itself took place in wooden trays called Jhongba, traditionally used for gold panning.

Despite the strenuous labour involved, the amount of gold recovered was typically modest. The gold was never exchanged for cash. Instead, it was bartered with local Chukpo: wealthy livestock owners in Rudok, in return for basic necessities such as meat, butter, or cheese.

Among the Tibetan refugees of Ladakh

Nawang Tashi

Nawang Tashi, 88, a Tibetan refugee in Ladakh, India, hails from the Rawang region of Tibet, renowned for producing the finest Lena (Pashmina) in the entire Trans-Himalayan region. During his childhood Rawang consisted of small settlements, where most people lived in rebos (traditional nomadic tents). Only a few affluent families—no more than five—had permanent houses.

It has now been more than 60 years since Nawang arrived in India as a refugee, leaving behind his nomadic life in Rawang. Upon arrival, he initially settled in the Samay area near Tso Kar Lake in Changthang. Today, he lives with his relatives in Choglamsar village, Leh.

Before he was forced to become a refugee, Nawang, in his 20s, frequently visited Ladakh to trade salt from Tibet. Nawang Tashi vividly remembers his journeys to the famous Mindung Tsaka salt lakes, located three to four days’ travel north of Rawang. These lakes produced a rare mixture of red and white salt, known for its exceptional quality. Another key source of salt was Takthong Lungpa, about three days’ journey from Rawang, located towards Mansarovar Lake, a well-known reference point for distances and directions in ancient Tibet. Unlike Mindung Tsaka, which consisted of salt lakes, Takthong Lungpa had rocky cliffs from which salt was mined. However, the salt extracted from Takthong Lungpa was considered inferior to the premium quality salt from Mindung Tsaka. Once the salt from Mindung Tsaka was extracted and dried, Nawang and his community would load it onto around 500 sheep and embark on a month-long journey to Ladakh, heading towards the famous Chemrey salt market. At the market, the exchange rate was two measures of wheat for one measure of salt. Over the years, Nawang made three such trips to Ladakh to take part in this lively and bustling trade.

During his time in Tibet, Nawang owned nearly 1,000 sheep and goats, most of which were Changra goats, prized for their luxurious Pashmina wool. He fondly recalls annual visits by Muslim traders from Leh and Buddhist traders from the Sham region of Ladakh, who journeyed to Rawang to purchase yaks and Pashmina. According to Nawang, the superior quality of water, grass, and flowers in Rawang provided the Changra goats with exceptional nourishment, contributing significantly to their healthy growth and the luxurious quality of their Pashmina wool. The Pashmina hair would reach full growth during the fifth or sixth month of the Tibetan calendar, signaling the start of the combing season. For younger goats, the combing process typically took 4–5 days, while older goats required additional time to complete the process.

There was also a tradition of selecting about 4 to 5 male goats, known as Yangra or Phara, to mate with 100 female Changras. These male goats were chosen early in life based on their physical build and the quality of their hair growth, ensuring that only the best traits were passed on to future generations.

 Sonam Nurbu

Dondey Dolma

Sonam Nurbu, a 90-year-old from Tashigang, Tibet, and his 82-year-old wife, Dondey Dolma, moved to India in 1959, shortly after Losar, the Tibetan New Year. In Tibet, they led the life of Dokpas, dedicated to herding livestock across the region's expansive plains. While trading in India was never part of their routine, they often journeyed to the Tsokar area in Ladakh, India, during the summer months. The plentiful grasslands of Changthang  offered richer grazing opportunities compared to the pastures in Tibet.

Tsokar would come alive as a bustling marketplace, drawing traders from all directions. Sonam Nurbu and his fellow Tibetans arrived with their flocks—sheep, yaks, horses, and goats. They sold their sheep to Ladakhi traders, who paid in cash, and Sonam used his earnings to buy nye (barley) from other Ladakhis in the market. These exchanges ensured he had the resources to support his family through the seasons ahead.

Tsetup Dorjey

Tsetup Dorjey, an 87-year-old from Otsang near Rudok in Tibet, arrived in India as a refugee in 1960. He is among the few who journeyed to the renowned Kyeltse salt lake, Tibet’s main source of salt for Ladakh along with Mindung Tsaka lake until 1962. Although he never visited the distant Mindung Tsaka, he did make trips to another salt lake called Thayee, closer to Otsang. The trek from Otsang to the lake took 10-12 days on foot, leading sheep laden with lugals (saddle bags) across vast, desolate plains without any signs of human habitation. Continuing onward from Otsang to Ladakh was an even greater challenge—a month-long journey over rugged terrain and isolated landscapes.

Tsetup traveled with a small group of 3-5 companions, bringing along around 100 sheep, each carrying lugals packed with salt. In Ladakh, he journeyed to Chemrey and further to Nubra, stopping in villages such as Sumur and Diskit. The typical exchange rate was 3 kg of salt for 2 kg of barley. After completing his trade, Tsetup also sold sheep and wool, with sheep shearing often done in Tangyar or Sakti Phu. 

    Sonam Tenzin

Sonam Tenzin, now 82, originally from Nyari, Tibet, moved to India in 1959. In Tibet, he led a nomadic life, relocating up to four times a year. During the summer, he would settle in Chutti, near the Indian border, while winters took him to Lamey, Yung Suruk—closer to the famous Mindum Tsaka Lake. This proximity allowed him to visit the lake during the ideal season—winter, specifically the first month of the Tibetan calendar.

From Yung Suruk, a round trip to Mindum Tsaka took about 15-20 days. The lake was celebrated for its unique types of salt: red salt, known as nyemo, and white salt, called dayuu, found in different sections of the lake. After gathering salt, Sonam would return to Yung Suruk to store it, often embarking on a second journey to Mindum for an additional supply.

He later ventured through Tashigang, traveling as far as Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and areas near the Nepal-India border for trade. The trek from Tashigang to Spiti took around 20 days each way, where he spent several weeks trading salt for rice, gyamdey(white grain), and tema nakpo (black grain). Rice was especially costly, sometimes requiring up to 15 kg of salt for just 1 kg of rice. By journey’s end, he would return with around 150 lugals of grain, half of the 300 lugals of salt he initially carried. In Ladakh, Sonam Tenzin also visited Chemrey and Nubra, engaging in trade and building connections with the people there.

Reflecting on his extensive travels, Sonam Tenzin remarked, "I came from where the sun rises to trade to where the sun sets." 

Zanskari Horses: Stahspey,Turchit and Dong Phab.

 Tsering Tashi

Tsering Tashi, a 70-year-old from Langmi village in Zanskar, Ladakh, India, recalls a time when nearly every family in the region owned around two horses. He explains that before roads were built, horses were vital for transporting people and goods across Zanskar’s challenging terrain. These horses allowed people to travel to distant places like Suru Valley, Kargil, and beyond. His family, deeply passionate about horses, once owned between 25 and 30, continuing a tradition passed down by his father.

Tashi shares an intriguing legend about the origins of horses in Zanskar. According to the story, two magnificent horses mysteriously appeared from the mountains in a place called Changkha. Tashi believes that the current Zanskari horses are descendants of the Chamurthi horses from Himachal Pradesh, which are thought to have descended from these two mystical horses. In Himachal Pradesh, these horses were renowned for their strength, believed to come from grazing on special herbs called Yarsa Gombu. The legend further tells of how, when these horses fell ill, a mystic named Lobon Lundup healed them and wrote a book called Stahspey. This book remains a standard reference for treating horse health problems among many veteran horsekeepers in Zanskar.

The best horses can be identified by unique features, such as deer-like ears, large nostrils, and star-shaped markings in nine places on their bodies, with the most prominent one on their foreheads. He adds that horses are classified by color, with names like Nakpo, Mukpo, Nyonpo, and Koktal. Based on the quality of their ride, the finest horses, known as Yorga, are highly prized for their smooth and comfortable ride.

    shaped hair partition

One of Tashi’s fondest memories is from when he took a Zanskari horse to Leh to sell. There, he met a Tibetan man named Khamba Tamdin, who showed interest in the horse but questioned its purity. Tamdin used a method unfamiliar to Tashi to determine the horse’s lineage. By pressing on the horse’s front leg and examining its skin, Tamdin concluded that while the horse’s father was likely a pure Zanskari, its mother was not. Tashi, despite his years of experience with horses, was surprised by this method used by the Tibetans.

Zanskari Horse     

In Zanskar, a traditional practice called Turchit involves entrusting a pregnant horse to another person for care until it gives birth. Once the foal is born, the horse is returned to its original owner, while the caregiver keeps the foal. Another custom, known as Dong Phab (Gelding), is used to tame aggressive male horses. A specialist called a Sthashetpa performs gelding on the horse to calm it down, usually when the horse is around six years old, although for particularly strong horses, the procedure may be done as early as four. In the past, only one Sthashetpa was available in Parkachik, but today there are two more, in Lungnak and Ralakung. The fee for this service is typically ₹3,000, along with a traditional offering of Phey.

Photo No 2 and 3 courtesy of Stanzin Rabga, Reijing, Zanskar