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- Verified Buyer
Melvyn Goldstein and Cynthia Beall did just that. Timing, luck, dollops of perseverance and a deep-rooted fundamental interest in Tibet, particularly the nomads, resulted in one of the more unique experiences that a human can have: be accepted by people from a vastly different culture and documenting that experience in words and pictures before it vanishes, which it did, in their lifetime. Goldstein had commenced his study of the Tibetan language and culture in 1960 and by the mid-80’s appears to have been fluent. Both Goldstein and Beall are Professors of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve U. in Cleveland, Ohio. A former fellow Amazon reviewer sent me his review of this book and I immediately ordered it, since it pressed some fundamental “hot buttons.”Timing. It was a very slender window. Mao’s “cultural revolution” almost destroyed the Tibetan nomadic culture (as well as much of China itself). All the “olds,” that is the traditions of thousands of years, were upended. Affluent nomads (almost an oxymoron) became “enemies of the people.” By the time that bad idea was finally discarded, it was towards 1980 in Tibet. China was still trying to assert its authority over the area and naturally was suspicious of outsiders. Finally, their application was accepted and all the bureaucratic rigamarole accomplished. They were able to live with a group of nomads that they selected, the Pala, primarily because they were “average.” The Pala are located in southwestern Tibet, about halfway between Lhasa and the sacred mountain (to the Hindu) of Mt. Kailash, and a couple hundred kilometers from Nepal.Elevation. The nomads live on the Changtang plateau, between 16,500 and 17,500 ft, an elevation that is one of the highest in the world for humans to permanently inhabit. The diurnal variation in temperature can be 70 degrees F, with summertime highs of 100, and 32 at night. The mean annual temperature is below freezing, with winter temperatures sinking to minus 40-50 F. There is a high incidence of cataracts due to the heavy exposure to ultraviolet light. The Professors did not complain about the altitude, apparently having acclimatized, but noted on one scramble up a rock scree that they were left in the dust.For me, 70% of the value of the book are the photographs. Stunning and stunning again. The open landscape, the mountains in the background, a couple lone figures providing perspective. There are also a number of “uptight” photos of the nomads themselves, often in their activities of daily living.There are no charts and graphs, nor opaque professional language. The text is meant for the general reader. These ethnologists do manage to cover their territory however, covering how the nomad’s food is made and consumed, marriage arrangements are made, grazing territory is allocated, hierarchy relationships are maintained, etc.A few factoids I found of interest: even though fish (in the numerous lakes) and waterfowl are abundant, the nomads do not eat them; the nomads harvest the soft goat undercoat that ends up being a $400 cashmere sweater in a NYC department store; and the nomads would undertake a four-month trek to the salt lakes in the north, and return to sell the salt in Nepal and India.The most stunning factoid is the fact that the nomads could be called “ranchers,” in that their annual movement is only 10 to 40 miles. This makes the construction of semi-permanent homes feasible and those $400 cashmere sweaters, all part of their entry into the global economy, provides the means.There are numerous questions I’d love to ask them about their personal experiences there, which were just mentioned in passing. For example, it seemed that they did not live the entire winter with them (understandable, yes) with the passing remark that they returned in April, after several months in Lhasa.For readers interested in a few other “brass ring” grabbers, who caught the end of a way of life, I’d highly recommend Roland and Sabrina Michaud’s “Caravans to Tartary.” They took one of the last camel caravans, in winter, up the Wakhan salient in Afghanistan in the late ‘70’s. Also, Donald Cole’s “Nomad of the Nomads,” about the Al Murrah Bedouin of the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, from 1975. And Wilfred Thesiger’s “The Marsh Arabs,” those who inhabited the lower delta area of Iraq, from the ‘50’s.As for the Pala, I think that Goldstein and Beall did not realize how quickly the modern world, and not the cultural revolution, would change their lives. That four-mouth salt trek is now accomplished in a few days by trucks. No doubt, the internet and electronic gadgets are there too. And permanent housing… with a few tents saved for the tourists (yes!) happily pictured on an internet search. Still, great photos and a great effort. 6-stars.
