This is a movie on Tibetan nomads shot in the Kham area. An excellent movie documenting the daily lives and hardships of the nomadic people. The movie was shot in the summer of 2007 for a period of 3 months.
The movie centers around the family of Locho and Yama and their little baby girl. Nomads move from pasture to pasture each season. They are working all the time to provide for themselves. Their main livelihood is the life stock, Yak in this movie, they have. It is just incredible how hard the life of a nomadic woman is. From the time she wakes up until she sleeps she is working. This is expressed in a couple of lines Yama says during the movie; "If I get some time, there is always something else to do." , "In the town people like to hold and feed their babies all day. We also love our babies, but we don't have time to hold them."
Recently, the nomads have a new source of income, the caterpillar fungus. Which is essentially a caterpillar that has been infected by a fungus. The fungus bores through the caterpillar and protrudes out of it to be able to spread its spores. This caterpillar fungus is used in Chinese medicine and is said to be good as an energy booster, immune booster and has aphrodisiac properties. Locho mentioned the price of this caterpillar might even be compared to gold. However, since no one can tell when caterpillar fungi might run out, Locho and Yama don't want to rely only on this as a source of income and settle in a town. They feel more confident with their nomadic life. Other nomadic families have, however, made their money and chosen to settle in a town. I, of course, hadn't heard about this fungus until now.
Their life is so incredibly different from ours, that one of their sayings that they mentioned in the movie had no real meaning for me, "Nothing is more bountiful than the land. Nothing kills more than the sky". While I can understand why they say this, it isn't something I can relate with in my life. It's just so surreal to watch them live their lives, constantly working through all the interviewing for the movie and everything. They are always working. Always.
An interesting thing I learnt about them is that they hardly eat any vegetables other than Troma, which is 'Tibetan Sweet Potato'. Their diet mainly comprises meat and dairy products.
Finally, I can't end this entry about the movie without mentioning the breathtaking backdrop the movie is set against. The green valleys of the Kham district are incredibly awe-inspiring!!! siiiiiigh!!!!
The movie centers around the family of Locho and Yama and their little baby girl. Nomads move from pasture to pasture each season. They are working all the time to provide for themselves. Their main livelihood is the life stock, Yak in this movie, they have. It is just incredible how hard the life of a nomadic woman is. From the time she wakes up until she sleeps she is working. This is expressed in a couple of lines Yama says during the movie; "If I get some time, there is always something else to do." , "In the town people like to hold and feed their babies all day. We also love our babies, but we don't have time to hold them."
Recently, the nomads have a new source of income, the caterpillar fungus. Which is essentially a caterpillar that has been infected by a fungus. The fungus bores through the caterpillar and protrudes out of it to be able to spread its spores. This caterpillar fungus is used in Chinese medicine and is said to be good as an energy booster, immune booster and has aphrodisiac properties. Locho mentioned the price of this caterpillar might even be compared to gold. However, since no one can tell when caterpillar fungi might run out, Locho and Yama don't want to rely only on this as a source of income and settle in a town. They feel more confident with their nomadic life. Other nomadic families have, however, made their money and chosen to settle in a town. I, of course, hadn't heard about this fungus until now.
Their life is so incredibly different from ours, that one of their sayings that they mentioned in the movie had no real meaning for me, "Nothing is more bountiful than the land. Nothing kills more than the sky". While I can understand why they say this, it isn't something I can relate with in my life. It's just so surreal to watch them live their lives, constantly working through all the interviewing for the movie and everything. They are always working. Always.
An interesting thing I learnt about them is that they hardly eat any vegetables other than Troma, which is 'Tibetan Sweet Potato'. Their diet mainly comprises meat and dairy products.
Finally, I can't end this entry about the movie without mentioning the breathtaking backdrop the movie is set against. The green valleys of the Kham district are incredibly awe-inspiring!!! siiiiiigh!!!!
Locho and Yama's infant daughter, nicknamed Jiatomah ("pale chubby girl")
Did I mention HOWWWW incredibly aborable she is!!!!!
Caterpillar Fungus
Loved the write-up :) Looks like I missed a good one.
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