Name: Tenzin Bhuti
(Alias: No)
Gender: Female
Interview Age: 72
Date of Birth: 1945
Birthplace: Kura, Utsang, Tibet
Year Left Tibet: 1959
Profession: Herding
Monk/Nun: No
Political Prisoner: No
Interview No.: 16U
Date: 2017-04-02
Language: Tibetan
Location: Rajpur, Uttarakhand, India
Categories: Culture and History
Keywords: childhood memories, clothing/weaving, customs/traditions, herding, marriage practices, medical treatment, shamans/mediums, Utsang
Summary:
Tenzin Bhuti was born in Kura, Dhingri in Utsang Province in 1945. She is the eldest of six siblings and her family owned a farm and 3,000 sheep. The family lived in a two-story home and grew barley and vegetables. At the age of 12 or 13 Tenzin Bhuti went to the fields daily with the shepherds. She describes the family's winter clothing made of sheepskin and custom-made boots.
Tenzin Bhuti's family hired people to make their tsampa 'flour made from roasted barley' and work in the fields. Their herders transported water to them daily in containers filled at the river. Tenzin Bhuti's father was a third generation doctor, a profession that is passed on from father to son. Her father treated patients in his home or theirs using his stock of herbal medicines. The family also consulted with a medium once a year to learn about their future.
Tenzin Bhuti experienced a grand Tibetan wedding that went on for two or three days. She served as a bayok 'bridesmaid' and stayed with the bride for a month to support her during the transition. She was only 14 years old when her family left Tibet and moved to Nepal.
Interview Team:
- Marcella Adamski (Interviewer)
- Tenzin Yangchen (Interpreter)
- Tenzin Choenyi (Videographer)
