A Journey to the Home Area of the Moinbas

XIAO GANGTIAN

It happened 17 years ago. I was on horseback heading for Lechibo Gully, an area inhabited by people of the Moinba ethnic group. The way was not a road in the true sense, and, in addition, it was covered with ice.

However, the trip was very entertaining. In the forests, snow chickens, Tibetan pheasants, river deer and squirrels greeted us. Seeing us on our lonely walk through the isolated environment, charming girls, in the shape of towering peaks topped by shining snow, beckoned us smilingly, and flowing streams sang gently.

In the teeth of the biting wind, I followed Cering in crossing the mountain ridges before reaching a precipice where a waterfall plunged down dozens of meters in a great roar. It was another seven-hour ride from the waterfall to the gully.

The gully area is composed of four townships and seven villages, with a total population of 500. Tucked away at an elevation of 2,000 meters, the area features beautiful landscapes and bumper harvests. The major products are chicken feet rice, sticky cereals, wheat, qingke barley, maize, black peas, and vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkins, carrots and cabbages, as well as economic crops including tea and tobacco. The gully is home to a primitive forest, occupied by pandas, rock sheep and other wildlife. When we got closer to the gully, what we heard was almost nothing. Xangdong, the local chief, showed us around. He was a graduate from the Beijing-based Central Institute for Minorities, and we had no language barrier in communication.

EATING RAW MUTTON. We were brought to Zhaxis house in Marma Village. Standing by the wooden wall was a bronze water jar and on the wall were 15 copper and aluminum ladles. "Zhaxi is a carpenter. He is the richest in the village," explained Cering, explaining a local legend holds that the more ladles on the wall, the more riches one has. Zhaxi smiled at these words. Obviously a reticent person, he gave each of us a piece of sheep hide and then pointed at the fire to invite us to sit down. I examined the house and found nothing that resembled a chair, a bench or a stool. Zhaxi produced a cup of liquor for each of us and lifted his stretched palm upward, which means "help yourself." When Cering told him I drank no liquor at all, he served me buttered tea and brought me a finely woven bamboo box. In the box was a sheeps leg! And it was "bleeding"!! Though I hated to taste raw meat, I followed their example by cutting and eating pieces of it.

STINKING, YET TASTY. This refers to buckwheat paste which Wangzha, head of Lecun Village, entertained me with on the second day of my visit to the gully area. Wangzha has a family of three: his wife and their 10-year-old son. As they had the child when they were "getting on in years," they named him "Treasure." As soon as we sat down, buttered tea was brought to us. The grasses available to sheep here are mellow, and the milk is especially tasty. I had cup after cup and felt so good after quaffing this succession of hot cups. Wangzha brought out a small stone mortar, and put some stinking milk dredges with dried hot peppers. He stirred this violently with seasonings. Wangzha poured some water into buckwheat flour and created cakes. He gave us some to taste, advising us to forget the smell of the seasoning. I dipped the cake into the stinking seasoning, and, plucking up my courage to take the first bite. Wow! It was really tasty, although it smelt awful!

OLD MAN ENJOYING LONG LIFE. During our stay in the gully area, we visited an 89-year-old man named Garbai Baima, who had three brothers. "baima lived on making wooden bowls for the Gaxag officials in the past,照 explained our host. "people like him made 30-40 such bowls per person per day. Each bowl sold 3-4 zanggar (Tibetan money). "He got married at 25, but poverty forced the couple to part. He drifted to Bhutan, Dawang and Nujim, and finally settled in Cona. "At 59, he married Jimzong, who had fled there together with her daughter. The three lived there until 1959. "He has two sons. The eldest works for the Lhunze County government. Now, he lives with his wife and granddaughter." According to Baima, he now makes a few wooden bowls a day. "At my age, I suffer from poor eyesight,?he explained. "Life is much better and I hate to feel I am getting on years," he said while bidding me farewell. Four years later, he died of old age.