Tibetan woman inside her home showing a computer in the background.
I am heading back to Mount Kailash and the western Tibetan Plateau to finish my next book documenting the rapid lifestyle and environmental changes occurring on the plateau. Arranging for support and logistics for a trip into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) presents its own set of challenges. First of all in addition to a Chinese Visa, permits are required just to get into the TAR. Once there depending on where you want to travel you will need a handful of permits to travel to your desired destinations. In addition the permits it is necessary to find a government approved guide and driver and a properly approved vehicle. A simple internet search will reveal several agencies that can put a package together providing you with the necessary permits, car, driver and guide. I have had great experiences with both FIT in Lhasa and Tibet Connections in Xining. This time I will be using Tibet Connections.
Finding a good guide is always hit or miss for me. When I have arranged for a guide that I haven’t worked with before I always take him/her out for a day of taking portraits before heading out on a several week trip. I’m mainly looking for someone that’s good with people. They don’t have to speak perfect English but I’m watching how they interact with their own people. This process will begin for me next week when I arrive in Lhasa. I’ll try to keep up my blog posts to let you know how things are going as I begin my month long trip.
I have enjoyed reading of your travels and adventures across Greater Tibet that you have taken this year. From talking to your guide in Amdo and Kham (Tashi Dhondrup, aka “Vincent”), it sounds like you had a great time. I hope your time in Ngari goes well, as I am sure it will.
I have been doing a lot of traveling myself this year (even more than normal). Earlier this year I traveled over 2000kms across just Yushu prefecture. In June, I did a 1600kms loop from Xining to Songpan via Hongyuan, Zoige, Xiahe and Langmusi. I most recently completed a 5000kms journey from Xining to Shangri-La via nearly every county in Garnze prefecture in Western Sichuan. In October, I will be doing a 3000kms roundtrip journey through southern Tibet and the Himalaya.
If you are ever in the area again, please let me know. I usually have a seat open in my 4WD. Take care….Losang http://www.landofsnows.com
Inigo de Angulo, a photographer from Spain, also accompanied me on one of my trips to Tibet in May. It was such a pleasure to watch Inigo interact with the people as he shot and gave Polaroids to his subjects. Inigo has been working on a long term project documenting many religious practices around the world. Here is his description of how the experience affected him.
“What impressed me most of the Tibetans was their devotion: they intensively live their faith at every moment. It is not something reserved for a special day in the calendar, but a constant presence in the way they understand their lives. From the way people greet you, humbly, with both hands together at the chest level; their chanting of the “On mani padme hum” mantra while spinning the prayer wheels; to the prostrations on the ground while circumambulating a temple.
And the most significant thing is that they not only pray for a better life for themselves or their family, but always extend their prayers to the peace and well-being of all the world. Before this trip, I saw some rituals of religions different to mine as something somehow weird and striking. Now I understand better that those rituals represent the way people live their faith, connect to God. I’m more open not only to accept but even to participate in them. I feel closer to the people and through them to God.” Inigo de Angulo
Over the years I have had many people ask me if they could assist me on one of my trips. I’ve never been too anxious to do so because I felt it would be too disruptive to have more “foreigners” than necessary show up in a remote village or at a nomad’s tent taking photos.
On my last trip to Tibet in May I decided to take two photographers with me to help cover expenses. I had met Stevan at one of my lectures at PhotoPlus and Inigo at one of my workshops in Los Angeles. It turned out to be a great collaborative experience with me learning as much or more from them as they did from me. My worries about having two extra foreigners show up vs one turned out to be unfounded. Both Stevan and Inigo were great with the people.
Here are some images and a recollection from Stevan:
An early morning walk on the dirt paths of Langmusi (Chinese) or Taktsang Lhamo (Tibetan) revealed approximately 35 motor biking nomads. These rough riding types rode over 100 kilometers to tithe to the Kerti Gumpa (monastery). What a sight to see these characters with camera phones.
They found me as much of a mystery as I did them. They sat and prayed with monks in this village that straddled the border between Sichauan and Gansu. The monks took their donation and draped their motorbikes with prayer flags. In quick order the nomads sped away to place the flags at the highest peak of the village. The display of prayer flags on mountain tops is widely seen in Tibet. It is an act of building merit and goodwill as the wind flutters the mantra stamped flags voicing the faith of Buddhism to the world. It was humbling to experience the devotion of an unlikely group of men.
It is one of those moments that will always stay with me.
From the photographs, Stevan most definitely worked well with the people, observing and sharing with us their spirit and character without any hint of invasion. Great work.
One of the things that amazed me as I traveled through what was formally Kham and Amdo on the Tibetan Plateau was the amount of new construction at many of the Tibetan Monasteries. It was not only the amount of new construction but the size and quality of the new monasteries and prayer halls that were being built. I saw multimillion dollar construction projects that left me wondering where the money was coming from.
One very elaborate Temple that was being built in a very remote area in Qinghai Provence was literally out in the middle of nowhere. I was told that the funding came from a wealthy individual in Hong Kong.
In another remote area of Sichuan Provence the world’s largest Stupa (Buddhist Shrine) was being built. Half completed with a construction crane on top it looked like a ‘Stupa condominium’. I was told it was being financed by ‘someone from the West’.
I was excited to see this resurgence of energy in the Tibetan monastic community. However, I met a Tibetan documentary filmmaker who had a different perspective. He felt all this new money coming from the outside was interfering with the historic relationship the monks and monasteries had with the local villages that had historically supported them. He said, ‘It’s just human nature. If you are getting millions of dollars donated are you still willing to bless someone’s children or their house for a few sacks of Tsampa {barley flour}?
As always, your photographs are the next best thing to being there and experiencing these incredibly beautiful and exciting places in person.
I think I agree with the filmmaker, reluctantly, because it sounds like a Western takeover of Tibetan Buddhism even though the donors’ intentions are likely pure. Bringing the Dharma to the West is one thing, building impressive buildings with such outside financing may be another. It’s a complicated issue. Thankfully, there do not seem to be any McDonalds and Walmarts in Tibet – yet.
Thank you for your extraordinarily wondrous photographs!
During the month of May an obscure fungus becomes the major focus of people living on the Tibetan Plateau. The Cordyceps sinensis fungus is known locally as Yartsa Gunbu or Caterpillar Fungus. The fungus devours and eventually mummifies its host, the ghost moth caterpillar, from inside out during the caterpillar’s hibernation on the mountain grasslands between 10,000 and 16,000 feet. The caterpillar dies just below the ground and then the dark brown/black mushroom emerges through the soil from the head of the body.
The growing popularity and belief, especially among the Han Chinese, that the fungus is an aphrodisiac and promotes longevity has fueled a modern day gold rush on the Tibetan Plateau. The fungus came to the world’s attention after some Chinese athletes at the National Games in Beijing extolled its virtues.
It is estimated that today over 40% of the income of rural Tibetans come from the Caterpillar Fungus. I was told that one Kilo of the fungus is worth $10,000 and that the children of Nomads can each collect as much as a Kilo per month. In late 2007 the value of the best-quality Yartsa GünbuDbyar rtswa dgun ’bu in Lhasa (Lasa) traded for around CN ¥80,000 (nearly US $12,000) per pound (JIATS, Danial Winkler). Since the Nomads are most familiar with the areas where the fungus grows they have become the greatest beneficiaries.
I would walk into empty monasteries because the Monks were either hunting Yartsa Gunbu or home tending to the animals so their family could be out hunting. You can imagine what this does to school enrollment of Nomadic children during the month of May. Almost everyone I met –Monks, Nomads, Hui Muslims, and Urban Tibetans were involved in harvesting or trading the fungus.
According to field mycologist, Daniel Winkler, the value of Yartsa Gunba has increased by 900% between 2007 and mid 2008. Unfortunately, arguments over grazing rights has lead to community disputes. The violence has caused injuries and even a few deaths. There were many occasions during my travels when we ran into road blocks and interrogation by officials who let us continue our journey after they were assured that we were not collecting the valuable fungi.
Pilgrims about to cross the 15,000 foot Chola Pass on their 2500 kilometer pilgrimage to Lhasa, prostrating the entire way. The devotion of the Tibetan people is unbelievable.
As I travel through the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, one thing has become very apparent. Tibetan Buddhism is enjoying a strong resurgence. Almost every Monastery I visit is building a new temple.
World’s largest stupa – 8 stories high near the remote Miwa Monastery on the Tibetan Plateau.
Evidently the funds for all this building is coming from the local Tibetan communities along with some support from Western organizations. The omnipresent prayer flags cover entire hillsides and mountain tops.
Monk walking the kora at the Temple of Princess Wencheng, near Yushu.
My guide said that this proliferation of prayer flags has just happened in the last 5 years. I just purchased a few flags and can’t imagine the resources that have gone into covering these hillsides. I am reminded of the work of the French artist Christo.
World’s largest Mani wall in Hongyan, Tibet. A Mani wall is composed of millions of individual rocks carved with the Tibetan mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum.
We met Choqhua, a monk from the small and remote Trakkar Monastery near Labrang in Gansu Province. We spent 3 days staying with him in his little cottage. He took us to the tiny remote village where he grew up and to a nearby cave where the 9th Panchen Lama was said to have meditated.
However, the highlight of our time with him was a visit to a ninety-year-old Ani (a nun named Sadia Tsomo) who went to a cave in a mountain side to meditate when she was twelve. Choqhua and other members of his monastery and the local villagers have provided her with food water and firewood over the years. Choqhua told us they consider her to be the manifestation of the ‘great mother’ protective deity Green Tara. He also told us she had never seen a foreigner before.
The thoughts of meeting this woman who had spent 78 years meditating in a cave inspired me to climb the mountain to her 13,000 ft retreat. Choqhua said that she does come down from her cave once a year to visit the monastery, but that she had never seen a foreigner
As we approached the entrance to her cave Choqhua had us stay back as he went in to meet her. Twenty minutes later he came out to let us know that she was too frightened to see a foreigner. I gave my camera to my guide Trashi Dhondrup who was able to go in and meet her and take a few photos. Tashi is from Yushu where the April earthquake hit and destroyed the town and the guest house he was building. He asked her to pray for the friends and relatives that he had lost in that tragedy.
Many people might not recognize it, but it is a privilege to meet someone who has meditated in a cave most of her life. They say there are people in Tibet, China and India who have lived hundreds of years meditating in caves. They never reveal themselves to strangers and feel that interaction with typical people will rub off and cause them to die sooner. One man I know tried to find them but could not for two trips to India. On his third trip to India he finally met an old sage who was 200 years old and on subsequent trips he met people who were much older. Of course nobody believes any of this and I highly doubt that you will ever meet any of these people because you are blogging about your experiences on the internet. However, I do believe it because I have studied the science of immortality, as taught by the Eastern Mystics and originally by Jesus when he returned from the Orient. It is okay if you think I am completely nuts but maybe you don’t if you are there meeting these kind of people. I realize a photographer has to keep his level documentary head.
David, I have found that many people don’t even know their age. They will say, I was born in the time of the big drought, etc. So, I really have to wonder when someone says they have lived for 200 years. I am very gratiful to have had this experience.
This post is immensely inspiring, at the beginning I was tense with anticipation that you’d be able to take a picture of her. THANK YOU for sharing this!
Did you give Trashi any pointers? Or did you just say, “point and click.”
Hi Mike. I did take a good amount of time to talk to Trashi about f-stops, shutter sheed, ISO, etc before he took this picture. Thought it wasn’t until after that we discussed composition.
News sent from Phil while working on a second book in Tibet:
I’m in Gansu Province on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau adding to my collection of stories of people who live on the plateau. I’m traveling with Stevan from North Carolina and Inigo who is currently living in Singapore — Both are photographers that I met in my workshops. Vincent, our Tibetan guide pointed out this group of monks camping out in the middle of nowhere. Monks camping!?! There were six monks that were on a 129 day pilgrimage moving their campsite every two days. They would retire to their tent and chant for two hours praying for a good growing season and health for the livestock of farmers and nomads in the area. They did this six times a day!
We watched as they joked with each other, carved mani stones and fed the ants.
It’s a blessing for you to be able to return to Tibet after facing the dangers of you previous trips. It will be interesting to see if you run into any familiar faces?
Hi Phil, I accessed your site from the Kathleen Ewing Gallery site. I had heard of your name but was happy to see more of your work. I have always been very interested in Tibet. The Himalaya was one place my father landscape photographer Philip Hyde had always thought he would like to go because of his love of mountains. However, I guess he never got around to it because he was too busy helping to create national parks and save wilderness in the American West. Thank you for these insights into the life of a monk. Rather than running off with gypsies or to join the circus, I feel I would rather run off and join the camping monks of Tibet…
David, thank you for all of your comments and for the time you spend on my blog. Tibet is one of my favorite places and truly a unique traveling experience.
“Women make change, but not in circumstances of their own choosing. They have to negotiate. They have to subvert tradition that once silenced them in order to give voice to new aspirations. . . We can use our tradition to navigate change.”
Ted Talk by Kavita N. Ramdas, president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women
Kavita tells the stories of three amazing women that have taken part in the global movement to empower women and girls by embracing and integrating their tradition and culture into their efforts.
The Global Fund for Women is a nonprofit grantmaking foundation that advances women’s human rights worldwide. We are a network of women and men who believe that ensuring women’s full equality and participation in society is one of the most effective ways to build a just, peaceful and sustainable world. We raise funds from a variety of sources and make grants to women-led organizations that promote the economic security, health, safety, education and leadership of women and girls.
Sometimes it is necessary to create your own opportunities for involvement in the issues that you are passionate about. Nonprofit organizations are looking for ways to get qualified intern and volunteer help. My last blog highlighted two students (Alisun Chopel and Suzy Messer) who worked toward their masters degrees while following their passion to do meaningful work in the developing world. They approached One HEART because of the work they are doing with maternal and infant health. In order to make their volunteer work support themselves they had to get creative and find the programs in their universities that would accredit their work with One HEART. They also had to find the scholarship money to support their travel and living expenses as they worked abroad. One HEART did not do this for them. They just gave them the platform to build their curriculum and scholarship requests around.
Mt. Nyiru, Kenya Sukulen, 37
As a social documentary photographer and filmmaker I typically have to suggest marketing ideas to the nonprofit organizations I work with. I find it important to get to know what the PR or marketing staff of the organizations are trying to accomplish and then brainstorm with them on projects that could accomplish their goals. For example in talking with Helen Garrett, the marketing director of Amnesty International, I learned that they wanted to conduct a multicity campaign in North America and Europe to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They wanted to collect 10,000,000 signatures of people rededicating themselves to the UDHR. In our conversations I suggested the signatures be collected in museums and galleries so there could be a backdrop of images at the events they staged. Of course it was my suggestion that I could supply the images and book that traveled with the events. As a result they accomplished their goal and I was able to create my Enduring Spirit series.
Willoq, Peru Lourdes 9, Benigno 18 mos.
Today many corporations are looking for ways to align their marketing efforts around social issues. ‘ Green marketing’ is a fast growing multimillion dollar business. This trend presents opportunities for the university student, retired baby boomer or documentary photographer who is passionate about an issue to find support. It just takes a little ambition and creativity to forge your own path.
Hi Mr Borges, I am Paolo from Italy . . .
after reading your last entry in your blog I thought I might feel free to ask for a little suggestion.
I am currently working on a personal project focused on a small african village. I have already spent there almost 2 months and I am going to be there again in few days.
What brings me to take photos there is that this village can be considered as an example of multiculture society, as people with different roots (african, arabian, indian) live togheter in a pacific way, sharing tradition and beliefs, where also different religions can be followed and practiced without raising any problem.
Also I found the women to be a very present amd strong part of society.
Even though i am aware that this may be found in several metropolis around the world – Sydney for instance – I have been surprised to find such reality in an African village.
Obviously I support myself with my own money at the moment . . . so I would like to ask you where I can address my proposal for a project.
Thank you very much
Paolo
Hello Paolo, Your message slipped through the cracks and I sincerely apologize. You might see if the organization Blue Earth Alliance would be a good fit for you. Also, you could try searching the database on our http://www.stirringthefire.org website to see if there are any other organizations you could work with. To be honest, for the most part, my projects have been self-funded, hence I don’t have a lot of advice to offer. Best of luck!
Caro Phil Borges, eu sou padre da Igreja Católica Romano no Brasil, Vi a foto da menina Buzayan de 6 anos na Ethiopia. Caro Phil, também sou um BUZAYAN; eu solicito do senhor o endereço da familia na Ethiopia para poder conhecê-la e poder ajudá-la.
Parabéns pelo seu trabalho ao mostrar a realidade realidade do povo
tão diverso.
Saudações.
Pe. Rones
Dear Rones, I enjoyed receiving your message. I know that Buzayan is from Jinka, Ethiopia. Unfortuately I don’t have an exact address. Thank you for getting in touch! PS: I used google translate to read your message. Hopefully it translated correctly! http://translate.google.com/#auto|en|
I love your work. You capture what has quickly become extinct, people in true form, without the fancy clothing, cosmetics and/or alternations to the body.
I have enjoyed reading of your travels and adventures across Greater Tibet that you have taken this year. From talking to your guide in Amdo and Kham (Tashi Dhondrup, aka “Vincent”), it sounds like you had a great time. I hope your time in Ngari goes well, as I am sure it will.
I have been doing a lot of traveling myself this year (even more than normal). Earlier this year I traveled over 2000kms across just Yushu prefecture. In June, I did a 1600kms loop from Xining to Songpan via Hongyuan, Zoige, Xiahe and Langmusi. I most recently completed a 5000kms journey from Xining to Shangri-La via nearly every county in Garnze prefecture in Western Sichuan. In October, I will be doing a 3000kms roundtrip journey through southern Tibet and the Himalaya.
If you are ever in the area again, please let me know. I usually have a seat open in my 4WD. Take care….Losang
http://www.landofsnows.com
Thank you for getting in touch Losang!