What does "Zhuo Ma" mean in Tibetan?

Many Tibetans have the same name. "Zhuo Ma" means "Tara", a beautiful goddess. Three generations of women in Xia's family all chose this beautiful name.

When I interviewed in Zhongdian, Yunnan, I found an interesting thing about the landlord Xia Na's family. The three generations of women in the family are all called Zhuo Ma: Zhuo Ma, Zhuo Ma and Zhuo Ma, all of whom are Zhuo Ma for short. "Zhuo Ma" in Tibetan means "Tara", a beautiful goddess, so women like to use this auspicious name.

There are many Tibetan people with duplicate names. In order to distinguish them, people often add family names before their names. However, people with the same name in a family often take their nicknames. For example, the three generations of Zhuo Ma in Xia's family can also be called Ding Zhuo, Zhe Zhuo and La Zhuo respectively.

Zhuo Ma, the grandmother with the highest status in the family, has the highest status among the Tibetan families in Zhongdian. The Lord Zhuo Ma is 75 years old, and four generations live under one roof. Because all her children and grandchildren are perfect, the situation at home is getting better every year. The old man no longer cares about anything at home, and burning incense for the shrine is her only task. Every morning, after the old man finished the work solemnly and seriously, he sat by the fire pond playing buttered tea and kneading. Sometimes if she has a problem with the younger generation, she will teach a few words loudly.

The old people's house is in the old people's house behind the fireplace. The early collectors' fireplaces didn't go out all night, and even in winter, the old people's houses were baked warmly all day. Now the concept has changed. In order to save firewood, filial children and grandchildren spread carpets in the old man's room and added electric blankets to the bed.

In the evening, the old man likes to tell stories to his great-grandchildren, and sometimes he naively argues with them about some issues. She often sits quietly, twirling beads and chanting. Most Tibetan old people are as devout as Zhuo Ma, and spend their old age peacefully, not only healthy but also long.

the old man's character is very strong. In the Spring Festival of 1997, I went to attend the wedding of the old man's grandson, Nong Buqilin. At that time, the old man was ill, but she thought it was a family event. As a grandmother, how could she lie down? From beginning to end, the old man just sat by the fireplace with his sick body for two whole days.

Xia's family has a characteristic, and the family has always been a husband. Lord Zhuo Ma, her grandmother and mother are husbands, and her daughter, Basan, Zhuo Ma's husband, is also a door-to-door son-in-law. There are four boys in the generation of Nongbu Qilin, so the boss is allowed to stay at home and get a wife. Zhongdian Tibetans don't have the idea that men are superior to women in marriage. Regardless of men and women, the eldest stays at home to inherit the family business, while the younger siblings get married or become monks and nuns. Daughters are especially favored in the family, and some family bosses send their sons to be monks to marry their daughters. As a result, it is quite common to get married by adoption, and those who adopt by adoption do not feel discriminated against. In Zhongdian Tibetan, "Sen" means to marry, and "Guan" means to marry, which means there is a difference between "giving out" and "coming in". Both men and women use "Guan" as long as they marry, and they all say "Sen" when they marry. There is no deliberate difference between marrying a woman and adopting a son-in-law when describing marriage behavior because of gender differences, as in Chinese. It has always been a headache for traditional China families to coordinate the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The popular adopted marriage here avoids the big problems that are often faced, and the family relationship is very harmonious.

Zhuo Ma's husband, Najie, is 78 years old and lives in the home of his son Grondonzhu next door. The two old people have three daughters and two sons. Except that Zhuoma stayed at home and married her husband, Gerong Dunzhu married and set up another family, the rest were "married" outside. Almost all Tibetan families in this area are men who cultivate land, chop wood, graze in alpine pastures or go out for business. Women are responsible for housework, raising livestock and managing fields.

the decision-maker in the family-Zhuo Ma here

Zhuo Ma here is a housewife, and this role is generally called "Po Da" in Zhongdian Tibetan. "Po Da" is responsible for controlling the family economy, arranging the life for one year, and is also the cook of the whole family. In addition to the fire in the morning, the mother cooks four steps a day. However, this Zhuo is not at home these days. She and her husband Basang went to the summer hot water pond for the annual bathing festival, and I found it with Nong Buqi Lin.

There are many hot springs near Zhongdian, among which Xiagei Hot Spring has the largest area. After the Spring Festival, the family is more at leisure, and Tibetans come here for the bath festival. Everyone took a cooker, set up a tent, and lived in a hot water pool for a week, taking a bath, chatting, eating and drinking happily every day. Of course, not every family has time to spend a relaxing bath festival, and many Tibetans just take a day or two to take a bubble bath.

On the way to Xiagei, Nongbu said to me, "My mother has never taken a bath in an overheated pond before. In the past two years, my sister-in-law has been effective, and she has some leisure. She is still there for more than ten days this year!" As soon as I got to the hot water pond, I saw a hole-hole hot spring everywhere on the slope. There was a mass of white fog on it, wrapped in human bodies, and the clouds were transpiration and looming. Everyone has a red silk scarf tied to their heads, floating around in the white fog, just like a fairyland.

Nong Buqi Lin and I found his parents in the tent group near the hot water pond. As soon as I entered, many people were sitting inside chatting. "Ah kagyu kagyu, Bubu came back for two weeks and couldn't see ABBA-MAMA. So you came here. How come I don't want my son when I take a bath! " Nongbu Qilin teased his parents.

Indeed, as Nong Buqilin said, this former "Po Da" is really carefree today. In 1963, Zhuo Ma married Basang at the age of 18. In Xia 'na, everyone said that Zhuo Ma was the most capable and famous "Puda" in that year. She recalled that there were always endless pains in those days: "Grandma was sick all over, but Mamai (Zhongdian Tibetan: grandmother) was in poor health and was old. At home, the old are old, the small are small, there are too many cakes, and there is not enough food. Working in the production team from morning till night and taking care of a large family at night, it's still hard to turn like a linear hammer all day! The truth is bitter, you can't say it during the day, you can only wipe your tears at night. Several children grew up unconsciously in the sheepfold without studying hard. "

Zhuo Ma laughed when she talked about it. Yes, she should be happy now. Several sons are so capable, and there is a good daughter-in-law Zhuo Ma, who is diligent and capable, and all the housework is done. Everyone in the village said that Aunt Zhuo Ma was blessed. She used to be bitter, but now she is bitter!

Zhuo Ma, the housekeeper at home

Sister-in-law Zhuo Ma is really the busiest person in Xia's family, and most of the things in the family depend on her. Although "Po Da" is still her mother-in-law, in fact, it is mainly her who is planning. Her husband Chuchu is doing business outside all the year round. The Tibetan men here are just representatives of a family outside, and the women are the actual parents, holding the economic power. Today, La Lao is also in power, and everything in the family depends on her arrangement.

in the morning, before we woke up, sister-in-law Rajo got up. She set the fire in the fireplace first, then went to fetch water, and took time to burn incense in the mulberry on the top wall of the gate. Mulberry is a small stone platform with a roof to protect against rain and snow. Rajo used a piece of Song Ming to light a fire on the mulberry, then added some pine needles, emitted a puff of clear smoke, and sprinkled some Ciba and water to ward off evil spirits and pray.

after burning incense, she went back to the house to make breakfast. After breakfast, clean up, and then start cooking pig food and simmering cow water. These jobs are enough for her to be busy. At ordinary times, her mother-in-law Zhuo Ma helps her here. Her mother-in-law is not at home these two days, and all the housework is to help Zhuo Yi people to get busy.

After feeding the livestock, she took her children Tudan Tseng and Zhi Shi Nuojie to work in the fields. Nongbu Qilin and I will follow. Rajo panicked, blushed and repeatedly said, "No, no, two uncles are resting for tea. How can we ask you to go to the fields?" Nongbu Qilin explained that he had been outside all the time, and his farm work at home was unfamiliar, so he should do something about it. We came to the field with Zhuo Ma, and there was nothing planted in the fields in winter. We just plowed and raked some time ago, and we didn't start farming until March. The work to be done today is to fatten the Abel Tamata.

Rajo told us that in addition to buckwheat, there are some kinds of crops at home, such as turnips, potatoes, highland barley and wheat. Although it is not very profitable to grow food now, it is a fundamental thing, and this kind of crops should be planted. After busy working in the field, Rajo began to cook lunch again. After dinner, she knitted "cooking" again. Making a blanket means a blanket. Weaving is a traditional craft of Tibetans in Zhongdian. Wool is woven into thick blankets and mats with a special loom. In the past, the Tibetan people in Zhongdian used wool for weaving. Today, I saw that Lazhuo used some colorful coarse wool. She explained to me: "If there is no sheep at home, there is no wool. These are acrylic threads, which were bought in the city. The woven wool is very beautiful and still very strong!" It takes Rajo a little time to weave, and later, she has to attend to the animals again.

It's winter now. Yaks have no grass feed, so they produce less milk. Generally, the milk squeezed for several days is mixed together to make ghee. Rajo's milking is gentle, and in order to make the yak quiet, he has to sing to it. After milking, she mixed it with the milk saved a few days ago and heated it in the pot. The heat should be well controlled, and it is not good to be hot or cold at all. After heating, pour the milk into the "Wangnuo" (milk bucket). The milk pail is made of wood chips, about one meter high, and the diameter of the pail is thirty or forty centimeters. Then stir it with a milk stick. These tasks are very heavy. When Rajo stirs it, he sings "Milk Beating Song":

"Add a few times to the center.

Add a few days to the center.

Add a few days to the center ..."

It means: stir the blessings once, stir the blessings twice, and stir the blessings three times. Rajo played for about half an hour, and after singing "Beating Milk Song" for more than ten times, the fat in the milk began to float. The diameter of the milk bucket was not large, and the fat immediately accumulated a small layer. I saw that she picked up the oil and pinched it into lumps and threw it into the basin. Seeing that there was enough grease floating in the basin, Rajo fished it out in cold water and pinched it. At the same time, he beat it hard while turning it with his hand to knead the ghee into a flat cake. Today's oil is still rich, and Zhuoma even pinched two cakes of ghee. She told me:

"If we continue to beat milk before, we will squeeze out some oil and make as much ghee as possible, so even the milk residue is dry and oily. Now that life is good, leave some oil in the milk residue! " The remaining milk from the butter whipping is put into the pan and heated slightly, and then it begins to precipitate. Then remove the fire and add a ladle of yogurt water for fermentation. He took some sticks and put them on the pot, and covered them with a special blanket.

In the spare time, Rajo began to tidy up the room. After about two hours, she put a big bamboo bucket on the bucket, scooped out the milk in the pot and filtered it with the bamboo bucket. At the bottom of the bamboo bucket, a tofu-shaped inverted cone of milk residue was formed, and the fresh and tender milk residue that was still shaking was taken out and placed on the milk residue rack above the fire pit. At this time, it was done. As long as a few days later, the smoke will spread a black hard shell on the milk residue, and the milk residue will harden.

After milking and milk residue, the cows released during the day should be put in the barn and fed to the animals ... After all this, it's time for dinner, Rajo is busy again, and her footsteps are almost always trotting between the house and the yard. After dinner, all of us were having a rest and chatting, and Rajo began to knit silently ...

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