Are Dolma and Dolma the same thing?

Tibetans have many names with the same name. "Dolma" means "Tara", a very beautiful goddess. Three generations of women in the Shana family have chosen this beautiful name.

When I was interviewing in Zhongdian, Yunnan, I discovered an interesting thing about the landlord Xia Na’s family. Three generations of women in the family are all named Dolma: Dingzhu Dolma, Cili Dolma, and Larong Dolma. , the abbreviation is Dolma. "Dolma" means "Tara" in Tibetan, a very beautiful goddess, so women like to compete for this auspicious name.

Tibetan people often have the same name. In order to distinguish them, people often add the name of their family in front of their names. People with the same name in a family are often given nicknames. For example, the three generations of Dolma in the Shana family can also be called Dingzhuo, Zizhuo and Lazhuo respectively.

The grandmother who has the highest status in the family - Dingzhu Dolma

The status of the elderly is the highest among Zhongdian Tibetan families. The designated owner, Dolma, is 75 years old this year and has four generations living under the same roof. As all her children and grandchildren have grown up, the family's situation is getting better and better year by year. The old lady no longer cares about anything at home. Burning incense for the shrine is her only task. Every morning, after the old man completed this work solemnly and solemnly, he sat by the firepit, making butter tea and kneading tsampa. Sometimes she would give a loud lecture to her juniors if she had any objections.

The elderly’s housing is in the elderly room behind the fire pit. In the early days, the fire pit of the Tibetan family kept burning all night long, and even in winter, the old man's room was kept warm all day long. Now the concept has changed. In order to save firewood, the filial children and grandchildren put carpets in the old man's room and electric blankets on the bed.

In the evening, the old woman likes to tell stories to her great-grandchildren, and sometimes innocently debates some issues with them. She often sits quietly, twisting her beads and chanting sutras. Most Tibetan elders like Drolma are devout Buddhists, have a peaceful mind, and live their old age comfortably. They are not only healthy but also live long.

The old man has a very strong character. During the Spring Festival of 1997, I went to attend the wedding of the old man’s grandson Nongbu Qilin. The old man was ill at the time, but she thought it was a major event in the family. As a grandmother, how could she lie down? From the beginning to the end, the old man just held his sick body and sat by the fire pit for two whole days.

The Xia Na family has a special feature. The family has always been looking for a son-in-law. Dolma, her grandmother and mother were all looking for a son-in-law, and her daughter Zili Dolma's husband Basang was also a son-in-law. There were four boys in Nongbu Qilin's generation, so the eldest son of the family was asked to know the poem. Qilin stayed at home and got a wife. Zhongdian Tibetan people do not have the idea that men are superior to women when it comes to marriage. Regardless of men or women, the eldest son stays at home and inherits the family business, while the younger brothers and sisters get married or become monks or nuns. Families especially prefer daughters. In some families, the son of the eldest son is also sent to become a monk to find a son-in-law for his daughter. In this way, bridal marriage is quite common, and those who get married do not feel discriminated against. In Zhongdian Tibetan language, "sen" means to marry, and "Luan" means to marry. There is a difference between "giving out" and "coming in". Both men and women use "Luan" when marrying, and "Sen" is used when getting married. There is no deliberate distinction between women getting married and men getting married, marrying a daughter-in-law and recruiting a son-in-law when describing marriage behaviors due to differences in gender. In traditional Chinese families, coordinating the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a headache. The popular bridal marriage here avoids the big problems often faced, and the family relationship is very harmonious.

Dolma’s husband Najie is 78 years old and lives in the home of his son Gerong Dundup next door. The two old people have three daughters and two sons. Except for here Dolma who stayed at home to find a son-in-law, and Gerong Dundup who married a wife and started a new family, the rest were "married" outside. Almost all Tibetan families in this area are men who till the land, cut firewood, graze in alpine pastures, or go out to do business. Women are responsible for housework, raising livestock and field management.

The decision-maker in the family - Tili Dolma

Tili Dolma is the housewife. Zhongdian Tibetan generally calls this role "Poda". "Poda" is responsible for managing the family's finances and arranging life for the year, and is also the cook for the whole family. Except for the daughter who burns the fire in the morning, the mother does the four steps a day. However, Zizhuo was not at home these days. She and her husband Basang went to Xiagui Hot Water Pond for the annual bathing festival. Nongbu Qilin and I found it.

There are many hot springs near Zhongdian, among which Xiagui Hot Spring has the largest area. After the Spring Festival, it is relatively quiet at home, and Tibetans come here to celebrate the bathing festival. Everyone brought their cooking stoves, tents, and families to live in the hot water pond for a week, happily bathing, chatting, eating, drinking, and resting every day.

Of course, not every family has time to enjoy the Bathing Festival. Many Tibetans only take a day or two to take a bath.

On the way to Xiagui, Nongbu said to me: "My mother has never been to a hot water pool to bathe before. In the past two years, my sister-in-law has been able to help her, and she has some leisure time. This year, it will be more than ten years old." It's still there!" As soon as we arrived at the hot water pool, we could see hot springs all over the slope in the distance, with a large white mist covering it, and a human body wrapped in it. The mist was steaming and looming. Everyone has a red silk scarf tied on their head, floating back and forth in the white fog, like a fairyland.

Nongbu Qilin and I found his parents in a group of tents by the hot water pond. As soon as we entered, many people were sitting inside chatting. "Ah Gaga, Bubu has been back for two weeks and he still hasn't seen his parents. It turns out you came here. Why don't you miss your son as soon as you take a bath!" Nongbu Qilin teased his parents.

As Nong Bu Qilin said, this former "Puda" is really at ease today. In 1963, when Dolma was 18 years old, she married Basang. In Shana, everyone said that Dolma here was the most capable and famous "Puda" in that year. She recalled that there were endless hardships in those days: "My whole body was sick, my grandmother (in Zhongdian Tibetan: grandmother) was not in good health, and she was old. The older ones in the family, the younger ones, the younger ones, the older ones. There was too much tsampa but not enough food. I worked in the production team from morning to night during the day and had to take care of a large family at night. It was still hard to work like a spinning hammer all day long! The words in my heart were bitter and I couldn't say them during the day. I could only wipe my tears at night. Several children did not study hard and grew up unknowingly in the sheepfold."

Dolma laughed when she said this. Yes, she should be happy now. The sons are so capable, and there is also a good daughter-in-law, Lharong Dolma, who is diligent and capable, so they rush to do all the housework. People in the village say that Aunt Dolma is very lucky. She used to be bitter, but now she has become sweet again!

The housekeeper in the family - Lharong Dolma

Sister-in-law Larong Dolma is indeed the busiest person in the Shana family, and most of the things in the family depend on her Do. Although "Puda" is still the mother-in-law, she is actually the main one doing the work. Her husband, Chu Chu, has been doing business outside all year round. The Tibetan men here are just the representatives of the family outside, while the women are the actual heads of family and hold economic power. Today, Lajiu also holds great power, and everything in the family is still arranged by her.

In the morning, before we woke up, my sister-in-law Ladro got up. She first lit the fire in the fire pit, then went to fetch water. She also took time to burn incense on the mulberry tree on the wall above the gate. Sangxu is a small stone platform with a roof to protect it from rain and snow. Lazhuo used a piece of pine tree to light a fire on the mulberry tree, then added some pine needles to emit a burst of clear smoke, and then sprinkled some tsampa and water to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings.

After burning the incense, she returned to the house to make breakfast. After breakfast, I cleaned up, and then started cooking pig food and simmering cow water. These tasks are enough for her to keep her busy. She usually has her mother-in-law, Zili Dolma, to help her. But these two days, her mother-in-law is not at home, so Ladro is responsible for all the housework alone.

After she finished feeding the livestock, she took her children Tudanciwei and Zhishinuojie to work in the fields. Nongbu Qilin and I also followed. Lazhuo panicked, blushed, and said repeatedly, "No, no, no, my two uncles are going to have a rest and drink tea. How can I ask you to go to the fields too?" Nongbu Qilin explained that he had been outside all the time and was unfamiliar with the farm work at home, so he should Do some work to survive. We followed Dolma to the edge of the field. Nothing was planted in the field in winter. It had just been plowed and raked some time ago, and the farming season would not begin until March. The work to be done today is to fertilize the fields.

Lazhuo told us that in addition to buckwheat, we now grow cabbage, potatoes, highland barley, and wheat at home. Although growing food is not very profitable now, it is a fundamental fact that we still need to grow it. . After finishing the work in the field, Lazhuo started to make lunch again. After dinner, she knitted "Zhu" again. Zuozhu means blanket. Weaving Zhu is a traditional craft of Zhongdian Tibetan people. A special loom is used to weave wool into very thick blankets and mats. In the past, Tibetan people in Zhongdian used wool to weave wool. Today I saw Lazhuo using some colorful thick wool threads. She explained to me: “If we don’t raise sheep at home, we don’t have wool. These are acrylic threads. I bought it in the city, and the fabrics are very beautiful and very sturdy!" Lazhuo spent some time making the fabrics. After a while, she had to go to the animals again.

It is winter now, and the yaks have no grass forage, so they produce less milk. Usually, the milk that has been squeezed out for several days is combined to make butter.

Ladro's milking movements were very gentle, and she even sang to the yak in order to keep it quiet. After milking, she combined it with the milk saved from the previous few days and heated it in a pot. The heat had to be controlled very well, not too hot or too cold. After heating, the milk is poured into the "Wang Nuo" (milk bucket). The milk bucket is hooped with wood chips, about one meter high, and 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter. Then he stirred hard with a milk stick. This work was very heavy. While stirring, Ladro also sang the "Breast Beating Song":

"A few Kayangs, a few yos"

Nikayan Dang Niyo

Songayang Songyo

Rikayang on that day..."

It means: stir it up and blessings will come, stir it up twice and it will bring you blessings. Blessings will come, stir three times to bring good fortune, stir four times to attract wealth... A basin should be placed next to the milk bucket, filled with clean water. Ladro massaged for about half an hour and after singing the "Milk Breast Song" more than ten times, the fat in the milk began to rise. The diameter of the milk bucket was not large, and a small layer of fat immediately accumulated. She picked up the fat, kneaded it into lumps, and threw it into the basin. Seeing that there was enough fat floating in the basin, Lazhuo freed his hands to fish it out in the cold water and squeeze it. At the same time, he turned and slapped the ghee vigorously with his hands, and kneaded the ghee into a flat round cake shape. There was quite a lot of fat today, so Dolma kneaded two cakes of ghee. She told me:

"If I had to continue pumping milk, squeeze out some oil, and make as much ghee as possible, so even the milk residue would be dry and tasteless. Now my life is good. "Leave a little oil in the milk residue!" Put the remaining milk into the pot and heat it slightly, and it will start to precipitate after a while. Then remove the fire and add a ladle of yogurt water to ferment. Also, many Tibetans have the same name. "Dolma" means "Tara", a very beautiful goddess. Three generations of women in the Shana family have chosen this beautiful name.

When I was interviewing in Zhongdian, Yunnan, I discovered an interesting thing about the landlord Xia Na’s family. Three generations of women in the family are all named Dolma: Dingzhu Dolma, Cili Dolma, and Larong Dolma. , the abbreviation is Dolma. "Dolma" means "Tara" in Tibetan, a very beautiful goddess, so women like to compete for this auspicious name.

Tibetan people often have the same name. In order to distinguish them, people often add the name of their family in front of their names. People with the same name in a family are often given nicknames. For example, the three generations of Dolma in the Shana family can also be called Dingzhuo, Zizhuo and Lazhuo respectively.

The grandmother who has the highest status in the family - Dingzhu Dolma

The status of the elderly is the highest among Zhongdian Tibetan families. The designated owner, Dolma, is 75 years old this year and has four generations living under the same roof. As all her children and grandchildren have grown up, the situation of the family is getting better and better year by year. The old lady no longer cares about anything at home. Burning incense for the shrine is her only task. Every morning, after the old man completed this work solemnly and solemnly, he sat by the firepit, making butter tea and kneading tsampa. Sometimes she would give a loud lecture to her juniors if she had any objections.

The elderly’s housing is in the elderly room behind the fire pit. In the early days, the fire pit of the Tibetan family kept burning all night long, and even in winter, the old man's room was kept warm all day long. Now the concept has changed. In order to save firewood, the filial children and grandchildren put carpets in the old man's room and electric blankets on the bed.

In the evening, the old woman likes to tell stories to her great-grandchildren, and sometimes innocently debates some issues with them. She often sits quietly, twisting her beads and chanting sutras. Most Tibetan elders like Drolma are devout Buddhists, have a peaceful mind, and live their old age comfortably. They are not only healthy but also live long.

The old man has a very strong character. During the Spring Festival of 1997, I went to attend the wedding of the old man’s grandson Nongbu Qilin. The old man was ill at the time, but she thought it was a major event in the family. As a grandmother, how could she lie down? From the beginning to the end, the old man just held his sick body and sat by the fire pit for two whole days.

The Xia Na family has a special feature. The family has always been looking for a son-in-law. Dolma, her grandmother and mother were all looking for a son-in-law, and her daughter Zili Dolma's husband Basang was also a son-in-law. There were four boys in Nongbu Qilin's generation, so the eldest son of the family was asked to know the poem. Qilin stayed at home and got a wife. Zhongdian Tibetan people do not have the idea that men are superior to women when it comes to marriage. Regardless of men or women, the eldest son stays at home and inherits the family business, while the younger brothers and sisters get married or become monks or nuns. Families especially prefer daughters. In some families, the son of the eldest son is also sent to become a monk to find a son-in-law for his daughter. In this way, bridal marriage is quite common, and those who get married do not feel discriminated against.

In Zhongdian Tibetan language, "sen" means to marry, and "Luan" means to marry. There is a difference between "giving out" and "coming in". Both men and women use "Luan" when marrying, and "Sen" is used when getting married. There is no deliberate distinction between women getting married and men getting married, marrying a daughter-in-law and recruiting a son-in-law when describing marriage behaviors due to differences in gender. In traditional Chinese families, coordinating the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a headache. The popular bridal marriage here avoids the big problems often faced, and the family relationship is very harmonious.

Dolma’s husband Najie is 78 years old and lives in the home of his son Gerong Dundup next door. The two old people have three daughters and two sons. Except for here Dolma who stayed at home to find a son-in-law, and Gerong Dundup who married a wife and started a new family, the rest were "married" outside. Almost all Tibetan families in this area are men who till the land, cut firewood, graze in alpine pastures, or go out to do business. Women are responsible for housework, raising livestock and field management.

The decision-maker in the family - Tili Dolma

Tili Dolma is the housewife. Zhongdian Tibetan generally calls this role "Poda". "Poda" is responsible for managing the family's finances and arranging life for the year, and is also the cook for the whole family. Except for the daughter who burns the fire in the morning, the four steps a day are done by the mother. However, Zizhuo was not at home these days. She and her husband Basang went to Xiagui Hot Water Pond for the annual bathing festival. Nongbu Qilin and I found it.

There are many hot springs near Zhongdian, among which Xiagui Hot Spring has the largest area. After the Spring Festival, it is relatively quiet at home, and Tibetans come here to celebrate the bathing festival. Everyone brought their cooking stoves, tents, and families to live in the hot water pond for a week, happily bathing, chatting, eating, drinking, and resting every day. Of course, not every family has time to enjoy the Bathing Festival. Many Tibetans only take a day or two to take a bath.

On the way to Xiagui, Nongbu said to me: "My mother has never been to a hot water pool to bathe before. In the past two years, my sister-in-law has been able to help her, and she has some leisure time. This year, it will be more than ten years old." It's still there!" As soon as we arrived at the hot water pool, we could see hot springs all over the slope in the distance, with a large white mist covering it, and a human body wrapped in it. The mist was steaming and looming. Everyone has a red silk scarf tied on their head, floating back and forth in the white fog, like a fairyland.

Nongbu Qilin and I found his parents in a group of tents by the hot water pond. As soon as we entered, many people were sitting inside chatting. "Ah Gaga, Bubu has been back for two weeks and he still hasn't seen his parents. It turns out you came here. Why don't you miss your son as soon as you take a bath!" Nongbu Qilin teased his parents.

As Nong Bu Qilin said, this former "Puda" is really at ease today. In 1963, when Dolma was 18 years old, she married Basang. In Shana, everyone said that Dolma here was the most capable and famous "Panda" in that year. She recalled that there were endless hardships in those days: "My whole body was sick, my grandmother (in Zhongdian Tibetan: grandmother) was not in good health, and she was old. The older ones in the family, the younger ones, the younger ones, the older ones. There was too much tsampa but not enough food. I worked in the production team from morning to night during the day and had to take care of a large family at night. It was still hard to work like a spinning hammer all day long! The words in my heart are so painful that I can't say them during the day. I can only wipe my tears at night. Several children have grown up unknowingly in the sheepfold without studying hard."

Dolma laughed when she said this. Yes, she should be happy now. The sons are so capable, and there is also a good daughter-in-law, Lharong Dolma, who is diligent and capable, so they rush to do all the housework. People in the village say that Aunt Dolma is very lucky. She used to be bitter, but now she has become sweet again!

The housekeeper in the family - Lharong Dolma

Sister-in-law Larong Dolma is indeed the busiest person in the Shana family, and most of the things in the family depend on her Do. Although "Puda" is still the mother-in-law, in fact it is mainly her who is in charge. Her husband, Chu Chu, has been doing business outside all year round. The Tibetan men here are just the representatives of the family outside, while the women are the actual heads of family and hold economic power. Today, Lajiu also has great power, and everything in the family is still arranged by her.

In the morning, before we woke up, my sister-in-law Ladro got up. She first lit the fire in the fire pit, then went to fetch water. She also took time to burn incense on the mulberry tree on the wall above the gate. Sangxu is a small stone platform with a roof to protect it from rain and snow. Lazhuo lit a fire on the mulberry tree with a piece of pine needle, then added some pine needles to emit a burst of clear smoke, and then sprinkled some tsampa and water to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings.

After burning the incense, she returned to the house to make breakfast.

After breakfast, I cleaned up, and then started cooking pig food and simmering cow water. These tasks are enough for her to keep her busy. She usually has her mother-in-law, Zili Dolma, to help her. But these two days, her mother-in-law is not at home, so Ladro is responsible for all the housework alone.

After she finished feeding the livestock, she took her children Tudanciwei and Zhishinuojie to work in the fields. Nongbu Qilin and I also followed. Lazhuo panicked, blushed, and said repeatedly, "No, no, no, my two uncles are going to have a rest and drink tea. How can I ask you to go to the fields too?" Nongbu Qilin explained that he had been outside all the time and was unfamiliar with the farm work at home, so he should Do some work to survive. We followed Dolma to the edge of the field. Nothing was planted in the field in winter. It had just been plowed and raked some time ago, and the farming season would not begin until March. The work to be done today is to fertilize the fields.

Lazhuo told us that in addition to buckwheat, we now grow cabbage, potatoes, highland barley, and wheat at home. Although growing food is not very profitable now, it is a fundamental fact that we still need to grow it. . After finishing the work in the field, Lazhuo started to make lunch again. After dinner, she knitted "Zhu" again. Zuozhu means blanket. Weaving Zhu is a traditional craft of Zhongdian Tibetan people. A special loom is used to weave wool into very thick blankets and mats. In the past, Tibetan people in Zhongdian used wool to weave wool. Today I saw Lazhuo using some colorful thick wool threads. She explained to me: “If we don’t raise sheep at home, we don’t have wool. These are acrylic threads. I bought it in the city, and the fabrics are very beautiful and very sturdy!" Lazhuo spent some time making the fabrics. After a while, she had to go to the animals again.

It is winter now, and the yaks have no grass to feed them, so they produce less milk. Usually, the milk they squeeze out and save for several days is combined to make ghee. Ladro's milking movements were very gentle, and she even sang to the yak in order to keep it quiet. After milking, she combined it with the milk saved from the previous few days and heated it in a pot. The heat had to be controlled very well, not too hot or too cold. After heating, the milk is poured into the "Wang Nuo" (milk bucket). The milk bucket is hooped with wooden pieces, about one meter high, and 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter. Then he stirred hard with a milk stick. This work was very heavy. While stirring, Ladro also sang the "Breast Beating Song":

"A few Kayangs, a few yos"

Nikayan Dangniyo

Songayang Songyo

Rikayang on that day..."

It means: stir it up and blessings will come, stir it up twice and it will bring you blessings. Blessings will come, stir three times to bring good fortune, stir four times to attract wealth... A basin should be placed next to the milk bucket, filled with clean water. Ladro massaged for about half an hour and after singing the "Milk Breast Song" more than ten times, the fat in the milk began to rise. The diameter of the milk bucket was not large, and a small layer of fat immediately accumulated. She picked up the fat, kneaded it into lumps, and threw it into the basin. Seeing that there was enough fat floating in the basin, Lazhuo freed his hands to fish it out in the cold water and squeeze it. At the same time, he turned and slapped the ghee vigorously with his hands, and kneaded the ghee into a flat round cake shape. There was quite a lot of fat today, so Dolma kneaded two cakes of ghee. She told me:

"If I had to continue pumping milk, squeeze out some oil, and make as much ghee as possible, so even the milk residue would be dry and tasteless. Now my life is good. "Leave a little oil in the milk residue!" Put the remaining milk into the pot and heat it slightly, and it will start to precipitate after a while. Then remove the fire and add a ladle of yogurt water to ferment. He took some sticks and placed them on the pot, covering them with a special blanket.

In the free time, Lazhuo started to clean 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 through the bamboo bucket. A tofu-shaped inverted cone of milk residue formed at the bottom of the bucket. Take out the fresh and tender milk residue that is still shaking and place it on the milk residue rack above the fire pit. At this time, you are done. In just a few days, the smoke and fire will form a black crust on the milk residue, and the milk residue will also harden.

After milking and making milk dregs, the cows that were let out during the day had to be put into the pen and fed to the animals... After doing all this, it was time for dinner again, and Lazhuo became busy again. His footsteps were almost always trotting between houses and courtyards. After dinner, we were all resting and chatting, and Ladro began to weave quilts silently next to him again...

He came over and put some sticks on the pot and covered it with a special blanket stand up.

In the free time, Lazhuo started to clean 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 through the bamboo bucket. A piece of tofu-shaped inverted cone-shaped milk residue formed at the bottom of the bucket. Take out the still shaking fresh milk residue and place it on the milk residue rack above the fire pit. At this time, you are done. In just a few days, the smoke and fire will form a black crust on the milk residue, and the milk residue will also harden.

After milking and making milk dregs, the cows that were let out during the day had to be put into the pen and fed to the animals... After doing all this, it was time for dinner again, and Lazhuo became busy again. His footsteps were almost always trotting between houses and courtyards. After dinner, we were all resting and chatting, and Ladro started knitting quietly next to her again...