The Saltmen Of Tibet

The ethnography on “The Saltmen of Tibet” by Ulrike Koch is a brilliant film of one of the last nomadic Tibetan population living a Pre- Consumeristic lifestyle on the harsh regions of the Himalayas, rather then the typical lavourish Canadian consumeristic lifestyle. This film is remarkable because the Saltmen are able to survive in such a barren place with little commodities. Once a year the Saltmen pilgrimage to salt lakes, which lasts months, in order to extract salt. The salts that the Saltmen extract are the backbone to their livelihood because they trade salt for the commodities they need, and it is a sacred journey that has spiritual and traditional meaning towards them.
The dried up salt lakes are the backbone to the livelihood of …show more content…
Only men are allowed on this journey because it is said that women are cursed and the goddess of the salt lake becomes jealous of these women and produces no salt in the lakes. The Saltmen burn incense and continuously pray to the gods throughout their journey for safe passage and that the goddess Mayskmo Glaymo brings them plentiful salt when they reach the salt lakes. When the Saltmen reach the huge stone as they call it, they must be in their best behaviour and this includes no swearing or sleeping with other women or else the goddess will become mad and the salt lakes will be dry. The most amazing thing of the film is that beyond the rock they must use the language of the salt which shows the Saltmen’s sophistication, people who do not know the language of the salt are even looked down upon by the Saltmen. The division of labour between the group of men traveling to the salt lakes is unique, each man has a certain task for example Margen is the leader and cooks the food for the group while Pargen distributes the meal to the group. Bopsa is the youngest of the group and lacks experience, he is the labourer of the group and Zopon nourishes and takes care of the yaks. The pilgrimage to the salt lakes are filled with rituals, music, and praise towards the gods so that they can stay safe on this journey. When the Saltmen reach the salt lakes they begin their extraction of the salt. They use scrappers to pile the salt into heaps and use sacks that they make to hold the salt in then tie it on the yaks. The Saltmen even believe that salt has a soul of its own. The Saltmen are excited because the salt is plentiful that year and believe the goddess is happy with them. They pray to all the gods and the goddess of the salt lake and give an offering to the gods which are several yaks made out of grain. The Saltmen’s way of life is very