I learn a lot from well-researched murder mysteries set in foreign lands. And ever since Kate’s Mystery Books got me hooked on Eliot Pattison’s The Skull Mantra, the nomads in the mountains of Tibet have intrigued me.
That is why I loved Diane Barker’s photographs at the Global Oneness Project, which creates beautiful “Stories of the Month” about endangered cultures. (Maybe you saw my post on saving a language, here.)
For the photo collection on the Dropka, Barker writes, “Tibet has the youngest and therefore some of the highest mountains on earth. Journeying there, I have found a landscape of awesome beauty with the average altitude being 14,000 feet, an extreme and savage climate. It strikes me that it takes a tough and resilient people to flourish in these conditions, and also that perhaps the vastness and solitude of the landscape has encouraged Tibetans’ natural bent for visionary mysticism and unique brand of Buddhism.
“I have been photographing Tibetans for a number of years — deeply inspired by a culture that places spirituality at the heart of life. I have been most moved by Tibet’s Drokpa, or nomads, who until recently comprised an estimated 25 percent to 40 percent of the Tibetan population. …
“On trips to Tibet from 2000 to the present, I have been privileged to stay with nomad families in Amdo and Kham in eastern Tibet, and have found myself totally smitten by their wild earthiness and independent spirit as well as their friendliness, hospitality, and sense of fun. The nomad women, particularly, have impressed me, holding life together and doing most of the work. …
“Traditionally, the Tibetan nomads were very free, forming tribal communities to protect and support each other in their harsh environment where the major threats included weather, disease, bandits, wolves, or snow leopards. But this beautiful earth-based way of life is dying …
“From 2006 on, I have seen fewer nomadic encampments and the land in many areas has an empty, abandoned feeling. … I sense that the loss of the Drokpa way of life will have impacts beyond what we can imagine. As rangeland ecologist, Daniel Miller, writes … ‘Who will pass this indigenous knowledge of the landscape on to the next generation if nomads are settled in towns?’ ”
More explanation, plus Barker’s amazing photos here.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
It seems that everything in modern life mitigates against a nomadic culture. The world wants people to settle down, have a home, put their kids in school. On another note, can you tell me the names of 2 or 3 of your favorite mystery authors? I’m always looking for new directions . . .
In addition to Eliot Pattison’s Tibet mysteries, check out Harry Bingham on unusual Welsh detective Fiona Griffiths. Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series is good, esp’ly the early ones. I loved “The Coroner’s Lunch” and others in that Colin Cotterill series (but not his Thai series). Anyone who wants to read my mini reviews at GoodReads should write to me at suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com.
Thanks so much! Lots here to look into!
Would love to know what you think after reading one. We can see if we have similar tastes in mysteries, KerryCan. 🙂
A real threat to Tibetan culture is a continuous Chinese occupation and colonisation. Nomads are, in general, getting extinct everywhere, there is little we can do about it, and neither we should do something about it, cause it’s a natural process. While the thing Chinese do to Tibet is everything but natural… Anyway, it’s a good post, Tibet is really intruiging place.
So troubling.