Tibet Oral History Project: Interview with Samten on 4/9/2015

[@user-c7y7u]

Your great men thanks 👍👍👍🌻⚘🌾

[@dhondupgyatso7603]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️

[@RealGangchenpa]

Rekhe, the land of 18 great tribes who called their land "Rekhe Ponmed Lungpa" because This is one of the rare or only Tibetan land where the people said that they would not acknowledge any "masters" lords or chiefs because all Tibetans are equal. I think the Tibetan nomads who travelled vast distances and stayed in one are until the grass was grazed down to a few inches exercised this democratic spirit from Kham across the northern plains to Western Tibet. But in Rekeh Tibetans chose to eschew honorifics: Apha and Ama were honored names in fact and saying palag would therefore be regarded as gilding the lily. The highest term of respect for males was "APHO" or brother and for females was "AZHE" or sister. Therefore, Rekeh was one of the areas in Tibet governed by Tibetan culture of respect for ten laws of goodness and the culture of individuality, honor and truthfulness. Therefore, Rekhe was not fooled by Chinese Communist takeover and resisted the Chinese occupation vigorously. Rekhe Samten was one such and he was trained in Camp Hale at Fort Collins, close to Leadville of similar revel spirit, and hopefully he will be there for the great reunion in a couple weeks.

[@RealGangchenpa]

Thank you for the Tibet Oral History Project. The caveat that Tibetan language is the primary source is of course true and important. Tibetans are used to saying that "this is what Tibetans think and say" but of course within the great Tibetan land and culture there existed special and unique features. For instance, Westerners speak of language and cultural differences in towns and areas in Scotland: similarly Tibetans are no different: Tibetans nomads in my opinion may be regarded as enjoying democracy or the rule of the people for the people and by the people. Now with the understanding that differences existed among the people within regional cultures (only intrepid pilgrims and rare traders) we can say that honorifics popular with aristocrats in Lhasa were eschewed in Eastern Tibet and that "Palag" etc honorifics was looked down by Khampa Tibetans as not being egalitarian or rational. The most important thing that viewers should keep in mind is that before the Chinese invasion and occupation and takeover most Tibetans lived as they had for millenia. This means that Tibetan nomads and Tibetans in remote areas did not use cash but barter: in the areas under discussion tax was paid to the Tibetan Government in butter or grain. "Yog" means serve or caretake. If a family member takes care of an aged and infirm elder we say we rendered "yog". Yogpo is someone who provides service or caretake. Yogpo zhag means place/keep or provide servants or caretakers. Not owned servants. This was a cashless society so keeping someone to take care of yaks means that they were provided food shelter and clothes--not owned servants. Many places in Tibet Tibetans were free to live as people chose to and I am not aware of class and cast systems in Tibet--especially Kham and Amdo. But this is a great project--just remember that before Chinese invasion and takeover many Tibetans lived in a cashless, barter and simple but sustainable economy.

[@tohproject]

You're welcome. We have a lot more interviews on our channel: kzbin.infovideos

[@RealGangchenpa]

Camp Hale, Fort Collins

[@RealGangchenpa]

canon autofocus camera and the best map of Tibet on waterproof silk were part of what they carried. This CIA map had all the sources of water.