Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1922-01-13

with fiat roofs. These dwellings are
not unlike the adobe houses Of Mex
leo, but are decidedly more substanp
tial, being constructed by the beat
ing of mud into thick walls between
forms of timber. s
The farmers have few animals but
utilize the yak for blowing. the an
imals being brought down from the
highlands at the proper time Wood
en- plows with q single handle are
used M saiH
The living quarters In the house Of
the valley folk usually consist OF
single large room, In which all work.
including the cooking. is done, and
where the members of the family eat
and sleep.
Few Comforts In the Home.
The comforts In such homes are
very meager. In few establishments
Is there even the semblance Of bed.
In the ordinary houses 'going to bed"
means merely loosening the girdle.
opening the sheepskin garment. and
curling up on the floor with the feet
toward the stove, which is an essen
tial feature of all habitations in this
high, cold country.
The stove Is built Of mud, with q
fireplace below and hole In the top
into which pots may be set for cook
ing. 1t is usually found on one side
OF the living room. and the members
of the family, on retiring for the
night, range themselves in fan
shaped group about 1t.
Families possessing domestic ami
mails share their houses with them. In
two-storied houses the lower floor Is
the stable. and through 1t the living
| quarters are reached. In some one
storied houses the front portion 10
| given up to the animals. while the
family lives In the rear.
The two principal foods Of the IT,
betans, "tsamba" and ''butter tea"
seem to a westerner neither appetiz-
ing nor nourishing, but in spite Of
| cherries climate the mountaineers
manage to keep sturdy on them.
| Tsamba is made by parching barley
and then grinding it into sort of
emergency ration, which on mixture
with moisture Is ready to eat. When
| Tibetans are on journeys or are wan
| dering about with their focks and
herds, they carry tsamba In small
leather bags inside their coats. thus
always having at hand the materials
for hearty meal.
| In preparing the other principal ar
ticle of their diet the Tibetans first
make a strong liquid by boiling the
coarse Chinese tea which they prize
most highly. The cqncoction is
strained into churn and to 1t are
added lump of butter, more or less
stale, and a handful of salt. The
queer mixture Is then churned into
an emulsion. Che resulting liquid is
neither tea, soup nor gravy but to an
occidental is sort of Indifferent mix
ture of all of them.
| Original condensers Of Milk.
| The Tibetans of this region were
probably the original users Of con-
densed milk In the form of dry Jumps,
/ for they have prepared this article of
food for many centuries. Fresh milk
is poured into churn which is never
washed and the liquid therefore cur
dies almost the instant 1t comes into
contact with the germ-Incrusted walls
of the contaIner. It ID then churned
and the butter Is extracted. After
the butter Is extracted the milk is
boiled in I large iron pot until II
reaches the consistency Of thick syrup
It is then poured out in thin sheet
and allowed to dry, after which It L
broken into small pieces and stored
The Jumps often become a. hard u
stone, and to eat them dry is ont o.
, the question. The nomads solve thu
problem by substituting the dry mill
for tsamba. soaking It In their butter
| tea. It thus becomes softened to son1'
, | extent and can be chewed.
The marriage customs Of the PEG
, pie Of Tibet present q peculiafs combi
, nation 81 nf0noenmy. pdiyeanny, and
, | polyandry-tile last particularly .char
| acteristic of the country. though mg
nogamy p actually the prevailing ~
| tenn.