Average life expectancy of Sherpas in Nepal. Peoples of Nepal: Sherpas, Sherpas, culture and life of the peoples of Nepal, Everest base camp, trekking in the Himalayas

Nepalese diaries. Sherpa porters. Part 1

For most people (far from mountaineering, from Nepal, from the Himalayas), the words Sherpas and mountain porters mean the same thing. Actually this is not true. Sherpas are a people. These people live mainly in the Himalayas, in particular in the eastern part of Nepal, in the Everest region, in the Indian part of the Himalayas. Sherpas traditionally work as porters on mountaineering expeditions. This is why the words Sherpa and porters are often mistakenly perceived as synonymous.

Reliable information about the Sherpas is not easy. Not only the information from authoritative sources varies, but the stories of the Sherpas themselves vary. For example, we don’t even know exactly how the singular number from “Sherpa” is formed correctly in Russian. Some say and write "Sherpa" and some "Sherpa". Both options count as words male. Both options can be considered conditionally correct. And this is only the most superficial uncertainty. There are much more deep ones. Why do we know so little about the Sherpas? Until recent times, which came with the development of modern mountaineering, the Sherpas did not use writing, did not use a calendar, and did not have permanent names (a name, like a nickname, could change during life). Probably the most amazing and reliable evidence about the life of the Sherpas are the memoirs of a famous Sherpa named Tenzing Norgay, written down from his words; he himself did not know how to write.

taken from here. By the way, Tenzing Norgay is a given name (a nickname meaning "lucky rich religious follower"), not a first and last name as you might think. At birth he received the name Namgyal Wangdi, but at the same time had the family name Gang La (which means “ snowy pass"), and also in different time was called either Khumjung or Botia. From the point of view of Sherpa culture, such a name change is very logical. A person grows and changes, the conditions in which he lives change—and with this, the person’s name also changes. After all, a name reflects the essence of a person and his position in society. A similar thing happened in the culture of the North American Indians, and not only among them. But for the Western consciousness, this is, at least, not very convenient. That is why the famous Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who previously even determined the date of his birth approximately according to his mother’s memories of the weather and harvest, was forced to develop standard form writing his name in Latin Tenzing Norgay, and his biographers hope that this version of the name will be definitive. Full version you can read his amazing memoirs HERE, and we will give just a few interesting quotes. “The thing with this word “Sherpa” is amazing. Many people think that it means “porter” or “guide” because they only hear it in connection with mountains and expeditions. Meanwhile, this is not at all true. Sherpas are the name of a people, a tribe living in the high mountain region of the Eastern Himalayas. Knowledgeable people say that there are about one hundred thousand of us. Sherpa means "man from the east". But all that is known today about our past is that we Mongolian origin and our ancestors migrated from Tibet a long time ago. We are still in many ways closer to the Tibetans than to any other nationality. Our language is similar to Tibetan (only we do not have a written language), clothing, food, and customs are also similar; the latter applies especially to those Sherpas who had little contact with the outside world. We are very closely connected by religion: like the Tibetans, we are Buddhists. Although there are no longer Sherpa villages in Tibet, part of our tribe belongs to the parish of the large monastery at Rongbuk, on the other side of Everest, and relations are maintained between this monastery and our own at Thyangboche. “The Sherpa language, my mother tongue, has no written language, so we have no official records. In addition, we kept track of time according to the Tibetan calendar. Therefore, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of all facts and dates relating to my early life. Even with mine own name- it changed several times - there was a lot of confusion. When I was born, my name was not Tenzing at all. I'll tell you more about this later. At various times my present name was written in Western languages when with " s"when with" z"when without" g" at the end. The second name also changed: at first I was Khumjun (after the name of one Sherpa village), then Botia (Tibetan) and finally became Norkay or Norkey, and Norgya or Norgay(translated it means “rich” or “lucky”, which made me smile more than once). I myself was confused every now and then, but what to do if there are no official records, and how to write in a language that does not know writing. My real surname, or family name, is Gang La, which means “snow pass” in the Sherpa language, but we don’t usually use surnames. Many names - many languages. This is typical for the part of the world in which I live. As you know, finding a common language for numerous peoples India is one of the most difficult tasks of this country. Almost every district speaks its own language. And since I traveled a lot, I became, despite my illiteracy, a real polyglot. As a child, I learned to speak the Tibetan language (in both dialects - northern and southern), from which my native language, Sherpa, comes. I speak Nepali fluently, and this is understandable: after all, Solu Khumbu is located in Nepal, not far from Darjeeling, where I have been living for many years. I have not studied classical Hindi, but I can speak Hindustani, which is a mixture of Hindi and Urdu and is quite similar to Nepali. In addition, I have some knowledge of other languages, such as Punjabi, Sikkimese, Garhwali, Yalmo (spoken in Nepal), Pashto (spoken in Afghanistan), Chitrali (spoken in the North-West Frontier Province), and know a few words of many languages. languages of South India, but I use all this only when traveling. At home, with my family, I usually speak Sherpa, but with other people in Darjeeling I mostly speak Nepali. And of course, also Western languages. For many years I walked through the mountains with English expeditions, knew many Englishmen who lived in India, and now I speak English so confidently that I was able to tell without an interpreter most real story. I also had to travel with people of other nationalities, and I did not always remain mute. French? - " Sa va bien, mes braves!" German? -- " Es geht gut!" Italian? - " Molto bene!" Maybe it’s even for the best that I didn’t have to accompany Polish or Japanese expeditions, otherwise I might have gone a little crazy. I’ve traveled a lot. Traveling, moving, riding, looking, learning - it’s like it’s in my blood ". As a boy, living in Solu Khumbu, I once ran away from home to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Then I ran away again, this time to Darjeeling. And from Darjeeling, for more than twenty years, I went on expeditions to all ends of the Himalayas Most often - to nearby Sikkim and back to Nepal, often to Garhwal, Punjab and Kashmir. It happened that I went further: to the Afghan and Russian borders, through the mountains to Tibet, to Lhasa and beyond Lhasa. And after the capture of Everest, I I had to travel even further: I traveled almost all of India, both southern and northern, flew to England, visited Switzerland twice, spent several days in Rome. True, I have not yet seen the rest of Europe and America, but I hope to have such an opportunity soon. Travel , to know and study means to live. The world is big, and you can’t see it all at once, even from the top of Everest. I said that I happy man. Not all Sherpas were as lucky as I was - many of them died from illness or in accidents in the mountains. Of course, I had accidents too, but nothing serious. I've never fallen off a cliff or gotten frostbite. Anyone who sweats a lot gets frostbite easily, but I never sweat during the climb, and in the camp, when we are supposed to rest, I also try to move. The one who sits and does nothing gets frostbite. Three times I fell into avalanches, but they were not dangerous. Once I lost my glasses in the snow and suffered a lot with my eyes due to the blinding sun. Since then I always carry two pairs of dark glasses with me. Another time I broke four ribs and dislocated my knee joints, but that was while skiing, not in the mountains. The only real injury I received in the mountains was when I tried to catch a falling comrade and broke my finger. They say that I have “three lungs” - so easily I can endure high altitudes. This is, of course, a joke. At the same time, I am willing to admit that I am better suited for heights than most other people, that I was truly born to be a climber. During the climb, I move in a smooth, natural rhythm for me. My hands are usually cold, even in the heat, and my heart, according to the doctors, beats very slowly. High altitudes are my element, that's where I feel best. When I recently traveled to India, I got sick because of the stuffiness and cramped conditions like I had never gotten sick in the mountains. And wherever my life’s path took me, it always brought me back to the mountains. Mountains are everything to me. I knew it, felt it with all my being on that blue May morning in 1953 when Hillary and I climbed to the top of the world. Like the Buddhist wheel of life, my life has taken its great turn. Many years ago, a little shepherd boy looked at big mountain and dreamed... And here I am again with Everest, with Chomolungma from a childhood dream. Only now the dream has become a reality.” “Black hair, brown eyes, smooth dark-yellow skin are typical of my people. Our facial features, of course, are Mongolian, but not as pronounced as among the Chinese and Tibetans; you can find any size and any pattern of eyes and noses. Sherpas are short and usually stocky in build, although not in the way one would expect given our work and the loads we carry. My own height is 1 meter 72 centimeters, normal weight 72 kilograms so I'm slightly taller and drier than average. In Darjeeling, most of our women still wear traditional Sherpa clothing: a dark loose dress and a knitted wool apron with bright cross stripes. Men have mostly switched to European clothes, most often sports shirts and pants, sweaters and the like, obtained on expeditions. Unlike Indians and Nepalese, almost all of us wear European shoes, otherwise Tibetan wire rods. For celebrations after the capture of Everest, I usually wore an Indian costume: tight white trousers and a long, knee-length black frock coat with high collar. Usually I wear English or Swiss sportswear and I got so used to it that I almost feel like a mummer when I put on the traditional attire of my ancestors. The success of the Sherpas on expeditions is due not only to the strength of our backs and legs and our love of the mountains, but also to our food customs. Majority eastern peoples- Hindus, Muslims, orthodox Buddhists and almost all small nationalities adhere to strict religious rules in food, and it is very difficult to provide them with appropriate nutrition in remote areas. But Sherpas eat anything - any fresh or dried food, any canned food. In other words, we eat the same as Europeans, so they don’t have to stock up on any special foods for us. At home in Darjeeling, as in Solu Khumbu, we usually eat stewed potatoes, mixed with meat or vegetables. In addition, once we arrived in India, we began to eat a lot of rice, often with curry sauce 17 for taste. Favorite dish- traditional Sherpa mo-mo, soup with dumplings, which, according to Professor Tucci, are very reminiscent of Italian ravioli. We usually drink tea, tea and more tea, as much as we are able to drink in a day, just like the English. In the old days we drank it the Tibetan way, with yak butter, but in Darjeeling there are no yaks, so here we drink tea the European way, with milk and sugar. If you want something stronger, we have Chang, Sherpa beer. It is usually home-cooked, prepared from rice, barley or some other grain in accordance with tastes and capabilities. The only thing that is unacceptable about chang is that it must not be weak. They do not drink it as usual, not from glasses or bottles: when the starter is ready, it is poured into a bowl, hot water is added and the resulting liquid is drawn through a bamboo tube. Most often, the bowl is designed for one, but there are also large ones from which several people drink at the same time. As the liquid in the bowl decreases, the owner adds hot water, at least until he considers that it is time for the guests to go home... We are sociable people, we love to talk, laugh, sing, we love our chang and are usually not lazy to top it up, because we want our guests to stay longer. If they don't drink at least three servings of chang or tea, we consider them impolite and get offended. To Hindus and Muslims who do not drink at all, our behavior may seem free and cheeky; however, I think that in general we drink no more and no less than most other peoples who do not have such a prohibition. Personally, I love chang, as well as many European drinks that I have become acquainted with recently. I like cigarettes. Fortunately, I can easily do without them, which is what I always do before and during the next expedition. I also do not drink or smoke when I am among people whose religious feelings I do not want to offend. Most Sherpas love to travel. We willingly visit and host our friends and, although we may seem shy, we love meeting new ones interesting people. We play among ourselves gambling- dice and cards. We don't mind making fun of each other. Sports and sport games are not widespread, perhaps because we could not learn them, although most likely the reason is in our work - after it you don’t really need additional exercises But many Sherpas, myself included, are fond of horse riding and horses, and for those who find it too burdensome to get into the stirrup themselves, there are always horse competitions in Darjeeling where you can bet. I recently bought a horse and am racing, although I must admit, not as a jockey. And my friends say that I will soon become the Sherpa Aga Khan. We share many of our entertainments with our wives. Sherpa women occupy a more prominent place in the family and enjoy more freedom than most Asian peoples. At home - I have been convinced of this more than once from my own experience - they have all the power, but their life is not connected exclusively with the home; they are often interested in men's affairs and perform work that is usually considered masculine. As I already said, Ang Lamu, as a girl, walked around Darjeeling with burdens, and many even work as porters on expeditions and go all the way to the base camp. Most Sherpa women are short, some are quite small. But they are almost equal in strength and endurance to men: there are women who carry luggage reaching two-thirds of their own weight. Divorce is allowed here. Anyone wishing to dissolve a marriage, whether a man or a woman, must pay the other party a certain amount of money, after which he is considered free. In Tibet, where our ancestors came from, polygamy and polyandry are common. Often two or more brothers have a common wife. The meaning of this is to keep property within the family. But already in Solu Khumbu such phenomena are rare, and in Darjeeling they do not happen at all. With the freedom and equality of the sexes that reign among us, God forbid a man or woman can cope with one spouse! A big change has occurred recently in the lives of our children - now they are finally going to school. Earlier the only way for a Sherpa to learn something was to go to a monastery. In Darjeeling it was more difficult than in Solu Khumbu, because here we do not have our own monasteries - only Sikkimese or Tibetan - and very few lamas. Now things have improved. After the war, many of our youth began to attend Nepalese schools, of which there are many in Darjeeling, and in 1951 a small Sherpa school opened. At the beginning of the book, I already said that lack of education is my main problem and it is very important for me that the younger generation has what I lacked. My own daughters Pem-Pem and Nima went to a Nepalese school for several years, but now I was able to send them to the Loreto Catholic Convent School, which has been operating in Darjeeling for many years and is headed by an Irish nun. This does not mean that they will become Catholics. They will learn to speak English fluently, will meet by different people and receive a good modern education. True, it seems to me that there is no good that does not entail some evil. I have noticed that many young Sherpas have absolutely no idea about our old morals and customs. They can barely speak Sherpa. And I am afraid that their new ideas are largely drawn not from textbooks, but from films. However, perhaps this is an inevitable price that people have to pay when moving from the old simple life to a completely different one, and it is better to learn and develop, even with mistakes, than to stagnate. I have already shared something about my Buddhist faith. Like me, most of the "new" Sherpas are religious, but not fanatics. They keep the image of God in their hearts, but do not believe in rites and rituals. Since there is no Sherpa monastery in Darjeeling, we do not have a real religious center. But almost everyone sets aside a corner at home for prayer; there are candles, incense, prayer wheels and images of Buddha, the most important symbol of our faith. For me, life turned out better than for others, so I was able to dedicate an entire room in my new home to a prayer room. It contains precious sacred objects brought from Tibet, in it my son-in-law Lama Nwang La spends several hours a day working with candles and incense, spinning prayer wheels and praying for us all. In the yard, on the hillside, I have placed bamboo poles with prayer flags fluttering towards the distant snows of Kanchenjunga. Like most peoples, our most important rituals are associated with birth, marriage and death. We burn our dead, except for small children, who are usually buried. The exception is also those who die high in the mountains; they are also buried - either by people or nature itself. For important occasions and in general for everyone, there is a small temple in Tung Sung Basti. Inside it is a single object: a large prayer wheel, almost twice the height of a man, filling almost the entire room. It is driven by a rope, and when rotating, it rings like a gong. Often, when passing by, you can hear its ringing. This means that either someone died, or was born, or someone is simply praying in the temple. And you yourself say in your mind: “Om mani padme hum... Om mani padme hum...”, knowing that the sound of the gong concerns not only the newborn or the deceased, but each of us, slowly rotating on the wheel of our life. I said I lived three lives. Actually, it can be said about the entire Sherpa people that they live three lives: in their religion, in their home and in their work. Previously, we were all farmers and shepherds, and in Solu Khumbu the majority still do this. Now businessmen and traders have appeared among us, and in the future, I think, the Sherpas will become doctors and lawyers, teachers and scientists - whatever. But in the world we are known as climbers, and, probably, many of us will remain climbers. Moreover, I hope so with all my heart: we have received too much from the mountains and given too much to them. The Sherpa boy looks up - he sees a mountain. Then he looks down and sees a load. He lifts the load and goes up the mountain. He doesn't see anything unusual or unpleasant in this. Walking with a load is his natural state, and a load is like a part of his body for him. The main weight falls on the wide belt, which is worn not on the shoulders, but on the forehead, because long experience has taught us that this The best way socks. In this way, an adult Sherpa carries almost fifty kilograms on normal terrain and up to thirty to thirty-five on steep slopes. So I myself carried loads all my life until recently.” taken

The smart one will go up the mountain lightly. His things will be carried by a porter - that’s what porters are called in the Himalayas. Porter will risk life and limb not for fame, but for $15 a day. A week of such work - and a family in the village will not have to starve for a month

Everest
Nepal, China

A good hiker who wants to conquer the mountain must carry his own things. Is not it so?

Eh, no, this is a bad tourist. Such solo travelers and groups who travel without guides and porters are not welcomed among our people. Many locals believe that if a tourist carries a backpack himself, he deprives them of their only opportunity to earn money.

Hero
Dal Bahadur Gurung

Born in 1985 in the Dhading district of Nepal, near the Ganesh Himal mountain range, in the small village of Chalish.

At the age of 17, he left for Kathmandu and entered Tribhuvan University. After two years, he quit his studies due to lack of funds to live and got a job at a travel agency.

He worked as a porter for several years. During this period, he managed to visit expeditions to Annapurna, Manaslu and Everest.

Currently a senior guide in a major Nepal travel agency Alliance Treks&Expedition.

And in fact?

This is truly one of the few ways to earn money outside the city, a way to get real cash, even just a few dollars a day. In most villages, people live by subsistence farming and pay each other through barter, but they still need money for the most necessary things. Nepal is very high level unemployment. Ordinary porters earn their living by delivering construction materials or supplies high into the mountains for remote villages and camps. Sometimes they carry bricks and stones, tree trunks, bags of cement. All this weighs much more than officially permissible norm for porter - 30 kg. Such hard work is paid very poorly, but you don’t have to choose: you have to take on any job if you want to survive. Therefore, getting a job as a porter is a great success, because in a week you can earn a hundred dollars: it will be enough for your family to not need anything for a month. Of course, this income is not constant. But even during the tourist season, it is possible to provide food for the family for the whole year. Therefore, everyone who can work as a porter goes to work as a porter.

How many people can do this? After all, even without a load it is difficult to be at altitude; a person begins to starve of oxygen...

We also have women who work as porters. There's a whole agency Three Sisters, where all the guides and porters accompanying tourists are women. The main thing is to understand at least a little English language and be healthy. Even I sometimes suffer from attacks of headache and weakness if I have to suddenly gain high altitude during the day. But it’s not as difficult for me as it is for foreigners. We, people living on the slopes of the Himalayas, are more or less accustomed to thin air, we have a large lung capacity, and acclimatization at serious altitudes is much easier than for others. I myself am from the Gurungs, and my people have always been famous for their endurance and fortitude. We live high in the mountains, and every day we walk several kilometers up and down. This is a common thing for us. In my village, for example, there was no school, I had to study in the neighboring one, which is ten kilometers in the mountains every day. So even our children and old people cope with mountain trails much better than the healthy and strong inhabitants of the plains. Only Sherpas living in the Everest region can compete with us in this craft.

Its own burden

The Gurungs are known for their warriors - the fierce Gurkhas. Now they are “at war” with the mountains?

Most villagers spend their entire lives farming, “at war” with nature, and do not serve in special forces. They hardly see any money. They can barely make ends meet. In the mountains there is not enough space for crops, and it is difficult to cultivate the soil. Few people manage to collect enough harvest to sell the surplus on the market and earn at least something. My father dreamed of me joining the Indian Army. At first I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to withstand the tough selection process. And over time I realized: the path of a warrior is not for me. But I didn’t want to become a farmer. Once, when I was still in the ninth grade, tourists came to our village - an unprecedented thing for such a remote region as the foothills of the Ganesh Himal. A mountain guide, my fellow countryman, was with them. Before, I didn’t even think that such a profession existed. And at that moment I realized that I wanted to become a mountain guide. The dream came true, but first I had to work as a porter for several years. Carry bales.

Do you use any equipment or special moves when carrying a load?

Usually the entire load is tied into a large bale or placed in a basket, then the porter lifts the luggage, holding it with a headband. This is our traditional way of carrying heavy loads. Your high-tech backpacks with unloadings are not so convenient for us. Foreigners are usually very surprised by this method of carrying, they try to repeat it, but nothing really works out for them. This gives us a lot of fun.

The method has been proven for centuries. Fathers and grandfathers did this before us, and distant ancestors before them. We are taught such techniques from childhood, and even the most decrepit old people in villages are able to bear great weights in this way. You just need to be careful. Of course, it happens that the bandage rubs and your head hurts a lot, especially if you walk for a long time without a break. But in this case, we carry a special stick with us - by resting it on the ground behind us, you can transfer part of the weight to it and rest.

How often do you manage to rest during the day?

We go out early in the morning when the roads are safer - less likely avalanches and landslides before the sun had time to melt the ice on the peaks. There are short breaks during the day when you can have a quick snack or drink tea. In the evening you should relax and admire the sunset in the mountains. All the porters and guides spend the evening in the guesthouse chosen by the clients. Here we can live for free and eat for nominal money. It often happens that the route goes through our native places, then we stop with relatives: if you don’t visit them, it will be considered an insult. We usually return early in the morning, when tourists are still sleeping, and they have no complaints against us.

What if the group is high in the mountains, where there is no longer any housing?

On such occasions, the porters set up camp and prepare dinner for tourists. In the mountains we always eat dal bhat - a traditional Nepalese dish of rice, legumes and vegetables. This is our staple food wherever we are. Dal bhat is very filling.

Our people

Do you communicate closely with tourists on hikes?

Usually porters stay aloof; it’s not our rule to be the first to start a conversation. But if man walking contact, it’s always interesting to chat with him - this is often for us the only way learn something about a foreign culture and practice your English. Porters have one small unspoken rule - everyone, hoping for a generous tip, serves his employer on vacation: he sets the table, brings food, pours tea. This is where conversations begin. And after a hearty meal, porters usually play cards or just chat - and foreigners are only welcome to participate! This is how I made many good friends all over the world. Sometimes it’s even sad to say goodbye after a long and difficult expedition.

Difficulties usually bring us together, because anything can happen - from a sprained leg to an avalanche...

There is always a risk, this is such an element - mountains. Every year tragedies happen - both to foreigners and to some of our own. We believe that the mountains are inhabited by powerful creatures, guardians of these places. They value human virtues - if you want to return home, you must always be collected, reasonable and ready for difficulties. You must justify the responsibility entrusted to you for the strangers you brought to these lands.

Are all porters this responsible?

Unfortunately no. I knew many young people who did not take their work seriously and simply wanted to quickly get what they considered “easy” money. They did not respect not only tourists, but also the mountains themselves. Usually for such people everything ends sadly: in best case scenario the next season no one takes them to their team, and in the worst case, they remain in the mountains forever. Our work is truly difficult and dangerous. For example, in 2014, 16 high-altitude Sherpa guides died on Everest. The whole group was covered by an avalanche while they were securing ropes for foreign climbers.

Expedition
Russian heritage

Exploration of the Himalayas has always been one of the priorities of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Started in 2015 project of the Krasnodar regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society “Russian heritage of the Himalayas. Continuation of the journey". Its main goal is to update the heritage of domestic travelers, artists and researchers of the Himalayan mountain system. In 2016, the initiative was supported by a grant from the Russian Geographical Society, and on September 5 new expedition went to Nepal. For 26 days, participants studied the territories of Nepal and Tibet: collected geological material, got acquainted with life and customs local peoples, climbed to the base camps of Mount Everest, Shisha Pangma and Cho Oyu, visited a number of monasteries, the sacred Yamjo-Yumtso Lake - one of the three most revered in Tibet - and the former residence of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. During the expedition, artists Sergei Dudko and Lyudmila Alexandrova wrote a series of sketches depicting the greatest eight-thousanders on the planet.

Own place

Have you taken people to Everest?

Now, as a guide, I quite often take tourists to Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5364 meters. Here, groups of climbers from all over the world wait to reach the summit. It is here that porters bring equipment, food and personal belongings of foreigners. The maximum height that I have climbed myself so far is 6000 meters. One day I will conquer Everest. I like to watch people who see this peak for the first time - the main one in their life. They come into indescribable delight as soon as she appears before them from the clouds in all her beauty and power. And I will experience this delight with them. Everest and all the other eight-thousand-meter mountains have not become something ordinary for me, although they have turned into a job for which I am paid. Every time they open up for me from some new side. But often I see that people have no love and admiration for the mountains. There is simply a thirst to overcome difficulties and a desire to prove something to someone. Foreign tourists with burning eyes and stacks of banknotes, they demand to be led to the top, and do not understand all the dangers of this undertaking. Sometimes tragedies happen.

But Everest is not the most technically difficult mountain to climb...

This is true. Nowadays, a much greater difficulty on Everest is not the climb itself, but what interferes with it - “traffic jams”. Every year, so many people storm Everest that closer to the top, “traffic jams” of numerous groups of climbers form; I have seen them more than once. Everest is already suffering from an influx of people wanting to conquer it, primarily because of the trash they leave on the slopes. If it is still possible to take him out of the base camp, then with more high points along the way to the top - no. So mountains of garbage and used oxygen cylinders are growing on Sagarmatha...

Sagarmatha - what is it?

Our traditional name for Everest. I always try to use it. In Nepali it literally means "forehead of heaven". The name Sagarmatha already contains respect and veneration. You cannot anger the spirits of the mountains, otherwise they will take cruel revenge on you.

In 2015, a major earthquake occurred in Nepal. How has this affected your life?

Then thousands of people lost their homes. The flow of tourists has dropped significantly, for a long time there was no work for porters or guides. Some went to neighboring India - to Ladakh, to lead tourists around the western part of the Himalayas. I had to return to native village to help friends and relatives restore destroyed homes and households. I studied for many months volunteering and I still participate in charity programs: I help restore roads and villages. Mountains can not only give, but also take away. Should I not know this after so many years spent next to them?

Location orientation
Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu
Official language : Nepali
Square: 147,181 km 2 (93rd place in the world)
Population: 30,987,000 people (45th place)
Population density: 211 people/km 2
GDP: $21.356 billion (107th place)

Attractions: Mount Everest, National Park Chitwan, Buddhist stupas Boudhanath and Swayambhunath in Kathmandu.
Traditional dishes : dal-bat - rice with vegetables and lentil soup or other legumes; momo - steamed or fried dumplings.
Traditional drink: chhang - Tibetan barley beer.
Traditional souvenirs: mountain honey, mani prayer wheels, singing bowls, bronze figurines of Hindu or Buddhist deities.

Distance from Moscow to Kathmandu ~4900 km (from 9 hours 30 minutes flight excluding transfers)
Time ahead of Moscow by 2 hours 45 minutes
Visa issued in advance at the embassy or upon arrival at the airport
Currency Nepalese rupee (100 NPR ~ 0.94 USD)

Photo: HEMIS / Legion-media (x9)

You will find a complete list of 155 wonders that you need to see with your own eyes in the anniversary December issue of Around the World magazine.

Yes, and by the way, what they don’t refuse is tea or from tea?.. Question. Here's a reason for you to talk about partial genitive case.

And it's true, we say "pour me tea", but in another situation we will say "production ceased tea". "Give me a piece sugar" - but "shipment Sahara". "I drank juice" - but "I'll start cooking juice". It would seem that the case is the same, genitive, but the endings are different. Is there some kind of rule or is it just intuition at work here?

Thank God there is a rule. So, attention: masculine nouns that denote substances - some kind of tea, sugar, snow, cement, peat, cheese, are used in the genitive case with the ending -у(-у), if we're talking about about some part of this very substance, about some quantity of it, and not in general. Take this, take a glass tea, He is hot. Vasya sugar I bought it, well done. Kvaska I'd like a mug...

Here it is, the genitive partial. We don’t mean all the sugar in the world, not all the tea that exists in nature, and certainly not all the boiling water. We only want a small piece of it all. Kvass cold, tea cup, sugar a piece - a little bit of everything.

But if we want to pronounce these same words without indicating a part of the whole, but in general, then we will need the ending -a. Delivery rice- for free. Production Sahara established. And cooling juice Sorry, this is not produced here.

Sherpas will judge us

They're coming Sherpas, Sherpas we will be judged!.. I want to exclaim something like this when I once again hear this word on TV or on the radio. And I’m trying to imagine what the most ordinary person, far from diplomacy and international politics in general, is thinking at this moment somewhere in a small Russian town... It turns out that he, who does not know this word, may not understand what was going on speech on the news!

In general, we need to explain words, especially new ones, because without this all our efforts lose meaning. Well, imagine, we tell viewers or listeners that Sherpas going to a meeting Sherpas meet and discuss Sherpas finally they determine the date of the next meeting... And all this despite the fact that keyword remains unclear! By the way, in the singular: he - Sherpa or Sherpa?

And here serious disagreements clearly appear. Not only is the meaning of the word barely mastered, but also the form nominative case singular not everyone understands. For example, someone says in an interview that fulfilling the duties of a Sherpa has become impossible. And someone - that Mr. N. became the main one Sherpa. Or a Sherpa. In general, confusion!

The word, of course, is relatively new to us, but you can still find it in some dictionaries. It is in encyclopedias, as well as in Explanatory dictionary Ozhegov-Shvedova and in the Explanatory Dictionary of Foreign Words. So, first of all, what is "Sherpas". These are the people inhabiting the highlands of Eastern Nepal, as well as the neighboring regions of India. And the representatives of this people are famous for their special skill in overcoming mountain routes - that’s why Sherpas often serve as guides for European climbers. Diplomats borrowed this word to designate a specialist who prepares the ground for negotiations. A sort of guide who walks a little ahead.

And this conductor is called, according to dictionaries, SHERPA. Not Sherpa, namely SHERPA. As Leonid Krysin’s Dictionary of Foreign Words tells us, the Russian language borrowed this word from languages South-East Asia, but not directly, but through English. There, in English, it really looks like "sherpa". But we have it "SHERP." He - Sherpa. There is no one - Sherpa. Came to someone Sherpa. This means that I cannot fulfill the duties of someone - Sherpa.

Sherpa. What is this word? Surely many have heard this noun, but its meaning for most people not familiar with ethnography is international relations or mountaineering remains a mystery.

Indeed, this word has several interpretations. Sherpas - what or who are they? The article will discuss the origin of this word, give the most common examples of its use, and also reveal Interesting Facts related to them.

Sherpa people

The most common meaning of the word “Sherpa” is the Asian people inhabiting the mountains of Nepal: a small state located in Asia. The ancestors of the ancient Tibetans who previously inhabited this region call themselves Sherpas.

In the east, Nepal is bordered by Bhutan and Bangladesh. In the north - with China, and in the west and south - with India.

Where did the name come from?

From the local dialect, the ethnonym “sher-pa” (the name of the people, ethnic group) is literally translated as “man from the east.” Until recently, there was practically no information about these people. This is due to the relatively recent popularization of mountaineering and climbing peaks above eight thousand meters.

Sherpas and Rais

The Sherpa people have two ethnonyms - Rai and Sherpa. What kind of differences can one ethnic group have? In fact, everything is very simple. All the differences between the Sherpas and the Rais end in the altitude of residence. If Sherpas are people who live at an altitude above three and a half thousand meters above sea level, then rai are those who live below. That's all the differences.

Appearance of Sherpas

Most of the representatives of this highland people are short and stocky, which is their clear advantage when moving through the mountains over other people. The secret is that, thanks to this physique, the center of gravity of the body of these people is located closer to the ground. Consequently, they stand stronger on their feet.

Sherpas have black and straight hair. Outwardly, they differ from tourists not only anthropological characteristics, but also clothes. It is extremely rare to see a Sherpa in expensive modern equipment. What does this mean? Firstly, Sherpas do not need one. Secondly, not all members of the nationality can afford it.

As for clothing, they prefer ordinary jackets, tights, and hats. To prevent their eyes from being blinded by the mountain sun, they invented special “glasses”, a blindfold with two narrow holes for the eyes.

All Sherpa thermoregulation, depending on weather conditions, consists of a buttoned or unbuttoned jacket. That's all.

Occupation

The most common and profitable business for the high mountain population is assistance in climbing. Who are often accompanied by Sherpas? Commercial and non-commercial expeditions that set out to conquer Everest or another peak in the Himalaya region. In this case it is impossible to find best helpers than the Sherpas. Feeling great at heights, they not only act as porters (porters), capable of carrying the load of climbers weighing up to forty kilograms, but also as organizers of the railings. This is the name given in mountaineering to a special rope stretched from point A to point B, attached to a rock and allowing mountain climbers to move strictly along the route with maximum speed and safety. Also, Sherpas quite often bridge chasms using special aluminum structures. The price tag for Sherpa climbing services starts from twenty to thirty dollars a day and can reach up to fifty.

In general, climbing Everest as part of a commercial expedition costs a tourist a tidy sum, measured in thousands of dollars.

Life of the Sherpas

Sherpas are very sociable and cheerful people. Many of them - talented artists and performers.

Sherpas live in small houses in unpretentious conditions. The entire interior of the home consists of ascetic furniture and a small kitchen. Own big house for a Sherpa this is a great rarity. They usually live in small huts.

The wealthiest Sherpas own their own businesses, which are usually associated with providing services to tourists. It is worth noting that the Himalayas are the cherished “Mecca” for every serious climber, and the flow of tourists in this place is unlikely to ever dry up.

These people can be classified as rapidly developing. A few decades ago they had practically no written language, but now many of them speak English quite well.

Sherpa women are almost as hardy as men. Often, the beautiful half of these people also help tourists climb Everest.

Sherpas can use anything that is edible as food. There are no restrictions. They have a normal attitude towards alcohol and even brew their own local beer - chang.

The Sherpas have developed agriculture on those areas of land that are suitable for it. Mainly barley and rice are grown.

Sherpa traditions include polygamy. A man has the right to have several wives at the same time, provided that he is able to support them.

The names of this people are very funny. As a rule, they consist of a name, for example Don, with the prefix “-sherpa”. It turns out Don-Sherpa. Often a person's name could change depending on his life path, living conditions and status. From the point of view of population accounting, this is not very convenient, but this is a long-rooted tradition among them.

Religion

Most Sherpas are Buddhists. When traveling around Nepal, you often come across Buddhist temples, decorated modestly, but in the traditions of the world religion. Sherpas cannot be called fanatical adherents of religion. This is not publicly advertised anywhere.

"Mountain" gene

A distinctive feature of this people is the so-called “mountain” gene. Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Europeans who occupied India noticed the innate ability of the Sherpas to endure all the stress associated with being in the mountains. The reason for this is heredity.

Mortality

When working on the slopes of the highest peak in the world, accidents occur every year that claim the lives of Sherpas. The services they provide to private expeditions are more than adequately paid. In the same time similar works associated with enormous risk to life. Dozens of volunteers die in avalanches every year.

The death of climbers is primarily caused by difficult meteorological conditions: melting snow, icy winds, snow storms, and a severe lack of oxygen. It is not for nothing that Everest has the reputation of being one of the deadliest peaks in the world.

The most famous Sherpa

Tenzing Norgay, or simply Tenzing Sherpa, is considered a real legend among the local population. This man has rightfully earned the title of the most famous Sherpa in the world. In the capital of Nepal, the city of Kathmandu, there is even a monument erected in his honor.

So what was the feat of Tensing Sherpa? In company with the British Edmund Hillary, this man first climbed the highest peak world - Everest. This happened in 1953. The famous ascent was timed to coincide with the coronation of Elizabeth II. For such an outstanding achievement, the man received the highest state award Nepal, Order of Britain and India.

It is noteworthy that Tenzing Norgay was hired as a foreman of porters to participate in the expedition, and his ascent to the highest peak was not initially included in the plans of the British. It is difficult to say what actually influenced the British expedition’s decision to send Tenzing to the “Top of the World.” Perhaps the fears caused by the failure of the previous expedition in 1924, in which George Mallory and Andrew Irwin died, had an impact. Perhaps the leaders of the expedition had other reasons. The fact remains a fact. Tenzing Sherpa became one of the first climbers to Everest.

Spread of the name "Sherpa" in other areas of life

Sherpas are not only the people who inhabit the mountains of Nepal. There is an off-road vehicle with the same name. The term “Sherpa” is also used in the field of foreign policy.

All-terrain vehicle "Sherp"

The severity and natural endurance of the Sherpas inspired vehicle designers to create one of the most popular and cross-country vehicles in the entire history of mechanics. This device owes its name to the fearless mountain people.

It must be said that the tasks of the all-terrain vehicle and the Sherpas are similar. Vehicle with increased cross-country ability are also used for transporting cargo to mountain peaks. Who are the Sherpas accompanying? Commercial and exploratory mountain expeditions. However, the car feels confident not only on a mountain path, but also on rough terrain.

The price of a new Sherpa can vary from three to five million rubles. Expensive pleasure, however.

The same Gerasim

The all-terrain vehicle in Russia owes its popularity largely to Gerasim Sherpa. The man conducts a fascinating video blog, inventing all sorts of difficulties for his “iron horse” and rolling out of them with flying colors... The blog will be of interest not only to extreme drivers, but also to all lovers of hunting, fishing, treasure hunting and simply an active lifestyle.

Sherpas in the field of international politics

The political arena also has its own Sherpas. Of course, they are not involved in providing assistance in ascents and do not carry a load, at least physically.

Sherpa is the name given to the assistant leader of a country that is part of the Big Seven (Big Eight). For each politician, there is one sherpa, whose responsibilities include preparing the leader’s working meetings, drawing up the agenda and other necessary work.

The first Russian (Soviet) Sherpa was Yevgeny Primakov in 1991.

The tradition has spread to the G-20 and the BRICS member countries.

Finally

So what is a Sherpa? The ideal synonym for Sherpa is the word "guide". As in the mountains, so in big politics, these people help their patrons achieve their goals and conquer the geographical and political peaks of the world.