NEWS

Tibet House USA in New York City has officially recognized Khagyun as a partner project. In addition to promoting us in their newsletter and website (www.tibethouse.org), they are accepting tax-deductible donations (earmarked for Khagyun) on our behalf and passing them on to us (see "How to Donate"). They are also helping us to envision what Khagyun might become in the future.

We are gathering new stories and learning from our experience. Many of the newer stories are longer and richer in the details that make them unique and interesting. (An 8-hour interview with a man who has written family records going back to the year 527 in Shangshung was recently recorded at Majnu-ka-Tilla in Delhi.) As we meet people and spread the word about out efforts, our vision of Khagyun is growing. There is particular interest in opening up the whole process so that Tibetans in exile around the world can directly participate and contribute. Khagyun is a work-in-progress and we hope to implement this (and other valuable suggestions) as thoughtfully as possible.

Stories have been recorded in Bylakuppe, Bangalore, Delhi and Dharamsala in India. One story was recently taken in America, and members of the Tibetan community in Canada have expressed interest in participating. We have also begun to record some tales of younger Tibetan refugees and the clergy. Our primary focus will continue to be on the elderly, but many younger Tibetans want to tell their stories too. Adding these to the website gives a fuller picture of the Tibetan refugee experience, and motivates younger Tibetans to take an active role in recognizing and preserving their precious culture.

We have established a working relationship with the Library of Tibetan Archives and Works (LTWA) in Dharamsala and its new director, Lhakdor. The LTWA (www.tibet.com/ltwa.html) is the official publisher, library and archive for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Lhakdor has accepted our offer to send the stories to Dharamsala and agreed to hold the copyright for them. (It was recently pointed out that the stories should be copyrighted in order to maintain basic control over how and by whom they are used.) We recently purchased two digital tape recorders and can now send the recordings as email attachments. The LTWA will provide Tibetan transcriptions of future stories, a major development for us which will increase the scope and value of the stories and the website. The LTWA itself has quietly had an ongoing oral history project for a number of years. While the emphasis has been on senior lamas and leaders within the refugee community, stories of traders, pilgrims and craftspeople have also been recorded. They are not presently recording stories, but are transcribing and publishing stories in Tibetan that were recorded some years ago. They just published their 19th volume of oral histories in Tibetan.

We want to raise $1,200 by June in order to send Kunsang Rigzen, a young Tibetan scholar to Kashmir to record stories of the Tibetan Muslim community there. Like other Tibetans, they fled during 1959 and the following years. Very little has been recorded about their lives. The LTWA is interested in publishing these stories if we can gather enough for a small book. Your donations through Tibet House USA are greatly appreciated, and are tax-deductible.

From the Coordinator

During a trip to Bylakuppe in early August, I learned of the recent death of the very first person we interviewed, Lobsang Dolma of New Fourth Camp. That interview took place on January 23, 2005. It was a most poignant reminder of why we are doing this work.

One exciting prospect that came out of these discussions is the idea of sending Kunsang Rigzen to Kashmir for several weeks to record life stories amongst the community of Tibetan Muslims there. Little is known about their lives since they fled oppression in Tibet, but it is well established that prior to 1959 they were fully integrated into Tibetan society. There was no religious strife between them and other Tibetan citizens. It is still said that the Muslims of Lhasa speak the purest form of the Lhasa dialect. They were also well known for their culinary prowess. This experience could provide an example to all of us in the modern world. Kunsang is the perfect person for the job. He has excellent skills in Tibetan and English, is a serious scholar of Tibetan history, and already has connections with the Tibetan Muslims of Kashmir. If sufficient funding comes in (estimated at about $1200) between now and June 1, he can accomplish this task prior to leaving for America on a Fulbright Scholarship this coming autumn.

—Hillel Natanson, Coordinator