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Bhutan
- Ethnic Groups & People
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Bhutan's People |
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Bhutan Information |
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Ap
Lawa: Bumthang's lime maker
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| Ap Lawa at work alone |
| Ap
Lawa, 65, cannot speak but he reaches the mouths of many a Bhutanese. He
is Bumthang's Tsuni (lime) maker an essential ingredient that goes into
making a mouthful of doma.
The
65-year-old man who lives in Dawathang near Kurje Lhakhang gets the limestone
to make Tsuni from the middle of a cliff at Tashiling, which is a day's
walk from Dawathang.
And
he is the only one in the sacred valley that can get the limestone from
the cliff. |
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To the Bumthaps it is a mystery how he manages to do so. People
say that it could be god's gift to him. When
leaving for Tashiling Ap Lawa packs rations for the stay at Tashiling and
carries sacks, ropes and a hammer.
After
halting a night in a villager's house in Tashiling he heads for the cliff
the next day, which is nearby. He climbs the cliff and keeps breaking the
limestone for the entire day. Towards evening he carries it to the villager's
house.
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| Ap
Lawa brings back only a small amount of limestone when he returns to Dawathang.
Given his age he cannot carry much.
People
moving between Tashiling and Dawathang transport the bulk of limestone
for him on horses. He pays for the carriage. |
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At
home in a small hut near the Choekor Gup's office, Ap Lawa breaks the lime
stones into small pieces and burns them on charcoal made from hard wood
which he collects from the forest.
He
uses a traditional leather blower known as Boothpa to fan the coal.
When
the limestone becomes red, he puts them in cold water and mixes it into
a paste. The lime, after it is checked for thickness, is ready for sale.
Ap
Lawa sells the tsuni to the locals and shopkeepers in Bumthang for Nu.
25 for a small tin. Sometimes he presents the tsuni to nearby shopkeepers
who offers him drinks in return.
According
to his neighbours, Ap Lawa has been making tsuni for more then 20 years.
He lives alone, he never married, and cooks his meals on a Bukhari given
to him by his younger brother. He has a pump kerosene stove but he does
not know how to use it.
His
neighbour Wangmo, 37, said that he likes electronics like the radio and
tape recorder and wants to own one.
When
he is working, making Tsuni he refuses any body's help. He prefers to work
alone.
| Contributed
by Nima Wangdi, Kuensel, Bhutan's National Newspaper, 2006 |
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