Chil-shru: A story of five birds

Written by Nawang Chhoetso
A folktale from Spiti.

As I recall, it’s a story of five birds. But a friend of mine insisted that there were more than five birds, however even she wasn’t clear about the details. So this story will be about the tale of 5 birds.

Like all other folktales from Spiti, this too starts with the sentence ” yoyo metuk”- I don’t know what this means but every folktale starts with this sentence followed by “yul jaga chenmo na” -( in a big village). And then the story follows.

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The disappearance of Buchen from Hangrang valley, upper Kinnaur

By Karma Negi

I still remember the times when the arrival of Buchen to our village was an annual event. Every year they would appear in the winter months, when all the villagers were done with their farm work and were about to go into resting mode, and then after days of performances, Buchen would disappear for the rest of the year. I remember the Buchen who would go to different villages one after another spreading religious knowledge in dramatic and witty ways.

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