Letter from Janice Sacherer Turner
Letter to Bridges-PRTD from Janice Sacherer Turner, author of the most important work on Rolwaling:
Sacherer J. 1977. The Sherpas of Rolwaling Valley, North Nepal: A Study in Cultural Ecology. Ph.D. dissertation, published on demand by University Microfilms International in Ann Arbor (to order cite UMI #7804544.)
Dear Seth-
I read through all your various web pages again and looked once more at the wonderful pictures. I was shocked to see how much Tsho Rolpa had grown and how the glaciers and trails had changed in 25 years. Also thank goodness, I did not do Trashi Labtsa with that much snow on it.
I would be very interested in a joint publication. I'd love to think I was going back to Rolwaling for a restudy, but can't count on it given the state of my asthma. Probably interviewing Rolwaling people in Kathmandu is as close as I will come.
I have a fair amount to say about why the Valley has been closed to tourists for so many years and how this relates to the difficulty of working with the Rolwaling people but will save that for a later email. ... I personally think that the holy sites in Rolwaling could be turned into a Buddhist pilgrimage circuit for tourists and others if Tsho Rolpa has indeed been stablized.
I will try to reach Baumgartner through various channels since we both once worked for the Swiss State Dept. His book on Rolwaling was part of a master's thesis and I was instrumental in introducing him and a whole Swiss reasearch group to Rolwaling. Unfortunately, we have been out of touch now for a number of years.
Meanwhile, is there any chance that the Rolwaling primitive landscape painting, the Rolwaling tee shirt, or CD ROM are finished?
I made a hand drawing of Beding in 1974 which shows how many houses there were then and I have a few photos from then as well. I also have a five generation genealogy for Rolwaling inhabitants which was complete up through 1974 complete with all the different clan lineages in different colors. It's about three feet long. I would love to compare that with your demographic data and am still interested in seeing if we could meet in Kathmandu or Goa during December.
Within the next couple of days I would like to send off copies of my various publications. For that however, I need your U.S. postal mailing address.
Meanwhile, hoping to hear from you again soon.
Jan