Becoming woman in Zanskar I SLICE I Full documentary

sanskar clinging to the mountainside in the frozen peaks of the himalayas a buddhist realm lost to the world except perhaps the monks and the gods foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] in her cell on the hill where she so often taken refuge learned prayers read sacred texts [Music] foreign hey there [Music] [Music] [Music] nine months an interminable winter it's sometimes minus 30 degrees with no outside contact and a constant battle to stay warm and feed the animals nine months when everyone has to work as one to make it through [Music] the iron lure of tradition applies to everyone yet so much is left unsaid between father and daughter let's go foreign [Music] foreign although her father won't listen to her he will listen to the monks in the monastery on the hill as landowners they hire the people of kasha who then pay them for religious services in gifts and offerings perhaps he will listen to tinley the old uncle who escaped tibet through the mountains on foot to find refuge here in india [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you must make your own decision the secret is in your heart as you stand alone before the sacred statues of lacong [Music] [Applause] um tenzin is palkit's friend tenzin and palkid palkitt and tenzin inseparable since childhood beautiful tenzin all the village boys are crazy about her she doesn't yet know that her entire life is about to change um foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] tenzin knows that her destiny has been decided there's no turning back [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign there will be butter tea barley beer or chang and an exchange of barley and coins this is how it was for tenzin's parents their parents and all their ancestors as far back as the sacred books and memories go each gesture and each code is repeated unchanged to seal the arrangement [Music] [Music] but whoever speaks of women's sorrows [Laughter] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign it's the night of dreams a celebration of song and chang it's a special occasion for the men to get together and sing each step of the ceremony during which the fiance's horsemen kidnapped tenzin on the day ordained by the books foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] dreams still seem possible while the youth of kasha danced to the latest hit song from nearby ladakh as if everything was still possible despite the severe winter outside ripping through the mountains splitting [Music] [Music] stones [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] okay [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] became a nun to escape marriage despite the hardships she's alone with nothing but her own two hands to survive working as a farm hand or a servant but at least she's free foreign my [Music] [Music] becoming a nun the only way out for women who want to be free and a refuge for broken hearts [Music] okay um [Music] home [Music] [Music] [Music] sunny [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] tens into her new family they mustn't sleep on the way all the way back before their mission is accomplished [Music] know meanwhile in kasha amalay prepares her daughter's marriage 100 kilograms of barley to demonstrate the family's prosperity it must ferment 10 days to begun foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] and two breads per villager even children and those who are absent enough to share secrets and unspoken sorrows [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] appear in the planet [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] so [Music] it's time to sign the marriage contract everyone must agree on the dowry and a distribution of fabric to share among everyone [Music] [Laughter] [Music] foreign foreign [Applause] a laughing contest around the future bride what that's all you can do pretend to join forces to defend the bride to extract the maximum amount of money from the young man's embassy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey the same ritual the poompa in every village along the way in thanks the horseman must sing drink eat and offer money it's expensive but also an honor to have been chosen and an age-old way of sharing wealth in the [Music] community [Music] foreign foreign [Music] is [Laughter] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] supervision [Music] [Laughter] [Music] hmm [Music] so [Music] the perak is the precious headdress that emily tenzin's mother received from her own mother she will give it to tenzin to keep the chain unbroken while adding a guardian turquoise a symbol of a new generation and hope for a happy life but outside the neotpa are already very busy as they face the bride's faction the yatupa a joust sung in tibetan unchanged over the centuries with each question they move forward only if they can sing the correct reply [Music] [Music] oh [Music] it takes hours to reach thames in store step by step [Music] mmm [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Applause] other rituals begin involving strange objects a mythical bird with a broken leg a diamond shape representing the home of the gods a bow and arrow [Music] [Music] as the young girls laugh a singer mimics sex between the bride and groom [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the final act tenzin sits with her friends and awaits her kidnappers they must recognize her curled up with palchit under a piece of fabric she belongs to them once the nyotpa chief points to them with the arrow [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is [Laughter] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] so [Music] tenzin in the distance and her stolen youth and palkit now alone as she ponders her future ready to take a major decision [Music] today [Music] [Applause] my [Music] uh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] in the middle of winter the monks create a mandala it's a symbol of a perfect universal world an offering to the gods to bring peace and prosperity to the village while palkit goes on a retreat to the convent [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign near the dalai lama so that she won't become a servant like tukji and the nuns of kasha brave palkit while tenzin far from home discovers her new family foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh foreign [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] [Music] uh [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] the mandala a symbol of the ephemeral it must be destroyed returned to sand and poured back into the river like life itself constantly renewed yes [Music] [Music] oh [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] thus the voyage begins via the frozen chadar river the only way to le the capital of ladakh and from there to delhi [Music] 120 kilometers along a narrow strip between mountains rising over 5000 meters the river rushing underfoot ice that must be tested with a pole before venturing forward a wrong step can mean death the body carried off by the currents under the ice it's the price of freedom for palkit the first from kasha to take this risk with tukji at her side for support [Music] hello [Music] foreign foreign this yes is again [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you she said foreign [Music] [Music] is six days of fear and suffering on the verge of exhaustion as if this horrendous initiation a journey of the self in the face of an immense world a soul-stripped bear were necessary for her rebirth for her new life transformed [Music] forever [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh finally unimaginable the city of miracles where everything fruit cars people is new starting with postcards of zanskaris on the street [Music] [Music] hello [Music] in the pine trees on the hill the dalai lama's residence and a small piece of tibet the roof of the world transported to india [Music] falcon's heart beats faster as she enters the first nunnery [Music] is [Music] um [Music] [Music] um foreign [Music] [Music] and then finally relief [Music] derma loshirinpoche cuts a lot of hair this lock of hair marks the end [Music] and as her hair drops to the ground she already has a place among her sisters [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] prayers and study she'll stay in the convent for five years studying tibetan english philosophy [Music] computers [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] five years after praying one last time with tukje at noor bulinga the holiest of sites a patch of lhasa on indian land palkit who is staying who is returning home pray together in meditative silence under the gaze of the buddha united forever in their faith and the trials they have [Music] endured [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] you

Channel: SLICE

Views: 515,299

Rating: 4.8364034 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, shortdoc, shortdocs, slice, slicedocs, zanskar, friends, friendship, himalaya, marriage, forced marriage, nun, religion, destiny, paths, separation, emotion, Ladakh, tradition, culture

Id: 9TTDFMa90Zs

Length: 82min 54sec (4974 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 28 2021