Tibetan styled air drying. Slabs of yak meat hang in a nomad’s tent letting 4500-metre air and wind dry one of the vital protein sources for families in the Himalayas. Yak have long been one of the essentials for the very highest of high-residents, providing sustenance, cloth, mobile transport and tools. In the words of Omu (pictured), “We wouldn’t be able to be nomads without our yak”.
The nomad ways are a combination of ultimate pragmatism with a touch of the otherworldly, and a worship of all natural elements.
A binding and timeless cooperation that hopefully will remain. Many Tibetans will not/can not kill their own beasts, instead depending on outsiders to do the slaughtering. With many of the nomad clans, however, practical needs outweigh all. With a blessing and a well placed long knife, the yak is despatched and given tribute for its offering.