Nafra Mar 5

Mar 5 - Dirang to Nafra

- Try the shower but no water pressure. Bummed. I am looking forward to a real shower with hot water. Water pressure appears at 8AM, right before we are to head off. I do a quick hair wash.- Talk to Bhupen about western “culture” and how we generally don’t want them to help us open the door, carry our bags, tell us to sit, etc. He asks whether I have any other feedback for him. I think and then tell him that I like his driving much more than Radju’s. The constant honking and driving close to pedestrians is annoying and I feel it is inconsiderate. I also mention that I prefer to sit in the front seat, as it gives a better view of what is coming.

- I wander to the market area around 7AM and meet a couple of Americans. They are heading to Tawang today, where there is a festival. I make them cringe by telling them about the truck hanging over the edge. I learn from Radju that the truck fell over the edge yesterday, after we passed it.

- When I am wandering back to the hotel, Bhupen finds me and tells me that he was searching for me. I explain that we have a cultural difference and that when we agree to meet at 7AM and he does not show up, he should expect to find me wandering about. He apologizes and we move on.

- Drive to Bomdila for fuel. Keep asking along the way, apparently some of the small villages will have barrels of diesel but no luck today. However, Bhupen drives and I am riding shotgun with him in the front. Bhupen listened to my feedback and has adjusted his program. He will do well.

- Road to Nafra is single lane, paved about 2/3 of the way, with some rough stretches that are gravel. At one point a man on the road started gesturing wildly and running toward us, we start backing up, he stops and is looking up at the steep hillside above us. Suddenly he starts sprinting toward us, a look of raw fear on his face. I have visions of the whole side of the mountain tumbling down on us. A moment later all becomes clear as some rocks between one and two feet diameter crash down the mountainside and bounce over the road, followed by a fifty foot log. It also bounces over the road and continues down the slope. The locals are out gathering firewood. I was glad they posted a sentry on the road.

- Arrive in Nafra a little after noon, check into a new hotel with a marvelous view of the town. After a hearty lunch, Bhupen tells me that the only difference he sees in me since the beginning of our trip is that now my stomach is starting to stick out. The food is so tasty and they keep bringing more of it, so it is hard to limit one’s intake.

Nafra

- We meet Deru Zongluju, the headman for this village. He spends the afternoon with us, guiding us first to a small village north of the main town, called Upper Dzang. Deru is from this village which still adheres to many traditional customs and ways of doing things. He explains how methunes, related to cows but a bit larger and more hardy, are so important to their culture. A mans worth is measured by how many methunes he owns. We see some methunes, they look a bit like Texas Longhorns. When you marry, you pay the bride’s parents a dowery of so many methunes.

- We meet the Nepali sawyers, who will hand-saw a twelve foot log into planks over the course of two days. I think of how much more efficient it would be to set up a small sawmill, and then realize that would put the Nepali laborers out of work, but it’s bound to happen soon.

- The priest’s house has a plaque with jawbones, eagle talons and other protective animal parts fastened to it. The whole arrangement is covered with dried Methuen blood, which is part of their sacred rites.

- One of the more interesting things Deru shows me is a bow and arrow used for hunting. He shows me the arrow and behind the iron tip, there is a porous black substance caked round the shaft for two inches in length. Deru tells me not to touch it, as it is highly poisonous. They shoot wild animals, mostly mountain sheep, from a distance of thirty meters.

- It is 5PM and after a hard day of touring the village, we stop at a small roadside place for refreshment. Bhupen shared with Deru my interest in local brews and Deru has arranged for some local rice wine. I like it much better than the millet wine. It’s taste is much more neutral, close to Japanese sake. I ask whether they ever distil the rice wine and Deru gives me a sly wink and motions me to have a look in the next room. I move the doorway’s curtain aside and see a two foot diameter cauldron being heated atop a wood fire and a tube leading out the top and over to a tea kettle. The owner pours me a sample from the tea kettle, which is the receptacle for the distilled liquor, called rakshi. The rakshi has a metallic edge to it, as though it were made in a homemade still. The wine is quite pleasant to drink, this rakshi could be wicked.

- We meet at 7:30PM to have dinner with Deru and see the Sajolang Miji tribe’s traditional ceremonial dress. It is a great dinner but they give me a big glass of rice wine which tastes great, but packs quite a punch. I’m nursing my second glass, praying to the local Gods that I don’t have to finish it. The local Gods know I’m a pretender. Deru says I’m expected to chug the remainder before we leave. I make it back to the hotel but as soon as I lie down, the spins start. Mercifully, I pass out quickly.