Sherpas: how the highest mountain people live (19 photos)

Have you ever heard of Sherpas? Certainly not, because not many people know about this truly amazing people.





And, meanwhile, Sherpas are real superheroes, superhumans, if you like, who, thanks to the region of their residence, have unique physical data.



So, Sherpas are one of the nationalities that today predominantly live in the Eastern Himalayas. My Sherpas are famous for helping climbers climb Everest.





Simply put, they perform the role of porters, dragging from places in place of heavy climbing luggage. However, help for climbers - this is not the only thing that Sherpas do. Majority representatives of this people devote all their time to agriculture and agriculture.



Sherp in Tibetan means "oriental person", and once representatives of this people lived in Tibet. Despite the fact that the Sherpas belong to the Mongoloid race, they are associated with the Tibetans centuries-old traditions, religion, clothing and even language.



But the Sherpas do not have a written language and never have, because of which makes it quite difficult for scientists and historians to explore the vicissitudes of their life path and development. Many call the Sherpas "a people without history", but only because there are very few documentary sources that allow you to learn at least something about this nationalities.



The way of life of the Sherpas is as unusual as the people themselves. They live according to the Tibetan calendar, their names change to throughout life, and surnames are absent as a given. Sometimes in as a name or surname, Sherpas use the name of the area, on which were born.



A curious fact: the words "sherp" and "sherpa" are masculine, there is no female, but this does not bother anyone. Both of these words are in use, and considered to be quite normal. As they say, there is no writing - no rules.



What is the uniqueness of this highland people? The thing is that Sherpas have simply amazing stamina and are able to withstand overloads, which for ordinary Europeans are considered deadly. The secret of their amazing physical shape is in a slightly different operation of the circulatory system. Sherpa blood runs twice as fast than Europeans, but at the same time, an optimal heart rate is maintained and pressure.



Studies have shown that the concentration of degradation products nitrogen in the blood of Sherpas is 10 times higher than that of visiting mountain conquerors peaks. Nitric oxide and its metabolites dilate blood vessels, increasing the stamina of the Sherpas to almost fantastic levels!



Here is what a scientist from the Medical Center wrote about Sherpas Duke University Jonathan Stampler: "Interesting Health Data Tibetans show how nature used oxide nitrogen to compensate for the negative effects of constant exposure to high altitude under hypoxic conditions.



But the Sherpas themselves refer to such their superpower philosophically. Here is what Tenzing Norgay, the most famous Nepalese Sherpa who became the first person (together with Edmund Hillary), who conquered Everest: "The Sherpa boy looks up - he sees mountain. Then he looks down and sees the load. He picks up the load and goes to mountain. He does not see anything unusual or unpleasant in this. go with burden is his natural state, and a burden for him is the same as part of the body".



Another feature of the Sherpas is their omnivorous nature. They use eat almost any food that climbers take with them sunday timewalking. Sherpas do not refuse alcohol either. Moreover, at they have their original alcoholic drink called chang. By in fact, this is a kind of variation of a beer drink, prepared on based on rice, barley or other cereals. Chang is usually drunk after straw.



And in principle, the Sherpas are very democratic nationality, especially in comparison with other Asian peoples. So, for example, Sherpa women, in addition to traditional household duties, along with men take part in ascents. And this despite that most of the Sherpa women are undersized! Nevertheless, they are able to carry a load equal to their own weight, and this is not considered something shameful or ... "not a woman's business."



An interesting fact: Sherpas do not support polygamy. Not refuse completely, but try to stick to the usual European family canons. And it's not about adherence to traditions. It’s just ... why does a Sherpa need several wives if he can’t cope with one Maybe?!



But polyandry is quite a popular phenomenon, and somewhat brothers can marry one woman. Therefore, all property kept within the same family.



The main religion of the Sherpas is Buddhism. They believe in reincarnation and even visit temples from time to time, but do not consider that own religious preferences must be advertised. Easier speaking, Sherpas believe, but not fanatically, and perform only completely traditional rituals - birth, marriage, death. Their deceased Sherpas burned, except for small children, who are usually buried. Exception are only those who died high in the mountains. They are usually buried by themselves. nature...



Despite the fact that the Sherpas live in a certain distance from modern civilization, they are not a dying people. Moreover, their numbers are increasing every year. It also increases the level of education and civic consciousness.



Many modern Sherpas, in addition to conquering mountains, also strive to other, career heights and master completely new and atypical for their people professions - for example, jurisprudence. But, of course, the mountains Sherpas in the blood, and they are unlikely to ever be able to completely abandon ascents. After all, this is their calling, laid down somewhere on gene level.