Fiction
November 2004
Ao Thampa
by Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi
He chops human corpses for the salvation of their souls. He is the bridge between a man’s life and after-life yet a repulsive figure himself, disowned by the community only until the need for him arises. SYNOPSIS He is Ao Thampa, member of a small tribe called Monpa tucked away in the sub-Himalayan wilderness of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Monpas, largely unknown to the rest of the world – much like the world to them – carry along their pristine lifestyle and the same social ethos and taboos that they have been living with for centuries. Despite their strong spiritual attachment to the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism, they still persist with their primordial shamanic social norms – few of which may seem bizarre to an outsider. Dargye Norbu, a wretched person in a lice-infested robe smeared with blood, pus of dead bodies and excreta of his daughter, is often seen in the evenings on the streets of Dirang Village in an inebriated state, cursing and abusing the villagers, and dragging himself towards his secluded hut located on the confluence of two rivers away from the village. To him he does not need a human society, but the people of the society need him because after death, it is only Dargye who can dissect their bodies and throw the hundred and eight pieces into the river as per the funeral customs of the Monpa. However, the story has not always been like this; Dargye Norbu used to be a happy lad leading a regular life with his family and friends in Surbin Village of Tawang. It seemed like only a matter of time before he would marry his cousin Rijomba, but destiny had other plans for him. The peaceful life of the Monpas was shattered when China occupied Tibet and their spiritual authority fled his home via Tawang. A few years later, China attacked India taking over the whole of Tawang, this time forcing the villagers themselves to flee. Rijomba was killed by a stray bullet and Dargye had to be her undertaker by cutting her body and throwing the pieces into the Tawangchu River. Dargye got separated from his family and the cruel twist of circumstances turned him into a thampa – a chopper of corpses – he became known to all as Ao Thampa of a repugnantly squalid disposition. Dargye Norbu began living a solitary life that was a grim struggle to keep himself and his nagging wife Guisengmu, along with their deaf and mute daughter Rinjomba, alive when destiny took another turn and he met a reincarnate Buddhist Nun, Ani Sange Norljom. The venerated nun had come to Dirang along with the Dalai Lama to perform the Kalachakra Puja. Ao Thampa is a story of life, love and hope on one side and a sinister nexus of death, desolation and destiny on the other. It is a tale of immortal love between a pure Buddhist Nun and a wretched, socially outcaste person.
