ABSTRACT
The career of Upa Gyaldzu and of his family may be taken as illustration of schematic generalizations. Gyaldzu was the second of four children; he had a sister considerably older and a younger brother and sister. The brother also subsequently became a shaman. Gyaldzu’s family belonged to a junior lineage of the Lama clan, which for a number of historical reasons has been the wealthiest and highest-status clan among the Sherpas since they emigrated to Nepal from Tibet. It is a common pattern among the Sherpa for families to obtain wives early for sons to gain another body to help with the demanding labor of farming. Gyaldzu began by remarking on how well endowed we were: rich, healthy, youthful, and good looking. The fact that the primal scene is reported as occurring upon Gyaldzu’s return from a gyowa is of interest. The gyowa is the final feast in the lengthy Sherpa funeral procedure.
