Burning for Tibet
Smoke rises as Tibetan monks burn trees on an altar during their morning ritual at the Dzamthang Jonang monastery, in the tiny, remote township of Barma.
The scene looks calm, but a few months ago a much more dramatic fire burned at the same site: on March 24 a Tibetan woman called Kalkyi stood outside the monastery, doused herself in gasoline and lit a match. Witnesses say it took under 15 minutes for the blaze to kill her.
A man drives cattle in Barma, a remote, poor township with around 4,000 inhabitants.
Tibetan monks chant spiritual mantras on a hill next to the village’s Dzamthang Jonang monastery.
Tibetan residents walk through Barma township, where most locals work as herders.
Monks sit at an entrance to the Dzamthang Jonang, an imposing structure that consists of three different monasteries, surrounded by large courtyards and smaller buildings.
A woman walks around a stone carving inscribed with Tibetan words as she prays in Barma. Few residents there speak Chinese.
A monk walks through the township, which has one main road and sits 3,560 meters (11,680 feet) above sea level, surrounded by mountains dotted with pine trees.
A monk and a woman walk past a pagoda near the Dzamthang Jonang monastery.
Smoke rises as Tibetan monks burns trees on an altar during their morning ritual.
Wood smoke fills the air.
A Tibetan monk splashes water on the trees.
A young monk walks through the smoke.
A Tibetan boy and an older man sit on a street next to the Dzamthang Jonang monastery.
A Tibetan woman holds a baby in Barma township.
A stone carving inscribed with the Tibetan words, "Om mani padme hum", a traditional Buddhist mantra that is also chanted as a prayer to the Dalai Lama, lies outside the house where Kalkyi lived.
