Smoky Winter Ritual
Preparations for the winter are continuing here in the foothills of the Himalayas. Making charcoal is an important ritual that I have been observing up close—so close that my sweater smells smoky. 
Can you spot the man at work high up in the poplar tree? He’s cutting off branches that will be gathered below. Most of the poplars that we see from our window are now completely bare, shorn of branches and golden leaves.
I watched our neighbors making charcoal in the yard next door. I noticed that it was the women doing this heavy and dirty work, and they explained that in their family, the men brought the wood but the women did the burning. They first piled up bark, leaves, and the smaller branches, and then they made a teepee over the pile out of the long branches. After setting the pile on fire, they continued to add more small branches, leaves, and bark to cover the fire.
Occasionally they splashed it with water to keep it from burning too fast. You can imagine that this smoldering pile sent up plenty of smoke. Since charcoal-making is done by many families in the valley this time of year, our normally crisp view of the surrounding mountains is obscured by smoky haze (smog?) most days.
I watched as the women continued to add fuel to the smoldering fire and then turned it over and over with shovels. The goal was a slow and even burn. The finished product: a pile of shiny charcoal, bagged up the next day, ready for use in winter heating.
I enjoyed being out in the yard with the women, where I could move close enough to the fire to warm my chilly hands. My neighbors didn’t need any warming; the hard work of lifting and tossing wood, turning the burning pile over and over with a shovel, and raking coals in from the edges kept them sweating. My experience with our neighbor women so far has been mostly sitting with cups of chai, or greeting in the bazaar. Seeing them laboring all day in this hot and dirty ritual has given me a new appreciation for their energy. They only do this particular job a few times a year, and I imagine there were some sore backs the next morning. But as the days and nights get colder, their children and husbands will feel their strength and love in the warmth coming from the black coals.
Next time: How they use the charcoal for heating—I didn’t believe it until I came here and saw it with my own eyes…
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged charcoal by Lisa