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We visited a Naxi (prounced "noshy" or "nashi") village about one hour away from Zhongdian, the location of our hotel next to the Songzalin Monastery. The village is known for its special black pottery.
At the village we were lucky enough to be hosted for lunch at the home of a master potter and his family. He is considered the best potter in the village. A few photos help give a little idea of this fantastic experience.
The potter and his wife have four sons. One is following in his father's footsteps, the second is a "master carpenter" who works all over the area doing ornate carvings on new houses. The third is a very senior Tibetan Buddhist lama, who studied first at the local monastery, then at a top program in Beijing, and is now in Lhasa as the senior-most lama in a high profile monastery about 7 kilometers from the center of town. The fourth son works as a driver.
For lunch we had a range of fine Tibetan delicacies, including Yak Butter Tea (which we both helped brew) and a strong "Tibetan whiskey." Both actually tasted OK.
After lunch and conversation we were invited to enter the family's "sacred room" with its altar and images and candles and incense and many photos of the son who is a senior lama. This was apparently a very special treat, since our guide related later that he had only been invited to enter this room once before though he had visited this house and family over a dozen times. He had told us earlier that this room was "restricted to family members only."
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