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E-book Islamic Shangri-La : Inter-Asian Relations and Lhasa’s Muslim Communities, 1600 to 1960

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Penilaian

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In October 1936, the British Resident Frederick Chapman, or “Freddie” as he was known by his close associates, received an invitation to a game of soccer from a team calling themselves Lhasa United. The British Diplomatic Mission in Lhasa, unable to resist such a summons, hastily cobbled together a team of four British officials, four of their Sikkimese clerks, and a few of their Tibetan servants. The Mission Marmots, as the British called themselves, quickly came together as a team ready for all challengers.1 When the British team arrived at the field, two miles past the Nörbulingka Summer Palace, they found a large crowd and a care-fully marked out pitch as well as their opponents. Decked in “garish harlequin-coloured silk shirts with the initials ‘L.U.’ sewn onto their pockets,” Lhasa United were, as one British official later observed, “a remarkable looking team, and cer-tainly needed to be ‘United!’ There was a tough-looking Nepali soldier, a Chinese tailor, three bearded Ladakhis wearing red fezzes—the most hirsute being the goal-keeper, a Sikkimese.”2 The final score was 1–0 in favor of the British. That fall, a total of four teams organized themselves to play the occasional match. While British officials would later insist they remained undefeated, others remembered the results differently.3 In addition to Lhasa United and the Mission Marmots, a team of young Tibetan officials and clerks known as the Kudraks(Tib. sku drag), or the Aristocrats, joined the competition sporting silk uniforms adorned with a snow lion. The fourth and final team was composed wholly of Lhasa Muslims, referred to by the British simply as the “Lhasa Mohammedans.”The four teams neatly reproduced Lhasa’s main social divisions, and the matches quickly turned into elaborate social affairs with several matches occurring in quick succession that fall. The impromptu matches were brought to an abrupt end late one October evening when the wooden goalposts were pilfered–perhaps to be used as firewood. The missing goalposts aside, plummeting temperatures had made it too uncomfortable to play, so it was decided to wait until spring to find replacement goalposts and recommence the matches.The following year the matches grew in popularity, attracting an ever greater number of spectators. Curious onlookers flowed out to the field near Tsidrunglingka Park (Tib. rtse drung gling ka) by the river in the southeast part of Lhasa to watch the foreign games. The season wore on until one day, just as a match was about to get under way, a rabbit ran onto the field. As this is deemed one of twenty-one ill omens (Tib. ltas ngan), several onlookers gasped and attempted to postpone the match. They were dismissed as being overly superstitious, however, and the game got under way with no immediate ominous consequences. In the second half, just as the Kudraks took a 2–1 lead over the Marmots, a fierce hailstorm abruptly materialized. Great gusts of wind shredded the spectators’ large umbrellas. Hail pelted the area with pellets so large that nearby crops were seriously damaged.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

954.92 ATW i

Penerbit

USA : University of California Press., 2018

Deskripsi Fisik

260 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9780520299733

Klasifikasi

954.92

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

History of Other Jurisdiction of South Asia, Tibet

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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