Key Information

Photographer

Frederick Spencer Chapman

Collection

Evan Yorke Nepean

Date of Photo

October 3rd 1936

Named Person

Sidney Dagg, Rupon

Region

Lhasa > Dekyi Lingka

Accession number

2001.35.382.1

Image Dimensions

106 x 72 mm

Sidney Dagg, a wireless operator on the British Mission to Lhasa 1936-7, sitting between Rupon [right] and another Tibetan man during a lunch party held at the Dekyi Lingka residence for 4th and 5th ranking Tibetan officials. Behind Dagg is a 'Chang girl' wearing an elaborate head-dress and jewellery. Rupon is holding her arm and is drinking from the glass she has offered him

Further Information

Activity

Eating and Drinking

Photographic Process

Print silver

Date Acquired

Loaned August 2002

Donated by

Judy Goldthorp

Expedition

British Diplomatic Mission to Lhasa 1936-37

Photo also owned by

Lady Nepean

Previous Catologue Number

CY.10 [view film roll]

Other Information

Notes on print/mount: '"Tunda nungronung" = Bottoms up!'; [ink no:] 21; [pencil no:] CY/10; [blue no:] 53B. [KC 08/08/2006]

Manual Catalogues -

Manual Catalogues - Caption in Chapman's hand-written list of negatives made whilst on the Mission to Lhasa, 1936-7 [See PRM Manuscripts Collection]: 'Dagg at lunch party' [MS 08/08/2006]

Research publication - Clare Harris and Tsering Shakya (eds.) 2003 'Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital 1936-1947' (Serindia Publications, Chicago). Page 57.

Other Information - Cultural Background

Other Information - Cultural Background: The Tibetan man being encouraged to drink chang (barley beer) is Rupon, referred to by the Mission members as the “singing monk”. On these occasions female servants would fill a glass with beer and hand it to the guest, if he puts it down she repeats the invitation; if he only drinks a little she is still not satisfied and returns it to him refilled. “Before moving on to the next victim she refills his glass. In obstinate cases she is permitted to nudge his arm and use any form of coercion.” (Spencer Chapman 1938:110) This photograph is inscribed by Nepean on the reverse with the phrase “Tunda nang-ro-nang” (please drink, drink). The consumption of chang seems to have helped the British to learn some Tibetan.
[CH 2003; modified MS 08/08/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: Images prefixed with 'CY' taken during the 1936-7 British Mission to Lhasa under Sir Basil Gould comprise a group of negatives containing images of wireless, chang girls broadcasting, lunch party with Dagg, Chapman, Gyaltsen, Rupon, kitchen tent at Regent’s departure and picnic. They seem to have been taken during the period October 3rd - 6th 1936 [MS 08/08/2006]

Other Information - Setting

Other Information - Setting: Mission Diary for October 3rd: "Today we gave the last of our big lunch parties. The guests were officials below the fourth rank. They were as easy to entertain as all our earlier guests and it was an enjoyable afternoon but we were all relieved to see the end of a week of parties" ['Lhasa Mission, 1936: Diary of Events', Part VII p. 2, written by Hugh Richardson]. See Bodleian Library Hugh Richardson Archive MS. Or. Richardson 3 folio 42 for a fuller description of this event.[MS 08/08/2006]

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Sidney Dagg with Tibetan officials at lunch" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.35.382.1.html>.

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