Key Information

Photographer

H. Staunton ?

Collection

Harry Staunton

Date of Photo

1940 - 1941

Region

Tsangpo Valley Region > Chaksam

Accession number

1999.23.1.25.2

Image Dimensions

116 x 89 mm

A ferry raft loaded with passengers and goods crossing the Tsangpo river at Chaksam. A group of travellers are waiting to cross on the left bank. There is a religious shrine in the centre of the picture on a rocky crag.

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print gelatin silver

Date Acquired

Donated 1999

Donated by

Diana Hughes

Expedition

H. Staunton

Photo also owned by

Diana Hughes

Other Information

Other Information - Location: The river had to be low for the Chaksam ferry to function and when in use, the Kamba La pass had to traversed. F Spencer Chapman writes about the ferry in Lhasa: The Holy City, 1938, London: Chatto and Windus, "There were two ferry boats ... Crude rectangular wooden boxes about twenty feet by eight. ... The boats are propelled with crude wooden paddles; but the men do not have to row very much. ... It was a rather hazardous business, and most of the time water was being shipped, as the sides of the boat are cut away in the middle so that the animals can get on and off more easily. ... The ferry has one huge steering oar used against an upright beam in the stern. A similar beam at the other end - one can hardly say bows - has a carved horse's head at the summit and a bamboo pole with prayer-flags attached." (p. 285) [KC 4/1/2006]

Other Information - Related Images

Other Information - Related Images: 1999.23.1.26.1

For Citation use:
The Tibet Album. "Ferry raft on the Tsangpo river at Chaksam" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. <http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_1999.23.1.25.2.html>.

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Ferry raft on the Tsangpo river at Chaksam