ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS

The TOHP oral history collection is invaluable. It provides intimate portraits of the elders - the last generation to live in a free, unoccupied Tibet - and preserves for future generations their memories of their homeland. Our oral history team conducted interviews in two of the oldest Tibetan refugee settlements in India and in the United States. The participants ranged in age from 58 to 95 and originated from the three regions of Tibet: Amdo, Kham and Utsang.

TOHP currently has 67 interview transcripts and 22 short videos available on this website:

Watch the Videos

All 22 videos are posted on the Videos page as well as on the General Themes interview pages.

Read the Transcripts

Interviews are organized by general themes addressed by the elders. The oral histories can be accessed in two ways:

1) Select a topic under General Themes below. For each theme we have provided interview summaries, a list of key topics and links to the full interview transcripts.

(or)

2) Browse the interviewee photos below, which provide links to the full interview transcripts.


GENERAL THEMES

1. Culture and History (19 interviews)

Explores the cultural traditions of Tibet and the elders' lives as the children of farmers, herders and traders or as young monks and nuns in monasteries.

2. Buddhist Traditions (including Bon) (3 interviews)

Details the religious and spiritual traditions of Tibet, including Buddhist monasteries, the influence of these traditions in everyday life and perceptions of the Chinese occupation.

3. Chinese Invasion and Occupation (17 interviews)

Describes the infiltration of Tibetan villages by the Chinese army and the subsequent dissolution of traditional Tibetan social, cultural, and religious ways of life.

4. Oppression and Imprisonment (12 interviews)

Documents eyewitness accounts of arrests, beatings, imprisonment and forced work in labor camps after the Chinese invasion.

5. Resistance and Revolution (16 interviews)

Highlights efforts by Tibetans - many of whom were Buddhist monks - to fend off the Chinese invasion and protect His Holiness the Dalai Lama before he fled to India.

 

All interviews are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat software installed on your computer in order to open these files.

© 2009 Tibet Oral History Project. These translations and transcripts are provided for individual research purposes only. For all other uses, including publication, reproduction and quotation beyond fair use, permission must be obtained in writing from: Tibet Oral History Project, P.O. Box 6464, Moraga, CA 94570-6464.