Vanishing Cultures: Himalaya

In this series of seven books, photojournalist Jan Reynolds documents the distinctive cultures and climates of indigenous peoples.

High in the Himalaya, Yangshi's mother is making a rice drink to trade at the market. For Sherpas and Tibetans, trading is a means of sharing their crops and goods with others who live throughout the mountain chain.

Yanghsi's family also takes some of the rice drink to the monastery as a gift for the monks. Sherpas and Tibetans live simply, in harmony with the world around them. Yangshi's people believe life is an endless circle that goes around and around, as symbolized by the prayer wheel she spins at the monastery.