Comments on: That Yeti Attack On A Sherpa Woman: UPDATE

By: ubik

ubik — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:09:50 +0000

The name Dolma meaning ‘goddess’ (Tara) is a very common name for girls. I think the name changes are just people spelling that name differently.
It’s correct transliteration into English would require noting the letter ‘ra’ subjoined to ‘ga’ and creating the sound ‘da’ (said sometimes with a slight r sound and sometimes not in my experience).
Combining varying levels of literacy in the sherpa populations with significant dialect differences amongst Tibetan speakers and I’m not at all surprised that the name is being spelled differently in English by different people.
Also, ‘ni’ is sometimes affixed to words to add emphasis but isn’t common and the translator could have thought that was part of her name. That could explain the ‘Domani’ variation.
The influence of the Chinese government over this area is a bigger reason to question this story for me. I know people who travel regularly through Tibet and Nepal for business and you don’t do much without a Chinese official knowing about it – even outside Tibet. The Chinese government is looking for ways to increase tourism in this area and and I see yeti wonderland parks in the future for this region.
I’m betting they asked her to embellish her story. I can’t see how anyone got permission to speak to her without going through them, but I’d love to know more about that side of it. I’m looking forward to watching these documentaries.

By: sausage1

sausage1 — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:38:04 +0000

In one of his marvellous books Lyall Watson tells of a court witness in India who gave evidence in a trial that was abandoned. When it came to re-trial she again gave evidence, which the counsel was quick to point out was different from the evidence she had given before.

“Of course” she replied “I am a different person from who I was then.”

Makes sense to me.

By: whiteriverfisherman

whiteriverfisherman — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:01:01 +0000

If these people were attacked everything described here sound just like a bear attack. I also think of a bear when the one witness describes a 5 foot yeti. Bears are stealthy and are known to go to for the head the render the victim unconscious. Even the description of the yak injuries is consistent with a bear. It is possible the entire story was made up but if not I think a bear was the culprit. Of course this is just an opinion.

By: TFETV

TFETV — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:35:57 +0000

I was the producer/writer for the A&E “Ancient Mysteries” episode titled “Search for the Abominable Snowman.” I tracked down an old copy and found the interview. We were told that her name was spelled “Lhakpa Dolma.” This is what she said in her interview (as translated by another Sherpa who was a consultant on the project):

“While herding livestock high up on the mountain slope, I heard a whistle. I thought it might be my older brother. Then I heard the ground shudder and there was this darkness right behind me. The creature held me by my clothing and hair from behind and tossed me into a stream. After killing three cows, it crossed the stream and walked off with a strange twisting motion and disappeared over the ridge.”

She shows scars on her neck from the attack – though there are no close-ups.

This was taped in 1997. There was no mention of bloodsucking. And oddly, in this version she claims she was conscious because she watched the creature walk away.

I don’t know if this clears anything up… or simply adds to the confusion. Curious viewers may note the show show also contains interviews with a somewhat darker-haired Loren Coleman.

By: 4Js

4Js — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:33:51 +0000

I’ve sent a link in “contact us” to a You Tube upload from Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World. That particular segment contains an interview with Lhakpa Domani. This old program is from 1980 or so.

By: Rickmeister

Rickmeister — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:04:29 +0000

Don’t think she said “Sucked the blood’ but ‘drank the blood’.

Then again I think she at this point is embellishing the story because she states she was knocked unconscious.

She did describe that the yak was ripped open and it was her brother who initially found her and reported it.

To late for necropsy but would be interested to know if the liver was missing.

By: wolfatrest

wolfatrest — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:06:15 +0000

She’s probably getting paid for her interviews or simply enjoying the repeated spotlight. Like many memories hers has no doubt become tangled with stories she’s heard over the years and fantasy and fact have become inextricably entwined in her head.

By: Lorenzo Rossi

Lorenzo Rossi — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:05:23 +0000

In the chapter VIII of his “Le peu abominables hommes-des-neiges” Heuvelmans reports the fable told by Lhakpa, including the particular of the bloodsucker yeti.

He was a dreamer, so he believed that this unlikely story was true and said that all the impossible details (according to Lhakpa the yeti’s feet were turned back), were due to the state of shock of the witness.