Our way of being
So very dear to us are the clouds,
Their slaking drops
Showering down
But sometimes it does happen
They just don’t stop
And seven village children
Seven hundred cows
Even then we continued
We don’t lose heart
To walk, and to fall
To fall, and to get up
To keep walking, no matter what
Is the way of a true herder

Our way of being
From the earth
Its rivers and forest
What we take, we give back more
People call us mad
Ignorant, wandering fools!
But we go on singing the joys of

Our way of being
People trust us, and we trust them
We’ve made a contract
With mother Earth
We’re not charmed by the
Tangled ways of the world
It is very dear to us – This simplicity!

Our way of being
The times are a-changing
Science and technology marching
They say to us, change yourselves!
How long will you keep walking
Your old-fashioned ways?
True, the world has zoomed ahead
To the moon and Mars
While we trudge along slowly
With our camels and cows
But did they bring back any
Butter from the moon
Or milk from Mars?
The bazaars of the earth
Still bustle with our stuff
So we say to them, hey fellas
Why not change your ways instead?
Cherish and nurture

Our way of being
In our arts and our crafts
Dyed in the colours
Of our stories and songs
We listen
Profound truths unfold
In the notes of our flutes
The twang of our harps
We’ll keep it going, my friends
This gathering!

Our way of being
To walk, and to fall
To fall, and to get up
The way of a true herder!
Renewal, rebirth, resurgence –
The power that nourishes us
In utter accord
With animals and birds
And love itself
We are present in all
We herders will stick around
Till the day we keep receiving