Momo (Tibet dumpling, 1928)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

The first cite we have now is from 1970, if you'd like to have a crack.
Jesse Sheidlower
OED
(Posted on ADS-L, 3 April 2001, in response to if OED would include "momo.")

   I'll be in Tibet & Mongolia from September 7-27...The "momo" citation
below is from an obscure university press.  Most of the following book's
terms are not in the OED..."Momo" was first mentioned here on ADS-L from a
VILLAGE VOICE article about a new Tibetan restaurant in New York City.
"Momo" is not "American food," but it _is_ "served in America."  Tibet
establishments in New York and Los Angeles are not rare...I'll pass on the
crack.

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THE PEOPLE OF TIBET
by Sir Charles Bell
Oxford: at the Clarendon Press
1928

Pg. 19:  Dogs they keep, especially mastiffs, cats too occasionally.  To
their own people they are known as _Drak-pa_.

Pg. 20:  The dress of both sexes and of all classes in Tibet consists of a
very full gown (_chu-pa_), with a high collar and long sleeves.  In the
summer this is usually of the ordinary Tibetan cloth (_truk_) or of silk.

Pg. 27:  The buttermilk is boiled; the cheese (_chu-ra_) forms in it, and is
drawn off with the help of a strainer.  It is wrapped in a cloth, and, when
partially dry, is pressed down with weights to squeeze out more of the
moisture, and to shape it after the prescribed pattern.  Later on, it is cut
into cubes, through which a string made of yak-hair is passed.  The cheese is
then hung up to dry thoroughly.

Pg. 30:  The latter is of two kinds, white barley (ne kar-mo_) and black
barley (_ne-nak_).  This last is also termed mottlede barley, for the ears
are not quite black.  A mixed crop of barley and peas is a very frequent
sight.

Pg. 32:  The kind of rice most in favour with the Sikkimese is that known as
_takmaru_,  Its out-turn is less than that of other kinds, but it will grow
at a higher elevation and is more nutritious.

Pg. 45, note 1:  _Cho-tens_ are masonry structures of varying sizes and
somewhat varying shapes.
(Usually "chorten"?--ed.)

Pg. 66:  _Kung_ is the rank given to the father of each Dalai Lama, together
with the grant of land.
(OED has only "kung-fu," from 1966.  The etymology for that is simply
"Chinese"--ed.)

Pg. 96:  Girls served barley-beer (_chang_) to the hosts and guests.  One
guest played a kind of violin (_ho-chin_), another a kind of banjo, the girls
and some of the guests sang, and there was general jollification.

Pg. 144:  And so the popular saying runs:
   Though they're the country's ornaments, the rich
   Die first by hunger's knife when famine comes.

Pg. 145:  At any rate, Bhutan's neighbours would not put it so high nowadays,
for the Tibetan saying still runs:
   No handles to their pots,
   No law in their land.

Pg. 187:  Some have lost their wealth long ago, but as long as the unbroken
male descent continues, they cannot lose their social position (_rik_).

Pg. 187:  For these he has a large drum which he struck with a curved stick,
as well as the small skull-drum, known as _damaru_, a small pair of cymbals,
a bell, and some paste in a bowl.

Pg. 207:  Tibetans believe, too, in home training and believe in heredity.
For, as their proverb tells them,
   If the father's qualities do not come to the son,
   How does the hare get hiss split lip?

Pg. 222 (FOOD chapter):  Soup is a favourite Tibetan dish.  It may be served
with minced meat, spices, and thin strips of dough, and is then known as
"Chinese soup".  If the same dough is cut up into thin squares and boiled
with minced meat, it is "Tibetan soup".  The third kind is known as
"flour-soup", and is made of chopped meat, boiled and served with small
pieces of flour rolled into shapes like cowry shells.

Pg. 223:  ...barley-flour (_tsam-ba_).
(Actually in OED!--ed.)

Pg. 225:  For daily use the barley-flour is transferred to a small bag
(_tsam-kuk_), which may be of coloured cloth, or of white or red leather.
The upper classes use silk instead of cloth or leather.  The _tsam-kuk_ is
used everywhere, and figures in a well-known warning against extravagance:
   The good father had a full money bag;
   The bad son uses it as a bag for flour.

Pg. 229:  Between the two meals the priests amuse themselves with games of
dice (_ba_ and _sho_), and act plays.

Pg. 232:  Ten or fifteen small meat dumplings (_mo-mo_).

Pg. 233:  Certain foods are partially or wholly avoided. (...)  The small
black balls found in some kinds of meat are often termed "black pills", and
these are vastly different in their nature and effect.  (...)  These are
found in pork, fish, and some fowls and eggs.

(I hope they sell Snickers--ed.)