在喜馬拉雅深山的褶皺裡，生活著一個一千多人的族群——寧巴人。或許正是這份與天空如此接近的溫暖，在15世紀吸引了他們從西藏遷徙而來並在此定居。尼泊爾人曾把這些翻山而來的稱作“多吉亞”，意思是“山那邊的人”，但久而久之他們用腳下的山谷為自己命名，成了這片土地上獨一無二的群落——寧巴族。
寧巴人是農耕者的後裔，依靠土地的饋贈而活。蕎麥在坡地上開花，黍子在秋風裡低頭，偶爾還能看見青稞的金黃。時至今日，整個寧巴族也不過1500餘人，且散落在四個村莊裡。在這片印度教、佛教與藏傳文化交匯的土地上，他們守著最古老的生存法則，過著與世無爭的生活。
在布倫德村，村裡一共有70戶人家，有500來口人。日子過得簡單卻也和睦，儘管環境嚴酷，他們總能靠著彼此，靠著代代相傳的規矩，把生活過得有滋有味。和山谷裡其他三個村落一樣，至今仍保留著古老的“兄弟共妻制”。這是祖先留下的規矩。生存在這裡是一件需要精打細算的事。肥沃的耕地太稀少，夏天乾旱得讓人絕望，冬天又冰封萬里。若像外界那樣把家產分配給各個兒子，每一塊田將會碎成無法耕種的碎片。於是，他們把“分家”變成“合家”，所有兄弟娶同一個女人，財產就不會分散，家族反而因此更加緊密、強大。他們用這種外人難以理解的方式對抗著嚴酷的自然，守護著血脈的延續。
Deep in the folds of the Himalayas lives a community of just over a thousand people, the Ningba. Perhaps it was the warmth of this place so close to the sky that drew them from Tibet in the 15th century and led them to settle here. Nepalese once called these mountain-crossing people “Dojia,” meaning “people from beyond the mountains.” Over time, however, they took their name from the valley beneath their feet and became a unique community on this land, the Ningba people.
The Ningba are descendants of farming people and live on what the land provides. Buckwheat blooms on the slopes, millet bends in the autumn wind, and occasionally the golden color of highland barley can be seen. Even today, the entire Ningba population is only a little over 1,500, scattered among four villages. In this land where Hinduism, Buddhism, and Tibetan culture meet, they preserve an ancient law of survival and live a quiet life apart from worldly conflict.
In the village of Bulunde, there are about 70 households and roughly 500 people. Life is simple but harmonious. Although the environment is harsh, people rely on one another and on rules passed down through generations to make life meaningful and enjoyable. Like the other three villages in the valley, Bulunde still preserves the old practice of brothers sharing one wife. This is a rule left by the ancestors. Survival here requires careful calculation. Fertile land is too scarce; summers are desperately dry, and winters are locked in ice. If family property were divided among each son as it is elsewhere, every field would be broken into pieces too small to farm. Therefore, they turn “separating the household” into “joining the household.” All brothers marry the same woman, so property is not scattered, and the family becomes even more united and strong. Through a practice difficult for outsiders to understand, they resist the harshness of nature and protect the continuity of their lineage.