They will not be satisfied with our land alone. They want to possess our minds.
-- Ama (Part I: Daughters)

Importance: When Lhamo's family and village first hear about the Gyami's invasion, they are unsure how afraid to be. However, in this scene, Ama realizes that the invading soldiers plan to do more than simply occupy their homeland. Her words speak to the characters', and thus the Tibetan's generational sense of displacement. Indeed, following the theft of their land, the characters feel their way of life, their ancestral and cultural traditions, fading into the past. Over the course of the novel, Lhamo, Tenkyi, and Dolma in particular work to reconnect with the land that was taken from them and remain in control of their own minds, and thus their own past, present, and future lives.

I will watch after my sister. I cannot allow her to be taken away.
-- Narrator (Part I: Daughters)

Importance: On the night of her mother's death...