Query

[mkapstei at UCHICAGO.EDU]

Diwakar Acharya's post has an interesting hint:
The Yak-cow hybrid, in Tibetan, is mdzo, and the
female mdzo-mo, pronounced dzo and dzomo respectively
in many current dialects. Tibetan dz- is often
equivalent to j- in Sanskritic languages, but c-
is also plausible. So it might not be out of
question to derive caama(ra) from dzomo. (The vowel
shift might be explained if, as is sometimes the
case, Tibetan o gets pronounced almost as shwa.)
In any case, I have also had the impression that the Skt word
is sometimes used to mean Yak rather than Yak-tail.

One further point -- the hybrid is not "stronger and
more enduring." The first generation hybrid does
somewhat better at lower altitudes, is more tame
(and so a good plough-animal), and the milch-cow
is an excellent dairy animal. However, after the first
generation the hybrid degenerates and is of no value
in any respect.

Matthew T. Kapstein
Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies
The University of Chicago Divinity School

Directeur d'études
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris