There are different views about his early life. The account that he gave in his first autobiography, accepted for several years, is that he was a Sherpa born and brought up in Khumbu in Nepal. However more recent research has led to the claim that he was born a Tibetan in Kharta valley, Tibet, but his family were left destitute when their yaks were killed by disease, and he was sold as a bonded servant to a Sherpa family in Thamey in Nepal. Khumbu lies near Mount Everest, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call Chomolungma which in Tibetan means Mother Goddess of the Earth.