Tibetan customs and habits

mysterious and ancient Baima Tibetan (Tibetan: ) is one of the oldest ethnic groups in China and South Asia, and is also an indigenous person on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. He also called Tibetans in many ways, such as: "Tubo" in the Tang and Song Dynasties,"Tubo" and "Xifan" in the Yuan Dynasty, and "Xifan" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,"Xifan","Tubot","Tanggute","Tibetan Tibetan","Tibetan people", etc. It originated as an agricultural tribe in the central region of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin. According to archaeological discoveries, as early as 4000 years ago, Tibetan ancestors lived and bred in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin. According to Chinese historical records, the Tibetans belonged to a branch of the Xiqiang people during the Han Dynasty.

At present, the Tibetan population in the world is about 7.5 million, and about 7 million in China (2016). The Tibetan population is conservatively estimated to be more than 10 million. In China, Tibetans are mainly concentrated in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Haibei, Hainan, Huangnan, Guoluo and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures of Qinghai, Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Haidong Prefecture; Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Muli Tibetan Autonomous County of Sichuan Province; Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County of Gansu Province; and Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. In addition, Tibetans are also distributed in India, Bhutan, the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and other regions.

Tibetans generally believe in Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to Tubo from Tianzhu in the seventh century AD and has a history of more than 1400 years. The Tibetan people have created splendid national culture and left behind an extremely rich cultural heritage in literature, music, dance, painting, sculpture, architectural art, etc. Tibetan carving skills are superb. In addition, Tibetan opera is unique, and Tibetan medicine is also an important heritage of mankind.

Tibetans have their own language and writing. Tibetan belongs to the Tibetan branch of the Tibetan-Burmese language family of the Sino-Tibetan family. It is divided into three dialects: Tibetan, Kangkang and Ando, and they have scripts. However, Jiarong Tibetan people are rare to have scripts. The current Tibetan language is a pinyin script based on ancient Sanskrit and Western languages in the early 7th century. The use of Tibetan has strengthened the economic ties between Tibetans and the Central Plains.

Tibetan has different names for people living in different regions: people living in Ngari Prefecture of Xizang call themselves "Duiba", people living in Hou-Tibet region call themselves "Zangba", people living in former Tibet region call themselves "Weiba", people living in eastern Xizang, southwestern Qinghai and western Sichuan call themselves "Kangba", and people living in northern Xizang, northwest Sichuan, Gannan, and Qinghai call themselves "Andowa". "Tibet" is a Chinese title, calling itself "Fan",(Tibetan pronunciation is "Boba"), and "Ba" and "Wa" mean "person" in Tibetan.

Risimanba blockhouse The most representative Tibetan dwelling house is the blockhouse. Most blockhouses are stone-wood structures, with thick exterior walls and simple and rough style; the exterior walls shrink upward. If built against mountains, the interior slopes are still vertical. A blockhouse is generally divided into two floors, and the number of rooms is calculated by columns. The ground floor is a livestock pen and storage room, with a lower floor height; the second floor is a living floor, and the main room, bedroom, kitchen, and small room are storage rooms or stairwells. If there is a third floor, it will be mostly used as a scripture hall and drying platform. Because it looks like a bunker, it is called a blockhouse.

Dongna Tibetan traditional costumes Tibetan costumes are still intact regardless of men and women. Different regions have different costumes, with long sleeves, wide waists and large plumes being their characteristics. This depends to a large extent on the ecological environment in which the Tibetan people live and the production and lifestyle formed on this basis. Wearing this kind of thick structure clothing and sleeping with your clothes at night can be used as a quilt to resist the cold; the sleeves of the robe are spacious, and the arms can stretch freely. When the temperature rises during the day, one arm can be removed, which is convenient for heat dissipation and body temperature regulation. Therefore, the dress with one sleeve removed forms the unique style of Tibetan clothing.

Tibetan costumes are colorful, and most of the daily costumes are blue and white. Tibetan boots are one of the important features of Tibetan clothing. The common ones are "Songbala wood" flower boots, the soles of which are made of cotton thread and leather. Bangdian, or apron, is a unique Tibetan costume and a must-have decoration for married women. The color of Bangdian is either gorgeous and strong, or simple and elegant.

Tibetan men and women pay special attention to ornaments. The textures of ornaments include silver, gold, pearl, agate, jade, emerald, coral, amber, etc., and are widely used in headwear, hair accessories, earrings, necklaces, waist ornaments and rings. The robe at the waist is the most distinctive decoration. Most of the ornaments are related to ancient production, and they are also decorated with gold and silver jewelry. The texture of the headdress includes copper, silver, and gold carved objects and jade, coral, pearls and other treasures. The shape is beautiful, mostly natural, and it can be said to be the finishing touch of Tibetan costumes.

Tibetan people have their own unique food structure and eating habits. Among them, butter, tea, tsampa, beef and mutton are called the "four treasures" of Xizang's diet. In addition, there are highland barley wine and various dairy products.

Tsamba is fried noodles made of highland barley or peas after being fried and ground. Mix the tsamba with butter tea or highland barley wine, and knead it into small balls with your hands. You can eat it.

Butter tea is an indispensable beverage for Tibetans in Xizang. It is better to have no meat in March than to have no butter tea all day. Making butter tea is inseparable from butter, salt and tea. butter is cream extracted from cow's milk. The golden butter extracted from yak's milk in summer is the best, and the one extracted from goat's milk is pure white. When Tibetan people drink tea, they pay attention to the order of elders, guests and guests. Guests should not drink tea too quickly or quickly. Generally, three bowls are the most auspicious.

Highland barley wine is a low-alcohol wine brewed from locally produced highland barley. It is liked by men, women and old and is necessary for celebrating festivals.

Air-dried meat is a very characteristic food in Xizang. In early winter, beef and mutton are cut into small strips, hung in a cool and ventilated place, left to freeze and gradually air dry naturally. When eaten in February and March of the following year, not only will the meat be crisp, but the taste will also be unique.

There are many taboos in Tibetans when it comes to eating meat. Generally, only beef and mutton are eaten, not horses, donkeys, and mules. Dog meat is especially avoided. In some places, five-claw and bird meat are also avoided. Except for some urban residents, people in agricultural and pastoral areas are generally not accustomed to eating aquatic and seafood foods such as fish, shrimp, snakes, and eels.

网站图片位

Tibetan drinking etiquette and customs are extremely rich. Every time a new wine is brewed, they must first worship the gods with "new wine", and then follow the ancient motto of "orderly childhood" first toast to the elders at home, and then family members can drink it. At festive weddings or gatherings of many people, drinking is generally presented to the highly respected elderly first, and then toasts in turn clockwise. Toasters should generally hold the glass with both hands above their heads and present it to the recipient, especially for the elderly. The recipient of the wine first took the glass with both hands, then held it with his left hand, and then gently dipped the wine in the glass with the ring finger of his right hand, and bounced it into the air. This was repeated three times to express his respect for heaven, earth, and god. and to pray for the Three Treasures of Dharma monks, sometimes he would whisper auspicious greetings in his mouth before drinking.

When drinking at parties, singing is essential. Tibetan wine songs have melodious tunes and beautiful sounds, and most of their content are blessings and praises. At general banquets, the host and hostess will sing wine songs to toast. At grand banquets, there are special toast girls. They wear gorgeous costumes, sing charming wine songs, and take turns to persuade the guests to drink until they pass out.

If you visit a Tibetan people's home, the host must first salute the guest's highland barley wine. The guest should first dip the wine with his ring finger and bounce it into the sky for three consecutive times to pay homage to heaven, earth and ancestors. Then take a sip. The host will fill it in time and drink it three times. When the fourth time is filled, he needs to drink a cup. Otherwise, the host will be unhappy and think that the guest is not polite or looks down on him. Note: When addressing you when meeting, do not call you by your first name, but add a respectful address to show respect and kindness. For example, in Lhasa, the word "la" should be added after the name; in the Shigatse area,"Aji" or "Ajue" should be added before the male name.

When guests enter the house and sit down, the host will pour butter tea to respect the guests. The guests will have to wait until the host holds it in front of them with both hands before taking it and drinking. They must not serve it yourself. When sitting down, sit cross-legged; when accepting gifts, receive them with both hands; when giving gifts, bow and hold them high above your head; when serving tea or wine, serve them with both hands and cannot put your fingers into the bowl.

When drinking tea, guests must wait for the host to bring the tea to front of them before reaching out to take it and drink it, otherwise they will be considered rude. When eating, you should not eat a mouthful of food, chew it no sound, drink it no sound, and pick food no more than the plate. When treating guests with mutton, a piece of meat with a tail on the lower part of the mutton backbone is the most valuable and should be honored to the most respected guests.

Tibetans pay great attention to etiquette. In daily life, whenever they see elders and peers, they have different ways to bow and salute. When you see an elderly person or a respected person, take off your hat and bend 45 degrees, holding your hat in your hand and close to the ground. When you see your peers, just lower your head slightly and hold your hat on your chest. Bowing at this time only shows courtesy. In some areas, palm closing and bowing are used simultaneously. Close your palms too far to show respect. This way of saluting is mostly used to meet elders or respected people.

One of the highest etiquette for Tibetan hospitality is offering Hada to express a warm welcome and sincere respect for the guests. Hada is Tibetan, namely scarf or silk scarf. It is mainly white, but also light blue or pale yellow, generally about 1.5 meters to 2 meters long and about 20 centimeters wide. The best is blue, yellow, white, green, red colorful Hada. Colorful hada is used for the highest and most solemn ceremonies such as buddha ceremony.

. Tibetans generally oppose the killing of wild animals out of their religious beliefs. When encountering religious facilities such as monasteries, Mani piles, and stupas on the road, you must detour from left to right; you are not allowed to cross magic tools or braziers; and you are not allowed to reverse the scriptures and wheels. Avoid others touching their head with their hands. When making pilgrimage to Buddha statues, pagodas, living buddha and paying homage to elders, all people must kowtow, usually with long and short heads in temples. Bow your head long: Put your hands together and hold it high above your head, bow three times from the top, from the forehead, and to the chest, then lie on the ground, straighten your hands and stroke on the ground as a sign, and this is repeated. Bow your head short: Close your palms and arch it three times, then arch your waist to the foot of the Buddha statue, and gently push it with your head to express sincere confession. When visiting an elderly person, you must bow your head short to show respect and blessings.

On the third or fourth day of the child's birth,. Tibetans all hold an activity-Fangse (in Tibetan,"Fangse" means "dirty", and "color" means "clearing"), an activity to clear out bad luck for infants and young children. At this time, relatives and friends would bring highland barley wine, butter tea, clothes, hats, etc. for children to come to congratulate them. As soon as the guests arrive, they first present hada to the mother and the baby, then toast the mother and pour tea, and finally look at the baby and praise the child's good fortune and five senses. Then they pinch a rake with their thumb and index finger and place it on the baby's forehead. Wish the child luck and progress.

Marriage customs vary across Tibetan regions, but the basic steps are roughly the same. For example, after a young man and woman have an interest in each other, they have to first ask the Lama to see if their future marriage is auspicious and their family is happy. If it is "auspicious", then the man or woman will ask his relatives or matchmakers to propose to the other party's house with hada and gifts. If the other party agrees to the marriage, he will accept the hada and gifts, and immediately present a hada to the person and return the favor. Subsequently, the two parties negotiated the date of the engagement ceremony. At the engagement ceremony, the man or woman presents gifts and money to the other's family, formulates an engagement contract, holds a banquet to celebrate, and finally asks the Living Buddha to make a divination and choose an auspicious day for the marriage.

On the day of marriage, either the bride is married to the man's home, or the groom is married to the woman's home. Relatives led horses to the other party's home to pick up the new couple, and the party who was welcomed took his dowry and rushed to the other party's home to complete the marriage. After welcoming the new couple, they arranged to sit down on a special mat and began to serve them hada and fine wine. In the evening, the couple walked into the bridal chamber. At this time, their relatives drank to them again and sang blessing songs, wishing them a long life and good luck. Within half a year after marriage, both spouses have to return to the other spouse's home for a few days. At this point, the entire wedding ended.

There are many Tibetan festivals, and there are festivals basically every month. The first month of the Tibetan calendar is the month with the most and most solemn festivals. In this month, festivals are celebrated almost every day. Tibetan festivals are the most important expression of Tibetan culture. Tibetan Buddhism has a history of more than 1300 years in Xizang, China, and has become a part of the lives of the Tibetan people. Due to its profound influence, festivals in Xizang have a strong religious color, and some have evolved into pure religious festivals.

The Snowdon Festival is an important festival for the Tibetan people in Xizang. It is held on July 1st every year and lasts for four or five days. Sherton is a Tibetan translator, meaning "yogurt banquet", so the Sherton Festival was interpreted as a festival for drinking yogurt. According to the regulations of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the ban period is from June 15th to July 30th of the Tibetan calendar every year. Lamas from temples, large and small, are not allowed to go out to avoid stepping on small insects. Only after the ban is lifted on July 30th can they go down the mountain. When the lamas came down the mountain, farmers and herdsmen took out yogurt and offered it to form the Snowdon Festival.

The Buddha Praying Festival is a festival held by monks and laypeople in Shigatse in Xizang every year at Tashilhunpo Monastery during the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar. Tashilhunpo (Tibetan transliteration "Auspicious Meru Mountain") Temple is the fourth largest temple of the Gelug Sect (Yellow Religion) of the Lamaism. At the foot of the Niseri Mountain in Shigatse, Xizang, it was the base of the Panchen Lama.

Prayer Festival is the most solemn event in Tibetan areas. It is not only a large-scale religious event, but also a folk festival event. It is called "Molangchebo" in Tibetan. In Tibetan areas in the prefecture, there are two types of such gatherings. One is the Prayer Festival of the Gelug Sect; the other is the Prayer Festival of the Benbo Religion, the original religion of the Tibetan People. These two Prayer Festival are the same and are held twice a year, once on the 15th day of the June lunar month, and the other is on the first to third days of the first lunar month. The Prayer Festival in the first month is more solemn than the Prayer Festival in the summer. There are also temples and followers of the Benbo religion in the state, who still retain strong primitive religious customs. People who come to participate in the grand event will go to visit the Holy Mountain behind Gami Temple-the Western Heaven on the 13th or 14th of the first month. On the morning of the 15th day of the first lunar month, the monks and lamas in the temple put on new cassock robes and sounded large and small bronze trumpets by the band in the temple. Then the monks in the temple gathered in the scripture hall to recite scriptures, and the Living Buddha arranged each person's responsibilities for the day. Near 12 o'clock, monks performed the "God Dance" program (also known as the Fairy Visiting Dance) to pilgrims and audiences from all over the country who came to make the pilgrimage. The content of the dance included both stories praising the unity of Tibet and Han in history, and dances based on classic stories of Benbo religion.

Tibetan funerals still follow traditional customs. There are five burial methods, the most solemn of which is pagoda burial. However, only the Living Buddha and some lords can enjoy the pagoda burial after their death. When a child dies or someone dies of other diseases, the body is thrown into the river to feed the fish. This is called water burial. People who did bad things during their lifetime are buried in earth. Tibetans believe that buried people will never be reincarnated. Sky burial is an illusion that the Tibetan people place their souls on "heaven". Sky burial ceremonies are usually held in the early morning: before dawn, the families of the deceased must deliver the bodies to the sky burial platform in the northern suburbs of Lhasa. The sun rises slowly and the sky burial ceremony begins. People are generally not welcome to watch without permission because it is not very good.