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| Tibet
custom |
| Tibet People |
| There are more than ten ethnic groups in Tibet,
including Tibetan, Moinba, Lhoba, Hui Sherpa and Han. Among them,
Tibetans are the dominant inhabitants of Tibet, accounting for 92.2
percent of the whole population. |
| Most Tibetans work as farmers and herdsmen. Tibetan
Buddhism is the religion for the Tibetans. Tibetans traditionally wear
long sleeved silk or cloth jackets which men top with loose robes and
women with long sleeveless gowns which are tied at the waist with a
sash. Married women frequently wear an apron with a multicolor design.
Both women and men braid their hair and love wearing ornaments. |
| The Moinba diet is based on rice, corn, buckwheat and
jizhaogu (glutinous highland millet) Most Moinha people adhere to
Tibetan Buddhism; however, in some regions some people practice
traditional shamanism. |
| Tibet Language |
| Tibetans have their own language, in both spoken and
written forms. According to geographical divisions, it has three major
local dialects: Weizang, Kang and Amdo. The Tibetan script, an
alphabetic system of writing, was created in the early 7th century AD.
With four vowels and 30 consonants, it is used in all areas inhabited by
Tibetans. |
| The Tibetan language has three major forms of
expression: the most respectful, the respectful and the everyday speech,
to be used respectively to one's superiors, one's peers and one's
inferiors. |
| Tibetan Costume |
| The Tibetan people always take great pride in their
dress and the accessories they wear. This is evident in the heavy and
well-preserved dresses passed down across generations and still shining
on happy Tibetans, as well as the devotion of tailors and peddlers to
their traditional dress. The short article here describes the
traditional Tibetan dresses. |
| Robe and Belt |
| Typical Tibetan clothes are made of sheepskin or wool.
It is usually home-made by man. |
| The Tibetan robes, which serve as blankets at night,
are very long and are worn down to the knees with the extra length
tucked and held up by a waistband or belt. The robe produces two large
pockets, one in front and another at the back, for people to carry
things, including baby. When it is hot in the daytime, Tibetans will
undress the right arms to disperse heat. If it is even hotter, then one
may undress both arms and tie the sleeves around the waist. |
| It is necessary to have belt to tie up the Tibetan
dress. Usually the belt is made of red, yellow or light green (young
female may use pink) silk. The belt is well decorated. Man hangs flint
box, needle box and Tibetan knife on it. Woman hangs copper or silver
hook with butterfly and water lily designs. |
| The belt is usually around the waist twice and then is
tied behind with a knot. For a person in mourning of the dear ones, the
knot is tied in front. |
| Tibetan Marriages and Wedding |
| Most Tibetan marriages are monogamous with familiar
'nuclear' families. In many ancient societies, however, multi-wives
families were common, and most Tibetan kings have several wives. |
| Girls in Tibet are initiated ceremoniously into
adulthood, selecting a 'lucky' date according to the Tibetan calendar.
Her hair will be plaited from a single to many braids and she will begin
wearing a colorful 'apron', indicating her availability for marriage and
male friendships. |
| Public gatherings are considered appropriate occasions
for boys to meet girls. Romantic bonfires in the moonlight draw boys and
girls together to sing and to worship. After a period of courtship and
permission, each family has granted to the marriage. An elderly
gentleman is asked to propose the marriage to the bride-to-be's parents.
According to tradition, only the maternal uncle of the girl has the
right to approve. Suitable gifts are presented to the bride's family
once approval has been given. |
| The day before the wedding, the maternal uncle of the
groom takes gifts and often a white horse for the bride to ride on to
the bride's house or tent. Two maidens from the bride's family greet the
uncle and they share three wedding toasts of beer. The uncle presents a
ceremonial scarf to the bride's parents and blesses the household and
all of its members. On the wedding day, the groom's house or tent is
refurbished. Bowls are painted with eight auspicious emblems ready for
use, and a square carpet of white wool is laid to welcome guests. The
bride puts on a white woolen wedding gown and rides a white horse to the
groom's house, escorted by her uncle and her groom's uncle. His uncle
rides ahead to announce her arrival. Another 'wedding toast' is sung by
two maidens who are from the groom's family while the bride dismounts in
front of the groom's house, stepping precisely in the middle of the
white mat, on which an emblem is formed from grains of barley. The
groom's family asks him to dismount and come in. Another ceremonial
scarf is exchanged, and blessings are invoked. The groom's uncle
formally begins the wedding ceremony, during which the bride and groom
kneel in front of the groom's uncle and a picture of Buddha while monks
chant. The bride serves milk-tea to her future in-laws and flicks a
fingertip of the tea above her head to salute heaven, earth, and Buddha. |
| The wedding ceremony is followed by a joyful wedding
feast, which is liberally interrupted by many presentations of
ceremonial scarves, blessings, and gifts. |
| Presenting Hada |
| Presenting Hada is a common practice among the Tibetan
people to express their best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding
ceremonies, festivals, visiting the elders and the betters, and
entertaining guests. The white Hada, made of silk, embodies purity and
good fortune. |
| Proposing a Toast and Tea |
| When you come to a Tibetan family, the host will
propose a toast, usually barley wine. You should sip three times and
then drink up. To entertain guests with tea is a daily etiquette. The
guest has not to drink until the host presents the tea to you. |
| Oral Greeting |
| Don't forget to add "la" after saying hello to the
Tibetan people to show respect. Make way to others. Try not to make any
sounds while eating and drinking. |
| Keeping away from Burials |
| Sky burial is a common form in Tibet. There are many
prohibitions. Strangers are not allowed to attend the ceremony. Visitors
should respect this custom and keep away from such occasions. |
| Pilgrimage |
| The immediate motivations of pilgrimage are many, but
for the ordinary Tibetan it amounts to a means of accumulating merit or
good luck. The lay practitioner might go on pilgrimage in the hope of
winning a better rebirth, cure an illness, end a spate of bad luck or
simply because of a vow to take a pilgrimage if a bodhisattva granted a
wish. |
| Funeral |
| Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism and
reincarnation. Therefore, a funeral is imbued with Buddhist concepts. It
is a ceremony to expiate the sins of the dead and, moreover, a guarantee
for the future life of the dead. It is a key event for everyone. |
| Tibetans conduct varied burials. People in Shigatse
generally adopt the celestial burial. The dead person, shrouded in white
cloth, is first placed in a corner of a room on sun-dried mud brick
instead of a bed made of other materials. Tibetan Buddhism expounds that
the soul of the dead sometimes refuses to leave the house, although the
body is removed. So if its body is placed on mud brick, the soul will
leave, since the brick will be taken out of the house to a road
intersection. |
| Usually, the body of the dead will be kept in the room
for three to five days before burial. Once relatives, friends and
neighbors of the dead receive the sad news, each family will send one
person with a jar of wine to express condolences. During the days before
burial, the family of the deceased sends for lamas to chant sutras or
perform Buddhist rituals to expiate the sins of the dead. If the family
is rich, they will light 100 lamps for the dead. |
| With each passing day, more of these items are added,
which are meant for the enjoyment of the dead. If a family loses a
member, the other members will not comb their hair, clean their faces,
wear ornaments, or sing and dance for 49 days. During the funeral
arrangements, the family members and their neighbors are not allowed to
hold a wedding, sing or dance. Everyone mourns the loss of the dead. |
| On the day before the burial, people offer their
condolences and say farewell to the dead, bringing with them garmai
zumda, which includes a hada, Tibetan joss sticks, a sacrificial lamp
and money. Besides the above-mentioned articles, relatives, friends and
neighbors also bring zanba, milk dregs, tea and ox lard to boil toba (a
type of congee). |
| After a family member dies, lamas are sent for to
chant sutras for the dead every seven days seven times. A rich family
will hold a sacrificial ceremony for the dead on the 30th day, when one
lama is sent for to chant sutras. On the first anniversary,
commemorative sacrificial activities are performed in the family home,
and relatives, friends and neighbors gather there, bringing hadas, tea,
wine, meat, butter and money. The host prepares food to thank the
relatives. |
