Worship Tibet V: Lifestyle of Tibetan People

We have talked about the popular attractions in Tibet in the last chapters, Now, I will show the lifestyle of Tibetan people in the article, as you know, it is a special minority which is different from others in China.

                                                                 Chapter Five


                         Lifestyle of Tibetan People

The inhabitants in Tibet include Tibetans, Menpa, Luopa, Han Chinese, Hui, Sherpa, and a few Deng people. Among them, the Tibetans are the main inhabitants, who take up more than 92 percent of the regional population. The Tibetan people are optimistic, bold and uninhibited.

Tibetan People

A woman in Tibetan may pass her one day like this: “The women of the household are up for hours before dawn, hauling water and wood, milking and feeding the animals. The young mother pours yak butter tea...Her baby in one arm, she is simultaneously breast feeding, loading firewood into the stove, checking the rice, stirring the yak butter eta, tossing potato peels over the railing to the pigs, washing dishes, sorting peppers and talking.”

What’s the real style of Tibetan people’s life? Let’s take a glimpse of it together.

The Hospitality of Tibetan People

Tibetans are extremely warm and hospitable to their guests, and they seem to laugh more than any other people in the world. Tibetan people have not only managed to survived in the high altitudes of the Tibetan plateau, but have thrived. They have created a unique culture all their own.

Hospitable Tibetan People

It is tradition for guests to bring a basket filled with food or snacks. After chatting for several hours, the guests offer the gifts to the host. The host will take everything offered, and will put their own gifts for the guests into the basket. It shows their generosity towards each other. Hosts will always go out of their way to entertain their guests and make sure that they have a wonderful time.

Houses of Tibetan People

House of Tibetan People

Traditionally, Tibetans living in the grasslands live in large tents, which allow them to be able to move to greener pastures for their livestock. Their tents are beautiful and appear simple, but they are quite complex. 

People who live a less nomadic lifestyle live in wooden houses that are covered with Buddhist carvings. Every square inch of their houses are decorated with bright colors, and visitors are always welcome.

Most Tibetans in cities made a living as craftsmen. Nowadays, more and more people are migrating into businesses. However, their special life styles do not disappear as time passing by. 

Diet of Tibetan People

The diet of the Tibetans living in mountainous regions is quite unique because due to the high altitude water cannot be brought to a boil. Although their diet is limited, it is very good at supplying Tibetans with the nutrition that they need to survive. The Tibetans have what they call the "four treasures" of their diet. 

Diet of Tibetan People

The four treasures are tsampa, butter tea, beef and mutton, noodles. Their tsampa and teas are filled with nutrients and not only keep Tibetans warm in winter, but give them energy. Tibetans love eating meat, especially beef or mutton, but refuse to eat dog meat or fish, because they feel dog meat is dirty, and they regard fish as gods of the water, so eating them is forbidden.

The various drinks are also the necessary parts of local food. The most popular ones are buttered tea, sweet tea and barley wine. Other well-known local food includes zanba (roasted qingke barley flour) and butter, etc. 

Clothing of Tibetan People

The traditional clothing in Tibet is also very unique and well adapted to the weather.

Clothing of Tibetan People

They are thick, warm and loose with wide waist and long sleeves and skirts which are often made of silk, sheep skin, wool, and cotton. Usually, some space is left on the chest to hold food and children, just like a bag. 

When it is hot, a sleeve or two will be taken off and tied about the waist to adjust the body temperature. When night falls, two sleeves will be taken off and the clothes can be used as a big sleeping bag.

Costumes for men are bold and loose, and for women, elegant and graceful. The sleeves of their shirts are usually longer than their arms and are used as a feature in their dances.

The Language of Tibetan People

The Tibetan language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan phylum. Traditionally, the land was divided into U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham three dialect boundaries.

Festivals in Tibet

It is often said that Tibetans can sing before they can speak. They are especially fond of singing and dancing. Tibetans need little excuse to sing or dance. Most of their festivals are all about singing and dancing. 

Each spring after all of the fields have been plowed, Tibetan people celebrate the Guozhuang Festival. 

This festival is a chance for all the locals to get together and sing and dance together. It is very popular, especially amongst Tibetans living in the southern areas of Tibet. The person who is considered to be the best singer and dancer is rewarded with a pot of the local Chang alcohol. 

Wangguo Festival

Another popular festival is the Wangguo Festival. It is held just before the autumn harvest. This festival lasts from three to five days. People wear their best clothing, create colorful prayer flags. They sing and dance, beat drums and gongs, and walk around their fields to express their hope for a bumper crop. Another feature of this festival is horse racing. After the festival ends, the harvesting begins.

Moreover, local Tibetan people enjoy some distinctive traditional entertainment activities like wrestling, tug-of-war, horse-racing and archery, etc. They are also excellent singers and dancers, earning the reputation, 'Sea of Dances and Songs' for the land. On this land, there are also many ethnic festivals held every year. If you happen to be there on those days, you could join them to fully experience their unique and interesting customs.

Worship of Tibetan People

Tibetan people believe in Buddhism--most people here are devout Buddhists while a few believe in the old Bon. Islam and Catholicism also have a few followers in Lhasa and Yanjing respectively. In this case, the land boasts temples and religious sites. The Jokhang Temple and the Sera Monastery are the famous ones. Strolling on the street there, you could find many Mani Stones, colorful prayer flags and people wheeling prayer wheels, all of which are important elements of local Buddhism.

Worship of Tibetan People

Life is dominated by religion. Religion is a daily, if not hourly practice of Tibetan people. Tibetans spend much of their time in prayer or doing activities, such as spinning prayer wheels and hanging prayer flags that earn them merit. Tibetan Buddhists also send their sons to monasteries. Participate in pilgrimages, do good deeds and present gifts to lamas to earn merit.

Common rituals include rubbing holy stones together and performing the traditional blessing of dipping a finger in milk and flicking it towards the sky (more common in Mongolia than Tibet). Buildings are blessed by a lama who circles it twice and casts handfuls of rice in all directions. As one Tibetan Buddhist explained, "Before you do anything, you have to have the permission of the gods."

All in all, Tibetan's are adept at finding ways to enjoy themselves. They need little excuse to throw a party, and find pleasure in the simple things of life. Everything about Tibetan's lives is worth exploring. They are just waiting for visitors to experience their lives in the "Top of the world".