The Tibetan ethnic group
Mainly distributed in the Tibet Autonomous Region, it is famous for Tibetan Buddhism, Thangka paintings, and Tibetan opera.
The Tibetan people mainly believe in Tibetan Buddhism, and religion plays an extremely important role in their daily lives.
Their traditional diet mainly consists of zanba (roasted flour made from highland barley or peas), buttered tea, and highland barley wine, and they often eat meat and dairy products.
Tibetan costumes have distinct ethnic characteristics, featuring long sleeves, a wide waist, and a large front. Women wear long - sleeved gowns in winter and sleeveless gowns in summer, with various - colored and patterned blouses inside and a colored - patterned apron tied in front of the waist.
The Tibetan people are warm - hearted and hospitable, respect the elders, and pay attention to etiquette. Presenting hada is the highest - standard etiquette for receiving guests, expressing a warm welcome and sincere respect for guests.
The festivals of the Tibetan ethnic group include the Tibetan New Year, Shoton Festival, Saga Dawa Festival, etc. These festivals are usually related to religious activities.
The Tibetan New Year (Losar): The Tibetan New Year is the most important festival in a year for the Tibetan ethnic group, equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han ethnic group. During the festival, people put on new clothes, pay New Year's calls to each other, and hold various celebration activities such as horse racing, archery, and Guozhuang dancing. The celebration of the Tibetan New Year usually lasts for 15 days. During this period, people make various delicious foods such as kase (a kind of fried pasta) and highland barley wine, and have family dinners.
Shoton Festival (Shoton Festival): The Shoton Festival is usually held in the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar. It is one of the traditional festivals of the Tibetan ethnic group, meaning "Yogurt Feast". This festival originated from Buddhist traditions and was originally to celebrate the end of the summer retreat. During the festival, people hold the ceremony of displaying the giant Buddha, showing huge Thangkas (a kind of religious scroll painting), and perform Tibetan operas. In addition, people gather in the park for picnics, enjoying yogurt and other delicious foods.
Saga Dawa Festival (Saga Dawa Festival): The Saga Dawa Festival is held on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and nirvana of Sakyamuni Buddha. This festival has extremely important religious significance for Tibetan Buddhists. On this day, the Tibetan people carry out religious activities such as circumambulating the scriptures, releasing captive animals, and giving alms to express their respect and gratitude to the Buddha. Many people go to temples to pay homage, chant scriptures, and conduct in - depth religious practices.
The marriage, funeral, and other customs of the Tibetan ethnic group are rich in religious colors, such as religious activities and ceremonies like sacrificing to the mountain god and circumambulating the mountain.
Tibetan Thangka, which means "pine tree" in Tibetan, is a kind of colored scroll painting painted on cloth or paper. It is a unique painting art form in Tibetan culture.
The Tibetan people have many unique ways of praying for blessings, such as circumambulating sacred mountains, worshiping sacred lakes, scattering wind - horse flags, hanging colorful prayer flags, carving stone scriptures, and placing mani piles.
Circumambulating the mountain: It is a way for Tibetans to show their piety. They walk or even kowtow all the way around the sacred mountain for one or more circles. Tibetan Buddhist believers believe that circumambulating the mountain can wash away the sins of a lifetime, avoid falling into the Avici Hell in the cycle of reincarnation, and even escape the six realms of reincarnation and achieve Buddhahood in the next life. The journey of circumambulating the mountain is long, quite exhausting, and it is located at an altitude of 5,000 meters, where it is very easy to suffer from altitude sickness due to lack of oxygen.
Prostrating in full - length: Prostrating in full - length is a way for Tibetan pilgrims to express their piety. Pilgrims will start from their distant hometowns and kowtow every three steps along the road until they reach holy places such as Lhasa. During the process of prostrating, pilgrims chant the six - syllable mantra and mark the ground with their hands each time they prostrate. After getting up, they move forward to the mark and prostrate again, repeating this process.
There are four ways of burial for Tibetans after death:
The most solemn one is stupa burial, which is only available to living Buddhas and some lords after their death.
When a child dies or a person dies of other diseases, the body is thrown into the river to feed the fish, which is called water burial.
Those who have done bad deeds during their lifetime are buried in the ground, which is called earth burial.
Sky burial is based on the illusion of ascending to "heaven". The sky - burial master (a monk or priest specially responsible for sky - burial) will dismember the body and chop the flesh into small pieces, mixed with zanba (a food made from highland barley), to attract vultures. Once the vultures have eaten up the body, the sky - burial ceremony is completed.
Religious understanding of sky - burial: The Tibetan people generally believe in Tibetan Buddhism. In Buddhism, the concept of "giving alms by sacrificing one's body" is emphasized. It is believed that offering the body to vultures and other birds of prey is a noble act, which can accumulate good deeds and help the soul to be freed.
Life cycle: In Tibetan culture, death is not the end of life but a transition of the soul from one stage to another. Through the pecking of vultures in sky - burial, the body returns to nature and integrates with nature, thus realizing the cycle and eternity of life.