Folk custom characteristics of the Qinghai-Tibet region: The Qinghai-Tibet region is located in southwest China, west of the Hengduan Mountains, north of the Himalayas, south of the Kunlun Mountains, Altyn Mountains, and Qilian Mountains, including Qinghai Province, the Tibet Autonomous Region, western Sichuan, and southwestern Gansu and the southern fringe areas of Xinjiang. The area accounts for about 25% of the country, and the population is less than 1% of the country. This is an area inhabited by Tibetans in China. The Tibet Autonomous Region borders Myanmar, India, Bhutan, Nepal and other countries. Most of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is above 4,000 meters above sea level. It is the largest and highest plateau in China and the world. It is known as the "Roof of the World". It is the highest and largest plateau lake area in the world, with more than a thousand large and small lakes distributed, of which Qinghai Lake covers an area of ??4,340 square meters. Qinghai-Tibet is a unique region due to its high terrain. With an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, the Qinghai-Tibet region is known as the "Roof of the World". Another significant natural feature that comes with "high" is "cold". Many peaks are covered with snow all year round and glaciers are widespread. The Qinghai-Tibet region has valley agriculture, mainly distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley. Plant highland barley and wheat. There is also animal husbandry, in some alpine pastures. The people in the Qinghai-Tibet region also have some unique folk customs, such as thangkas and murals. The Hui people, Muslims and other people living there also practice "Ramadan". Due to its height,
the air is drier and thinner,
stronger and the temperature is lower. Due to the complexity and change of its terrain, the climate itself also varies greatly from region to region. Generally speaking, there is less rainfall on the plateau.
It is also an important factor affecting the earth's climate. According to paleontological and geological investigations, the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau caused huge changes in the global climate. As a tall wind screen, it effectively blocks the cold air from the northern continent from entering South Asia. At the same time
it blocks the warm and humid air from the south from moving northward, which is an important factor causing the rainy season in South Asia. Tibetan Songs and Dances Traditional folk songs are the crystallization of Tibetan folk literature. They use metaphors, associations, personification and other techniques to describe Tibetan people's lives, customs, relationships between men and women, or historical stories. Tibetan people have a heroic temperament and often dance when singing reaches the climax. Therefore, Tibetan songs and dances are formed where every song must be danced and there is song in the dance. "Dance Guo Xie" is the most common Tibetan group dance. Men, women, old and young hold hands and form a circle. They start with a pause and step as the rhythm, singing and dancing. In the past, there was a custom of men and women gathering on one side to dance Guo Xie, but now It's been mixed together. "Tiao
" is also a group dance. Young men and women dance together to the accompaniment of the Huqin. The content mostly describes the love between men and women or the field work in the countryside. "Zhuo" and "Reba" are Tibetan songs and dances with high technical skills and unrestrained and strong movements. "Zhuo" is popular in southern Tibet. The dancers tie big drums to their waists and dance while beating; "Reba" is popular in eastern Tibet and In Sichuan and Yunnan areas, a man and a woman dance together. The man holds a copper bell in his hand, and the woman holds a drum in one hand and a mallet in the other, dancing around the circle. Tibetan Opera Tibetan Opera is called "
" in Tibetan language, and it combines singing, dancing, dialogue, and plot.
It is said that Tibetan opera originated in the fifteenth century and matured after the seventeenth century. Traditional Tibetan opera performances do not have a specific stage or setting. They usually start singing in squares in cities and villages. The actors form a half circle in the square, and perform in line when it is their turn to appear, and perform during the rest of the time. Serve as a backing vocalist in the ranks. Because it is an outdoor performance, the singing in Tibetan opera is often high-pitched and loud, and the pronunciation of the characters is drawn out very long, forming a drawl. A piece of singing followed by a dance is the basic structure of Tibetan opera. Wearing masks is a major feature of traditional Tibetan opera. The masks in Tibetan opera are unique and lifelike in shape. There are two main types of masks: flat masks worn by characters such as gods and humans, and three-dimensional masks worn by animals such as yaks and dogs. The performance of Tibetan opera is generally divided into three parts: "Winbaton", "Xiong" and "Tashi". "Winbaton" is the prologue, "Xiong" is the main content of the performance and the main play, and "Tashi" is the short part after the main play. Fundraising ceremony. The themes of traditional Tibetan operas are mostly religious, mostly with Buddhist allusions, historical stories and myths and legends.
", "White Horse Wenba", "Dun Yue Dunzhu" and "Chime Gunden" are the eight famous Tibetan operas. The Shoton Festival (Tibetan Opera Festival) from the end of June to the beginning of July in the Tibetan calendar is the climax of Tibetan opera performances in the year. Tibetans gather in Linka to watch Tibetan opera while eating yogurt. Traditional customs There is a rumor that Tibetans only take three baths in their lives, the first time when they are born, the second time when they get married, and the third time when they die. Anyone who has been to Tibet now knows that this is obviously nonsense, but it can be seen that, like the customs of various ethnic groups in the mainland, childbirth, weddings, and funerals are also the three most important events in the lives of Tibetan people. Childbirth In the past, Tibetans believed that pregnancy and childbirth were a dirty thing, so pregnant women were often driven to cowsheds and sheepfolds to give birth. This custom led to poor hygiene during childbirth and the frequent death of babies. Nowadays, the status of Tibetan women has been significantly improved compared to before, and the concept of paying attention to birth hygiene has gradually become popular, so pregnant women can give birth at home or in the hospital. A baby receives considerable attention as soon as it is born, especially a baby boy, which is also a matter of celebration among Tibetans. On the third day after birth (the fourth day for girls), relatives and friends come to congratulate them with gifts.
As soon as they enter the house, relatives and friends first offer khatas to the mother and the baby, then toast, pour tea, say some auspicious words, and then pinch a little glutinous rice cake and put it on the baby's forehead to wish the child a smooth growth. This ritual is called "side color", which means "clearing out the dirt", that is, removing the dirt during childbirth so that the child can grow up healthily. After the child is one month old, he has to perform a leaving ceremony, go to the temple to offer incense, and then visit the homes of relatives and friends. Tibetans have a superstitious belief that children who die in infancy are caught by the devil, so the baby must choose an auspicious day when he goes out for the first time. In addition, in order to avoid being discovered by the devil, the baby's nose needs to be smeared with a little pot ashes so that the devil cannot see him. Naming is an important matter for the Tibetan people. It must be done by a living Buddha or a respected elder in the temple. It is usually done after the leaving ceremony. If a child is named by a living Buddha, it will usually be a religious name such as "Lam" (fairy), "Damba" (Buddhism), "Tashi" (auspicious), "Phuntsok" (perfection), etc.; some The name expresses the parents' expectations, such as "Puchi" (recruiting a younger brother), "Queba" (so far). Sometimes parents deliberately give their children an unlucky name in order to prevent their children from dying prematurely, such as "Qijia" ” (shit) to scare the devil away. Marriage The Tibetan marriage system used to be monogamous and monogamous, but now it is mostly monogamous. Only in remote nomadic areas, due to the hardship of life, there are fewer wives. Expenses can be reduced while retaining the phenomenon of several brothers marrying one wife. Young Tibetan men and women may fall in love freely or get to know each other on a blind date. Before deciding to get married, they must first match their horoscopes. If the horoscopes match, the man will propose to the woman by presenting him with a khata, and then choose an auspicious day to officially hold an engagement ceremony. After the engagement ceremony, preparations for the wedding ceremony begin. The day before the wedding ceremony, the man must send the bride's dress and jewelry to the woman's house for use the next day.
On the wedding day, the man uses a pregnant female horse as the bride's mount and lets the wedding representatives take it to the woman's house.