Tibetan Customs
1. Adulthood Ceremony:
Tibetan women must choose an auspicious day to hold the Adulthood Ceremony when they reach the age of sixteen or seventeen. On this day, parents will invite a lucky female of the same age who has a good birth year, both parents, to comb the girl's hair into two braids (young girls in the Uyghur-Tibet area all wear one braid, and when they become adults, they will comb into two braids, with "Bangdian"). , indicating that she has reached the age of marriage), she wears a "Bazhu" headdress and a "Bangdian" colorful skirt, and then her parents, relatives, friends and guests present khatas to the girl to express their congratulations. After the ceremony, the girl, accompanied by three or four relatives and friends, went to the temple to worship Buddha. After returning, a banquet was held to entertain relatives and friends. After the initiation ceremony, girls can participate in social interactions between men and women and can get married.
2. Marriage customs:
Monogamy is the main family form of the Tibetan people. Before the democratic reform, Tibet was economically backward. In order to prevent the dispersion of property, there were marriages such as polyandry, brothers having wives with wives, and sisters having wives with wives. Polygamy often occurs in upper-class families, that is, lords and chieftains expand their sphere of influence through marriage. The Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism strictly prohibits monks from marrying wives, while monks from other sects are allowed to marry.
Tibetan wedding ceremony is unique. On the morning of the wedding day, just as the roosters were crowing for the first time, several uncles, relatives and friends from Xinlang's family came to welcome the bride, who was accompanied by relatives and female companions. Each of the groom's neighbors in the village presents a bucket of water, and there is a long line of water in front of the door. Next to the last bucket, the groom's owner places a number of tea bags for the bride to get off her horse and use, in order to wish the newlyweds a happy and prosperous life. After the bride dismounts, her relatives will put a khata on each barrel to express their gratitude to the village neighbors. Before the bride enters the house, the groom's relatives and friends dip cypress branches in water and scatter them, sometimes with wheat, which is said to ward off evil spirits. After entering the house, the groom's parents presented a bowl of milk to the bride, wishing them true and pure love. The person officiating the wedding hangs a khata on the central pillar to seek good fortune. Then the officiant reads a eulogy to bless the couple, and then everyone celebrates, plays, sings and dances. The newlyweds' bed is covered with a pure white felt, on which auspicious patterns are painted with highland barley and wheat. The bride stays at the groom's house for one or three days and then returns. In some places, it takes several months for the bride to arrive at the groom's house and start married life.
3. Name:
Tibetan names have first names but no surnames. They are generally divided into male and female, and are usually two or four characters. Most of the names are taken from Buddhist scriptures, so there are many people with the same name. However, you can add the big and small, personal characteristics, birthplace, residence or personal occupation in front of the name to show the distinction.
After the baby is born, the parents ask the lama to perform a naming ceremony for the baby. The names of lamas are mostly derived from Buddhist scriptures, and they choose words containing "beauty" and "blessing", such as Tashi Phuntsok (Tashi means auspiciousness, Phuntsok means longevity), Jigme Cairen (Jigme means longevity) Fearless, Cai Ren meaning longevity), etc.
4. Funeral
Tibetan funerals are divided into six types: tower burial, cremation, sky burial, earth burial, water burial, and composite burial.
5. Childbirth
On the third day after a Tibetan child is born (the fourth day for a girl), relatives and friends bring highland barley wine, butter tea, children's clothes, etc. to congratulate them and hold a ceremony. Side color ceremony (side color, Tibetan means to clear away bad luck). The side scenes are ancient rituals left over from the Tubo period. On this morning, people place a pile of pebbles at the door of the house where a child has been born. If the child is a boy, they pile chalky pebbles on it; if the child is a girl, any pebbles can be used, and pine and cypress branches are burned next to the pile of stones. People who come to congratulate first place tsampa noodles on piles of stones and incense, and then enter the host's house.
After the child is one month old, he must choose an auspicious day to hold the going-out ceremony. On this day, both mother and son (daughter) put on new clothes and went out accompanied by their relatives (the accompanying people also wore new clothes). They first went to the temple to pay homage to the Buddhist scriptures (people from Lhasa go to the Jokhang Temple), praying to the Bodhisattva to bless the newborns with longevity and a long life in the world. suffer disaster. Then visit the homes of relatives and friends, and choose more blessed families, hoping that the children will also build a happy family in the future. When a child goes out for the first time, people often rub a little pot bottom on the tip of his nose, which is meant to prevent the baby from being noticed by the devil when he goes out.