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Tibetan Folklore Culture-Introduction
Folklore is a long historical and cultural inheritance phenomenon . It reflects, to varying degrees, the historical traditions, psychological qualities, morals and values of each nation, and is an important expression of national characteristics and national culture.
Folk culture is an extremely characteristic part of Tibetan culture. It was born in the distant past and has a long historical trajectory.
In the categorization of folk culture, it is customary to divide the various forms of expression into two categories, namely, material folk culture and spiritual folk culture. Tibetan material folk culture mainly includes Tibet's scenery, architecture, clothing, food, transportation, production and so on; spiritual folk culture, mainly including literature, art, religion, festivals, weddings, funerals and other aspects.
The Tibetans are the main ethnic group living on the Tibetan Plateau. Tibet's oldest religion, Benjaminism, and Tibetan Buddhism, which dominates the politics, economy and culture of Tibetan society, have had an impact on all aspects of social life, thus forming folk customs and aesthetic tastes that are different from those of other ethnic groups. The content of Tibetan folk culture is rich and the folk cultural relics are colorful, such as clothing, food, living room, marriage and funeral, festivals and entertainment, etc., all of which interpret for us the process of change and sublimation of the rich history and culture of the Tibetan people. The following is a brief introduction to the main contents of Tibetan folk culture.
Tibetan Folk Culture-Clothing
Tibetan clothing is a long and beautiful cultural landscape on the Tibetan Plateau, and the craftsmanship, lifestyle, aesthetic concepts, morality and ethics, and religious beliefs embedded in it can be a living fossil for the study of Tibetan culture. Due to the different geography, climate and products, it can be said that "a hundred miles of different customs, a thousand miles of different winds" in the Tibetan area, different regions in the dress is not the same, presenting a colorful style. Tibetan robe is the main clothing of the Tibetan people, it is large lapel and wide-sleeved, with serge, tweed, animal fur and other fabrics sewn, wide body and long body, with a belt around the waist.
Tibetan Folk Culture
Tibetan East Khampa clothing atmosphere and rugged, in the head, neck, ears, hands and other places to wear gold, silver, ivory, coral, onyx, jade and other jewelry, the waist hanging Tibetan knife, fire sickle, wallet, snuff bottle, needle and thread box and other household utensils, both convenient and practical, but also rich in decorative effect, the whole set of attire bold, show the unruly Khampa people's personality of the nation.
The north of Tibet is a vast grassland and gravel Gobi, where the abundance of sheepskin is the main raw material for the production of Tibetan robes. This sheepskin robe is wide and heavy, day as clothes, night as a quilt, is with this Tibetan robe, people against the harsh cold climate on the plateau of northern Tibet. Most of the sheepskin robe is light leather, some in the cuffs, lapels, hems, etc. Sewn black flat velvet edging. Summer herdsmen wear red tasseled felt hat, waist hanging beautifully crafted fire scythe, snuff bottle and belt knife, musket, expanding the body talisman and so on. These items are both their survival appliances, but also their decorations and the embodiment of wealth.
Sheepskin robes are also the main garments of the shepherdesses of northern Tibet. Their sheepskin robes are also sewn on the red, blue, green three-color velvet strips as a decoration, usually hanging around the waist full of milk bucket hooks, needle and thread box and the pastoral whip and other objects, encountered festivals and celebrations, but also hang up strings of necklaces and gold and silver ornaments, hair combed into a multi-stranded braid, wearing tweed or serge long cape adorned with turquoise, shells, silver coins, and so on. Under the blue sky, white clouds, the whole set of costumes bright and colorful, very rich in national characteristics.
The Lhasa area has a pleasant climate and has long been the center of politics, religion, economy and culture in Tibet. The region's attire is known for its strict standardization. Lhasa folk women to wool or cloth and silk production of short-sleeved summer dresses, wear Tibetan shirts inside, married women around the waist of various colors of wool or silk thread woven into the colorful gang Dian. Winter wear lambskin long-sleeved Tibetan dress, head wear "Yang summer hat". Decorations are pearl, coral, turquoise and other made of "BaZhu" crown and a variety of earrings, necklaces, rings. Hereditary aristocratic lady head wear "human" shaped pearl BaZhu and pearl crown, general noble lady can only wear coral BaZhu, as for the turquoise earrings, pectoral and a variety of texture necklace is according to the family's financial strength and wear. Lhasa region of the noble lady, dress up beads, ornaments delicate and small. Men in summer wear wool or cloth made of robes, inside wear Tibetan shirt, head bowler hat, foot leather boots. Noble clothing from the style, and ordinary Tibetan robes no big difference, but the texture and pattern have a strict hierarchical provisions, from the dress can be seen on the social status of the high and low. Tibetan monks because of their sects are different, attire is also different, but the color of the dress is more or less the same, in addition to the Kagyu sect wear white dress, the rest of the sect are yellow and red monk dress.
Tibetan Folk Culture-Diet
The Tibetans take wheat, rice, barley and other grains as food, and barley, which is suitable for growing on the plateau, is the main food. Tibetans grow barley has a long history, as early as 3,500 years ago in the late Neolithic era before the Gunga Changguo ditch site there are ancient barley carbonized particles unearthed. After the barley is fried and ground into powder and flour is called tsampa. Tsampa has a bran-free refined tsampa and not bran-free coarse tsampa. Tsampa can be eaten with meat, vegetables and ghee tea by adding a small amount of wine and buttermilk. If the tsampa is put into the right amount of ghee, sugar, milk residue, the flavor is even better. Ghee is an indispensable food in the daily life of Tibet, it is extracted from fresh milk, high protein, high calorie food, increase heat, anti-hypoxia effect. Tibetan people have the custom of drinking tea, ghee tea is the main drink. Ghee tea raw materials for ghee, tea and salt, three kinds of indispensable. Tibetan drinks and tea, sweet tea, fresh milk and barley wine. Barley wine is brewed with barley fermentation of low alcohol, its taste sweet and refreshing.
Tibetan Folk Culture - Folk Houses
Tibetan Folk Culture
The folk houses are the most popular kind of building, and its shape is subject to the geographic environment, building materials, building technology, folk customs, living habits and other factors. Watchtower is Tibet is more characteristic of the residential building form. Watchtower is generally a two-story structure, the upper floor is a living place, the bottom is the livestock and storage room. Diaoyuan building generally use small windows and narrow doors, in order to facilitate the wind and cold. House column head, beams painted with colorful decorative paintings. This room, the roof is basically flat, and with the Aga soil pavement. Aga soil is a naturally occurring half-limed lime mixed with clay, water, after a long time of pounding, and then smeared with ghee or elm tree juice, after drying hard as stone, smooth with glass. Tibetan houses pay more attention to the decoration of the door, the general door on both sides and the lintel are coated with a about a foot wide black strip, door beams painted with a variety of folk motifs, the countryside is generally the sun, the moon is painted in the middle of the door beams, the door on both sides there are a number of symmetrical animals to ward off evil paintings. The roof are generally inserted blue, white, red, yellow, green five-color streamers, blue on behalf of the sky, white on behalf of the clouds, red on behalf of the fire, yellow on behalf of the earth, green on behalf of the water, every year the Tibetan New Year to replace a time, in order to pray for the coming year of peace and harmony. Yak tent is a more typical pastoral housing, this tent with cow hair spinning thread woven coarse serge to build, the tent in the middle of supporting wooden poles, surrounded by grass cakes or dung cakes into walls. Although this tent is simple, but the cow's wool woven serge texture thick, not afraid of wind, rain and snow, but also to facilitate the herdsmen at any time to relocate.
Tibetan Folk Culture-Transportation
The vast Snowy Plateau, a wide range of people, the traffic is particularly inconvenient, long-distance trekking can only be mules and horses, yaks, camels as a means of transportation, or is walking. Horse is indispensable to the life of people on the Tibetan plateau faithful companion, Tibetans have special feelings for the horse, the saddle is also quite concerned. The yak is known as the boat of the plateau. It is slow, but especially durable, and is the most ideal means of transportation in the alpine mountains. Donkeys are easy to feed, and are the transportation animals that are raised in every family in the agricultural areas. The most common form of water transportation is the cowhide boat. Cowhide boat with tough wood to do the support bone, covered with a number of sewn cowhide, cowhide softened by water soaking, not afraid of the river reef impact, regardless of the depth of the river can be rowing. After crossing the river, the boatman can dry the cowhide boat, back in the shoulders, move at any time.
Tibetan Folk Culture - Utensils
The Tibetans have a long history of gold, silver and jade craftsmanship. As early as in the Tubo period has appeared in the gold, silver and jade industry. In the wine pots, wine cups, spoons, chopsticks, plates and other daily utensils, there are many of them are made of pure gold and silver, some of them are inlaid or wrapped with gold, silver, jade and stone. Fireplace, pots, pots and other utensils are mainly made of copper. Tibetan metal products specifications are not confined to a style, fine and exquisite workmanship, the surface is rich in three-dimensional sense of auspicious decorations. Wooden utensils and appliances in Tibet is more common, wooden bowls are convenient and durable, smooth and beautiful, food does not change flavor, not hot mouth, easy to carry, doubly loved by the Tibetan people. Tibetan wooden bowls of many kinds, there are rubbing tsampa with a large bowl, have to drink ghee tea with a small bowl, there are storage items cover bowl. General wooden bowls with birch, into the Ba tree, mixed wood section carved from. Miscellaneous wood made of wood bowl texture is strong, not easy to rupture, clear texture, more beautiful, and has the role of anti-poisoning. Leather used more frequently in pastoral areas, people with leather sewing tea and salt bags and tsampa bags, especially leather bowl sets, beautiful and durable. Pottery production in Tibet has a long history, more than 4600 years ago, the site of Chamdo Karuo pottery has been unearthed, the shape of a wide range of types, until now is still preferred by the Tibetan people.
Tibetan Folk Culture-Cultural Characteristics
The characteristics of Tibetan folk culture are, first of all, its locality. Tibet is located on the roof of the world, with a total area of one-eighth of the country and an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, with the Himalayas, the Gondis and the Nyingchi-Tanggula Mountains traversing the whole territory. It has the world's highest mountain - 8848.13 meters above sea level Mount Everest, the world's highest lake - Namtso Lake, the world's highest river - the Yarlung Tsangpo River and the world's broadest grassland --Qiangtang Grassland. This unique natural geographic environment has created a unique plateau culture, thus forming a distinctive pastoral culture, or nomadic culture, in the vast areas of Tibet. The simple black and white tents, the long-haired yaks and goats, the fragrant milk tea and ghee, the loud pastoral songs, and the bold pot-shuang dance have become the prominent manifestations of this culture.
The numerous mountains and boulders in Tibet provide an ample material basis for the architectural features of the Tibetan people. The highest local authorities and temples were often built on top of the local mountains. Whether it was palace buildings, temple buildings, or urban and rural dwellings, stones were used as the main building materials, which became a major feature of Tibetan architectural culture.
Tibetan folk culture also has a certain religious color, such as in the traditional art of song and dance there is a dance "Qiangm", that is, jumping dance, is said to be the master of the Buddhist Lotus Sang will be the Tibet soil wind dance and the combination of Buddhist content and create a kind of exorcism of the temple dance form. Musical instruments such as drums and horns are also widely used in many temples to play the ancient sutra music.
References
[1] /aboutchina/zhuanti/08xzms/2008-06/19/content_15857835.htm