Lhoba

The Lhoba people are mainly found in the Lhoyu region of southeastern Tibet, with some scattered in Mainling, Medog, Zayu, Lhunze, and Nang counties. Their language also belongs to the Tibet-Burmese group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Having no written language of their own, they normally use Tibetan for written communications.

The Lhoba are an essentially agricultural people. Corn and jizhuagu, supplemented by rice and buckwheat, are staple foods.

At the same time, they value the goods they weave from bamboo. Men favor a wool woven sleeveless jacket that extends to the waist and round, helmet-like hat trimmed with bear fur or rattan (a kind of straw). Women wear a short, round-collared, narrow-sleeved jacket and a tight tubular skirt that extends a little below the knee. From knee to ankle, the leg is wrapped in cloth puttee.

Deng

The Deng people for the most part live in Zayu County of Nyingchi Prefecture. Linguistically, they also belong to the Tibetan-Myanmar group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. They have no written language, but keep records by notching wood, tying knots, or arranging sticks or branches. Deng people believe in ghosts. They live in two-story structures, themselves living above, while housing cattle and poultry below.

The women commonly wear long, drum-like silver earrings, a headdress covering the forehead, and a string of beads or silver jewelry around the neck. They wear silk skirts and go barefooted. Men wear a black cloth wound about their heads and silver earrings.

Up until the 1950s, the Deng people mostly lived deep in the mountain forests, surviving on slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting and gathering. More recently they have moved into terraced river valleys with the aid of the government.

Sherpa

The Sherpa people are concentrated in Chentang in Dinggye County as well as Zham and other areas that border Nepal. They are divided into five surnames; marriage within the same surname is taboo. They are Buddhists. Their homes are two-story wooden structures. Both men and women wear white woolen short-sleeved coats edged in black. The Sherpa people are noted for the gifted talent of high mountain climbing. They are the best guides for Mountain Everest climbing.