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Roles of Tibetan Knives
The Tibetan knife is essential and indispensable for Tibetans in daily life. All Tibetans, male and female, carry knives. Indeed, knives have become a kind of decorative ornament loved by both genders. |
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Four Treasures of Tibetan Food
Ghee, tea, tsamba, and beef and mutton are known as four treasures of Tibetan food, besides Barley wine and various milk products. |
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Drinking Buttered Tea
Tibetans have been drinking buttered tea for more than 1,000 years, and have been practicing and perfecting special buttered tea making and drinking rituals over the same period. |
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Culture of Wooden Bowls
In common Tibetan families, there are always two wooden bowls, a big one and a small one, the former for the father and the latter for the mother. |
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Tibetan Hats
As Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has low temperature, strong sunshine, and changeable weather, as well as strong wind whipping up sand, Tibetans like to wear different styles of hats related to status, gender, and region. |
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Tibetan Costume
Tibetan costume features a loose waist, long sleeves, and a big front. People wear fur coats on festivals and big occasions. |
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Tibetan Tea Culture
In Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, tea serves many purposes. It is a symbol of hospitality, a sacred offering, and a meal in itself. People drink the tea alongside flat cakes of ground corn, barley, or buckwheat, called tsamba. |
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Tibetan Houses
Depending on the availability of the materials, Tibetan houses are built with more wood, for those living near forest, or more stones, for those living near mountains. |
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Marital Customs
Nowadays, Tibetan youths have greater freedom of social life before marriage. A common way of falling in love and becoming engaged is through singing local folk songs. |
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Tibetan Naming Culture
The Tibetan people have given names but no family names. Most of the given names, usually two or four words long, originate from Buddhist works. |
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Birth Rituals
The birth ritual of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region is called Pangse (to get rid of bad luck) in Tibetan, with pan meaning "fowls" and se, "cleaning away." |
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Prayer Flags
When travelers see flags of various colors, shapes, and designs blowing in the wind on high mountain passes and roof-tops or above rapids in mountain streams, bridges, and monasteries, they know they are somewhere near a Tibetan. |
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Merrymaking in Lingkas
In summer, the Tibetans, who love the outdoors, camp out in the lingkas (parks) along the Lhasa River. This activity is called "merrymaking in lingkas." |
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Hada: Incarnation of Friendship and Fraternity
Presenting the hada-- a strip of raw silk or linen -- is a common practice among Tibetan people expressing best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding ceremonies, festivals, visiting elders and superiors, and entertaining guests. |
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Dos and Don'ts
Please read the Do's and Don'ts in Tibet for culturally and environmentally friendly travel. |
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Kowtowing Long
Kowtowing Long is a devout ritual to worship Buddha by the disciples and followers in areas of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region where Buddhism is popularly practiced, especially in Lhasa. |
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Proper Etiquettes
Tibetans are all hospitable. When Tibetans offer guests Qingke (which is a kind of wine made of highland barley), they fill wineglasses and offer them to the guests. |
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Burial Customs
Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism and reincarnation. Therefore, a funeral is imbued with Buddhist concepts. It is a ceremony to expiate the sins of the dead and, moreover, a guarantee for the future life of the dead. |
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