Tribasia Blog

We trekked a few hours out ot Zhongdian, cum Shangri-La, before we came across traditional Tsang people's villages.
Tsang, also called Tsang-U, are one of three people making up the Tibetans (together with the Khamda and Amdo). Many of them live from the land. When we visited their villages, families were busy stocking up barley and maize on giant wooden drying platforms in preparation for the winter.

Tsang villages can be identified at once not only thanks to the multiple drying platforms popping up in the fields surrounding them but also the structure of their houses.

Tsang houses are often two-floor houses and huge in size. The wooden structure is enclosed by three walls at the back and on sides, with a couple of decorated windows at the back. The front of the house exposes the wooden structure, i.e. it is not covered by a wall, and opens on a courtyard.

Tsang have their own dialect but many of them speak puthongua, i.e. mandarin.

We trekked back through beautiful landscapes. The Autumn colours give a new lease of life to nature in the Yunnanese mountains at this time of year and we gorged on them ;))

Labels: houses, Tibetan, Tsang, Tsang-U, villages, Yunnan

Today, we assisted in a traditional Tibetan wedding.
We witnessed the convoy of huge four-wheel drives pulling up in front of a building. The groom and bride got out in their beautiful wedding attire. They were escorted by four men, dressed in traditional Tibetan chuba, i.e. a cloak richly embroidered, a sword tucked in a wide belt and long colourful leather boots with slightly pointed tips. There was also a lady to escort the bride. All men looked very much like Asian cowboys with their hats and sunglasses on!

This small group moved towards a fire lit on the dirt road. They circled it three times and the man in front of the procession started chanting. After a while, they moved towards the front of the building where three young women, dressed in long dresses and silky aprons, were waiting behind three buckets of water. A small tree branch was laid on each of them. The man in front of the procession started chanting again. He blessed the assembly by dipping each branch in the water and waving it in the air. He repeated this process three times (the number three is lucky).

The group then moved onto the door where two monks blessed the newlyweds and their union by chanting and ringing a small bell at regular intervals. Once the blessing ceremony was over, the guests threw confettis at the newlyweds and firecrackers went off all over the place.
Everybody moved on to the first floor where a banquet had been prepared. Each table was laid with small plates containing yak meat in various forms (sausage, dried, with spice, etc), peanuts, sweets, pickled vegetables. Momos (dumplings filled with -you guess it- yak meat)were then brought to each table as well as a zuppa (broth). The guest first toasted with yak milk tea before moving on to beer and then stronger alcohol!
We did not stay long as we realized that many the guests were from the police and kept asking us weird questions about Tibet!
Not everything was perfect then but we got at least a glimpse of a Tibetan traditional wedding!

Labels: Litang, Sichuan, Tibetan, traditional wedding

The Lama and a fellow monk sat on a mat laid on the grass in the mountains. A small wooden pole had been planted in the ground a few metres ahead of them. There was also a transparent bag containing a white cloth wrapped around a mysterious load. Dozens of vultures were standing behind, keen spectators of a show in which they would act a tragic part.
We were witnessing the Sky Burial of a 15-year-old Tibetan boy who had succumbed to a heart disease.
The ceremony consisted in three parts.
The Lama and the monk chanted prayers for a while. Then, the Lama reassured the spirit of the deceased that his family and beloved were fine and that he could go. Through chanting, he showed him the way to the other world. With an exclamatory 'Oo', the Lama finally released the spirit from the body. Once the spirit had been liberated from its human incarnation, the Lama and monk stopped the chanting and left the scene.

The Tomden-a monk- who until then was standing on the side, came closer to the plastic bag with a large sharpened knife. It ripped it open to reveal the body of the dead boy. What follows is not for the faint-hearted.
The body was then laid face down on the ground. A rope was tied on one side around the neck of the deceased and on the other around the wooden pole. The knife sliced through the flesh to expose the inner parts of the body. The vultures, now numbering over 30, got closer to the body. They were only kept at bay by three men who helped with the proceedings (the close family of the deceased does not take part in the Sky Burial). The flesh from the whole body, including that from the head and feet, was soon sliced open.

The monk then paced a few yards away from the body. The vultures were now free to act their role. They pounced on the dead flesh. They fought for parts. A few minutes later, the monk came back to pound the reminder of the flesh and bones with a mixture of barley flour, and rosemary and fed it to the vultures. The body was now a skeleton with rare bits of flesh.

From a practical point of view, the Sky Burial is a way for Tibetans to rid of a body, which once the spirit has left it is considered useless, by using nature, i.e. without having to resort to wood fire (which is rare and destroys nature) or digging holes (in the winter, the land is deeply frozen).

We left the scene, slightly shocked but also humbled by this experience. Although this was a gruesome display, it was also a show of Nature's force, a reminder that in spite of our airs of grandeur and superior minds, we, humans, are just bones and flesh.

Labels: lama, monks, Sichuan, sky burial, Tibetan, vultures