The National Psyche

Tibetans are such a deeply religious people that a basic knowledge of Buddhism is essential in understanding their world. Buddhism permeates most facts of Tibetan daily life and shapes aspirations in ways that are often quite alien to the Western frame of mind. The ideas of accumulating merit, of sending sons to be monks, of undertaking pilgrimage and of devotion of the sanctity and power of the natural places are all elements of the unique fusion between Buddhism and the older shamanistic Bon faith.

For travelers, the easy smile of most Tibetans is infections and it is rare for major cultural differences to get on the way of communication. Tibetans are among the easiest people in Asia to get along with - all the more remarkable in view of the considerable anger and long-harboured resentment that must lie under the surface in Tibet.

Traditional Lifestyle

Traditionally there have been at least three distinct segments of Tibetan society: the nomads (drokpa) the farmers of the Tibetan valleys (rongpo); and the community of monks and nuns (sangha). Each led very difficult lives, although all shared a deep faith in Buddhism.

Besides Buddhism, over the centuries these communities have shared a remarkable resistance to change. Until the early 20 th century it was a land in which virtually the only use for the wheel was as a device for activating mantras. Traditional Tibet has changed more in the past 50 years than it did in the previous 500 years, although many traditional social structures have endured Chinese attempts at iconoclasm.

Farming communities usually comprise a cluster of homes surrounded by agricultural lands once owned by the nearest large monastery. Most strategic agricultural valleys are protected by the ruins of a dzong (fort), perched on a high outcrop. The farming itself is carried out with the assistance of a dzo, a breed of cattle where bulls have been crossbred with yaks. Some wealthier farmers own a small 'walking tractor'. Harvested grain is carried by donkeys to a threshing ground where it is trampled by cattle or the task of winnowing carried out by the breeze. Animal husbandry was, and still is, extremely important in Tibet , and there are around 21 million head of livestock in the country.

Until recently such communities were effectively self-sufficient in their needs and, although theirs was a hard life, it could not be described as abject poverty. Village families pulled together in times of need. Plots of land were usually graded in terms of quality and then distributed so that the land af any one family included both good- and poorer-quality land. This is changing rapidly is many regions become economically more developed and immersed in a cash economy.

Imports such as tea, porcelain, copper and iron from China were traditionally compensated by exports of wool and skins. Trading was usually carried out in combinations with pilgrimage or by nomads. Most villagers now have at least one entrepreneur who has set up a shop and begun to ship in Chinese goods from the nearest urban centre.

Individual households normally have a shrine in the home or in a small building in the family compound. There might also be several religious texts, held in a place of honor, which are reserve for occasions when a monk or holy man visit the village. Ceremonies for blessing yaks and other livestock to ensure a productive year are also held. One of the highlights of the year for rural Tibetans is visiting nearby monasteries at festival times or making a pilgrimage to a holy site. Before the Chinese invasion, entertainment includes the occasional arrival of Lhamo (Tibetan opera) troupes or wandering bands of musicians. As traditional life reasserts itself, many of these traditions are slowly making a comeback.

Marriage

Marriage was traditionally arranged by the families involved, in consolation with a Lama or Shaman. Up until the Chinese invasion many Tibetan farming villages practiced polyandry. When women married the eldest son of a family she also married his younger brothers (providing they did not become monks). The children of such marriages referred to all the brothers as their father. The practice was amied at easing the inheritance of family property (mainly the farming land) and avoiding the break-up of small plots.

Death

Although the early kings of Tibet were buried with complex funerary rites, ordinary Tibetans have not traditionally been buried. The bodies of the very poor were usually dumped in a river when they died and the bodies of the very holy were cremated and their ashes enshrined in a chorten. But in a land where soil is at a premium and wood for cremation is scarcer still, most bodies were, and still are, disposed of by sky burial.

After death, the body is kept for 24 hours in a sitting position while a lama recites prayers from The Tibetan Book of the Dead to help the soul on its journey through the 49 levels of Bardo, the state between death and rebirth. Three days after death, the body is blessed and early-morning prayers and offerings are made to the monastery. The body is folded up and carried on the back of a closed friend to the durtro (burial site). Here, special body-breakers known as rogyapas cut off the deceased's hair, chop up the body and pound the bones together with tsampu (roasted-barley flour) for vultures to eat, although as often as not the devouring might be done by Wild Dogs.

There is little overt sadness at a sky burial as the soul is considered to have already departed-the burial itself is considered to be mere disposal. Sky burial is, however very much a time to reflects on the impermanence of life. Death is seen as a powerful agent of transformation and spiritual progress. Tibetans are encouraged to witness the disposal of the body and to confront death openly and without fear, one reason why Trantric ritual objects such as trumpets and bowls are often made from human bone.

Sky Burial

Sky burial is funeral services and naturally, Tibetans are often very unhappy about camera toting foreigners heading up to sky-burial sites. The Chinese authorities do not like it either and may fine foreigners who attend a burial. You should never pay to see a sky burial and you should never take photos. Even if Tibetans offer to take you up to a sky-burial site, it is unlikely that other Tibetans present will be very happy about it. If nobody invited you, don't go.

Dress

Many Tibetans in Lhasa are beginning to ware Western (or rather Chinese) clothes, but in the countryside traditional dress is still the norm. The Tibetan national dress is s chuba (long-sleeved sheepskin cloak), tied around the waist with a sash and often worn off the shoulder with great bravado by nomads and Khampas (those from the region of Kham). Chubas from eastern Tibet in particular have super-long sleeves, which are tied around the waist. An inner pouch is often used to store money belts, amulets, lunch and even small livestock. Most women wear a long dress, toppoed with a colorful striped apron. Traditional boots are made of leather strips and have turned-up toes, so as, it is said, to kill fewer bugs when walking.

Women generally set great store in jewellery, and their personal wealth and dowry are often invested in it. Coral is particularly valued (as Tibet is so far from the sea) as are amber, turquoise and silver. The Tibetan Zee , a unique elongated agate stone with black and white marketings, is also highly prized. Earrings are common in both men and women and they are normally tied on with a piece of cord. You can see all these goodies for sale around the Barkhor in Lhasa .

Tibetan women, especially those from Amdo (northeastern Tibet and Qinghai ), wear their hair in 108 braids, an auspicious number in Buddhism. Khampa men plait their hair with red or black tassels and wind the lot around their head. Cowboy hats are popular in summer and fur hats are common in winter. Most pilgrims carry a gau (amulet), with perhaps a picture of the owner's personal diety or the Dalai Lama inside.