Tashi delek (, ) is a

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

expression used in greeting, congratulation, and good-luck wishes. It is also used in

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and in

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

in the same way. "Tashi delek" is associated with

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various d ...

, the festival of the lunisolar new year.

Origin and meaning

Tashi (, ) means "auspicious" and delek (, , or Deleg, Deleh) means "fine" or "well". It is difficult and perhaps impossible to translate properly into English. Different authors render it as "Blessings and good luck" or "May all auspicious signs come to this environment".

Usage

"Tashi delek" is traditionally used as part of a larger invocation on

. With the Dalai Lama's exile and creation of the

Tibetan diaspora The Tibetan diaspora are the diaspora of Tibetan people living outside Tibet. Tibetan emigration has three separate stages. The first stage was in 1959 following the 14th Dalai Lama's defection to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India. The se ...

, exile authorities promoted the use of "tashi delek" as an all-purpose greeting which could be easily picked up by foreign sponsors. Students of the exile school system are taught that this usage of "tashi delek" has roots in premodern Tibet, and that Chinese Tibetans' exclusive usage of "tashi delek" for New Year's is corrupt.

Tour operator A tour operator is a business that typically combines and organizes accommodations, meals, sightseeing and transportation components, in order to create a package tour. They advertise and produce brochures to promote their products, holidays and ...

s have promoted the phrase, along with

khata A ''khata'' or ''khatag'', ''dhar'', Mongolian: mn, хадаг, label=none, , or ; ne, खतक ; . is a traditional ceremonial scarf in Tibetan Buddhism and in tengerism. It originated in Tibetan culture and is common in cultures and cou ...

scarves and

prayer flag A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated withi ...

s, as essentialized and commodifiable aspects of

Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local i ...

, a fact that has caused resentment among some religious Tibetans. "Tashi Delek" is the name of a website that provides information on the nation of Bhutan and promotes Tourism. The phrase "Tashi delek" is also used in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

with the Chinese transcription ''Zhaxi Dele'' (). There is a song called ''Zhaxi Dele'' with lyrics by Rongzhong Erjia ( 容中尔甲), a Tibetan, and music by Chang Yingzhong ( 昌英中), a

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

. The phrase is also used in

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. There is a company in Bhutan called TashiDelek.com and a Hotel Tashi Delek in

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...

, Sikkim. The inflight magazine of the Bhutanese airline

Druk Air Drukair Corporation Limited ( dz, འབྲུག་མཁའ་འགྲུལ་ལས་འཛིན།), operating as Drukair — Royal Bhutan Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, headquartered in the western dzongkha ...

is called Tashi Delek.https://www.drukair.com.bt/COMMON.aspx?Type=Tashi%20Delek.htm

References

Notes

Sources

* * *{{citation, chapter=Language, Exile, and the Burden of Undecidable Citizenship: Tenzin Tsundue and the Tibetan Experience, last=Oha, first=Obododimma, title=Exile Cultures, Misplaced Identities, editor-first=Paul, editor-last=Allatson, editor2-first=Jo, editor2-last=McCormack, isbn=978-90-420-2406-9, year=2008

External links

Bhutanese Tashi Delek Net
Tibetan culture Tibetan words and phrases Greeting words and phrases