East Asian
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...
ethnic group
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, significant numbers of Tibetans live in the
Chinese provinces
The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of China, classified as 23 provinces (), five autonomous regions of China, au ...
of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
,
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
, as well as in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
.
Tibetan languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman language group. The traditional or mythological explanation of the Tibetan people's origin is that they are the descendants of the human Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock
ogre
An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
ss Ma Drag Sinmo. It is thought that most of the Tibeto-Burman speakers in Southwest China, including Tibetans, are direct descendants from the ancient Qiang people.
Most Tibetans practice
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, although some observe the indigenous
Bon
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
religion and there is a small
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
minority. Tibetan Buddhism influences
Tibetan art
The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and sma ...
, drama and architecture, while the harsh
geography of Tibet
The geography of Tibet consists of the high mountains, lakes and rivers lying between Central, East and South Asia. Traditionally, Western (European and American) sources have regarded Tibet as being in Central Asia, though today's maps show a t ...
has produced an adaptive culture of
Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...
and
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
.
Demographics
As of the 2014 Census, there are about 6 million Tibetans living in the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
and the 10
Tibetan autonomous prefectures
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 ...
in the provinces of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
,
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
. The
SIL Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
in 2009 documents an additional 189,000
Tibetic
The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...
speakers living in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, 5,280 in
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 ...
and 4,800 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 ...
. The
Central Tibetan Administration
The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...
Tibetan Government in Exile
The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...
) counts 145,150 Tibetans outside Tibet: a little over 100,000 in India; over 16,000 in Nepal; over 1,800 in Bhutan, and over 25,000 in other parts of the world. There are Tibetan communities in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, Germany,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. In the
Baltistan
Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...
region of Northern Pakistan, the Balti people are a Muslim ethnicity of Tibetan descent numbering around 300,000.
There is some dispute over the current and historical number of Tibetans. The
Central Tibetan Administration
The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...
claims that the 5.4 million number is a decrease from 6.3 million in 1959 while the Chinese government claims that it is an increase from 2.7 million in 1954. However, the question depends on the definition and extent of "Tibet"; the region claimed by the CTA is more expansive and China more diminutive. Also, the Tibetan administration did not take a formal
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of its territory in the 1950s; the numbers provided by the administration at the time were "based on informed guesswork".
PRC officials attribute growth of the Tibetan population to the improved quality of health and lifestyle of the average Tibetan since the beginning of Chinese governance in Tibet. According to Chinese sources, the death rate of women in childbirth dropped from 5,000 per 100,000 in 1951 to 174.78 per 100,000 in 2010, the
infant mortality
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
rate dropped from 430 infant deaths per 1,000 in 1951 to 20.69 per 1,000 by the year of 2010 (infant mortality in China as a whole was officially rated at 14 per 1,000 in 2010). The average life expectancy for Tibetans rose from 35.5 years in 1951 to over 67 years by the end of 2010.
In China
According to the
Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China wi ...
(2010), there are 6,282,187 Tibetans nationwide:
There are 2,716,388 people in the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
, 1,496,524 people in Sichuan Province, 1,375,059 people in Qinghai Province, 488,359 people in Gansu Province (mostly in
Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Gānnán Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China, bordering Linxia to the north, Dingxi to the northeast, Longnan to the east and Aba (Sichuan province) to the south . It includes Xiahe a ...
and Bairi Tibetan Autonomous County) and 142,257 people in Yunnan Province (mostly in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture). Tibetans account for 0.47% of the total population of the country. Tibetans account for 90.48% of the total population in Tibet Region, 24.44% of the total population of Qinghai and 1.86% of the total population in Sichuan.
Of all Tibetans in China, 315,622 people live in cities, 923,177 in towns, and 5,043,388 people (80.3%) live in rural areas.
In India
In India Tibetic people are found in the regions of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Spiti valley
Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...
,
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
(
Bhotiya
Bhotiya or Bhot ( ne, भोटिया, ) are groups of ethno-linguistically related Tibetan people living in the Transhimalayan region that divides India from Tibet. The word ''Bhotiya'' comes from the classical Tibetan name for Tibet, , . ...
),
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 ...
(
Bhutia
The Bhutia (; sip, Drenjongpa/Drenjop; ; "inhabitants of Sikkim".) are a community of Sikkimese people living in the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, who speak Drenjongke or Sikkimese, a Tibetic language fairly mutually intelligible w ...
), and
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
Lhoba
Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...
Monpa people
The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally depend ...
). There are also nearly 100,000 Tibetans living in exile in India since 1959. The majority of them living in Tibetan enclaves such as
Dharamshala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The ...
and
Bylakuppe
Bylakuppe is an area in Karnataka which is home to the Indian town Bylakuppe and several Tibetan settlements (there are several Tibetan settlements in India), established by Lugsum Samdupling (in 1961) and Dickyi Larsoe (in 1969). Bylakuppe ...
.
In Nepal
Tibetans are known as
Bhotiya
Bhotiya or Bhot ( ne, भोटिया, ) are groups of ethno-linguistically related Tibetan people living in the Transhimalayan region that divides India from Tibet. The word ''Bhotiya'' comes from the classical Tibetan name for Tibet, , . ...
s in Nepal, where they are majority in regions such as
Upper Mustang
Upper Mustang (formerly Kingdom of Lo) is an upper part (Northern area) of Mustang District, which is located in Nepal. The ''Upper Mustang'' was a restricted kingdom until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with ...
,
Dolpo
Dolpo ( bo, དོལ་པོ ) is a high-altitude culturally Tibetan region in the upper part of the Dolpa District of western Nepal, bordered in the north by China.. Part of the region lies in Shey Phoksundo National Park. The sparse, agro ...
Limi
Limi Valley is a high-altitude valley that forms the northernmost part of the Humla District of north-western Nepal. To its north, the Limi valley borders the Purang County of Tibet, China.
Administrative
Limi is a ward council of the Namkha ru ...
valley. Nepal is also home to other Tibetic people such as the
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
and Thakali. There are also more than 10,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal.
Language
The Tibetic languages () are a cluster of mutually unintelligible
Sino-Tibetan languages
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
spoken by approximately 8 million people, primarily Tibetan, living across a wide area of
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, including the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
and
Baltistan
Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...
,
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, Nepal,
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 Bhutan.
Classical Tibetan
Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 12th century until the modern day, it particularly refers to the language of early canonical texts translated from ot ...
is a major regional literary language, particularly for its use in
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
literature.
The
Central Tibetan language
Central Tibetan, also known as Dbus, Ü or Ü-Tsang, is the most widely spoken Tibetic language and the basis of Standard Tibetan.
''Dbus'' and ''Ü'' are forms of the same name. ''Dbus'' is a transliteration of the name in Tibetan script, , w ...
(the dialects of
Ü-Tsang
Ü-Tsang is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the others being Amdo in the north-east, and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Geographically Ü-Tsang covere ...
, including
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
),
Khams Tibetan
Khams Tibetan () is the Tibetic languages, Tibetic language used by the majority of the people in Kham. Khams is one of the three branches of the traditional classification of Tibetic languages (the other two being Amdo Tibetan and Ü-Tsang). In ...
, and
Amdo Tibetan
Amdo Tibetan (; also called ''Am kä'') is the Tibetic language spoken in Amdo (now mostly in Qinghai, some in Ngawa and Gannan). It has two dialects, the farmer dialect and the nomad dialect.
Amdo is one of the three branches of traditional c ...
are generally considered to be dialects of a single language, especially since they all share the same literary language, while Dzongkha, Sikkimese,
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
, and Ladakhi are generally considered to be separate languages.
Although some of the
Qiang people
The Qiang people ( Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approximately 310,000 in 2000. They live mainly in a ...
s of Kham are classified by China as ethnic Tibetans, the
Qiangic languages
Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sichuan ...
are ''not'' Tibetic, but rather form their own branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
Ethnic origins
Genetics
Modern Tibetan populations are genetically most similar to other modern
East Asian
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...
populations. They show relatively more genetic affinity for modern
Central Asian
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...
than modern Siberian populations. They also share genetic affinity for
South Asians
South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. While Afghanistan is variously considered to b ...
.
Tibetan people are genetically most closely related to
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 ...
,
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 ...
ese. Tibetans predominantly belong to the paternal lineage O-M175. Another study by Yang et al. 2017 found that Tibetans are genetically closely related to other Sino-Tibetan populations.
Released in 2010 by
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, a study identified more than 30 genetic factors that make Tibetans' bodies well-suited for high-altitudes, including
EPAS1
Endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPAS1, also known as hypoxia-inducible factor-2alpha (HIF-2α)) is a protein that is encoded by the ''EPAS1'' gene in mammals. It is a type of hypoxia-inducible factor, a group of transcription factor ...
, referred to as the "super-athlete gene" which regulates the body's production of hemoglobin, allowing for greater efficiency in the use of oxygen. The genetic basis of Tibetan adaptations have been attributed to a mutation in the
EPAS1
Endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 (EPAS1, also known as hypoxia-inducible factor-2alpha (HIF-2α)) is a protein that is encoded by the ''EPAS1'' gene in mammals. It is a type of hypoxia-inducible factor, a group of transcription factor ...
gene, and has become prevalent in the past 3,000 years. In fact, according to Rasmus Nielsen, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology, this is "the fastest genetic change ever observed in humans".
Genetic studies shows that many of the
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...
have
allele frequencies
Allele frequency, or gene frequency, is the relative frequency of an allele (variant of a gene) at a particular locus in a population, expressed as a fraction or percentage. Specifically, it is the fraction of all chromosomes in the population that ...
which are often found in other Tibeto-Burman regions, in tested genes, the strongest affinity was for Tibetan population sample studies done in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Genetically, the Sherpa cluster closest with the sample Tibetan and Han populations. Additionally, the Sherpa had exhibited affinity for several Nepalese populations, with the strongest for the
Rai people
The Rai are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirati people, Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity. They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Benga ...
, followed by the
Magars
The Magar, also spelled as Mangar, and Mongar, are the third largest ethnolinguistic groups of Nepal, indigenous to Western Nepal and representing 7.1% of Nepal's total population according to the 2011 Nepal census.
The original home of the Magar ...
and the
Tamang
The Tamang (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 c ...
metabolism
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
to function normally in the oxygen-deficient atmosphere above shows that, although Tibetans living at high altitudes have no more oxygen in their blood than other people, they have ten times more
nitric oxide
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...
and double the forearm blood flow of low-altitude dwellers. Tibetans inherited this adaptation due to their
Denisovan
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. Denisovans are known from few physical remains and consequently, most of what is known ...
admixture. Nitric oxide causes dilation of blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely to the extremities and aids the release of oxygen to tissues.
Modern Tibetans formed from Ancient Tibetan Highlanders (also known as "East Asian Highlanders") native to the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
and a region up to the southern
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...
, and from East Asian lowland farmers expanding from the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
. Although "East Asian Highlanders" (associated with haplogroup D1) are closely related to East Asian lowland farmers (associated with haplogroup O), they form a divergent sister branch to them. A 2019 study by Wang et al., published in the journal
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
, similarly concluded that modern Tibetans (and closely related Tibeto-Burmese) formed from "East Asian Highlanders" and
agriculturalists
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
from the
Yellow river
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
. They further found evidence for
geneflow
In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...
from this ancient "East Asian Highlanders" into some populations in Southeast Asia and Japan. By comparing Tibetans to modern worldwide populations it was found that Tibetans are very closely related to other East Asians, especially Chinese and Japanese respectively. Geneflow from Tibetan-like ancestry into West Asia and Northeastern Africa was also found, however this may be caused by relative small sample size from these regions.
Mythology
According to
Tibetan mythology
Tibetan mythology refers to the traditional as well as the religious stories that have been passed down by the Tibetan people. Tibetan mythology consists mainly of national mythology stemming from the Tibetan culture as well as religious mytholog ...
, the origins of Tibetans are said to be rooted in the marriage of the monkey Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock
ogre
An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
ss Ma Drag Sinmo.
Religion
Most Tibetans generally observe
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
or a collection of native traditions known as
Bön
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan culture, Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initiall ...
(also absorbed into mainstream Tibetan Buddhism). There is a minority
Tibetan Muslim
Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (; ; also spelled Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are officially recognized as Tibetans by the government of the People's Republic of China, unlike the Hui Muslims, w ...
population. There is also a small Tibetan
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
population in the eastern Tibet and northwestern Yunnan of China. Also there are some Tibetan Hindus who mainly live in China, India and Nepal.
According to legend, the 28th king of Tibet,
Thothori Nyantsen Lha Thothori gNyan bTsan (, ) was the 28th King of Tibet according to the Tibetan legendary tradition. ''Lha'' "divine, pertaining to the gods of the sky" is an honorary title and not a part of his proper name.
He belonged to the Yarlung dynasty co ...
, dreamed of a sacred treasure falling from heaven, which contained a Buddhist
sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
,
mantra
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...
s, and religious objects. However, because the Tibetan script had not been invented, the text could not be translated in writing and no one initially knew what was written in it. Buddhism did not take root in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
until the reign of
Songtsän Gampo
Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepa ...
, who married two Buddhist princesses,
Bhrikuti
Princess Bhrikuti Devi ( sa, भृकुटी, known to Tibetans as Bal-mo-bza' Khri-btsun, Bhelsa Tritsun (Nepal ), or simply, Khri bTsun ()) of Licchavi is traditionally considered to have been the first wife and queen of the earliest emperor ...
of Nepal and Wencheng of China. It then gained popularity when
Padmasambhāva
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
visited
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
at the invitation of the 38th Tibetan king,
Trisong Deutson
Tri Songdetsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and th ...
.
Today, one can see Tibetans placing
Mani stone
Mani stones are stone plates, rocks or pebbles inscribed with the six-syllabled mantra of Avalokiteshvara ('' Om mani padme hum'', hence the name ''mani stone''), as a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. The term mani stone may also be used to ...
s prominently in public places. Tibetan
lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
s, both Buddhist and Bön, play a major role in the lives of the Tibetan people, conducting religious ceremonies and taking care of the monasteries. Pilgrims plant
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 over sacred grounds as a symbol of good luck.
The
prayer wheel
A prayer wheel is a cylindrical wheel () on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather, or coarse cotton, widely used in Tibet and areas where Tibetan culture is predominant.
Traditionally, a mantra is written in Ranjana script or Tibeta ...
is a means of simulating the chant of a mantra by physically revolving the object several times in a clockwise direction. It is widely seen among Tibetan people. In order not to desecrate religious artifacts such as
Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
s, mani stones, and
Gompa
A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhism, Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a ...
s, Tibetan Buddhists walk around them in a clockwise direction, although the reverse direction is true for
Bön
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan culture, Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initiall ...
. Tibetan Buddhists chant the prayer "
Om mani padme hum
' ( sa, ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ, ) is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana ''Kāraṇ ...
", while the practitioners of Bön chant "Om matri muye sale du".
Culture
Tibet is rich in culture. Tibetan festivals such as
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 ...
,
Shoton
The Sho Dun Festival (; ), commonly known as the Shoton or Yogurt Festival or Banquet since "Sho" means Yogurt and "Dun" means Banquet, is an annual festival held at Norbulingka or "Jewel Park" palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region
The T ...
, Linka, and the Bathing Festival are deeply rooted in indigenous religion and also contain foreign influences. Each person takes part in the Bathing Festival three times: at birth, at marriage, and at death.
Art
Tibetan art
The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and sma ...
is deeply religious in nature, from the exquisitely detailed statues found in
Gonpa
A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universit ...
s to wooden carvings and the intricate designs of the
Thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...
paintings. Tibetan art can be found in almost every object and every aspect of daily life.
Thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...
paintings, a syncretism of Indian scroll-painting with Nepalese and Kashmiri painting, appeared in Tibet around the 8th century. Rectangular and painted on cotton or linen, they usually depict traditional motifs including religious, astrological, and theological subjects, and sometimes a
mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
. To ensure that the image will not fade, organic and mineral pigments are added, and the painting is framed in colorful silk brocades.
Drama
Tibetan folk opera, known as
lhamo
Lhamo, or Ache Lhamo, is a classical secular theatre of Tibet with music and dance that has been performed for centuries, whose nearest western equivalent is opera. Performances have a narrative and simple dialogue interspersed with comedy an ...
, is a combination of dances, chants and songs. The repertoire is drawn from Buddhist stories and Tibetan history.
Tibetan opera was founded in the fourteenth century by
Thang Tong Gyalpo
Thangtong Gyalpo () (1385 CE–1464 CE or 1361 CE–1485 CE), also known as Chakzampa, the "Iron Bridge Maker" (), Tsöndrü Zangpo "Excellent Persistence" (), and the King of the Empty Plain.Sarah Harding. Niguma, Lady of Illusion. Snow L ...
, a lama and a bridge-builder. Gyalpo and seven girls he recruited organized the first performance to raise funds for building bridges to facilitate transportation in Tibet. The tradition continued uninterrupted for nearly seven hundred years, and performances are held on various festive occasions such as the Lingka and Shoton festival. The performance is usually a drama, held on a barren stage that combines dances, chants, and songs. Colorful masks are sometimes worn to identify a character, with red symbolizing a king and yellow indicating deities and lamas. The performance starts with a stage purification and blessings. A narrator then sings a summary of the story, and the performance begins. Another ritual blessing is conducted at the end of the play. There are also many historical myths/epics written by high lamas about the reincarnation of a "chosen one" who will do great things.
Architecture
The most unusual feature of
Tibetan architecture
Architecture of Tibet contains Chinese and Indian influences but has many unique features brought about by its adaptation to the cold, generally arid, high-altitude climate of the Tibetan plateau. Buildings are generally made from locally availabl ...
is that many of the houses and monasteries are built on elevated, sunny sites facing the south. They are commonly made of a mixture of rocks, wood, cement and earth. Little fuel is available for heating or lighting, so flat roofs are built to conserve heat, and multiple windows are constructed to let in sunlight. Walls are usually sloped inwards at 10 degrees as a precaution against frequent earthquakes in the mountainous area. Tibetan homes and buildings are white-washed on the outside, and beautifully decorated inside.
Standing at in height and in width, the
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythica ...
is considered the most important example of Tibetan architecture. Formerly the residence of the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
, it contains over a thousand rooms within thirteen stories and houses portraits of the past Dalai Lamas and statues of the Buddha. It is divided between the outer White Palace, which serves as the administrative quarters, and the inner Red Quarters, which houses the assembly hall of the Lamas, chapels, 10,000 shrines, and a vast library of Buddhist scriptures.
Medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...
utilizes up to two thousand types of plants, forty animal species, and fifty minerals. One of the key figures in its development was the renowned 8th century physician
Yuthog Yontan Gonpo
Yutog Yontan Gonpo (traditionally 708 – 833) by Subhuti Dharmananda was an 8th-century high
Cuisine of Tibet
Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices and its peoples. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors (including India and Nepal where many Tibetans abide) ...
reflects the rich heritage of the country and people's adaptation to high altitude and religious culinary restrictions. The most important crop is
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
. Dough made from barley flour, called
tsampa
Tsampa or Tsamba (; ) is a Tibetan and Himalayan staple foodstuff, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. It is glutinous meal made from roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour. It is usually mixed ...
, is the
staple food
A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...
of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. This is either rolled into noodles or made into steamed dumplings called momos.
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
dishes are likely to be
yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
,
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
or
mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
, often dried or cooked into a spicy
stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...
with
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es.
Mustard seed
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three diff ...
is cultivated in Tibet and therefore features heavily in its cuisine. Yak
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...
,
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
and
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
are frequently eaten and well-prepared yogurt is considered something of a prestige item.
Clothing
Many Tibetans wear their hair long, although in recent times due to Chinese influence, most men do crop their hair short. The women braid their hair into multiple tiny braids called "Rhe-Ba" or just simply put their hair up in a braid or pony-tail in more rural areas. In more urban areas, women wear many different kinds of hairstyles such as pony-tails, braids, buns or just leaving it down.
Some men and women wear long thick dresses (''chuba'') in more traditional and rural regions. The men wear a shorter version with pants underneath. The style of the clothing varies between regions. Nomads often wear thick sheepskin versions. In more urban places like Lhasa, men and women dress in modern clothing, and many choose to wear chuba during festivals and holidays like Losar.
Literature
Tibet has national literature that has both religious, semi-spiritual and secular elements. While the religious texts are well-known, Tibet is also home to the semi-spiritual Gesar Epic, which is the longest epic in the world and is popular throughout Mongolia and Central Asia. There are secular texts such as ''The Dispute Between Tea and Chang'' (Tibetan beer) and ''Khache Phalu's Advice''.
Marriage customs
Monogamy is common throughout Tibet. Marriages are sometimes arranged by the parents if the son or daughter has not picked their own partner by a certain age. However, polyandry is practiced in parts of Tibet. This is usually done to avoid division of property and provide financial security.Stein (1978), pp. 97–98.
Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...
(618–842)
*
Kingdom of Bumthang
The Kingdom of Bumthang was one of several small kingdoms within the territory of modern Bhutan before the first consolidation under ''Zhabdrung'' Ngawang Namgyal in 1616. After initial consolidation, the Bumthang Kingdom became Bumthang Provinc ...
Maryul
Maryul (also called ''Mar-yul'' of ''mNgah-ris''), later the Kingdom of Ladakh, was a west Tibetan kingdom based in modern-day Ladakh and Tibet. The kingdom had its capital at Shey.
The kingdom was founded by Lhachen Palgyigon, during the rul ...
(930-1500)
*
Tsongkha
Tsongkha (), also known as Qingtang () and Gusiluo (), was a Tibetan theocracy that ruled northeastern Tibet from 997 to 1104.
History
In 997 the elders of Amdo found a descendant of the Yarlung dynasty in Gaochang by the name of Qinanling Wen ...
Kingdom (997–1099) (Amdo)
*
Phagmodrupa Dynasty
The Phagmodrupa dynasty or Pagmodru (, ; ) was a dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century. It was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen of the Lang () family at the end of the Yuan dynast ...
(1354–1618) (Ü-Tsang)
*
Rinpungpa Dynasty
Rinpungpa (; ) was a Tibetan dynastic regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo R ...
(1435–1565) (Tsang)
*
Tsangpa Dynasty
Tsangpa (; ) was a dynasty that dominated large parts of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. It was the last Tibetan royal dynasty to rule in their own name. The regime was founded by Karma Tseten, a low-born retainer of the prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty ...
(1565–1642) (Tsang)
*
Ganden Phodrang
The Ganden Phodrang or Ganden Podrang (; ) was the Tibetan system of government established by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642; it operated in Tibet until the 1950s. Lhasa became the capital of Tibet again early in this period, after the Oirat lo ...
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 ...
(1642–1975)
*
Tibet (1912–1951)
Tibet was a ''de facto'' independent state between the collapse of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in 1912 and its annexation by the People's Republic of China in 1951.
;
The Tibetan Ganden Phodrang regime was a protectorate of the Qing dynasty ...
Kingdoms of
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
Kingdom of Powo
The Kingdom of Powo or sPo bo () was a kingdom located in present-day Bomê County, Tibet. The ruler of Powo used the title Kanam Gyelpo (''kaH gnam rgyal po'') or Kanam Depa (''kaH gnam sde pa'').
It was said that the monarchs of Powo were desc ...
Kingdom of Derge
The Kingdom of Derge was an important Monarchy, kingdom in Kham from the 15th to the 19th century. It was a center of industry, religion and politics, with the seat of its kingdom in the town of Dêgê County, Degé. The kings of Derge followed a ...
(15th century–1956)
*
Hor States
The Hor States (; ), also known as the Horpa States (), were a group of five principalities located in the Tibetan region of Kham that existed from the 14th century to the mid-1900s.
Today, the historical territory of the Hor States comprises Ga ...
(Horpa)
*
Chiefdom of Bathang
Chiefdom of Bathang (), or Chiefdom of Batang (), was an autonomous Tusi chiefdom that ruled Bathang (present day Batang County of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) during the Qing dynasty period.
Bathang belonged to the Chiefdom of Lijiang ...
Kingdom of Chakla
Kingdom of Chakla (; ) or Chala was a kingdom in the Tibetan region of Kham.
Chakla along with Bathang, Lithang, and Derge were called the "Four Great Native Chiefdom in Kham" (康区四大土司) by Chinese.
The kingdom was located in the epony ...
(1407–1950)
*
Chiefdom of Chuchen
Chiefdom of Chuchen (), also known as Rabden or the Chiefdom of Greater Jinchuan (), was an autonomous Gyalrong Tusi chiefdom that ruled Greater Jinchuan (present day Jinchuan County, Sichuan) during the Qing dynasty. The rulers of Chuchen used th ...
*
Chiefdom of Tsanlha
Chiefdom of Tsanlha (; ), also known as Chiefdom of Lesser Jinchuan (), was an autonomous Gyalrong people, Gyalrong Tusi, chiefdom that ruled Lesser Jinchuan (present day Xiaojin County, Sichuan) during Qing dynasty. The rulers of Tsanlha used the ...
See also
*
History of Tibet
While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung (c. 500 BCE – 625 ...
*
Timeline of Tibetan history
A brief chronology of the history of Tibet:
Chronology
See also
* Timeline of the Tibetan Empire (7th to 9th century)
* Timeline of the Era of Fragmentation (9th to 13th century)
References Citations
Sources
*
* Karmay, Samten ...
*
Flag of Tibet
Tibet is a region in East Asia covering much of the Tibetan Plateau that is currently administered by People's Republic of China as the Tibet Autonomous Region and claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area and the Central Tibetan Admi ...
Upper Mustang
Upper Mustang (formerly Kingdom of Lo) is an upper part (Northern area) of Mustang District, which is located in Nepal. The ''Upper Mustang'' was a restricted kingdom until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with ...
*
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...
*
Baima people
The Baima people (), also called Baima Tibetans (), are classified by the Chinese government as a subgroup of Tibetans living in the southeast of Gansu and the northwest of Sichuan in China, especially in Pingwu and Jiuzhaigou Counties of Sichu ...
Bhutia
The Bhutia (; sip, Drenjongpa/Drenjop; ; "inhabitants of Sikkim".) are a community of Sikkimese people living in the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, who speak Drenjongke or Sikkimese, a Tibetic language fairly mutually intelligible w ...
Lepcha people
The Lepcha (; also called Rongkup ( Lepcha: , ''Mútuncí Róngkup Rumkup'', "beloved children of the Róng and of God") and Rongpa ( Sikkimese: )) are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,0 ...
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Limbu people
The Limbu (exonym) or Yakthung (endonym) are a Sino-Tibetan indigenous tribe (Bhot-Burmeli) of the Himalayan region of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and western Bhutan.
The original name of the Limbu is ''Yakthung'' () or ''Yakthum''. Limbu males ar ...
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Lhoba people
Lhoba (English translation: ; ; bo, ལྷོ་པ།) is any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribespeople living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet including Mainling, Medog and Zayü counties of Nying ...
Thakali people
The Thakali are an ethnolinguistic group originating from the Thak Khola region of Mustang District in the Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. Thak-sat-se is the traditional area of the Thakali community, which lies over Mustang District, the valley of ...
Golok people
The Golok or Ngolok (; ) peoples live in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China around the upper reaches of the Yellow River () and the sacred mountain Amne Machin (). The Golok were renowned in both Tibet and China as ferocious fi ...
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Wutun people
The Wutun language () is a Chinese–Tibetan– Mongolian creole language. It is spoken by about 4,000 people, most of whom are classified as Monguor (Tu) by the Chinese government. Wutun speakers reside in two villages (Upper Wutun 上五屯 ...
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Tibetan Muslims
Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (; ; also spelled Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are officially recognized as Tibetans by the government of the People's Republic of China, unlike the Hui Muslims, ...
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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 ...
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Tibetan Americans
Tibetan Americans are Americans of Tibetan ancestry. As of 2020, more than 26,700 Americans are estimated to have Tibetan ancestry. The majority of Tibetan Americans reside in Queens, New York.
History
Ethnic Tibetans began to immigrate to the ...
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Central Tibetan Administration
The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...
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Tibetan independence movement
The Tibetan Independence Movement () is the political movement advocating for the separation and independence of Tibet from the People's Republic of China. It is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora in countries like India and the United St ...
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* Goldstein, Melvyn C., "Study of the Family structure in Tibet", ''Natural History'', March 1987: 109–112. on the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
article on Tibetan people at the time of early mountaineering from the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...