Demographics
As of the 2014 Census, there are about 6 million Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the 10 Autonomous prefecture, Tibetan autonomous prefectures in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Yunnan and Sichuan. The Ethnologue, SIL Ethnologue in 2009 documents an additional 189,000 Tibetic languages, Tibetic speakers living in India, 5,280 in Nepal and 4,800 in Bhutan. The Central Tibetan Administration's (CTA) Green Book (Tibetan document), Green Book (of the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetan Government in Exile) 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, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Norway, Mongolia, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the Baltistan 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 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 Definitions of Tibet, definition and extent of "Tibet"; the region claimed by the CTA is Tibet, more expansive and China Tibet Autonomous Region, more diminutive. Also, the Tibetan administration did not take a formal census of its territory in the 1950s; the numbers provided by the administration at the time were "based on informed guesswork". Officials of the People's Republic of China has attributed growth of the Tibetan population to the improved quality of health and lifestyle of the average Tibetan since the Seventeen Point Agreement in 1951. 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 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 (2010), there are 6,282,187 Tibetans nationwide: There are 2,716,388 people in the Tibet Autonomous Region, 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 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 (Ladakhi and Balti people, Balti), Spiti valley, Uttarakhand (Bhotiyas of Uttarakhand, Bhotiya), Sikkim (Bhutia), and Arunachal Pradesh (Khamba people, Khamba, Lhoba and Monpa people). There are also nearly 100,000 Tibetans Tibetan diaspora, living in exile in India since 1959. The majority of them living in Tibetan enclaves such as Dharamshala and Bylakuppe.In Nepal
Tibetans are known as Bhotiyas in Nepal, where they are majority in regions such as Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Walung people, Walung region and Limi valley. Nepal is also home to other Tibetic people such as the Sherpa people, Sherpa and Thakali people, Thakali. There are also more than 10,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal.Language
Ethnic origins
Genetics
Modern Tibetan populations are genetically most similar to other modern East Asian populations. They show relatively more genetic affinity for modern Central Asian than modern Siberian populations. They also share genetic affinity for South Asian ethnic groups, South Asians. Tibetan people are genetically most closely related to Han Chinese, Demographics of Bhutan, Bhutanese. Tibetans predominantly belong to the paternal lineage Haplogroup O-M175, O-M175. Another study by Yang et al. 2017 found that Tibetans are genetically closely related to other Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan populations. Released in 2010 by University of California, Berkeley, a study identified more than 30 genetic factors that make Tibetans' bodies well-suited for high-altitudes, including EPAS1, 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 High-altitude adaptation in humans#Tibetans 2, genetic basis of Tibetan adaptations have been attributed to a mutation in the EPAS1 gene, and has become prevalent in the past 3,000 years. Genetic studies shows that many of the Sherpa people have allele frequencies 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, followed by the Magars and the Tamang people, Tamang.Mythology
According to Tibetan mythology, the origins of Tibetans are said to be rooted in the marriage of the monkey Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock ogress Ma Drag Sinmo.Religion
Culture
Art
Tibetan art is deeply religious in nature, from the exquisitely detailed statues found in Gonpas to wooden carvings and the intricate designs of the Thangka paintings. Tibetan art can be found in almost every object and every aspect of daily life. Thangka 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. 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, 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, 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 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 is considered the most important example of Tibetan architecture. Formerly the residence of the Dalai Lama, 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 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, who produced the Four Medical Tantras integrating material from the medical traditions of Persia, India and China. The tantras contained a total of 156 chapters in the form of Thangkas, which tell about the archaic Tibetan medicine and the essences of medicines in other places. Yutok Yonten Gonpo's descendant, Yuthok Sarma Yonten Gonpo, further consolidated the tradition by adding eighteen medical works. One of his books includes paintings depicting the resetting of a broken bone. In addition, he compiled a set of anatomical pictures of internal organs.Cuisine
Clothing
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 Epic of King Gesar, 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.List of Tibetan states
*Zhangzhung Kingdom (500 BC–625) *Yarlung Dynasty (?–618) (semi-mythological) *Tibetan Empire (618–842) *Kingdom of Bumthang (7th century–17th century) *Guge Kingdom (842–1630) *Burang County, Purang Kingdom *Maryul (930-1500) *Tsongkha Kingdom (997–1099) (Amdo) *Phagmodrupa Dynasty (1354–1618) (Ü-Tsang) *Rinpungpa Dynasty (1435–1565) (Tsang) *Tsangpa Dynasty (1565–1642) (Tsang) *Ganden Phodrang (1642–1959) *Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh, Namgyal Dynasty (1460–1842) (Ladakh) *Chogyal, Chogyal Namgyal dynasty of Kingdom of Sikkim, Sikkim (1642–1975) *Tibet (1912–51)Kingdoms of Kham
*Nyarong, Nyagrong Kingdom (?–1865) *Kingdom of Powo (?–1928) *Nangqên County, Nangcheng Kingdom (?–1928) *Chiefdom of Lithang, Litang Kingdom (?–1950) *Kingdom of Lingtsang (12th century–1950) *Kingdom of Derge (15th century–1956) *Hor States (Horpa) *Chiefdom of BathangGyalrong people, Gyalrong Kingdoms
*Kingdom of Chakla (1407–1950) *Chiefdom of Chuchen *Chiefdom of TsanlhaSee also
*History of Tibet *Timeline of Tibetan history *Flag of Tibet *Sumpa *Upper Mustang *Sherpa people *Baima people *Balti people *Bhotias and Bhutia *Burig *Lepcha people *Limbu people *Lhoba people *Monpa people, Monpa Tibetan *Thakali people *Changpa, Changpa people *Golok people *Wutun people *Tibetan Muslims *Tibetan diaspora *Tibetan Americans *Central Tibetan Administration *Tibetan independence movement *Anti-Tibetan SentimentReferences
Citations
Sources
* * Goldstein, Melvyn C., "Study of the Family structure in Tibet", ''Natural History'', March 1987: 109–112.External links