Traditional Tibetan Dress & Jewelry
As a bit of context for some of the towns I mention, I thought it’d be helpful to include a map. It also shows this area relative to the whole country.
The Tibetans, especially the women, still wear traditional clothes.
After leaving Chengdu, I never saw another woman who wasn’t wearing the ankle-length dark skirt (only black, brown, dark burgundy). Younger women wear pants (no jeans), but I never saw legs! You’ll see: Tibetan women shop like us all! Touch it. Feel it. Hold it out and consider. Ask your friends what they think.
1 of 2
2 of 2
The top robe, a chuba, is also usually a solid dark color. But in Dege - once the seat of the Kingdom of Derge and thus with trade access to the workshops of imperial China - there were women wearing more colorful brocade chubas, some that were stunning!
1 of 3
2 of 3
3 of 3
The chuba wraps left to right and is often bloused (especially for men) so that it can be used as a pocket with easy access for your right hand! You can see in these pictures, women may wear both sleeves, or only wear the left tucking the right into the waist, or both sleeves off and tied around their waste as we would a sweater.
1 of 3
2 of 3
3 of 3
Men also wear a chuba. Traditionally the sleeves are much much longer. One reason was functional: to protect the hands from sun or cold while holding horse’s reins. The length of the right sleeve can be used to cinch the waist, securing the “pocket” for carrying things.
1 of 2
2 of 2
For about the first 700 miles of my trip, all the women wore an apron over their chuba, a pangden. (Why other villages don't wear one I never figured out.) At first glance it looks to be a solid piece of cloth but it’s really three separate panels stitched together. It’s three narrow panels because the small looms nomads traveled with could only make fabric about 8 inches wide.
Traditionally, pangdens were only worn by married women. Today, during festivals to celebrate their heritage, younger women will wear one. But in daily life, it’s still only married women.
The horizontal stripes - their color and width - indicate the valley or village or nomadic region a woman is from.
1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
The jewelry! It is heavy and chunky. Large irregular pieces of turquoise and coral. Traditionally, for nomadic people, their jewelry was their wealth. It was moveable. (Similar to Jews in Europe where property had to be portable and small.) In ancient times, the turquoise was mined in western Sichuan and Tibet and the coral was acquired through trading on the Silk Road. Of course, today, women rely on pieces passed down through their family or manufactured.
1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
Apple Photos Clean Up
Clearly they still value the tradition and the meaning. I never saw just coral or just turquoise. The former is the “Life Stone” representing fire, life, energy. Turquoise is the “Sky Stone” representing a bridge between earth and heaven. Wearing them together is a spiritual balance.
Their hair is another way of expression. While you still see braided hair, traditionally there were 108 braids for the 108 volumes in Buddha teachings. Again they use the heavy turquoise, coral and also agate.
1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
Once I saw a chunk of yak bone integrated into the hairpiece. And on the Tagong Grassland, women had these on their hat. Typically carved from a yak rib or thigh bone, they are smooth with a slight patina and truly beautiful. They have a hole in the middle which - in ancient times- women would thread some of the braids through as a sort of anchor to keep it all straight
1 of 2
2 of 2
The most special piece I saw was a Gau. Look again at the opening photo for this article ….the chunky silver piece the woman is wearing around her neck! It is a beautiful silver box in the shrine-shape that was preferred by nomads. It has a miniature arched gateway to the “temple” and is crafted of hammered silver and brass. Inside may be Buddhist prayers, medicinal herbs or miniature carved idols. I thought it was an amazing unusual piece. The only one I saw.
A couple last thoughts: food
The Chinese eat VERY fast!!!
Oh my gosh. The food comes; they pick up their chopsticks , lean over their bowl. The chop sticks start to fly and they don’t stop until finished, maybe 10 minutes on. I thought it was my mid-20s guide and driver, but looking around, that’s the way they all eat. There are some good reasons: the culture values hot food, and the oil used in cooking definitely adds flavor, but is less appealing when cold. And, many dishes are shared. If you dawdle, you’ll lose your portion.
Like clothing and dialects, there are small food differences across the 1600 miles I’ve traveled. Noodles, hot pots, clay pots, BBQ skewers.
In Xining, there were no pork dishes. Because of a sizable, albeit not predominant, Islamic population, the food is halal, following Islamic dietary laws.
This is one of the many times on this trip where I saw connections to my previous trips to Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Turkey. The city of Xining was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. Centuries of migration, cultural assimilation have resulted in several Muslim communities.
At lunch, there was usually nothing to drink. One day there was sweet chrysanthemum tea which was delicious. A couple times I was offered hot water. That’s it. Hot water - like you COULD make tea - but no, just plain water in a paper cup.
Most unusual and most special lunch: a vegetarian restaurant in a monastery sitting with all the monks
A bit about bathrooms. Yes, public bathrooms are “squat toilets,” porcelain holes in the floor of the stall. And they do not have toilet paper. It’s bring your own! It’s a “no flush paper” system so there is a trash can. (I will never EVER fuss about gas station bathrooms again!) Hotels did all have regular sit-on toilets. But interestingly, they have clear glass walls between bathroom and bedroom.
Across these miles, I will see nine monasteries. Each unique with its own history in the world of Tibetan Buddhism.
But next: the absolutely incredible Dege Printing House - a UNESCO site - where with zero electricity - men still hand carve red birch wood into printing blocks, hand make organic mineral based inks and hand roll the ink.
