Environment:
They are located in the Himalayan Mountains 470 km from Bhutan at an altitude of 4,000m. They experience some of the most extreme climates in the world. In the winter, which is most of the year, the temperatures are freezing cold. The average temperature is subzero. In the month July through August is the only time they experience warmer weather. However, most of its land is arid or a semi-desert. Only one percent of the land is arable with limited yields due to the dry cold climate. The average annual precipitation is about 381 mm (about 15 inches) and is significantly less in some areas. Tibet experiences bitterly cold weather and is lashed by harsh winds throughout the year. The average annual temperature is around 1.1 degrees Celsius. The Tibetan plateau is known as the third pole for having the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps. These glaciers are the water source for one sixth of humanity. Scientists predict 80% of these glaciers will disappear within 30 years if current warming continues.
They live in a rural area and are isolated for resources on their own plateau in the Himalayan Mountains. However, they have been taken over by China and interact with all the surrounding countries. Tibetan people form the majority of the population, but Chinese immigrants now form a sizable group of the population. The mountains are treeless, with only grasses and shrubs growing. Tibetan people live in the valleys of the Indus and the Brahmaputra, where they are able to grow some crops. There are more than 230 species of wild animals including the wild Yak, the Tibetan Antelope, the wild donkey, the White-lip Deer, and the brown bear. It also includes more than 84 typical Qinghai species.
They live in several environmental stresses. They live in an area that is extremely cold, has high ultra-violet radiation, and is at a very high altitude. Also, only 1% of their land is usable for farming. While most of the rivers and water runoff from the glaciers support most of Asia. Most of their land is covered in glaciers. They are going through a huge environmental change. The tibetans and the glaciers in their land are most impacted by global warming. Every year the climate gets warmers and more glaciers disappear. This affects how they live and the rest of Asia.
Adaptations:
Two physical adaptations of the Tibetans of the Himalayans are they have a blood- oxygen level that is 10% higher than normal levels. They accomplish a high blood-oxygen level by breathing more per minute. This leads to them having less of chance of getting hypoxia. In addition, Tibetans may have a second biological adaptation, which expands their blood vessels, allowing them to deliver oxygen throughout their bodies more effectively than sea-level people do. If they did not have these two physical adaptations of being able to breathe more and have high blood flow they would have a very low blood-level.
Much of the population is nomadic due to the cold climate and terrain.The are nomadic because they have to be culturally because of the harsh environment. Tibetan nomadic pastoralism flourished because there was little encroachment into the nomadic areas by farmers trying to plow up the rangeland and plant crops. Another cultural adaptation is that they practice polyandry. It is most beneficial because there is so little farmland that the male families can not split up what small farm they already have to multiple sons. Another cultural adaptation is that the men have to travel down to lower villages to get supplies, such as vegetables and other necessary items because in the high altitude they cannot produce these goods.
Language:
The language spoken in the Tibetan culture is Tibetan. Tibetan is written in a very conservative syllabary script based on the writing system of the ancient Sanskrit language of India. It was developed as a means of translating sacred Buddhist texts that were being brought into Tibet from India. The fact that the written language was developed to translate sacred Buddhist text shows everything about their culture. Religion is everywhere in their culture and influences everything.
Gender Roles:
There are two gender roles in the Himalayan Tibet culture. There are male and female roles.
Male: Tibetan men typically lead simple lives. For nomads, much of life consists of taking the yaks up and down the mountain to graze. Men are in charge of periodically going to the nearest town to buy supplies such as medicine, vegetables or clothes. They also are the spiritual leaders of the family. They are in charge of educating the family about Buddhism and leading the family in Buddhist scripture reading, praying and pilgrimages to holy places. Traditionally men are also responsible for making homemade clothes such as coats and boots.
Women: Tibetan women usually lead a more difficult life than Tibetan Men. Tibetan women are in charge of most of the household chores. Nomad women wake up early in the morning to collect yak dung to be dried, which is used for fuel for the fire. Women milk the yaks before the are taken up the mountains to graze. Women are also in charge of cooking the meals and taking care of the children.
The gender roles are very strict, mostly for women. Their role is to listen and do as they are told. There is no crossover between the roles, but women in tibet have now begun to protest for their rights. There are many negative repercussions for the women fighting for more rights. They often receive punishments or have things taken away from them, such as education for their children. Again they are not supposed to complain about their punishments and are only supposed to accept them. The Buddhist Tibetans nuns have begun to have silent protests with their mouths covered. Many nuns have been killed for protesting. The young learn from their family. They of the culture learn their appropriate gender roles from their fathers. The men are the educators of the society. They also obviously learn some of what their gender roles are supposed to be by observing their family mainly their mother and father. They see how their father acts or how their mother acts and how they interact with each other and society. I do not believe the protagonist would have been accepted. I think they would have dealt with her, but they would be too confused to know what to do with her or where to place her.
Subsistence:
The traditional subsistence pattern of Tibet is agriculture and herding. Yes, they are transitioning. They are moving towards modernization and urbanization. The major staple food in Tibet is barley flour. Other major foods that eat are wheat flour, yak meat, and pork. Higher altitudes eat more meat than lower altitudes. They also eat a variety of vegetables, but this mostly applies to lower altitudes. It is rare for anyone to eat rice and only wealthy families can afford rice. They also consume dairy products such as milk and cheese. Diets at higher altitudes are much thinner than diets at lower altitudes. At higher altitudes, water cannot be used to cook so the diet consist of milk and high protein foods. The main staple is tsamba or yak meat at higher altitudes. Most of the food is year round but how the food is prepared can be seasonal. Yes, there is a division of labor. The men walk the yaks up and down the mountain, while the women milk the yaks and collect the dung of the yak, which is used to fuel the fire. Children can also walk the yaks. Men also do the trading and farming. Women take care of the household and the children.
The general nutritional health of Tibet is lacking because of the high altitude. There are very little areas to farm and produce food. Many Tibetans, especially children, are malnourished. They are not dependent on any food items that are rare to find, except for possibly vegetables that are rare to find in the higher altitudes. Rice would also provide more to their nutritional diet, but it is rare and only the wealthy eat rice.
Economics:
They do not produce any surplus food. They are an agriculture subsistence and can only produce enough for them to live on. It is hard to produce food in the Tibetan Himalayans. It is very arid and it is extremely cold for most of the year. There is no specialization of labor other then labor being separated between male and females. They do have redistribution of goods somewhat. In old Tibet, they used to practice the feudal system. The three dominant classes in Tibet received most of the profits, now this is changing and they are working hard to raise their GDP. At first, they only used the barter system, but now have recently moved away from the barter system. As they are becoming more modern and more urban, they now use currency. There currency is the yuan.
Trade in handcraft items is what supports most of their economy. They also trade salts, wools, and hides. China is also leading to the increase in urbanization because they have been trying to expand mining. Tibet has gold, silver, and salt mines. China is also trying to increase tourism and business. There are benefits and negative effects to the increased trade and tourism. The increased trade leads to a better economy, but as Tibet becomes more and more urbanized by other societies they lose cultural traditions and the there could be negative effects on the environment.
Marriage:
The most common form of marriage that is practiced is polyandry. When polyandry occurs, it is usually a women marrying two brothers from the same family. The elder brother has the decision of who to marry and all the children are considered his children. In some cases, polygyny will be practiced or in more urbanized areas monogamy will be practiced. Marriage partners are determined by the elder brother, but then discussed by the younger brothers. The younger brothers have a choice to leave and start their own family, but they will receive no property or to become a monk. Then the parents of the female will either accept or deny the family that is proposing marriage. Females are definitely are more valued than males. When proposed to the family of the groom has to send gifts multiple times to every family member. There is economic exchange mostly on the part of the groom. Males have to do most of the work. They also have to hire a matchmaker. The bride’s family does, however, send a dowry to the groom’s family of a Bodhisattva. There are only restrictions when it comes to immediate family of blood relation. If a woman is widowed, it is encouraged to remarry with the younger brother she is already living with or another relative of her husbands’. The bride usually moves in with the groom and his family after the wedding. Homosexual relationships are not encouraged and it is not open in the Tibet culture. I would come to the conclusion that they are not accepted.
Kinship:
The Tibetans use the patrilineal inheritance pattern. Family names are carried by the male. This makes sense because the women move into the homes of their husbands. This shows that the males are the most important. They do not ignore other lines, but they are less emphasized.
The eldest brother possesses the most authority within the family. All the children officially belong to him and he is the only one officially married to his wife. The property is passed on via descent lines. The inheritance and descent patterns match. It passes from male to male.
Social Organization:
The culture is stratified and is not generally egalitarian. Economics is what defines the social levels. There were the high nobility, religious officials, political officials, household owners, landless peasants, and then the slaves. Economics and land owning defined which socially class you were in and it is generally passed through inheritance. There is not much change in your status. This was under the feudal system. Democratic reform has individualized farms, but there has not been much change in social classes.
Political Organization:
While Tibet used to be under the rule of the feudal system, today the are presently and strictly governed by the Chinese government. The Tibetans have no choice in how political power is determined. The Chinese government has several of its committees set up in Tibet and it also has it’s military occupied in Tibet. The Tibetans resent the Chinese government and its rule of Tibet. The Chinese government’s control is slowly being lost. Before the Chinese government, the Dali Lama was both the religious and political leader of Tibet. For awhile, there was a transition phase where the Dali Lama and the government had parallel rule. The political power is given to people through the People’s Republic of China. It is given through the government and not the people.
The Chinese government have forced their laws upon the Tibetans, but they also have their own cultural and moral laws. The moral laws are from their Buddhist religion. Punishments used to be very harsh and inhumane, especially in very early Tibetan culture. Punishments are becoming more judicial and the punishments less severe, such as using fines and imprisonment.
The Role of Violence
The Tibetans are very non-violent people because of their buddhist beliefs. They practice non-violent protests. The violence comes in with the outside forces such as the Chinese government. As the violence against the protesters becomes worse, the violence within the protests are becoming worse. Tibetan monks and nuns are now choosing to burn themselves alive in protest. This is how violence is entering into the culture.
Religion
They practice Tibetan Buddhism. It is a branch of Buddhism and combines Yoga along with tantric practices. It focuses on the deity of Buddha. They focus on his teachings. They also respect the Dali Lama. Bodhisattvas are also worshiped. They are god-like and wrathful deities that have been taken from earlier religions. No, their religion does not have an origin story because it is a combination of already established practices. Most of their practices focus on mediation on themselves and focusing on emotions and passions. One practice that is unique to Tibetan Buddhism is the Lamas. The Lamas are given a status and role as a teacher which is specifically related to this type of Buddhism. Their rituals are very noisy with a lot of music and are visually striking. They also have many unique initiating rituals. The religion and practices are very important to the culture. They combine both their religion with their political systems and it is part of their everyday life. Their religion is an essential to their culture, but I think they could function without it. Their everyday chores are not affected by their religion.
Art
All of their art in any form has the purpose of emphasizing or being used in their religion. That is the main purpose of their art. They paint and make sculptures of the things they worship in their religion. It is used to respect and worship their religion. They do performance art and music to add to their religious rituals. Their rituals are very noisy and visually striking. The music and the art is there to accomplish that rituals are beautiful. Religion is everything to them and is in every aspect of their culture. They also use art for magic talismans and other things that are used in rituals.
Conclusion: Cultural Changes
The Tibetans have definitely been affected by other cultures. They mostly have been affected by China, but also India because many Tibetans have fled from Chinese occupied Tibet into India. The negative impacts is that Tibet has lost a lot of tradition and they are being forced to have Chinese government and laws. The positive impact is that Tibet is becoming more modernized and the economy is improving. I think the culture is both healthy and thriving and also in danger of losing its cultural identity. It is improving economically and in the life quality for the individual, but they are in danger of losing their cultural traditions and identity. The modernization is both positive and negative. If the Tibetans can keep their traditions and cultural values, while modernizing, it would be the perfect balance. They play a huge role in the modern role, but mostly environmentally. Their environment affects most of Asia and the whole world. As they are becoming modernized, they are having more influence on their bordering countries, such as India and China.
Bibliography
library.thinkquest.org/26470/foodndrink.htm
I really enjoyed reading your blog post about an interesting culture that I have not learned anything about before. It was very interesting learning about the harsh environment that they have to live in and how they are able to sustain life in the mountains. After reading about the subsistence I figured that they might move to a more industrial lifestyle now that the world is producing some new agricultural technology. I did not know that violence played a role in the Tibetan culture. I really liked your discussion on the art that they produce. The picture that you included in that part of the article was really nice. Great job!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post throughout. Very well-researched and it was very enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteMy only correction was your section on the political structure. Remember that we are studying the political structure of the culture, not that of the nation. Look at a Tibetan village... how would their political structure be determined? How do they decide who is in control or in power and how do they deal with issues of crime and punishment?
Other than that one section, excellent job.