Three Major Dialects

Performance on Darma Festival in Gyantse of Tsang Region.Photo by Sonam Lopu

Throughout its far-flung land, ethnic Tibetans express themselves in different dialects. Traditionally, Tibet is divided into three dialectal regions, i.e. U-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham.

U-Tsang - the Cradle of Tibetan Culture

The name "U-Tsang" is a of place names. The word "U" refers to"Centre"in Tibetan, generally recognized as the area of Lhasa River Bank."Tsang" means"river"and as such refers to the extensive area from the west to the north of Shigatse. People in "Tsang" call themselves "Tsangpa", and those in "U" call themselves "Upa".

The term"U-Tsang dialect region"refers to the area in the west of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, which is also under the jurisdiction of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a watershed of Tibetan culture and the political, economic and military centre of the Tubo Kingdom throughout its history. The current areas of Lhasa Municipality, Shigatse, Lhoka, Nyingchi, and Ngari Prefecture are all included in U-Tsang.

U-Tsang is surrounded by the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley and divided into northern and southern parts by Mt. Gangdis and Mt. Nyanchen Thangl Ba as watersheds. In this area, valleys and rivers intertwine at an elevation of over 4000 meters. This land is rich with resources and a full enough rainfall, which encourages the growing of food grains. The first king of ethnic Tibetans in history is King Nyatri Tsenpo. The first palace was Yumbulagang and the first monastery, Samye Monastry. There is also the splendid Potala Palace. All of these came into being in the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley, the cradle of ethnic Tibetan culture.

Kham - the Gallant Khamba

The word "Kham" refers to "edge", and "Ba" to "People". "Khamba" is therefore the people in the Kham Region. The Khamba dialect is quite common between Amdo and U-Tsang, the centre of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Northwest area of the Sichuan-Tibet Plateau. Currently, all are in the Chamdo Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, and Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan.

In Tibetan folklore it is said "The law must come from U-Tsang, and the better horses are from Amdo, but people should be Khampas". Such a proverb refers to the special characteristics of the Khampas. From generation to generation, they have lived on the Henduan Mountain Range situated at the border of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Tibet. This high mountain range with deep valleys, intertwined rivers, and harsh natural environment, shapes the valiant but warm-hearted character of Khampa and their tradition and customs of striding down the mountains to embark on business. Thus, amongst successful Tibetan businessmen, the greatest number comes from Kham. The culture of the Khampas is quite outstanding and one of the most important parts of Tibetan culture. Songs and dance in Kham are so elegant, stylish, stouthearted, and vigorous. In particular, the dance of Yushu is well known, powerful and beautiful. As the story reputedly goes, while sending a party to escort the Princess Wenchen to her groom, a group of dancers from Yushu were included. Nowadays, Khamba Art Festival is held once of every three years, which actually provides opportunities to spread knowledge about the Khampa culture, and witness how wonderful this culture is.

The garments of Khampas are also remarkable. These garments mainly include robes, vests, aprons, gowns, and long sleeve shirts; Khampas like to wear boots, and put on fox leather hats with formal dress. Both female and male dress is colourful with rich adornments and varied patterns from head to toe. Usually, those patterns are made up of fine gold, silver, agate, coral, and turquoise. The headwear of Khampa women is the most luxurious. The common belief is that it is hard to judge the economic situation of Khampa families by only observing the decoration of their houses, unless you also see the headwear of their women. Khampa men are used to dressing in a loose but large garment. They like to tie a batch of red strings (called hero string) with their pigtails to show their bravery, honesty, and freedom - making them look more wealthy but also honorable and strong. The garments and adornments of Khampa men are a major feature of Khampa culture. Although similarities in Khampa garments clearly exist between the different areas in Kham, to some extent the garments from those areas are still distinct in various ways. It is possible to identify where different Khampas came from, by their costumes.

Amdo Region - Multiple Culture and Extensive Grassland

The word "Amdo" also refers to edge. It originates from the first letters of Mt. Anyemagen and Mt. Dorag Ram. The Amdo region in fact includes the area between the snow-covered Mt. Anyemagen and Mt. Dorag Ram. Surrounded by the area from Mt. Anyemagen to Qinghai Lake, the people called themselves "Amdowa".

Amdo dialect is used in several Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties, such as the prefecture of Golog, Haixi, Hainan, Haibei, Huangnan, and Haidong in Qinghai Province, counties of Ganan and Tianzhu in Ganshu Province, and also Ngypa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. With extensive grassland and enormous herds of yaks and sheep, Amdo is quite famous for its horses.

Throughout its history, Amdo, situated near the centre of the Tibetan inhabited region, has become a hub to closely connect the culture of ethnic Han in the east with the Altai culture in the north. It has been historically been place living with many nationalities. The ancestors of Tubo, Xionglu, Mongolians, Asha, Xugu, and Sala all interacted with one-another, finally forming today??s multi-cultural Amdo. Amdo is the hometown of both Dzongri culture and Khayo culture. It is also the centre of Chang culture as describes in Han historical literature. In addition, throughout its history, Amdo was flourished with its culture at its most prosperous since the opening up period. It is also the origin of the later Buddhist period of Tibetan Buddhism, and birthplace of Tsonkhapa who is famous as the "second Buddha". Moreover, the Labrang Monastery is a center of Amdo culture and Regong art - all placed in this beautiful land. Historically, many well-known scholars and eminent monks came from this region, such as Tsongkhapa, Gedun Chophel, and the tenth Panchen Lama. The multi-cultured Amdo is of great importance in ethnic Tibetan culture.

Several Special Branches of Ethnic Tibetans

Apart from Tibetans from the above-mentioned three major regions, there are several other special Tibetan groups in the big ethnic Tibetan family. They are the groups of Gyarong, Pari, Pema, Drotsang, Gongbo, and Sherpa.

Gyarong Tibetans

Young folks from U-Tsang. Photo by Tashi

The Gyarong region is named "Kyamo Tsawarong" in Tibetan. It is a typical name combining the names of mountains, rivers, and natural environment. Between Tsenlha and Dampa, there is a well-known Holy Mountain called "Mardoi". "Kyamo" is the deity of this mountain; "Tsawa" are the people who live on the Tsaque River bank; "Rong" refers to the agricultural area in a valley.

Gyarong is a generic name for the Chuchen and Trochu region in Sichuan Province. The territory includes the upper and middle reach of the Mingjiang River in Aba and Garze Autonomous Region and the upper reach of Dadu River in the Chuchen Region of Sichuan Province.
Featuring a special geographic environment, history and agriculture, Gyarong culture is one of unique branches of Tibetan culture enriching through its religion, language, architecture, and folk customs. In the Tang Dynasty, Tubo??s army moved east to the area of Dadu River and Minjiang River. The army was pleasantly friendly with local tribes, such as Jialiang, Dongnv, and Fuguo, and finally the integration became today's Gyarong Tibetans.

The houses of Gyarong Tibetans are flat stockade rock houses with moon and sun patterns painted in white on the walls. Gyarong dialect also belongs to the Tibetan-Burma phylum, and Tibetan language is generally utilized in this region - but the dialect is very hard for Tibetans from different places to understand. In Emperor Qianlong's period in the Qing Dynasty, Gyarong Tibetans mainly practiced the Bon religion. Since Emperor Qianlong made peace at the small and large Chenchun and he forced the people to abandon Bon religion in favor of the Yellow sect of Buddhism. Nevertheless, Bon religion adapted to the changes and finally evolved into today's Bon religion.

Stone towers are symbolic architecture and culturally important in Gyarong. Dampa is named as "the Treasure House for Thousands of Stone Towers". Every stone tower has recorded its history. These towers were used both as castles for defeating enemies and as residences. Besides, the most beautiful girls, as Miss Khamba, usually come from Dampa in Gyarong.

Pari Tibetans

"Pari", best known as the hometown of Yaks, refers to a tribe lost in history. Historically, Pari is north of Huangshu and to the east of HeXi, including the mountains of Ledu, Huzhu, and Menyuan, the east of Datong in Qinghai, and also places in Ganshu, like Tianzhu and Huangchen of the south Ganshu. Tianzhu is the key residential area for Pari Tibetans with a population of 80 thousand.

Tubo people were the main forefathers of Pari. During the Tubo period, an army of Tubo garrisoned at this place and gradually became the principal number of Pari Tibetans. In book titled "History of Qinghai", written by Sumba Yeshe Paljor, a famous scholar in Qing Dynasty, Pari is described as the first place entered by Tubo. As the descendants of Tubo, Pari Tibetans have preserved its unique culture well, such as in the Pari dialect that is quite different from other dialects in Amdo (though it still belongs to the same system of Amdo dialect). Pari dialect contains the most Tibetan archaic phrases. The pronunciation of some phrases differs from the same ones used in the Amdo dialect in the Amdo region.

Pari Tibetans call themselves "Po" or "Pari Kalpo". Men like to wear a white felt gown, which symbolizes their deep love of the colour white. They also have the belief that all different nationalities derive from the same ancestors. Pari Tibetans have always nurtured their talented people, such as scholars, and make great contributions to the cultural development of ethnic Tibetans.

Pema Tibetans

Pema Tibetans are living at Pema River of Ganshu Province, at Pinwu County and Jiuzhaigou County of Sichuan Province. Their estimated population is 14000. In comparison with other Tibetan groups, they have distinct folk customs, culture, and religious beliefs. Pema Tibetans speak Tibetan but they cannot read or write Tibetan. Believing in both Bon religion and Tibetan Buddhist religion, Pema Tibetans also pay homage to different nature deities, such as deities of sun, mountains, fire, and food grains. However, they never build temples and monasteries, but only place the tributes to their ancestors in domestic shrines. Thus, many ethnologists and historians believe that Pema Tibetans are descendants of tribe members who lost their own culture identity and were mixed up with the Tubo soldiers and followers moving into their territory while the Tubo army occupied the tribal area and finally settled down.

The culture of Pema Tibetans has many unusual characteristics. From a language perspective, Pema language has parallels not only in other Tibetan languages, but also in Chang language. For their costume, both male and female, they prefer to insert one or more white cock??s feather in the top of their hat, which announces that they are Pema Tibetans. A straight feather on the hat of a man shows he is foursquare and of good moral standing, but several feathers on the heads of women stand for their beauty. Pema Tibetans call the hat "Saga".

Drotsang Tibetans

Tibetans, living at the Ledu, Pingan, and Huang Zhong county in Haidong region of Qinghai Province, name themselves as "Drotsangwa". These Tibetans only live in one place of about one hundred square kilometers. In some villages, several nationalities are living together, including ethnic Han, Hui, and Mongolian; some others are living separately but next to the ethnic Han??s village. They are all basically living off agricultural, semi-agricultural and animal husbandry products.

Unsurprisingly, Drotsang Tibetans originate from Tibet. At the end of the Ninth Century, while Langdamor, the last ruler of Tubo Kingdom, was assassinated, scuffles began amongst the Tubo. Two sons of Langdamor, with their different matrilineal origins, established separate kingdoms. The youngest, Osang, came to Ngari to set up his region, and his descendants founded the later well-known Guge Kingdom. Sum Tride, his fourth generation, migrated from Tsang region to the area of Qinghai Lake. He became chieftain, and gradually established a powerful Josilo Regime to control the east of Qinghai and west of Ganshu, which is referred as the"archaic silk road". The regime had good relations with the Song Court. The center of Josilo Regime was today's Ledu County. The word "Drotsang" derives from the resident place of their forefather, i. e. the name of today's Dro vodlong in Tsang Region. "Dro" means "Dro Vodlong", and "Tsang" refers to ancestors; therefore, the word "Drotsang" is still in use.

Gongbo Tibetans

Gongbo Tibetans mainly live in Nyingchi Prefecture, centred on Gongbo Gyamda County and Nyingchi County. "Gongbo" was the name of a tribe in ancient times. In accordance with the book "Historic Documents Tubo and Dunhuang", apart from King Yarlung, there were 12 small states. Gongbu was one of those. The costume of Gongbu is unique amongst Tibetan Garments. Men and women all like to wear a long vest called "Goxiu". The vest is a pullover and has no collar or sleeves, and it is usually black or purple. A waistband with fine decoration ties in the front and the rear. Pulu and leather material are used to make clothes for summer and winter respectively, and they are all a better fit with the people to work in the high mountains and densely covered forest. Columnar hats of Gongbu are edged in rainbow style with colorful satin, and a green silk fabric is inlaid underneath the hat, which makes the hat match well with the "Goxiu".

The Gongbu region is situated at the lowest reach of the Yarlung Tsangpo River with low elevation and rich forests. The climate is favorable. As well as Tibetans, over ten ethnic groups, such as Moinba and Lhopa, are also dwelling there. This is a rich and beautiful land. The people have a simple and unsophisticated folk culture and tremendous folk art. It is a well-known tourist attraction.

Amdo Tibetans in festival attire. Photo by Tsing Kar

Sherpa Tibetans

"Sherpa" in Tibetan refers to"People coming from the east". Sherpa Tibetans are dispersed across the Himalayan Mountain range spanning the borders of China, Nepal, India, and Bhutan. They speak Sherpa Language. As they have no written language, they adopt Tibetan language. The population is about 40 thousand, including 1200 Sherpa Tibetans who are living in the territory of China.

People argue about the origin of Sherpa Tibetans. Some claim that, during the time of Genghis Khan, one garrison in Garze of Sichuan was defeated by Yuan??s army, and escaped to Kar of Tibet and settled down there. Sooner or later they become the Sherpa Tibetans. But others argue the Sherpa Tibetans originated from Shadrung Karpa in Nepal, and actually most Sherpa people believe this. Sherpa people only have surnames but no given names, as it is with other ethnic Tibetans. They often prefer to marry with the people in their group. They believe Tibetan Buddhism, but mainly the Sakya and Kagyu sects. Notwithstanding, they still preserve some primitive pre-Buddhist beliefs.

Due to living on the high mountains all year around, the Sherpa Tibetans are really good at mountaineering and act as guides for mountaineering expeditions to cater for many athletes from overseas countries. It is also one of their major sources of income. Data shows that the chroma of Sherpa Tibetans?? blood is higher than most people. Since the 1920s, the Sherpa Tibetans have worked hard to provide service as guides and servants of mountaineers. They have strong bodies and high resistance to altitude sickness. They are hardworking and able to endure hardships. Many of them can speak fluent English and are very skillful at mountaineering. Almost each mountaineering teams has at least one Sherpa Tibetan to help them. They risk their lives to break a record of three "maximums", i. e. the maximum number of people who climb Qomolangma, the maximum number of people who have reached the summit of Qomolangma, and the maximum number of people who have died in accidents while climbing Qomolangma. The Sherpa Tibetans have made great contributions which are hard to forget.

Tibetan Garments and Adornments

The garments and adornments of ethnic Tibetans are divided into two parts: the nomadic one and the agricultural one. In nomadic areas, people are accustomed to wearing original leather clothes without any cover; it is big and the sleeves are usually loose and wide to enable their arms to move freely. The leather gown can serve two functions; as clothes and as cover during the night. People always tie up their loose gown at the waist. The gown suits the weather conditions in the nomadic area on the plateau and also the herdsmen??s way of living. However, in the agricultural areas, ethnic Tibetan women are fond of putting on brightly-coloured shirts underneath with a loose and long vest outside, made of Pulu. The vest is tied up at the waist. The shirt is collarless but with long sleeves - they tie them up while they are working, but loosen them when they are dancing, which make them appear more natural, unrestrained, and charming. In the U-Tsang region, many women wear colorful aprons made with Pulu, called"Palden"in Tibetan. The colours are dignified with mainly three-coloured cross bands interacting together with other colours to form rather nice patterns. It looks gorgeous.