Tibetans Jewelry Customs: Why Do Tibetans Always Wear Rare Baldric

What’s your impression of the typical Tibetans during your Tibet travel? Sincere smile, devout religious belief, swarthy skin, Tibetan clothes……among all those features, the colorful decoration on their body is definitely striking point in the impression to a Tibetan from people coming from other places.

Yes, Tibetan people used to have lots of Jewelry and ornaments with rough shapes and bright color. You could easily see buddha beads, bandeau, hair jewelry, waist belt, necklaces, Buddhist chaplet and some other thing like these from a local Tibetan. Actually, all these Jewelries are costly beyond your first idea when you see them. They are made of precious beeswax, turquoise, coral, gold, silver and gem, etc.

Why? Why the Tibetans would like to wear these decoration with them? If it is a traditional custom, how has it been formed?

The Tibetan customs had been formed under the life environments. If we would like to get ideas about the Tibetan custom of wearing costly ornaments, we would start from their life style.

As we know, the ancient Tibetan mainly lived in the south Qinghai Province and Tibetan Autonomous Region—the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which belongs to alpine region. In the undeveloped ancient ages, it was hardly for crops to grow here, thus nomadism had been the major way to earn life for Tibetan people.

Grass lives by the water which is affected by seasons and climates. Rivers move in seasons and so does grass. Nomads followed water and grass to make life, resulting in themselves the unsettled life. For those people without fixed residence, moving a house was quite troublesome work because they need to take lots of commodity and possession.

To overcome this problem, Tibetans replaced those immovable property intelligently with valuable jewels which was easy to carry. As for the beeswax, turquoise and coral, they had been the Tibetan’s favorite gems long time ago due to their pretty appearance and small size.

So, the customs have been inherited for lots of years and just grown into an internal consciousness rooted in their blood. Don’t be surprised at those costly decoration of Tibetans when you meet them on Lhasa Barkhor Street. They are not showing off their wealth but taking them themselves to prevent losing. Maybe these ornaments are all of their property.

Today, the traditional life style for many Tibetan people has changed with the development of the society. People don’t follow the seasonal water and grass to make life anymore but the traditional customs has been an important part of Tibetan culture and rooted in each Tibetan’s heart.

The unique and mysterious Tibetan culture and art as well as religions has attracted endless travelers home and aboard to do a Tibet Tour. If foreigners want to have such a Tibet Culture Tour to know more about this nationality, you’d better contact us for a proper and detailed tour plan to help your Tibet Tour, Lhasa Tour, the Everest Base Camp Tour……and make your Tibet dream come true!

Recommend tour: 6 Days classic Tibet Tour with Tibetan Family Visit