Losar (new year) is coming, and with it,a plethora of nicely worded text messages wishing people a happy new year that people will forward to all of the contacts in their phone. The most interesting I have seen follows...
明天是春节年三十,藏历新年晚一天。分享一下玉树人#过年习俗# ,照片翻拍于二十年前一本老玉树画册。⑴是在厨房墙上用糌粑点八宝吉祥图案;⑵清扫烟灰倒在路边让人踩;⑶初一清晨每家都要燃柏枝驱邪;⑷初一清晨打晨星水;⑸初一男人们爬到最高的山顶抛散隆达(风马)祈福⑹初二起各单位乡镇村社轮流表演传统歌舞;⑺年三十晚上在老牦牛广场点篝火。现在这样的场景已经看不到了,为打星辰水,老妈只有提前在除夕把一桶水放在高层楼房的窗外,初一清晨早早再拿进来。愿你们健康快乐!
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Dear readers--all five of you-- I am sorry for the long time between posts. Things have been a bit hectic here, and though I have started several posts, I haven't had time to finish any... Until today
After witnessing my family struggle through a t wedding here, i thought that it might be nice to write up a very abbreviated guide to a t wedding. It is worth pointing out that the following only applies to urban weddings and not to countryside weddings. There is also likely to be significant variation depending which family is hosting and the area from which the couple hails. Nevertheless, a brief introduction to the essentials would not go amiss... What you will need: 1) 2 kha btags (silk scarves)... You may bring 2 white ones or a white one and a yellow one. At the appropriate time you will give them to the bride and groom. Yellow should only be given to the groom. and... 2)at least 200 rmb if you are alone, or 300 if you have a "plus one" What you'll have to do... 1) when you arrive you may have to go through a greeting line of just your host families or the bride and groom. 2) there will be a table with a red book on it. Go there and sign the book and give your gift... They will document how much money you give. If you give more money,it indicates a close relationship, while a smaller gift signifies a more distant relationship. If you give 100 or less it signifies that you don't understand the culture, perhaps don't really like the couple, and clearly did not internalize the information in this intro. It is also worth noting that in china'sgift economy, this amount is very important. As suggested above, the amount you give is recorded, and used to evaluate where you stand in relation to the couple. It also dictates how mic the couple is likely to give you when you in turn get married or at some other significant gift-worthy event. 3) go to your seat as indicated by a guest or usher. You will be in a Banquet hall, not a church. Mingle with the other people at your table. There may well be a foreigner specific table, so there's no need to feel apprehensive about language. 4) when the couple comes in you can keep talking, you can rush to the front to take pictures with your phone, whatever. You don't need to feel any real sense of decorum... Foreigners often associate weddings with a certain amount of gravitas, and church,and the like. no such notion here. 5) you can choose to listen to the master of ceremonies or not. That is entirely up to you. He will speak quickly and I am guessing you will not understand it. If you do, you probably don't need to read this post anyways. 6) When other people start bringing up silk scarves, that is a good time for you to do the same. Don't be the first; be towards the back. The front is reserved for family. Give the yellow one to the groom, and the white one to the bride. Don't dawdle. Maybe say Zhaxi dele/ tashi delek (bkra shis bde legs), say a quick word, and then make way for those behind you. 7) enjoy the food if you can. I feel that banquet food and drink is not particularly tasty, but if you can find one or two things you like, you'll be ok. 8) enjoy the music. Weddings and dinner parties are one of the last bastions of public musical performance in urban settings.wedding singing is usually pre-planned and performed by professionals. 9) the couple will come around and toast you either individually or as a table. There is no pressure to drink the baijiu on offer, but it may greatly enhance your wedding experience if you do. Before you drink, or if you do not intend to drink, it is good to perform a "mchod kha gsum" (an offering). Dip your ring finger slightly into the drink, touch it to your thumb, raise it up above your shoulder and flick the liquid high into the air, you may either repeat this action three times, or just flick your finger three times. Do not just randomly flick the drink around. That is rude. Flick it into the air, and preferably have your hand above your shoulder. 10) leave whenever you need to. There is no need to make your apologies or talk to the couple. They will be too busy. The end... I hope you find this useful. |
About TimAs you can see elsewhere on this webpage, I conduct research on ethnic minorities in western China. This blog offers semi-academic musings on the minutiae of daily life out here--the sort of information otherwise destined for footnotes. Categories |