Tibetan wedding ceremony-Tibetan marriage customs-Tibet festival tours (2024)

Tibetan Wedding ceremony is one of the biggest and most important ceremonies in life etiquette, which has been highly valued by individuals, families and Society for a long time in the Tibetan community and it is one of the most important traditional culture of Tibet.

Inthe past, in Tibetan areas, marriage etiquette and customs were strictlyhierarchical, and the procedures and customs were different from each other.Here, we can only introduce the traditional Tibetan Marriage Etiquette andcustoms based on the general family situation in Tibetan area.

1.Propose

Thisis the initial procedure of Tibetan wedding ceremony. Once the man sees a girland likes her, he asks for the woman’s age and birth of date, and goes to theastrologer for divination (Tibetan term “PAZI”). If the astrologysays she will be a good partner for his marriage, then the man chooses an auspiciousday, brings a white Tibetan scarf known as Khada in Tibetan, tea and wine andother gifts to the woman’s family, and propose formally.

2.Engage

Whenthe two parties agree to the marriage, they choose a good day for their familyrepresentatives and marriage witnesses to work out the engagement. The contentsof the marriage contract are mostly mutual respect and love between the men andwomen, filial piety to their elders, high moral character, or inheritance ofproperty in the future.

Onthe day of engagement, the man will give each of the young and old in the woman’sfamily a Khada and rich gift. The woman will prepare tea, wine, rice, etc. forhospitality. After the representatives of both sides enter the main hall andtake their seats in turn, the host’s house will serve “Chema” withtea and wine. Chema is made of Tsampa, butter and sugar which is the symbol ofthe auspiciousness.

Theproposed family presents a gift, especially a “Bangdian It is a kind ofTibetan robe with various colors and thin horizontal lines” to the mother,which is used as the “milk money” for the mother for raising herdaughter.

Afterthat, they put the engagement in duplicate on the high foot plate, read italoud by the witness, and another witness checked it carefully. After reading,the witness put the family seals of the two families on the marriage letter inpublic, and then solemnly handed them to the father of the other party by therepresentatives of the woman and the man. Then the two parents presented Khada tothe witness to express their gratitude.

Whenthe engagement ceremony was held, neither the young men nor the young womenattended, only the family members. At the end of the ceremony, the women’sfamily invited guests for a feast and got together for one day. In the evening,when the men’s family left, the women’s family offered each visitor a Khada.

3. Preparation before the Tibetan wedding ceremony

Beforemarriage, the family of the woman also chooses a lucky day. Hand over thedowry. The amount of dowry varies according to the economic situation, butthere must be a Bodhisattva, a Book of scriptures and a pagoda.

Inthe Tibetan society, the dowry was very important when there is a marriage andit has several thousand years of history. It is said that Princess Wenchengbrought these three items when she came to Tibet, so it has been handed down asa necessary part of marriage dowry.

Themarriage husband’s family invites astrologer to make a fortune to determine thewedding date (Tibetan “Nianzi”). On the first day of the weddingceremony, the man sent someone to wrap a set of beautiful clothes and eyewearwith silk and satin and send them to the woman’s home for the bride to wear.

4. Welcome relatives during the Tibetan weddingceremony

Onthe day of greeting the bride, the man’s family will be looking for an identityperson to bring a team of people, horses and colorful arrows, with brightmirrors, jade and beads on them, and a pregnant and well-dressed mare with thesame color as the woman’s belongings for the bride to ride and go to thewoman’s house to meet her new mother.

Beforethe arrival of the horse team, the women should hold farewell ceremonies suchas tea and wine honoring “qiema”. When the men’s greeting team entersthe door, first insert the color arrow on the bride’s back, and then put thesetting jade on the bride’s head, indicating that the bride has belonged to theman’s family. When the girl goes out, the family members of the girl take thecolorful arrow and the leg of the lamb in one hand and stand upstairs andshout, “don’t take my family’s blessing away!” repeatedly until thegirl goes far away.

Startingfrom the horse team, the leader of the team should be the best one (usually theastrologer). He wears a white robe, riding a white horse, holding the ninepalaces and eight diagrams in his hand. Then the wedding representative, afterthat is attendant of the wife and the bride’s attendant.

Alongthe way, the man’s family should wait beside the road and offer three drinks tothe horse team. If you encounter people carrying patients, taking out garbageand carrying empty baskets on the road which is considered as an unlucky sign.During the march of the horse team, the entourage sang “Xieqing” (abig song), while the bride cried as she walked.

Beforethe bride arrives, the man must dress up the gate and prepare a mat for thebride to dismount. The mat is a pocket with barley and wheat, covered withmulticolored brocade, and the surface is painted with wheat grain as the symbol. Family will hold “Chema” and barley wine at the door.

Thetraditional entrance ceremony is very complicated. From getting off the horse,entering the door, going upstairs to entering the hall, you have to drink anode and present a hada. After the brides’ hall, sit at the bridegroom’s head,and the welcoming and seeing off teams also sit down in turn. Then they beginto offer “Qima”, tea and wine, and Khada to Buddha statues andparents.

Afterthat, the bride and groom enter the bridal chamber, and the family begins toentertain the guests for three days. In three days, relatives and friends sent Khadaand gifts one after another.

Summary of Tibetan wedding ceremony

Theetiquette is very complicated, and in the past, it was only held by familieswith certain economic strength. Of course. The marriage of contemporary Tibetanyoung men and women have long been very simple in terms of etiquette andcustoms. The biggest taboo of Tibetan Marriage and love is to forbid the marriageof close relatives, which conforms to the principle of human eugenics.

Marriage is not only forbidden between cousins and sisters, but also for those who have an aunt cousin relationship. Generally, matrilineal descendants can intermarry after four generations. In some areas, it takes seven to nine generations to get married. However, as long as the patrilineal descendants know that they are the same ancestor, intermarriage is strictly prohibited.

If you plan your Tibet tour including a program which can also visit a Tibetan wedding ceremony, it will be a very interesting and unique Tibet travel program and you will have a different and authentic experience of Tibet trip. Check more details about Tibet festival tours.