Losar ལོ་གསར (New Year) is a historical event for Tibetan people. The year of the pig falls on February 5thof the Gregorian calendar this year. Tibetans follow the 12-year cycle zodiac heavily. Most Tibetan mothers even refer to their children’s birth year by the year of the zodiac animal rather than the calendar year. Tibetan culture is […]
Lhago and her husband Tsehua decided to have a nomadic life experience. This summer was the first time my sister visited our nomad family in Tsekog, Zekog or rtse khog (རྩེ་ཁོག Zeku) with Tsehua. Our maternal grandmother was born in Tsekog County, in a yak-fur tent. It’s where my family still has a village […]
Wishing all Tibetans and friends a very happy Losar 2016. ལོ་གསར་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས། Below are links to a few stories and pictures that will transport you to the Tibetan plateau and to experience the ancient traditions of Losar (Lo sar, the Tibetan New Year). Visual feast during Losar preparation: During Losar preparation, you only need to take […]
While a house requires strong pillars to hold its structures one might say, a culture is formed based upon its long-standing traditions, beliefs, art, and customs. Festivals and rituals are windows into rich traditions of faraway lands. My journey home to the Tibetan plateau for 2015 Losar, Tibetan New Year, was a renewal of my […]
Like many cultures around the globe, Tibetans cherish our own special noodles. Noodle dishes are, in fact, a staple in Tibetan cooking across the rangelands and lower meadows. We call them thukpa ཐུག་པ (aka thug ba or thugba) and generally refer to wheat flour noodles. Only those never recorded cookbooks knew when a Tibetan grandmother, who […]
I heard the news today when the sun was hanging high in the middle of the sky. Upon my return from a short walk, I opened the door to let the puppy into the house but kept myself outside. A sad time and reflection was what I needed. As I sat down on the stairs […]
Learning the dance In Tibetan culture, the way we make, serve and consume Tsampa is good manners. This is how everyone in the communities of my youth does this amazing spectacle. To enjoy this Tibetan soul food, it is customary for the woman of the house to layer the initial ingredient for Tsampa in individual […]
