In the Sixteen Cleanliness Laws formulated by Songzan Gambu, filial piety to parents, respect for morality, respect for the elderly, sincere love for relatives and friends, honesty and integrity are important contents, which have had a far-reaching impact on the formation of Tibetan ethics and etiquette.
Tibetan food etiquette profoundly reflects Tibetan ethical spirit. At ordinary times, the family is harmonious, the neighborhood is harmonious, the elderly are respected and the young are loved, and people are honest. Good wine is brewed by itself, and the first wine "strong beer" (new wine Chang -phud) respects god, and the old people taste it for the first time. It is also the "patent" of the old people to collect and taste new grain every year. In daily family meals, when housewives cook and distribute food, they first give it to the elderly, and then the whole family eats around the fireplace, which is enjoyable. Tibetans are very hospitable. If guests come to our home, they will take out everything they have and provide good wine, tea and food for their hospitality.
There are many rituals and customs for Tibetans to drink tea and alcohol. Usually drink tea at home with your own tea bowl, and you can't just use other people's bowls. When drinking tea, you can't just drink the tea in the bowl, you should drink half or more, and then drink it when it is full. After drinking tea, you can't drink it all, but leave a little, which means that tea will never be finished, and it is rich and rich, which has a deep meaning. If the guest arrives, the hostess will take out the polished porcelain bowl and put it in front of the guest, pick up the teapot and shake it a few times (the bottom of the teapot must be lower than the desktop), then fill it with butter tea and offer it to the guest with both hands. After receiving tea, guests should not open their mouths in a hurry to drink. Instead, they slowly blew away the oil slick. After a few sips, there is probably half a bowl left. When the tea bowl is placed on the table, the hostess will refill it. Guests can't pick it up and drink it right away. Instead, I will sip slowly and chat with my host over and over again. Every time a guest drinks tea, the host will fill it quickly and keep the tea bowl full. Guests usually drink three bowls of tea when they arrive, and it is unlucky to drink only 1 bowl. The Tibetan proverb says, "Make enemies in a bowl!" You can't make a "hey, hey" sound when drinking tea, and you can't drink all the tea in the bowl, otherwise it will be regarded as uneducated.
Tibetan drinking customs are extremely rich. Every time you brew new wine, you must first offer "new wine" to the gods, and then follow the old adage of "orderly aging", and propose a toast to the elders at home first, so that the whole family can enjoy themselves. At a holiday wedding or a gathering of many people, drinking usually means toasting the respected elders first, and then toasting clockwise in turn. Generally speaking, the toaster should raise his glass above his head with both hands and propose a toast to the recipient, especially the elderly. The drinker first holds the glass with both hands, then holds it with his left hand, then gently dips the wine in the glass with the ring finger of his right hand and plays in the air. This was repeated three times, and some people even whispered something like "Tashde Leping Songcuo ……" before drinking. Three dozen wines are a tribute to heaven, earth and God, and a prayer for the three treasures of Buddhism and Taoism.
When drinking, it is not advisable to drink it all at once, but should follow the "three cups" system of "GSUM-SGRON-ZHOBS-DAG". After playing wine to worship God, the drinker should take a sip first, then the toaster will fill the glass, and the drinker will drink all the wine in the glass after filling it for the third time. He who leaves no drop of wine is the most sincere. When drinking at a party, all the wine utensils are used by everyone. Those who can drink together are also considered as family and brothers, so you can't share wine utensils when drinking, otherwise you will be regarded as an outsider or looked down upon. In the past, butchers, blacksmiths, celestial burial masters and other so-called "low-level occupations" generally did not use wine glasses with everyone. They always bring their own bowls and cups and drink them separately.
Where there is wine, there is song. Songs are essential for drinking at parties. When toasting others, toasters usually sing wine songs. If you don't sing, the recipient can refuse to drink. The toaster offers wine, and the recipient takes the glass. You can ask the toaster to sing wine songs. Sometimes the toaster will fill a glass of wine, walk up to the guests and start singing wine songs. Halfway through the song, he offered a glass of wine, and after singing the wine song, he performed the ceremony of playing wine and drinking. In many areas, the system of alcohol punishment is also very popular, which is generally divided into "mgyogs-chang", "vgor-chang" and "thigs-chang". The so-called "strong cellar" means fast wine, that is, before the toaster sings the wine song, the drinker finishes the wine in the cup too quickly in advance. When singing wine songs, it is considered impolite to have no wine in the cup, and you should be fined. The so-called "too strong" means slow drinking, that is, after the toaster finishes singing, the drinker is regarded as unresponsive and will be fined. "For Qiang" means to drop wine, that is, when the toaster sings a wine song, the drinker will just drink up the wine in the cup, but there is a little wine left at the bottom of the cup, even a few drops, and the wine will be punished. People think that the wine left in the cup is disrespectful or insincere to the toaster, and such people should be punished. People who can't drink, for reasons, generally don't force drinking, and few people in Tibetan society can't drink. If someone secretly pours wine after the toast is sung, it will be regarded as extremely rude and will be severely punished. The above punishment is aimed at drinkers. If the toaster sings the wrong lyrics or forgets the lyrics when singing wine songs, it will also be fined a glass of wine. Sometimes the toaster sings great wine songs, and drinkers can take turns toasting the toaster with wine glasses. This glass of wine is called "legs-chang", which means good wine. It shows appreciation for the singing of the toaster. Everyone present will unanimously ask the singer to drink this glass of good wine. At the end of drinking, it is a sign of good luck if you pour the wine from the wine container into the cup. There are often a few drops of wine in the wine container, so pour them on your hand and wipe them on your head, thinking that they will bring you happiness and good luck. Drinking brings endless fun to people who get together. People will try their best to create opportunities to trap each other and let him drink more wine or sing more wine songs.
Tibetan wine songs are melodious and beautiful, and the contents are mostly blessings and praises. Toastmasters sometimes sing and dance, full of emotions and sounds, but also improvisational and humorous.
"Please drink or sing. Between drinking and singing, you can choose one, please listen, Princess Wencheng, please drink, Rumbogawa.
Either drink or sing, neither of them can live. Jiuge also invited Princess Wencheng, who is most loved by Tibetans, and Guelton, a famous minister, to praise Yu Song to persuade people to drink. People who are not good at drinking will of course raise their glasses and drink hard.
We are gathered here to pray that we will never part. Bless the people at the party and never suffer from disaster or disease. "
This is a very popular wine song, which can be heard all over Tibet. The lyrics of wine songs are simple but full of affection, which shows people's hope and cherish for gathering together and expresses people's yearning and deep blessing for a better life without disease and disaster.
Tibetan dietary taboos are reflected in certain types of food and taboos on cooking stoves and fire pits.
Tibetans have many taboos in eating meat. Most people only eat beef and mutton and never eat horses, donkeys, mules or dog meat. Some people don't even eat chicken, pork and eggs. Fish, shrimp, snakes, eels and seafood are eaten in small quantities by some urban residents (mostly young people), but people in agricultural areas and special zones generally do not eat them. Rabbit meat can be eaten in some places, but pregnant women are not allowed to eat it. It is said that children born of illegal eating will be gouged out. Even if you eat beef and mutton, you can't eat fresh meat slaughtered that day. You must eat for a day. The meat slaughtered that day was called "Ningxia" (meaning "Japanese meat" nyin-sha). People think that although livestock have been slaughtered, their souls still exist, and it will take a day for their souls to leave their bodies. Tibetans never prey on birds and pheasants, especially snow-capped chickens like Lacha (lha-bya-gong-mo). Tibetans regard them as divine birds and forbid hunting.
Among meat taboos, the situation of avoiding fish is more complicated, and whether to avoid eating is closely related to the region. In eastern Tibet, people hardly eat fish and can't touch animals such as snakes and frogs. They think that aquatic animals such as fish and frogs are the pets of the dragon god, and if they are hurt or touched, they will get sick. It is generally believed that Tibetans do not eat fish because of the Buddhist concept of not killing animals, while eastern Tibet has a long history and an ancient tradition of not eating fish. Qamdo Karuo site is close to Lancang River, so far it is rich in fish, but no fishing and hunting tools such as hooks, fish tags, net pendants and fish bones have been found in the site. This phenomenon is intriguing. Therefore, archaeologists speculate that the residents of Karuo at that time (that is, the ancient ancestors of Tibetans in eastern Tibet) had the habit of taking fish as a "taboo food", and the concept and custom of not eating fish were further strengthened after the introduction of Buddhism, so that residents in eastern Tibet generally did not eat fish so far.
However, the situation in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin is quite different from that in the Sanjiang River basin in eastern Tibet. The Neolithic site of Qugong, the largest tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, found the fishing nets and bones of ancestors engaged in fishing and hunting. Fishing nets were found in Jumu Site, Yunxing Site, Hong Guang Site and Garama Site at the intersection of Yangni River Basin and Yarlung Zangbo River, another tributary of Yarlung Zangbo River. For example, three nets were collected at the Jumu site. These nets are all made of flat gravel. There are two kinds, one is to break the flat gravel surface into two gaps; The other type will make four notches around the flat gravel. "This phenomenon shows that Tibetan ancestors in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin in the hinterland of Tibet once engaged in fishing and hunting activities, and the custom of eating fish is widespread.
The Tibetan custom of eating fish and frogs varies from place to place. Many Tibetan books record an interesting historical fact in the history of Tubo Wang Tong. According to historical records, the 29th generation of Zhongning Deru in Zanpu married a woman named Qin Saru as a princess in Tabudi (ancient place name, the area east of Sangri in Shannan and Langxian in Linzhi) and gave birth to a blind child named Zhou Baza. The princess was beautiful when she first came, and then she became haggard and old. Zapp asked her why, and the princess said that she could not eat a retired food from her hometown, so she became ugly and old. Zap told him to prepare food quickly. The princess ordered her confidant maid to return to her hometown, fried many frogs and brought them back to the palace, hid them in the inner library, ate them, and soon they were radiant and beautiful as ever. Zamp thought that this food had such extraordinary effects and wanted to eat it. When the princess was away, he went to the vault and found that these foods turned out to be crispy fried frogs, which were fully packed in several bags. Zamp broke the taboo and got leprosy. Finally, Zap and Wang Hao and his wife went to the grave alive and were buried in Hunan University. There is a poem saying: "The tomb of Zhongning is in Hunan University, and it is called a round tomb." The king took his concubine into the tomb and told the prince to worship Lingbao Ningbu Sangwa, asking the famous doctor to open his eyes to the affairs of state affairs. According to the prince's instructions, he invited a famous doctor to treat his eye diseases. When he opened his eyes, he saw sheep running across the tiger hill, so he named it "Darining Temple" (meaning "seeing sheep on the tiger hill"). Darinins (also translated as "Darininsai" and "Darininsai", etc. ) is the famous 30 th generation Zampa, the grandfather of Songzan Gambu.
Judging from this record, there were great differences in customs in different parts of Tibetan areas at that time. Tabu residents still eat fish and frogs, and fish is taboo in Qiongjie and Zedang (at least in the Tubo royal family) in the south of the mountain. But until modern times, there were fishermen and fishing villages in Xigaze, Lhasa, Shannan and other places in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin in Tibet, and local residents also ate fish in certain seasons. Today, some urban residents in the Wei-Zang area eat fish, while people in agricultural and pastoral areas, especially in eastern Tibet, hardly eat fish and shrimp.
Among the dietary taboos, Tibetans have more taboos about eating garlic. As a condiment, people usually eat garlic, but if you want to worship the Buddha and the holy land, you must never eat garlic, because the smell after eating garlic will defile and fumigate the holy land. Some people say that you can't go to the Buddhist temple on the day of eating garlic, others say that you can't go until three days later, and others think that it is not appropriate to go to temples, monasteries and other holy places within seven days after eating garlic. Because it takes time to remove the odor of garlic. "Some devout people hardly eat garlic.
Tibetans have a sacred reverence for the stove and believe that there is a kitchen god in the fireplace, so be careful to serve him and never profane and offend him, otherwise it will bring disaster. It is forbidden to cross the fire range, spit in the fire range and burn bones, fur and other things in the fire range. The fireplace should be kept clean, and unclean things should not be placed next to it. Don't put your feet on the fireplace when sitting by it. When cleaning up the garbage, do not put the garbage into the fireplace for burning, and do not barbecue directly on the fire. Pedestrians need to pray to the kitchen god for protection when they go out. The fire stove built by three kitchen stones outside the venue should also be cleaned when leaving, and a little tea or food should be put on each kitchen stone to show the sacrifice to the kitchen god. It is forbidden to urinate or fart beside the kitchen stone, otherwise it will anger the kitchen god and lead to genital sores of offenders or even never.