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Tibetan Costume: Carrier of Culture
Festivals provide the best opportunity to observe and enjoy Tibetan clothing.
Nagqu Town in northern Tibet holds a horse race every year, where Tibetans
gather dressed in their best garments. Riders usually wear robes of azure,
dark blue or pale green, with red knickerbockers, or blue or black sports
trousers, and boots. Male spectators wear long fur-lined robes in black, blue,
or yellow, hung with finely decorated Tibetan knives, flints, snuff
bottle s and silver coins at the waist. Women wear hats with hems that match
the hems on all of their other garments down to the boots. They wear gold,
silver and copper decorations in their long braids, large earrings and
necklaces, and strings of metal coins around their waists that jingle in the
breeze.
 Buddhism
and costume culture
Tibetan people are devout Buddhists. In the seventh century, Tibet's national
hero Songstan Gampo married princess Wencheng of the Tang
Dynasty (618-907) and a Nepalese princess, each bearing a statue of
Sakyamuni -- one from the east and the other from west. From that point on,
Buddhism spread throughout Tibet and gradually evolved into the unique Tibetan
Buddhism of today.
Tibetan Buddhism not only affects people's ideas and behavior
but also influences their taste in dress and personal adornment. Since white
symbolizes holiness in Buddhist culture Tibetans regard it as emblematic of
purity and auspiciousness. Consequently, they like to wear white shirts or
white-hemmed skirts in their daily lives. Tibetan people use red, yellow,
orange, blue and dark green extensively for articles of personal adornment,
which also reflects the Buddhist influence (Sakyamuni wore a yellow kasaya; Guru
Rinpoche, a red hat; and Master Tsongkhapa, a yellow hat.) The beads and ga'u
(amulet) worn by young men and women are also related to Buddhism. The ga'u is
believed to bring its wearer safety and wealth.
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garments. Riders usually wear robes of azure,
dark blue or pale green, with red knickerbockers, or blue or black sports
trousers, and boots. Male spectators wear long fur-lined robes in black, blue,
or yellow, hung with finely decorated Tibetan knives, flints, snuff
bottle s and silver coins at the waist. Women wear hats with hems that match
the hems on all of their other garments down to the boots. They wear gold,
silver and copper decorations in their long braids, large earrings and
necklaces, and strings of metal coins around their waists that jingle in the
breeze.
