The Tibet Female Rite Issues - Essay Example

Task Rite of Passage: The Tibet Female Rite The Tibetans occupy the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which extends to the Himalayas mountain range. There are other Tibetan populations in China, India, North America and Europe (Kapstein, p28). However, most of the Tibetans are can be found in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is divided into two regions: the Southwest Tibet that has a mild climate, and the Northwest Tibet that has river valleys that serve as animal rearing land for the nomads, but is desolate (Kapstein, p30). The Tibetan language is the native language for the Tibetans that has three dialects, and is written from left to right, though the Tibetans also speak Chinese (Kapstein, p30). The Tibetans have Lamaism as their religion, which is an integration of the native Tibetan religion (Bon) and Mahayana Buddhism (Kapstein, p38). In a general perspective, the basic rite of passage for the Tibetans is the sticking of a tiny piece of Tibetan’s staple food (zamba) on the newborn’s forehead. This is perceived as the process of purification of the newborn. Additionally, when the baby is a month old, the parents are bound to paint the tip of its (baby’s) nose with soot as a sign of prevention from ghosts, whereas the relatives and parents of the baby going to the monastery to pray for protection from the Buddha. This is the general rite of passage of newborn babies, regardless of the gender. At a later age, that is, at the age of twelve, a Tibetan girl’s hair is combed into two braids. The braids are later advanced in to three, at the age of thirteen and/or fourteen, and five braids at the age of fifteen and/or sixteen (Kapstein, p67). However, the girl’s hair is combed into dozens of braids at the age of seventeen to signify the initiation into adulthood. In the Tibetan culture, changes in hair are used to mark the several rites of passage for the girl child (Kapstein, p67). According to research, hair changing ceremonies conducted for the Tibetan girls deliberate on the social status of the girls (Kapstein, p85). The hair changing ceremony for the Tibetan girls signifies that the girls are old enough to raise and cater for families, and hence they are ready to accept marriage proposals, and are ready to get married (Kapstein, p85). As a matter of fact, the Tibetan boys tend to court the girls after the hair changing ceremony, with intentions of sleeping with them and propose marriage. Research also indicates that hair dressers were strictly married women, who were carefully selected as per their beauty, perfect eyesight, and/or intact teeth (Kapstein, p87). During the past traditional Tibetan hair changing ceremonies, small jewelry were worn by the girls as a sign of good luck, good life, and good health in the future, both as an adult and a mother. However, the jewelry was not a sign of wealth, and hence the wearing of standard small jewelry that was made of silver and could be easily borrowed from relatives and friends (Kapstein, p89). In the modern Tibetan culture, the jewelry is larger and made of gold, which has established some kind of competition during the hair changing ceremonies, and is also a sign of wealth (Kapstein, p89). In the modern Tibetan culture, the parents are bound to start preparations for the hair ceremony at about two years prior to the actual ceremony. This allows for ample time and space for the raising of funds for the currently expensive cerebrations, and helps in facilitating the embracement and appreciation of the cerebrations (Kapstein, p96). Generally, the early preparations include the purchase of gold necklaces, gold bracelets, in addition to gold earring. Some silver milk bucket holders are also purchased prior to the celebrations (Kapstein, p97). The success of the hair changing ceremony improves the reputation of the Tibetan culture and the Tibetan families, in addition to defining the social status of the individual girls participating in the ceremony (Kapstein, p97). The designs and preparations of the hair changing cerebrations mainly depend on the experience or expertise of the parents, and the influence of their wealth, since there is no specific design of the ornaments set for the occasion (Kapstein, p96). In the modern Tibetan female rite of passage, during the hair changing ceremony, the gold rings, earrings and necklaces are mandatory to the initiates, and are usually preserved in a safe place at home prior to the cerebrations (Kapstein, p97). However, additional ornaments, such as bracelets, and the silver milk bucket holders are considered as discretionary due to the burden cost (Kapstein, p97). After the parents purchase the required ornaments for the cerebration, relatives and friends are bound to visit the home for inspection of the ornaments, to ensure that they are of high or standard quality, and are presentable during the cerebrations (Kapstein, p112). This is a move objected at protecting the reputation of the family, and the social status of the initiate girl, and the extended family at large. In the initiation ritual, the ritual hair (known as the skra) is considered as the most expensive of ornaments in the entire cerebrations, and is therefore affordable to the very rich families (Kapstein, p114). There is also a designed form of dressing during the initiation cerebrations, and hence the necessary or standard robes, shoes, and fedoras are priory chosen and purchased by the parents. The initiates help their parents in choosing the special robes, with a strict adherence to specific color and quality of the robes (Kapstein, p114). The robes must be fashionable and presentable during the cerebrations for the maintenance of reputation for the family, and standard status for the initiate. However, the robes and other clothing depend on the affordability factor (Kapstein, p114). The food consumed during the cerebrations is mainly barley flour (known as rtsam pa), homemade yoghurt, bread, and butter (Kapstein, p128). However, the quality of food mainly depends on affordability, and hence the presence of both the baked bread (for the common families) and the red bread (for guests and the rich families) (Kapstein, p128). During the occasion day, the initiate girls are prepared before sunrise with the help of two unmarried female relatives or friends. Mainly, the success of the occasion determines the reputation of the families and the Tibetan community as a whole, in addition to the definition of the social classes of each individual initiate. The quality and size of the hair also matter a lot during the hair changing ceremony, with hair considered as a critical Tibetan symbol that is related to wealth, kindheartedness and/or success (Kapstein, p137). In conclusion, the hair changing ritual is significant since the Tibetan women hair and its management represents the management of pollution and bad luck (Kapstein, p159). The cerebrations have impacted greatly in the Tibetan economic growth, in addition to the preservation of culture and the improvement of reputation of the Tibetan community at large (Kapstein, p212). Work Cited Kapstein, Matthew. The Tibetans. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. 2013. Print. Read More