Time: 2019.7.13-2019.7.16

Location: Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Region

1.

The dawn breaks at dawn Out, colorful.

We set off in the refreshing coolness of the morning.

2.

In the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Region, we came into contact with two ethnic groups, one is Tibetan and the other is Qiang.

Tibetans are a warm and hospitable nation. They gave everyone a white hada as soon as they got off the bus and said Tashi Delek to us with a smile.

Tashi Delek is a Tibetan word that means good luck and good luck. It is a welcome and auspicious word from the Tibetan people.

Tashi Delek is also the only Tibetan sentence I have learned.

Tibetans are a religious nation and they believe in Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan people enshrine Buddha statues in their homes, and the walls and furniture are painted with scriptures and other patterns.

The Tibetan people are a nation where men are superior to women. Boys in the family can study in temples, but girls cannot. Girls have to stay at home to do housework and go to the mountains to dig cordyceps, Sichuan clams and other medicinal materials.

The family's income will be divided into two parts, one part will be donated to the temple to worship the gods, and the other part will be replaced by decorations, mostly silver jewelry.

They live on the plateau and often need to dig medicinal materials in the mountains. Their bodies are very moist, so they need sterling silver jewelry to remove moisture.

The Tibetan girl has silver earrings on her earlobes, a silver bracelet on her wrist, and a silver belt hanging on her waist.

It feels like having a lot of money. Indeed, the Tibetans are a nation that shows off their wealth, and they have a custom called the Sun Makeup Festival. Every time during this festival, the women in the family, whether old or young, have to display the most important items in the family. All the valuable jewelry is hung on the body.

They will dress themselves up beautifully on the festival day, and then everyone will gather together to enjoy the comments. They will say what valuable jewelry is added to so-and-so’s head this year, and what jewelry is missing from so-and-so’s body compared to last year.

Their makeup festival is not to compare who is richer, but to encourage everyone to work harder.

If the number of accessories worn by a woman from a certain family increases compared to last year, then everyone will know that the family is very hard-working and will be respected. On the contrary, if the number of accessories on the body decreases, they will say that the family is lazy and lazy. Selling jewelry and living a hard life.

Tibetans also have a custom that they will not leave inheritance to their children. Although they are very rich, they will donate a lot of property to temples because their children can learn medicine and sculpture in the temples. , painting, etc., and they do not want their children to live by holding on to the inheritance. They hope that their children and grandchildren can be self-reliant and have enough food and clothing.

3.

Unlike the Tibetan people, the Qiang people are a nation where women are superior to men.

In the Qiang people, when a man marries into a woman’s family, the woman must prepare a large amount of bride price. For example, Qiang embroidered insoles, Qiang embroidered four-piece bed sets, silver bowls, silver chopsticks, silver belts, etc.

All Qiang women are masters of embroidery, because among the Qiang people, if you don’t know how to embroider, it means you are lazy and not clever, so you will not be able to marry a man and will be looked down upon.

The Qiang embroidery for the bride price is all embroidered stitch by stitch by themselves. The more embroidery and the more exquisite it is, the more blessings they will receive from their relatives and friends.

And their betrothal gifts all have meanings. For example, silver chopsticks are used by elders to wish them to have children soon, and silver belts are used to help women give birth to children better.

Of course, Qiang women are also very hard-working. They have to work in the fields three to seven days after giving birth, so their silver belts are also called life-saving belts, which are indispensable accessories for every Qiang woman. The same is true among Tibetan people. Tibetan girls also have to wear silver belts.

The Qiang people are called the people on the clouds. They have four unique skills, namely Qiang carving, Qiang embroidery, Qiang flute, and Qiang silver.

In Wang Zhihuan's "Liangzhou Ci", why should the Qiang flute complain about the willows, because the spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass. Mentioned the unique Qiang flute of the Qiang people.

Although I didn’t hear the melodious tunes of the Qiang flute, I was fortunate enough to hear their singing. Although I couldn’t understand it, I could feel the sacredness.

The totem of the Qiang people is the sheep. You can see sheep heads whether in the square where they sing or on the buildings where they live.

Whether they are Qiang or Tibetan, they all have their own beliefs. As a tourist, the best way is to respect their beliefs and follow the local customs.

4.

During these few days of travel, I not only learned about the cultural customs of the Tibetan and Qiang people, but also visited the beautiful scenery of the plateau.

In the clear blue sky, which is as transparent as water, there are bright and silky white clouds hanging. On the vast grassland, there are moving black spots, and groups of yaks are grazing.

Standing on the plateau, looking at the clouds and mist in the distance, sometimes far and sometimes near, looking up at the sky, it seems that it is within reach, but I dare not speak loudly, for fear of alarming the gods in the sky.

When a large area of ??lavender fragrance hits your face, it feels like you are immersed in a sea of ??flowers, and a mountain wind whistles past, just like stirring up layers of rolling waves, one after another.

5.

Traveling is beautiful. You can see the usual scenery, taste the delicious food that you can’t usually eat, meet people you don’t usually meet, and understand the culture that you usually don’t understand... At the same time, traveling is also very hard. It is tiring to travel, not accustomed to eating, not comfortable to sleep, not accustomed to the acclimatization, altitude sickness...

Of course, I am very adaptable, and I don’t have any of the above discomforts.

The scenery at the scenic spots is certainly picturesque, but the scenery along the way is equally wonderful.

Finally, conclude with a famous quote.

Life is a journey to an unknown destination. Many times, we don’t know what kind of future we will encounter next. But sometimes, we just run wildly and forget the meaning of travel.

——Walter Kenn "In the Clouds"