Chengdu Lhasa Tours – Taboos

The cultural background and living habits of Tibetans are greatly different from other nationalities. Hence, there are some taboos you should note when you have Chengdu Lhasa tours.

Chengdu Lhasa Tours – Taboos

When you greet Tibetan friends, you are suggested to add a "la" after the name to show your respect. Especially to the friends who you meet for the first time, it is impolite to directly call one's name. When you visit Tibetan family, you are suggested to sit up straight cross-legged, and your sole should not face others.

Killing is an important taboo in Tibet. It is stricter for Tibetan Buddhism believers. Although they eat beef and mutton, they do not kill the animals by themselves. Tibetans do not eat ass meat, horse meat and dog meat, and people in some districts do not eat fish.

When visit Tibetan family, you should not take up the butter tea to drink before the host present it to you. Furthermore, please do not spit or clap hands after others.

When you visit monasteries, Buddha pagoda and some other religious places, you should walk in clockwise (when you visit monasteries of Bon Religion, you should walk in anticlockwise). Please do not cross over the musical instruments used in Buddhist mass and fire basket. Furthermore, the prayer wheel should be rotated in clockwise.

Please do not causally touch the head of Tibetans. It is very important. In Tibetan traditional cultural, except eminent monks and elders, other people can not touch others head. It is very impolite in Tibet.

When you visit monasteries, please do not smoke, touch Buddha status, and turn over scriptures; do not casually touch the amulet and beads of Lamas' and other religious instruments. If you come across religious activity when you visit the monastery, please keep quiet. Please do not speak in a loud voice, hunt or kill life in the monastery or at the place near the monastery.

There are some other details should be noted. For example, do not polish things with the papers with Tibetan language. When visit Tibetan family, the male guests should sit at left side and the female guests should sit at right side. If you see a fire in front of the house, or a branch stick at the gate, or a red cloth strip on the door which means there is a patient in the family, please do not come into the family.