Minority Cultures Studies on Danzeng Cairang

The Swan Song of Matrilineal Clans: The Walking Marriage Customs and their Evolution Among the Zhaba Zang People

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: As an ancient Tibetan group, the Zhaba are known for their distinctive languages and wedding customs. Their most representative practice is “walking marriage,” a matrilineal marriage system that highlights the authority of maternal kin and helps sustain long-standing modes of production and everyday life in the Zhaba region.

In recent years, with the increasing frequency of cultural contact and ethnic exchanges, the custom of walking marriage in Zhaba has begun to undergo some changes, posing new challenges to Zhaba, which is currently on the edge of endangered ethnic cultures.

The Ghee Flowers Art of Lingque Temple in North Kham Area

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: This paper examines ghee flower art, a distinctive religious sculptural tradition associated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. While widely appreciated across the Tibetan cultural sphere, the tradition has also been actively inherited and developed in the Kham region.

Focusing on Lingque (Lingque Xingsheng) Temple in Xianshui Town, Dawu County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province—one of the thirteen holy temples in Kham—this study highlights the temple as a major center for ghee flower practice.

Phonological and Lexical Profiles of the Kham Dialect Muya

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: The Tibetan Muya dialect is a unique regional dialect in the Kham area. It is mainly distributed in Dartsendo, most of YaJiang, and BaMei, Sichuan. Muya dialect retains some features of the ancient Tibetan language in phonetic, lexical, and grammatical structure.

But it changes slightly in phonetics and semantics over time. It is a valuable living fossil for us to study the grammar of language evolution.

Therefore, this essay focuses on the Muya dialect, starting from the phonology(consonants and vowels, as well as the type of syllable structure) and vocabulary(word formation, loan words), to systematically analyze the phonetic and lexical systems of the Muya dialect.