Khampasy (6 photos)

A nation where girls are proud of their premarital affairs. Fans give them coins and the more of them, the more enviable the bride





And the coins are not simple, they are of the highest standard, gold.

The Khampas, who live in Kham, one of the traditional Tibetan regions, are not like the Chinese, or the Indians, or even the Tibetans. And although their territory, which they have inhabited since time immemorial, is located at the intersection of Chinese and Indian civilizations, they have managed to preserve their national identity.

Where they live

The history of this people is ancient and unique.

There is much to suggest that the inhabitants of Kham, at least most of them, are of Mongolian origin. This means that the Khampas have lived in this territory, rich in full-flowing rivers, gorges and mountain ranges, for several thousand years.

They never had a single state, although the inhabitants of Kham, known for their great height, became famous as brave warriors and skilled horsemen. The territory was a patchwork of small kingdoms and local tribes. And sometimes it fell into the dependence of foreign rulers, for example, the Mongol khans, for a long time.

Currently, the Tibetan region of Kham is part of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

A long time ago, the trade route from China to the central regions of Tibet passed through Kham, and from there to the south to India and to the east to Persia. It was Khal, famous in ancient times for its untold riches, that served as a source of inspiration for the science fiction writer James Hilton when he wrote about the mysterious land of Shangri-La.

Their traditional occupations

For centuries, the Khampas led a nomadic lifestyle. True, these are not steppes where you can roam. Their nomads migrated after their livestock. In the winter, they lived and looked after the cattle in the valleys, and in the summer they climbed the mountains, where they could feed the animals.

Actually, Tibet is a land of mountains and snow. So the Khampas never had fat herds, and they were content with little. Of the domestic animals, these were mainly yaks, sheep, goats and a few horses.

The Khampas now lead a sedentary lifestyle. They are still engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture and trade.

They cultivate agricultural crops in the river valleys between the high rocky mountains. On narrow rocky terraces, they mainly grow barley, wheat, peas and beans. The Khampas' favorite vegetable is radish.

The Khampas do not have bread as such. They replace it with tsampa - fried barley flour. They mix it with butter and add it to soup or tea. This is their main food.

The Khampas rarely include meat in their diet. They do not eat fish, although there are more than enough bodies of water on their territory.

Fashionists

Khampas are incredible fashionistas.

Men wear robes decorated with leopard fur. Their headdress is a white wide-brimmed hat.

The women's costume is worth a fortune. The thing is that Khampas women love jewelry, which makes up a large part of the family's savings and is passed down from generation to generation. The cost of some of these costumes can reach several million dollars.

In some cases, the weight of some fashionistas' jewelry reaches 50 kg. In such a costume, a woman cannot even move and often family members come to her aid.

Both women and men grow very long hair. They style it around their heads. Bright red and black wool threads are woven into the hair and the whole pie is complemented with heavy jewelry made of amber, turquoise, agate, gold and silver. Sometimes coral jewelry is very fashionable.

Marital relations

Before a girl enters adulthood, and this usually happens before the age of 15, she undergoes an initiation rite. This ceremony, depending on the maturity of the girl, her height, and her preparedness, is held in odd years of her age: 9, 11, 13, 15 years.

After the initiation rite is completed, girls are free in their relationships with the opposite sex. Moreover, the more love affairs they have, the better. After each love affair, the man is obliged to give the girl a gold coin.

The more such coins there are in a girl's necklace, the more enviable the bride is. And vice versa, if there are few coins, then the girl may not be taken as a wife at all.

And finally, the cherry on the cake. A premarital love affair with a foreigner is considered especially chic for a girl. A large coral ball appears in her necklace and the rating of such a beauty soars to the skies.

The Khampas do not prohibit polyandry. Although they have far fewer men than women. It is more logical to legalize polygamy.

Burial rite

The Hampas are convinced that a person, while alive, must be useful. And even the dead flesh of a person must serve this commandment. Therefore, the Hampas take the body of a deceased compatriot to the mountains and leave it there unburied. It is not difficult to guess what happens to the body after a short period of time, when there are many birds and wild animals around. Such a burial is called by the Hampas "distributing mercy to the birds".

There is the so-called "water consumption". The bodies of those who died from diseases are given to water. They are simply thrown into the river.

And, finally, they have the "lowest" funerals. This is when they bury those who committed bad deeds during their life. These dead are committed to the earth. The Hampas believe that in this case, bad people will not reincarnate and will never meet them on their life path.