Who Are the Tibetan People?
The Tibetan people inhabit the Tibetan Plateau—the highest inhabited region on Earth, averaging over 4,500 meters in elevation. Approximately 6.5 million Tibetans live within China's Tibet Autonomous Region and neighboring provinces, with an additional 150,000 in diaspora communities worldwide, including the exile community centered in Dharamsala, India. Tibetan civilization developed one of the world's great Buddhist traditions, a unique language and script, and remarkable adaptations to extreme high-altitude environments. The current political situation, following China's 1950 incorporation of Tibet, remains contentious.
Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhism arrived in Tibet in the 7th century and became the dominant religion, developing four major schools: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug. The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Gelug school, became Tibet's political as well as spiritual leader. Monasteries served as centers of learning, art, and governance. Practices include mandala creation, prayer wheel spinning, prostration pilgrimages, and meditation retreats. Despite suppression during China's Cultural Revolution, Tibetan Buddhism has proven remarkably resilient and has spread globally through the diaspora.
High-Altitude Adaptation
Tibetans possess unique genetic adaptations enabling them to thrive where others would suffer altitude sickness. These include modifications to hemoglobin production and blood oxygen levels, allowing normal function where oxygen is 40% lower than at sea level. Women can successfully give birth at altitudes that would endanger lowland mothers and infants. These adaptations, developed over thousands of years, represent one of the most dramatic examples of human genetic adaptation to environment—knowledge with implications for understanding human biology and treating altitude-related conditions.
Nomadic Traditions
Tibetan nomads (drokpa) have herded yaks, sheep, and goats across the plateau for millennia. Yaks provide meat, milk, butter, wool, and transportation in terrain where no other livestock can survive. Black yak-hair tents house families through harsh winters. This nomadic lifestyle faces pressure from sedentarization policies, fencing programs, and climate change affecting grasslands. Yet nomadic traditions persist, and yak butter remains essential for Tibetan cuisine and the butter sculptures created for religious festivals.
The Diaspora and Preservation
Following the 1959 Tibetan uprising and Dalai Lama's flight to India, over 100,000 Tibetans followed into exile. The diaspora established schools, monasteries, and cultural institutions preserving traditions threatened within Tibet. The Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala functions as a government-in-exile. Diaspora communities work to maintain language, train monks and nuns, and advocate for Tibet internationally. This exile community ensures that Tibetan culture continues even as conditions within Tibet remain restricted.
References
- Goldstein, M. C. (1997). The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama
- Powers, J. (2007). Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
- Kapstein, M. T. (2006). The Tibetans