Celebrating Tibetan New Year

Video. Celebrating Tibetan New Year

Tibetans living in Xiaobawang Village of Danba County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, celebrated Tibetan New Year - Losar on Friday which also began the Spring Festival.

Tibetans living in Xiaobawang Village of Danba County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, celebrated Tibetan New Year - Losar on Friday which also began the Spring Festival.

The villagers gathered together to dance "guozhuang", a traditional Tibetan circle dancing, and sing in warm praise of their land, their Gods, and beliefs.

Many were super dancers and singers as they would say they can sing before they can talk and can dance before they can walk.

In their traditional garments for this special occasion, they particularly showcased the "three pieces" for women - a distinctive headdress for the Jiarong people, a branch of the Tibetan ethnicity mainly living in Danba County.

"I have one piece on the front, one piece at back and one piece on the headscarf. There are beautiful embroidery and decorations on the headscarf and they all represent good fortune, "said Yangjin Lamu, villager.

"Our 'guozhuang dancing' is soothing and the rhythm is lively. It (the singing) takes the form of questions and answers: males ask and females answer. The meaning it delivers is profound and it can last for more than 30 minutes to let more villagers participate, and the dancing is easy to learn," said Jiangchu Lamu, chief of the village.

But celebration isn't just about having dancing and singing. Many of the villagers are devout Buddhists. As on every special occasion, they gather to pay their respects to the Gods, circle holy towers, chant scriptures to pray for their families and every family under the sun. 

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