Every year, the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, in the south of Qinghai (China), is the scene of massive gatherings of Tibetans from all over the region for one of the largest horse fairs. It is the occasion for these nomadic, semi-sedentary or sedentary families to meet again and to renew the family bonds which the distances on the Tibetan plateau often distend.

Installed in traditional camps on these immense mountainous grasslands perched at more than 4000 meters of altitude, during several days, even weeks, the families also rent the services of Lamas and monks so that these pray for them and bless them. 

Under the direction of a lama, the monks make 48-hour rotations during which they pray and sing. At the end of this period, new monks take over. And this for the duration that the family (in the broad sense) can pay. 

Indeed, if the Tibetan monks have modest incomes offered by their monastery, except for the literates, they are constrained to work to support themselves. These incomes come from ceremonial services in the form of individual donations, but they can also come from seasonal work, or even from trade, pharmacopoeia, clothes making, …

These 48 hours of prayer are punctuated by collective meetings at fixed times where all members of the family gather to receive blessings. The rest of the time, the monks pray, sing, read the sacred texts and meditate alone but everyone is allowed to accompany them if they wish. Like all religions, the purpose of these pujas (ceremonies) is to bring well-being, health, good relationships, prosperity, protection of the family as well as to purify the place where the ritual takes place.

For the Tibetans, the mountains are sacred and at the time of these prayers the Lama indicates one on which it will be appropriate to make offerings. This ceremony is exclusively reserved for the men, the women remaining at the camp. In the past, the men used to ride horses, but this has been replaced by cars and motorcycles, and one can see long cohorts criss-crossing the small mountain paths to reach a summit.

There may be several mountains designated by the Lama and the same procession will take place on each peak, sometimes within days of each other. The ceremony consists of a litany of prayers and chants, blessing of the audience, as well as throwing rice in the 4 cardinal directions. To finish, the men of the assistance throw in the air while shouting thousands of small papers on which are written prayers so that these reach the gods. Specific practice of the Tibetan Buddhism, these papers are the equivalent of the flags of prayer which one sees suspended everywhere in the Tibetan areas.

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NB: Tibetan culture extends far beyond what is known as the « Tibetan Autonomous Region » and what is called, in the West, Tibet. In fact, « administrative and political Tibet » represents barely half of the Tibetan ethnicity, which also includes the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and parts of Gansu and Yunnan. In some of these areas, Tibetans are the majority and their culture is very much alive.