Life of a River

Myths, Customs and Festivals - II

Notations

Myths customs and festivals reproduce the past and influence the future of a society, country and civilization. In case of Yarlung Tsangpo, myths are central to the origin of the river. The ‘mighty one’ carries its myths and traditions downstream. The mythical tales of mountain-gods, fictional characters, tribal kings or clan groups, sometimes the spirit rulers even, speaks and signifies the cultural history and traditions of the people living in the vicinity of Yarlung Tsangpo. These stories, at first, become part of the religious tradition and through festival and rituals develop into components of everyday life.

Points

1. Yarlung Tsangpo, also known as Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet, means “purifier”. It is also referred as the “mighty one” or sometimes ‘Great or Large River’.1 It is the mother river of Tibet. In Tibet, the river is also called the Tsang-chu, "The River of Tsang."2 The River carries a volume of water greater than the combined flow of the 20 largest rivers in Europe, a greater volume than any river bar the Amazon and the Congo.3 Myths suggest that the Yarlung Valley, along the Tsangpo River near Tsetang, is the cradle of Tibetan civilization. According to legend the scriptures fell from the sky and landed on the roof of the fortress.
2. The Tibetans believe that long before human occupation, the Chang Tan plateau was covered by the waters of a great lake. A Bodhisattva (an enlightened being) decided the waters had to flow to help people who occupy the region. So he cut an outlet through the Himalayas for the Tsangpo or ‘Great River’. A spring called Tamchok Khambab ((River from the Horse’s Mouth) spills from the glaciers which later gather breath and volume to become the Tsangpo, the highest river in world.
3. The Himalayas are considered to be younger in age than the Yarlung Tsangpo.
4. The Tibetans consider the mountains, gorges and jungles through which the Tsangpo flows in Tibet as extremely ‘holy’. It is the doorway to paradise on Earth, Shangri-la.
5. The river is also linked with the history of Tibetan tribes. According to valuable historical documents, Tibet was ruled by various spirits until the first ruler descended from heaven to rule the land.
6. According to the dynastic myth, among the more powerful of clans and tribal units in Tibet were the princes of Yarlung who, during the late sixth and early seventh centuries, were able to gain supremacy over the chiefs of the Tsangpo River valley and then subjugate the more far-flung groups and confederations of the Tibetan plateau. The conquered leaders united under the new dynasty formed powerful and restless nobility who often viewed the reigning king as primus inter pares and exercised varying degrees of political control over him by serving as lönchen, “great ministers,” or by obtaining the position of zhang, “maternal uncle,” through matrimonial alliances with the royal house. Both the Yarlung kings and the noble clans claimed divine origins. Royal assertions of supernatural descent are manifested in a number of titles and epithets in the inscriptions, e.g., lha “god,” trülgyi lha “God Incarnate” or “God of Supernatural Qualities,” lhasé “Son of the Gods,” and nam lhap kyi gyelpo, “King of Broad Heaven”.
7. 7. Buddhism has deep relations with Tsangpo. In the late 8th century, under King Trisong Detsen, Tibetan Buddhism developed in an area that extends from Xigaze to Zetang on the Yarlung Zangpo River. Monasteries, temples and chapels were built; scriptures were translated into Tibetan; Buddhism became the religion of the Tibetan court; and the religion spread along the Central Asian trade routes that Tibet controlled.
8. According to traditional, pre-Buddhist Tibetan belief, there are four great mountain gods in the Tibetan region; each one is identified with a specific sacred mountain: yar-lha-sham-po in central Tibet; gnyan-chenthang-lha in the north; sku-lha-ri-rgya in the south; and vod-degung-rgyal in the south. These four gods form the core of the Tibetan mountain-god system. In addition, geographical differences between each Tibetan region gave rise to individual local gods.
9. According to a myth on how the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon was formed refers that the sacred mountain Gangrenboqin Snowy Mountain had four children. They are Yarlung Zangbo River, Shiquan River, Xiangquan River and Kongque River. The four children set up a deal to set off separately and meet each other at the Indian Ocean. Yarlung Zangbo had been through many difficulties and then reached the Gongbu Area. However he (the river) was deceived by a sparrow hawk. Seeing the other three had gotten to the Indian Ocean earlier than him, he run into the Nanjiabawa Peak immediately. He rushed all the way, and did not care about high mountains and steep cliffs in order to meet his brothers and sisters as soon as possible. What he couldn’t foresee was that, he jumped into the cliff and he could not make it through ever again. Therefore he stayed at the cliff for the rest of his time as the Grand Canyon.
10. Another related legend that describes the river notes that once upon a time when the first Tibetan temple Sana Temple was being built; slaves were trying to transfer woods into the location of the temple by water. The construction of the temple lasts for years and many slaves died during this period. A virtuous raven saw all this and shouted to the slaves that, “the temple has been built. There is no need for woods. Don’t move them anymore.” Hearing this, the slaves stopped their work immediately. Many of woods were abandoned along the river. Then these woods settled their roots into the ground. The woods grew into huge pines along the Yarlung Zangbo River. However this raven was punished by the Buddha later. It could not cross the Jiazha Mountain anymore. Thus people can only see raven in one side of the mountain. There is not even one raven in the other side.
11. One of the nearby places of the starting point of Tsangpo is Lake Manasarovar. The word "Manasarovara" originates from Sanskrit language, which is a combination of the words "Manas" and "sarovara". Manas means mind while Sarovara means lake. According to the Hindu religion, the lake was first created in the mind of the Lord Brahma after which it manifested on Earth. The lake is, however, very popular in Buddhist literature and associated with many teachings and stories in Buddhism. Lord Buddha, it is reported, stayed and meditated near this lake on several occasions. Lake Manasarovar is also the subject of the meditative Tibetan tradition, "The Jewel of Tibet".
12. Located in the middle and lower stretches of the ancient Yarlung Valley, formed by the Tsangpo River, the Shannan Prefecture is known as the birthplace of Tibetan civilization. Many festivals are held in the Shannan Prefecture in its counties, cities, monasteries and villages to celebrate the harvest season, the New Year or Losar and natural elements such as birds.
13. A colorful and widely celebrated festival is the Ongkor (Bumper Harvest) Festival which is observed in June according to the Tibetan calendar, in the riverine areas to mark good harvests of the season. Ongkor in Tibetan means "surrounding the farmland. The "Ongkor" not only shows people's wish for a good harvest, but is also a good time for them to rest. This Festival originated in the valley in the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River. The initial reason for the festival was to offer sacrifices to gods in the hope of receiving a good harvest. The date of the Ongkor Festival is not a fixed one, but it is decided according to the time when the qingke (a kind of highland barley) ripens in each village. The Festival lasts three days and is celebrated a few days before the harvest. When Bonism dominated Tibet years ago, Bonism priests would manage the procedures of the festival. After the rising of Tibetan Buddhism, the ceremony changed to the present form. It is believed the original intention was probably to train Tibetan farmers for military coordination.
14. Yamdrok-tso is one of Tibet’s holiest lakes and an important centre for pilgrimage, located 4441m above sea level in a high bowl above the Tsangpo (Yarlung Tsangpo River).