Source: Tibet.cn

04-30-2008 20:14

To people anywhere, home is of vital importance. There is no exception for the Tibetan people. When establishing new houses, they hold a variety of rituals.

Dwelling Houses in Skaya

In the areas around Lhasa, people will commission the lamas or astrologers to divine and decide the starting day of construction, as well as the direction of ground breaking and the groundbreakers. All these follow certain rules. As soon as the construction site is decided, the owners will place the "Sibahuo" to ward off evil and place the "Qiema" to pray for luck respectively in the selected directions. When the work starts, the lamas will come again to chant scripture and pray for the earth god's mercy During construction, the owner will, according to per his own economic viability, embed some valuables such as jade and agate, to pray for wealth. When placing the roof on the walls, he would place two small jars into the top of the walls representing heaven god and earth god respectively for their protection and blessing.