The Disappearing Technology and Products of Traditional Tibetan Village Blacksmiths
Abstract
:1. Introduction
Iron Production and Village Blacksmith Traditions in Tibet
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Workshop 1, Lha Yul
3.2. Workshop 2, Zhang Ngu Khog
3.3. Workshop Products
4. Discussion and Conclusions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Russell, P. The metal and wood crafts of Tibet. In Chöyang—Year of Tibet Edition; Yeshi, P., Russell, J., Eds.; Dharamsala Council for Religious and Cultural Affairs: Dharamsala, India, 1991; pp. 302–313. [Google Scholar]
- Clarke, J. A history of ironworking in Tibet: Centers of production, styles, and techniques. In Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet; LaRocca, D.J., Ed.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press: New York, NY, USA; New Haven, CT, USA; London, UK, 2006; pp. 21–34. [Google Scholar]
- LaRocca, D.J. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press: New York, NY, USA; New Haven, CT, USA; London, UK, 2006. [Google Scholar]
- Stearns, C. King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder, Tangton Gyalpo. Snow Lion Publications: Ithaca, NY, USA; Boulder, CO, USA, 2007. [Google Scholar]
- List of Representative Items of National Intangible Cultural Heritage 2008: Tibetan Metal Forging Skills (Tibetan Knife Forging Skills). Available online: https://www.ihchina.cn/project_details/14522/ (accessed on 26 November 2023).
- Li, Y.N. Early Use and Production Technology of Iron in Southwest China. PhD Thesis, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Rockhill, W.W. The Land of the Lamas: Notes of a Journey through China, Mongolia and Tibet; The Century Co.: New York, NY, USA, 1891. [Google Scholar]
- Clarke, J. Metalworking in dBus and gTsang 1930–1977. Tibet. J. 2002, 27, 113–152. [Google Scholar]
- Clarke, J. Survey of metalworking in Ladakh. In Recent Research on Ladakh; Osmaston, H., Denwood, P., Eds.; School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London: London, UK, 1995; Volumes 4/5, pp. 9–17. [Google Scholar]
- Tsetsen, P. The Origins of the Workmanship of Precious Statues of Tibet; Tibetan Administrative Office of the Potala: Lhasa, China, 2007. [Google Scholar]
- Ma, L. Old Lhasa: A Sacred City at Dusk; Foreign Languages Press: Beijing, China, 2003. [Google Scholar]
- Fjeld, H. Pollution and social networks in contemporary rural Tibet. In Tibetan Modernities: Notes from the Field. Proceedings of the 10th Seminar of the IATS; Barnett, R.J., Schwartz, R., Eds.; Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2008; pp. 113–138. [Google Scholar]
- Saklani, G. A hierarchical pattern of Tibetan society. Tibet. J. 1978, 3, 27–33. [Google Scholar]
- Dargyay, E.K. Tibetan Village Communities; Aris & Phillips: Warminster, UK, 1982. [Google Scholar]
- David, N.; Sterner, J. Smith and society: Patterns of articulation in the northern Mandara Mountains. In Metals in Mandara Mountains Society and Culture; David, N., Ed.; Africa World Press: Trenton, NJ, USA, 2012; pp. 87–114. [Google Scholar]
- Goldstein, M.C.; Jia, B.; Beal, C.M.; Tsering, P. Development and change in rural Tibet: Problems and adaptations. Asian Surv. 2003, 43, 758–779. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ma, R. Marriages and spouse selection in Tibet. Dev. Soc. 2001, 20, 79–117. [Google Scholar]
- Himalayan Art Resources. Buddhist Worldly Protector: Garwa Nagpo. Available online: https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=576 (accessed on 27 November 2023).
- Hummel, S.; Vogliotti, G. The intercultural contacts of Tibetan civilization. Tibet. J. 1997, 22, 88–96. [Google Scholar]
- Eliade, M. Smiths, shamans, and mystagogues. East West 1955, 6, 206–215. [Google Scholar]
- Haaland, G.; Halland, R.; Rijal, S. The social life of iron: A cross-cultural study of technological, symbolic, and social aspects of iron making. Anthropos 2002, 97, 35–54. [Google Scholar]
- Holmberg, D. Outcastes in an ‘egalitarian’ society: Tamang/blacksmith relations from Tamang perspective. Occas. Pap. Sociol. Anthropol. 2007, 10, 124–140. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Huber, T. Traditional environmental protectionism in Tibet reconsidered. Tibet. J. 1991, 16, 63–77. [Google Scholar]
- Waddell, L.A. Lhasa and Its Mysteries with a Record of the Expedition of 1903–1904, 4th ed.; Methuen & Co.: London, UK, 1929. [Google Scholar]
- Rockhill, W.W. Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892; Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA, 1894. [Google Scholar]
- Golas, P. Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilization in China, Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part XIII: Mining; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1999. [Google Scholar]
- Nangsa, L. Ancient Sichuan-Tibet Tea-Horse Road; Foreign Languages Press: Beijing, China, 2007. [Google Scholar]
- Ya’an County Museum. Sun Mingjing 1939 Walk into Ya’an; Heritage Press: Ya’an, China, 2014. [Google Scholar]
- Kessler, P. The Historical Kingdom of Mili; Tibetan Institute: Rikon/Zurich, Switzerland, 1986. [Google Scholar]
- Karmay, S.G.; Nagano, Y. (Eds.) A Survey of Bonpo Monasteries and Temples in Tibet and the Himalaya; National Museum of Ethnology: Osaka, Japan, 2003. [Google Scholar]
- Reedy, C.L. Preserving intangible aspects of cultural materials: Bonpo crafts of Amdo, Eastern Tibet. In Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VIII; Vandiver, P.B., McCarthy, B., Tykot, R.H., Ruvalcaba Sil, J.L., Casadio, F., Eds.; Materials Research Society: Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2008; pp. 331–351. [Google Scholar]
- Reedy, C.L. Technological tradition and change in Tibetan silversmithing techniques in Songpan, Sichuan Province, China. In Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology IX; Vandiver, P.B., Li, W., Ruvalcaba Sil, J.L., Reedy, C.L., Frame, L.D., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: New York, NY, USA, 2011; pp. 127–135. [Google Scholar]
- Karmay, S.G. The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet; Mandala Book Point: Kathmandu, Nepal, 1998; pp. 380–412. [Google Scholar]
- Baumer, C. Tibet’s Ancient Religion: Bön; Weatherhill: Graz, Austria, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- Bellezza, J. Spirit-Mediums, Sacred Mountains, and Related Bon Textual Traditions in Upper Tibet; Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2005. [Google Scholar]
- Schrempf, M.; Hayes, J.P. From temple to commodity? Tourism in Songpan and the Bon monasteries of A’mdo Sharkhog. East West 2009, 59, 285–312. [Google Scholar]
- Bonvalot, G. Across Thibet [De Paris au Tonking a Travers le Tibet Inconnu]; Pittman, C.B., Translator, Eds.; Cassell Publishing Company: New York, NY, USA, 1892. [Google Scholar]
- Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress, 19th Session, 2011. Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People’s Republic of China. Available online: https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/8939 (accessed on 8 January 2024).
- Sichuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Ordinance. Chengdu Executive Council Office of the China International Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival: Chengdu, China, 2017.
- Intangible Cultural Heritage in China. Available online: https://www.culturalheritagechina.org/ (accessed on 9 January 2024).
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, China Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Museum. Available online: https://www.ihchina.cn/#page1 (accessed on 9 January 2024).
- Richards, G. Developing craft as a creative industry through tourism. Braz. Creat. Ind. J. 2021, 1, 3–22. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Huhmarniemi, M.; Jokela, T. Arctic art and material culture: Northern knowledge and cultural resilience in the Northernmost Europe. In Arctic Yearbook 2020: Climate Change and the Arctic: Global Origins, Regional Responsibilities? Heininen, L., Exner-Pirot, H., Barnes, J., Eds.; Arctic Portal: Akureyri, Iceland, 2020. [Google Scholar]
- Reedy, C.L.; Vandiver, P.B.; He, T.; Xu, Y. Talc-rich black Tibetan pottery of Derge County, Sichuan Province, China. MRS Adv. 2017, 2, 1943–1968. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2024 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Reedy, C.L. The Disappearing Technology and Products of Traditional Tibetan Village Blacksmiths. Heritage 2024, 7, 965-982. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage7020046
Reedy CL. The Disappearing Technology and Products of Traditional Tibetan Village Blacksmiths. Heritage. 2024; 7(2):965-982. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage7020046
Chicago/Turabian StyleReedy, Chandra L. 2024. "The Disappearing Technology and Products of Traditional Tibetan Village Blacksmiths" Heritage 7, no. 2: 965-982. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage7020046