Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village - The Crafts

Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village (九寨沟民俗文化村)

Sichuan (四川), China (中国)

March 2013

After going round the Nine-Treasure Lotus Stupa (九宝莲花菩提塔) outside the Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village (九寨沟民俗文化村), Merlion Wayfarer stepped past the entrance of the village...

A broad main street leads from the gateway...

Products made from yak horn... and pelts!

Beautiful hair pins displayed on a straw hat...

Dolls dressed in traditional costumes...

A stuffed yak head with lots of stuffed pandas - An interesting pairing...

Local produce for sale... 

An interesting way to display carbonated drinks, and look - a post box!

Colourful decorations adorn each building...

Local artisans making yak horn combs...

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More photos are available on Merlion Wayfarer Goes World's Picasa at :
Sichuan - The Zangs (藏族人)

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Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village - The Stupa

Nine-Treasure Lotus Stupa (九宝莲花菩提塔)
Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village (九寨沟民俗文化村)

Sichuan (四川), China (中国)

March 2013

(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer Goes World's People series on The Zangs.)

  

At the entrance to the Jiuzhaigou Folk Culture Village (九寨沟民俗文化村), one of the nine villages in Jiuzhaigou, a grand stupa resides...

A stupa is a form of Buddhist structure found in the Indian subcontinent, across Asia and worldwide. The earliest Buddhist religious monument, it was originally made of a simple mound made of clay, and found mainly at the entrance to a village, or in open barren areas. These evolved into large hemispherical mounds with additional features, e.g. the mehdi (a circumambulatory path around the stupa), the torana (the gateway), the vedica (a fence-like enclosure originating from the Vedic period), the harmika (a square platform on top of the stupa), and chattrayashti (the parasol or canopy). Each of the components of the stupa is rich in metaphoric content and is identifiable with the five cosmic element - earth, water, fire, air and space.

The Tibetan monk onsite informed Merlion Wayfarer walking five times round the mehdi
while turning the prayer wheels would be ideal. If not, at least once.... 

The local animist Benbos are the caretakers of the stupas within Jiuzhaigou. As the pre-Buddhism religion of the Himalayas, the Ben religion perceives natural physical entities - including animals, plants, and often even inanimate objects or phenomena - as having a spiritual or godly essence. In this way, local believers are perceived as excellent guardians of the local traditional and natural heritage.

The flags lining the vedica are not just plain coloured flags. 

Each has a religious symbols and text printed or written on it...

The nine stupas within Jiuzhaigou reflect the original history of the stupa. After Buddha passed away, his remains were buried in eight stupas along the path of his epic pilgrimage journey. At the ninth stupa, the urn and embers were placed together with scriptures and other religious artifacts. In this way, the nine stupas are religiously significant for today's Buddhist and Bon believers. In Jiuzhaigou, the tradition of the nine stupas fit in with the cultural tradition as here being the "Valley of the Nine Villages".

Next, Merlion Wayfarer ventures into the village to view the range of Tibetan Crafts available...

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More photos are available on Merlion Wayfarer Goes World's Picasa at :
Sichuan - The Zangs (藏族人)

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Read More