Segmentation within the State: The Reconfiguration of Tibetan Tribes in China's Reform Period

Abstract

Despite the upheavals of collectivisation and reform, the nomadic pastoralists of Amdo, in the north eastern part of the Tibetan plateau, maintain that they substantially retain historic forms of tribal organisation. The governmental structures of the modern Chinese state have replaced the hereditary rulers, kings and monastic leaders, who formerly exercised leadership over the nomads' tribes. However, ideologies of revenge and practices of feuding still characterise relations between tribal groups. Moreover, the nomads continue to turn to senior Buddhist lamas as mediators, despite the criminal sanctions imposed by the police. It is suggested that these elements represent a continuity in tribal forms within the framework of control now exercised by the modern state. An uneasy relationship between tribes and state has long characterised this region and continues to do so in the modern world.

Parental investment in Tibetan populations does not reflect stated cultural norms

“…Fencing practices, adopted in the 1990s, largely reduced the need for men to herd animals actively, which reduced male workloads; female workloads increased, however, as the distance to water often increased, and the necessity of growing barley to feed animals also increased because pasture space after the introduction of fencing has shrunk and some animals were in danger of malnutrition ( Yan et al 2011 ). The shift towards higher female workloads was likely to underlie the increase in daughter-biased investment as daughters became more helpful at enhancing wealth and more likely to bring benefits to their mothers ( Gowaty and Lennartz 1985 ; Gates 1993 ; Margulis et al 1993 ; Pirie 2005 ; Zhaoli et al 2005 ). Since the introduction of the 9-year compulsory education system, all children were sent to boarding schools after 2000, for the sake of “Pastures to Grassland” ( Yeh 2005 ).…”

Common Property and Power: Insights from a Spatial Analysis of Historical and Contemporary Pasture Boundaries among Pastoralists in Central Tibet

“…GIS helps us to visualise how pasture boundaries were delineated historically and how changes in Tibet's political economy did or did not impact the 26 Unfortunately, there are relatively few works on law in Tibetan society that can assist us in teasing out the differences between 'traditional' customary law and today's state regulations (c.f. Uebach 1994, Richardson 1984, Petech 1973, Shakabpa 1967, French 1995, Pirie 2005. distribution of resources among pastoralists.…”

Marginalisation at China's Multi-Ethnic Frontier: The Mongols of Henan Mongolian Autonomous County in Qinghai Province

“…Furthermore, the adoption of Buddhism was not an effort directed by the central Qing authority but rather a strong ideological force and an action of local nobles engaged in collaborative formation at the margins of the Qing empire. In fact, monks appointed the headmen of local tribes (Pirie 2005). The Henan qinwang continued to appoint the headmen of the Mongol tribes, and at the same time he was the chief lay patron of the Labrang monastery.…”