Tibetan boots, no distinction between left and right, not afraid of wind and rain.
Dengba boots
Collection of National Museum
Image Source: rugrabbit
Shoelaces and Love
In Litang, there is a very romantic folk divination game called Ge Bu. First, the "main divination person" hides several pairs of shoelaces from different men and women behind them, and then lets everyone sing randomly. As the music progresses, the "main divination person" pulls out two shoelaces from behind, and based on the content of the song, calculates the romantic fortune of this pair of men and women.
For example, if the song goes like: "Beloved, what do you need? Please tell me what you need. Even if you need the stars in the sky, I will find a ladder to climb up"（ཆུང་འདྲིས་ཁྱོད་ལ་ཅི་དགོས། ། འདི་དགོས་ང་ལ་གསུངས་དང་། ། ནམ་མཁའི་སྐར་མ་དགོས་ན། ། སྐས་འཇའ་བཙུགས་ནས་ལེན་འགྲོ། །） in Tibetan, this indicates a deep and strong love, and the two will have a bright future. But if the song goes like: "I found a yogi from India, went to get a divination, he said the heart of the lover is like a tambourine, wavering"（རྒྱ་གར་ཨ་ཙ་ར་ལ། ། མོ་ཞིག་བཏབ་ས་སོང་གི། ། ཆུང་འདྲིས་ཌ་མ་རུ་མགོ་ལ། ། སྙིང་གཏམ་མ་བཤད་གསུང་གྲགས། ། ） in Tibetan, this suggests that the two have doubts and may not be suitable for each other.
If the secretly in love couple is paired up, young Tibetan couples often blush shyly in public. Sometimes, the host may play tricks and mix the shoelaces of an elderly woman with those of young people. If they end up as a pair and the song is ambiguous, it often leads to laughter from the audience.
Overall, Ge Bu is a fun and romantic divination game in Litang that adds a touch of excitement and humor to gatherings.
In the game above, shoelaces symbolize love, serving as the threads that connect the fates of both men and women. If shoelaces are seen as the links of destiny, then the shoes they attach to are the strong support that helps overcome all obstacles and hardships. Over the centuries, Tibetan shoes have evolved from being purely practical to possessing artistic significance, and even this artistic aesthetic emerged early on. In the 1950s, a pair of leather boots unearthed in Qinghai were found to be made of "thicker leather for the sole, thinner leather for the upper, with the sole and upper sewn together using bone and copper awls to drill holes and then sewing them with leather threads), indicating that the ancestors of the plateau already had a relatively mature level of shoe-making craftsmanship and design. The leather boots were adorned with a piece of fur-decorated leather at the front of the boot mouth, showcasing a sense of beauty and aesthetic interest.
In the literature, it is also the same. In the Tang Dynasty, Yan Liben's painting "A Procession of Concubines" depicts Lu Dongzan wearing a pair of "black dog-nosed boots" (as described by Mr. Wang Yao), while Gendun Qumpa also claimed that Songtsen Gampo "wore a red silk head wrap, draped a half-moon cloak of five-colored brocade, and wore pointed leather boots." In later generations, Tibetan officials wore Mongolian boots, and in the Qing Dynasty's "Journey to Tibet," it is mentioned that "from Da Jianlu to Tibet... boots were made of stitched leather, mostly in vermilion, with thin soles and uppers shaped like socks, also made of woolen cloth," as well as "moccasins were made from finely twisted horsehair, and some were embellished with woven gold paired with woolen cloth, boots were sewn with fragrant cowhide soles, and adorned with inset sand green leather, extremely magnificent."
Lham Shoes
Shoes, called "Lham" in Tibetan (ལྷམ), are also referred to as "kangguo" in spoken Tibetan and the term "boots" has become popular in Tibetan as well. Tibetan boots can be categorized into leather boots and fur boots by material, and by style and design, they can be divided into Songba and Garuo, Jiaqin, and so on. Among them, Songba is the most distinctive: "The sole of the boot is made of twisted rope knotted with yak wool, and the more advanced ones are called 'Songba Tinima', with the sole made of cowhide. The boots are colorful and the colors are matched meticulously. Eight colors such as red, yellow, blue, green, etc. are embroidered on the boot tops to create beautiful patterns. The embroidered flowers on the boot surface are also very vibrant, and the shapes of the boot tips vary from square, round, pointed, to hooked."
Not afraid of wind and rain, regardless of left or right.
The Tibetan boots consist of shoe soles, boot shafts, and embroidery, so their production is also divided into these three steps. The sole of the boot can be made of hemp or leather, with hemp soles mainly relying on a specific wild grass, while leather soles were traditionally handmade, with a whole piece of cowhide being selected, processed through tanning and dyeing to make it soft, and then cut into patterns. Nowadays, leather is generally purchased from leather factories. Thin soles usually require 3 to 4 layers of cowhide, while thicker soles require 5 to 7 layers.
The embroidery on the vamp and heel of the boot is the most artistic part of the entire boot, with intricate and rich designs. For example, various auspicious patterns such as lotus flowers, peacocks, and peacock feathers can be drawn on them. Often, women's boots have more elaborate embroidery. In performances or specific rituals, actors may wear special boots, such as the "Dagaram" boots, which are adorned with three eyes on the vamp, representing the majestic gaze of the gods. These boots are typically worn when portraying kings or royalty.
Unlike modern shoes, another characteristic of Tibetan boots is that they do not differentiate between left and right feet. Over time, the shoes naturally distinguish between left and right feet based on the uneven wear patterns on the soles. This is particularly noticeable for those with a limp, as the side of the limp foot will show more wear than the other side. Therefore, over time, the left and right feet are determined naturally. In conclusion, Tibetan boots do not differentiate between left and right, but they are fearless in facing challenges and continue to move forward.
The traces of hidden boots
In the 11th century, the famous Tibetan translator Chag Lotsawa Chejé Pel traveled to India, where he was asked by the locals where he came from. He replied in Sanskrit, "I come from Tibet," but his fluent response raised suspicions. Suddenly, one of the locals observed Chag Lotsawa's feet and exclaimed, "He must be from Tibet, look at his feet - the tips are worn flat from years of wearing Tibetan boots."
In addition, there is a magnificent painting of "Shakyamuni Preaching" in Zatang Temple, which was painted in the 11th century. The Tibetan painter thoughtfully put boots on the barefoot Shakyamuni Buddha from India. In these examples, just like the Tibetans have turned the stiff leather boots into soft grasslands for thousands of years, and like the beautiful stories they have created, the Tibetan boots have condensed the marks of time into symbols of identity for this nation. Through these symbols of identity, we are able to see the appearance, flesh, and sweat of this ancient nation as they journeyed through history.
In the Western art criticism, there is a very famous art appreciation case, which is the German philosopher Heidegger's comments on Vincent van Gogh's painting "The Shoes". He regards the shoes as the hard labor of the peasant woman, even as the person in it, and as existence itself. We can also follow this feeling, as he said:
"From the black hole of wear and tear inside the shoes, there is a condensation of the hardships of labor footsteps. In these hard, heavy, worn-out peasant shoes, there is the accumulation of the toughness and sluggishness of the footsteps on the vast and forever monotonous fields in the piercing cold wind ... In these shoes, there echoes the silent call of the earth, showing the quiet gift of the earth to the ripe grain ... These tools are soaked with the uncomplaining anxiety of bread's reliability, and the wordless joy of overcoming poverty, implying the shuddering of childbirth and the trembling of death approaching. These tools belong to the earth, and they are preserved in the world of the peasant woman."
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art