The Tibetan kite has fangs.

11 de janeiro de 2026

"The Boy Flying a Kite"
Image source: National Geographic

"The Kite Vendor"
Selected from *Red Kites*, published in 2017
* The form and patterns of kites vary according to age, identity, and use.

(Kite Fighting)

If you lose, don't be sad.
Eat a meat pie, have a sip of sweet tea.
(...)
If you win,
you can boldly shout to the opposing player,
"Yours is broken!"

—Selected from "Deceased Elder Jampa Woeser of the Nyangrongsha Family on the Lhasa Kite Season"
Interviewed in 2008, written by Sochung

Tibetan Kite: The Bearded One
Early 20th Century
Housed in the Pitt Rivers Museum

Childhood Kite

I faintly remember comforting myself as a child, "Compared to flying a kite, watching it drift up and down, as agile as the birds in myths, is also a kind of fun." Looking back now, such thoughts were mostly due to my terrible skills. In turn-based competitions, I was always the first to earn the privilege of rest, and the "pleasure of watching" became an excuse for self-amusement.

Last year, back in Lhasa, I saw countless kites soaring into the sky by the river, while my childhood playmate was there with his two nephews, handling the kite reel. The string rose and fell, and the eyes painted on the kite stared straight at me. "Enough," I thought, "today’s opponent isn’t me."

In our spare time, my playmate and I talked about our favorite kite patterns. He was a skilled kite fighter and naturally liked the "Staring Eye" (མིག་ལོག་). His "Red Staring Eye" (མིག་ལོག་དམར་པོ་) was once a top contender for the championship. As for me, consistently ranked last, I preferred the "Fangs" (མཆེ་བ་) and the "Bearded One" (རྒྱ་བོ་). The reason was simple: if I were to compete, I couldn’t afford to lose in spirit. Giving myself fangs might just make me famous in a fight. A child’s logic is always simple and romantic. If fangs didn’t work, I’d console myself with the "Bearded One." Unlike others, I never associated the "Bearded One" with bravery or experience (the usual interpretations). To me, the "Bearded One" was a kind elder who allowed children to make mistakes.

Cover of *Lhasa Kites*
By Tsewang Rinchen, published in 2022
Tibetan Ancient Books Publishing House

Tibetan Kite: The Bearded One
Early 20th Century
Collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum

The Origin of Kites

As the saying goes, "The kite is pleasing to the eye, but flying it requires skill" (བྱ་འཕིར་ནི་དབྱིབས་བཟང་། གཏོང་དགོས་ན་རྩལ་མང་།). However, when it comes to tracing the origins of the "Tibetan kite," most people can only offer fragmented and vague answers. As noted by Tsewang Rinchen, author of *Lhasa Kites*, in an interview: "There is essentially no documentation (on this topic)." Of course, this does not mean that we are completely without basis for in-depth study, but rather that the existing visual materials, textual records, and oral accounts related to the "Tibetan kite" are largely concentrated during the Ganden Phodrang period, particularly in the first half of the last century. Therefore, when discussing its origins, we inevitably encounter two distinct conclusions: the indigenous theory and the foreign introduction theory.

South Asian Painted Kite
First Half of the 20th Century, Collection of Kaoru Kimura

The kite is not a cultural heritage unique to any single region. Distinct kite cultures exist in Han China to the east, across South Asia to the west, and in Central Asia to the northwest. As Tibetan kites are often regarded as a derivative of traditional Tibetan papermaking techniques, viewing them as an indigenous product cannot be dismissed as mere "fallacy." However, this does not mean we should overlook potential exchanges and integrations, thereby taking a narrow view of Tibetan kites. To cite just two examples, Tibetan kite culture includes the tradition of "kite fighting," where competitors aim to cut each other's strings. This practice can be fully discussed and analyzed within the global framework of "fighter kites," such as kite battles in Afghanistan.

"The Little Monk Flying a Kite"
1936, In front of the Potala Palace
Photographed by Chapman, collection of the British Museum

"The Fifth Reting Rinpoche"
1936, Inside the Shide Monastery
Photographed by Chapman, collection of the British Museum

Secondly, people often coat kite strings with *na*, which is the most important preparation before "kite fighting." There are two existing theories regarding the etymology of *na*:
1. To make the kite string sharp, *na* is applied, so the word for sharp, *rno* (རྣོ་), is the etymological origin of *na*.
2. *Na* is applied to compete against others and secure victory, so *brnag* (བརྣག་), which means malice or fierceness in the Ü-Tsang dialect, is the etymological origin of *na*.

In general, the ingredients of *na* include crushed glass, the sap of *dbyang lag* (Himalayan orchid), and grain paste, among others. Once applied, it only needs to dry before use. This essential step before "kite fighting" is also seen in other regions where "fighter kites" are popular, such as in broader South Asian kite culture (पतंग).

"Women Threshing Grain and a Boy Holding a Kite"
1936, Outskirts of Lhasa
Photographed by Nepean, housed in the Pitt Rivers Museum

In the photographs by Chapman (1907–1971) and Nepean (1909–2002), one can see both a young monk flying a kite in front of the Potala Palace (belonging to the Reting Palace) and a boy preparing to go kite-flying with friends during the autumn harvest. In the eyes of Western observers, the most renowned kite enthusiasts in Tibet were the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876–1933); the Regent, the 5th Reting Rinpoche (1912–1947); and Tsarong Dazang Dramdul (ཚ་རོང་ཟླ་བཟང་དགྲ་འདུལ་; 1888–1959). Among them, the 13th Dalai Lama had his preferred kite styles and exclusive workshops (leaning toward kite-watching), while the 5th Reting Rinpoche was once complained about by subordinates for "spending an enormous amount of money on kites within a single year."

Tibetan Kite: The Bald One
Early 20th Century
Collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum

Dragon Kite

In the West during the 1970s and 1980s, there was a bestselling children’s book titled *The Dragon Kite*, which told the story of an eight-year-old Tibetan boy named Kelsang who embarks on an adventure aboard a giant kite. Clearly, the author Thomas Lewis was aware of Tibet’s kite-flying tradition. He described kites as “paper birds that carry blessings” (in Tibetan, a kite is called ཤོག་བྱ་ / paper bird or བྱ་འཕུར་-བྱ་འཕིར་ / flying bird), yet the illustrations by Errol Le Cain presented a mixed Eastern aesthetic. While real Tibetan kites are not as elaborate as those in the illustrations, they possess their own unique threefold beauty.

Cover of *The Dragon Kite*
By Thomas Lewis, published in 1974
Illustrator: Errol Le Cain

The first is beauty in form, divided into materials, craftsmanship, and decoration. In terms of materials, the kite surface is made from Tibetan paper, the kite frame from birch or mahogany (there are records of using higher-quality, fragrant wood for frames), and the kite string from high-quality wool (though this has seen changes in recent years)—practical and eco-friendly. As for craftsmanship, apart from Tibetan papermaking techniques and the aforementioned *na* preparation, creating the kite surface itself involves great skill. While maintaining aesthetics and traditional layout (such as placing the auspicious *kyilyang* /དཀྱིལ་གཡང་ along the central axis), artisans must also ensure the kite adheres to aerodynamic principles. Finally, there are the various decorations on the kite surface. "Staring Eye," "Bearded One," "Fangs," and others fall into this category, which can be divided into three classes.

"Kite"
Work by Lu Zongde

Those with specific meanings in "kite fighting" form one category, such as "Staring Eye" and "Fangs." Those derived from folk auspicious symbols form another category, such as "Peach" (ཁམ་བུ་) and "Gau" (གའུ་; amulet box). Those originating from special religious artifacts form a third category, such as the "Kangling" (རྐང་གླིང་; thighbone trumpet).

Additionally, Tibetan kites possess a practical beauty. "Kite fighting" naturally serves as the core expression of this practical beauty, but kite-watching, or kite-flying in the general sense, also involves precise judgment of wind conditions, terrain, and timing. The wind is not constant, so the true opponent becomes nature itself. Continuously improving skills transform confrontation into a state of harmonious coexistence. We learn in the wind, then dance with it.

Tibetan Kite: Eye or Target
Early 20th Century
Collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum

Motion and stillness coexist, ultimately presenting us with conceptual beauty. Every year, during the seventh and eighth months of the Tibetan calendar (sometimes later), it is the ideal season for kite flying. The barley in the fields turns into golden arrows, and kites soaring in the sky herald harvest and fortune. People hold the strings, guiding the kites to carry the world's heartfelt wishes to the heavens, while the "paper birds" interwoven with natural forces become symbols of cosmic order. Of course, during "kite fighting," if one cannot let go of personal attachments and embrace pure joy, the string will snap and the kite will scatter. Our very nature may then be tossed about by greater forces and endless desires, and the memories of past happiness vanish without a trace amidst the clamor.