Tasty Jerky: The Traditional Meat Craft of Tibet
Two proverbs widely known throughout Tibet are: “ཤ་ནི་སྙིང་རྗེ་ཅན་གྱིས་བཟའ།” — those who uphold compassion may eat meat — and “ཆང་ནི་དམ་ཚིག་ཅན་གྱིས་འཐུང་།” — those who uphold vows may drink alcohol. Karma Chakme (ཀརྨ་ཆགས་མེད་; 1609/1613–1678) provided a deep and meticulous textual analysis of these sayings. For further details about this scholar of the classical era, the reader is directed to the earlier pieces on dream omens and pure lands found at the end of this article.
According to historical records, the ministers who governed the five core regions of Tibet were dispatched, under King Songtsen Gampo's command, to their respective territories to seek wise counsel on establishing the kingdom's legal code. As for the clever shepherd boy, the saltwater-soaked jerky made his tongue dry and burning, leaving him parched and prompting him to declare, "Whoever offers me barley wine, I shall speak without reserve.
Gar Tongtsen, the renowned chancellor, learned about two exceptionally intelligent youths within his jurisdiction: Dar Gyal Mangpoje (དར་རྒྱལ་མང་པོ་རྗེ་) and Chim Mangzher Ngenpa (མཆིམས་མང་བཞེར་ངན་པ་). However, both youths showed an uncooperative disposition (with some scholars pointing to the localist tendencies of that era). In order to complete the legislative task, Gar Tongtsen came up with a scheme—alternatively said to have been devised and carried out by Dar Gyal Mangpoje—in which wine was concealed and dried meat was offered instead.
Later generations often cited the phrase "salt-soaked jerky" (ཤ་སྐམ་ཚྭས་སྦོང་།) as a metaphor for "the wise being outwitted." The allusion originates with Chim Mangzher Ngenpa, who, after becoming drunk on wine, disclosed to Gar Tongtsen a broad range of administrative strategies, including plans for governance and the ranking of subjects. Even so, meat preserved in this fashion was not customary in classical Tibet.
In Tibetan dietary culture, jerky is a key component of the "red food" (དམར་ཟས་) category, savored equally by farmers, herders, monks, and laypeople. When livestock perished from famine, their meat was collectively labeled "famine meat" (མུག་ཤ་), and jerky made from it often needed salting, although regional customs differed.
Discussions of the “water taboo” in Tibetan dietary culture have persisted for a long time, though historical records indicate that some groups in Tibet—and even certain prominent figures—did consume fish and other aquatic products. Meanwhile, jerky made from various meats appears in both classical writings and everyday practice: yak jerky was regarded as the finest meat, mutton jerky was subject to many regional prohibitions related to sheep, pork jerky was common especially in Nyingchi and parts of Kham, and fish jerky was also among the standard varieties.
Meat is valuable and should not be wasted. As an illustration, scholars who have examined this historical event observe that the queen of the 30th Tibetan king Drongnyen Deru Tsan (འབྲོང་གཉན་ལྡེ་རུ་བཙན་) was not alone in eating fish. That queen, མཆིམས་བཟའ་ཀླུ་རྒྱལ་, came from the Dakpo region (a historical-geographical term in Tibet; encompassing much of today's Gyaca and Nang counties). She was known to consume fish owing to local customs and her own preference, with frogs symbolizing aquatic creatures.
Tibetan meat-processing is divided into six distinct categories. One of these, jerky-making, appears in at least two classical texts on craftsmanship and medicine, which describe techniques like air-drying and cooking-drying. Another category, differentiation, concerns how to tell apart meats from different animals as well as different cuts of the same animal. Slaughtering methods—covering timing, quantity, procedures, and rituals—include established customs that follow natural laws. Insect prevention, a topic within pharmacology, receives detailed treatment in no fewer than three classical texts. Preservation methods vary with the regional environment. Cutting methods, meanwhile, involve the passing down of anatomical knowledge to specific family members in certain regions, for instance the eldest son or daughter.
In Tibetan medical texts, ingredients such as Amomum tsao-ko, nutmeg, and Elsholtzia—sorted into black, yellow, and purple categories—are all noted for their ability to prevent insect infestation in meat. Known Tibetan classics list three methods to guard against spoilage: preserving meat with suitable utensils, with spices, or through natural means. Among these, the widely recognized air-drying technique falls under natural preservation.
Meat-related culinary arts constitute a relatively independent system, and future research should prioritize the relevant literature. Classical Tibet, contrary to widespread belief, neither followed extreme vegetarianism nor enforced a strict prohibition on killing.
Tibet has forged a pragmatic strategy steeped in divinity regarding "killing and non-killing," shaped by millennia of debate and practice. This developed as both the white food tradition—composed chiefly of dairy products like cheese, milk, and butter, alongside grains, fruits, and vegetables—and the red food tradition, which entails meat, have come under sustained criticism there, influenced by contemporary vegetarian philosophy and animal liberation movements.
The ethical significance of consuming meat—covering how slaughter supports natural harmony, the eater’s compassionate outlook, and the specific mantras that purify the karma of both killing and eating—is considerable. Meanwhile, the classification of meat, based on such criteria as killing without any purpose and designated killing (both generally disfavored), appears in both exoteric and esoteric sources, where the works of Karma Chakme should be consulted.
Accounts of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (མདོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྡོ་རྗེ；1800-1866) even include him killing animals and permitting his disciples to consume meat. Meanwhile, the Milarepa legends depict this accomplished master as not averse to meat—in certain situations, eating meat could even support spiritual practice. Toward the end of the former narrative, Yeshe Dorje brings back to life a sheep that had been reduced to bones and skin, a motif recurring since the 17th century that underscores the importance of human dietary needs.
According to a proverb, "Tibet loves its meat, yet this land also nurtures its sages" and "In virtuous vessels, meat is served; when eating meat, do not forget the suffering of all beings." From the 18th century onward, Tibet experienced a flourishing era of discourse on "killing." While a few scholars upheld strict non-killing principles, the majority quietly endorsed this custom that was deeply woven into the culture.
For those who reside on the plateau, meat is a constant companion, supplying them with limitless vitality. In their philosophy of life, they feel appreciation for the kindness of all things and treat meat as a subject for deep contemplation. As the saying goes, "Both farming and herding involve the act of killing, but with a mind of compassion, there is no evil hindrance." By keeping to ancient virtues and a way of life that follows nature's laws, they can, while eating meat, perceive the true essence of nature and life.