Xizang.xinhua.org
3 Jan 2002
(Xinhua is the official news agency of the People's Republic of China)
As the Tibetan New Year is drawing nearer, the local residents are getting
busier brewing the alcoholic beverage that is to be drunk on the occasion.
One does not have to know the secrets of how the beverage is ever brewed, he
or she has to know something about how it is drunk and
on what occasions.
To celebrate the arrival of the new year, the Tibetans would bring out their
best brews and invite their relatives and friends to a drinking party. To
while away the time in mid-summer, they would also bring out their best
brews and invite friends and even strangers to a drinking party.
Though everyone knows when to stop drinking, all have to know how to drink
the Tibetan barley wine, better known as the Qing-ke wine, in three sips,
especially when there are lovely women and girls singing and dancing around.
The Tibetan barley wine is brewed from fermented barley grown on the
highland. The content of alcohol differs from household to household due to
the brewing method and duration.
Either at the dining table or on the picnic cloth, once the wine cup is
hoisted to about the height of one's eyebrow, one first has to dip his or
her right ring finger into the wine while holding the cup in the other hand.
He or she then lifts up and flips the ring finger to flick off the fluid
from it. The movement is repeated three times to show respect to the heaven,
the earth and the deities respectively.
After that, the drinker can take a little sip and wait for the hostess to
re-fill up the cup. A second sip is followed by a second serving while a
third sip is followed by a third re-filling. Only after the three sips and
the three re-fills, the drinker can finish the barley wine either bottom-up
or at will.
The ritual is known among the local residents as the three-sip-and-one-cup.
It is observed to show respect to the Mother Nature and human beings.
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