Publication Date
Spring 2023
Abstract
Despite the Tsampa (Roasted Barley) eating culture and yak cheese merchandise in the market, the Tibetan culture is widely known as highly dependable on meat eating by non-Tibetans, little is known about the Tibetan Vegans officially known as karkyong. Overall vegetarianism is known and practiced in the Tibetan history throughout the centuries that’s what’s commonly known as vegan diets in modern society. But not known as Vegans in the Tibet then. This study also shed some light on Tibetan vegans in the diaspora and their journey of becoming vegan through interviews with restaurant owners, vegans, monks, nuns, and lay Tibetans in general. An analysis of these interviews explains vegans’ existence in the Tibetan culture and sometimes even challenges the widely held assumptions about the non- existence of Tibetan vegans. This study is part of the Tibetan community growing, changing, and adapting fast in the modern world since its exile under the Chinese occupation. This project will contribute to future research on similar topics.
Disciplines
Asian Studies | Buddhist Studies | Community-Based Research | Food Studies | Migration Studies | Sociology of Culture
Recommended Citation
Wangmo, Ringzen, "Tibetan Vegans in Diaspora" (2023). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3737.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3737
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Food Studies Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
Program Name
Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples