In China, many ethnic minorities have their own beliefs and related taboos. Taking Tibetans not eating fish as an example, it is not all rumors. For various reasons, many Tibetans do not eat fish and even avoid fish. So what is the reason why the Tibetan people don't eat fish? Let's have a look
1. No fish
This statement is not accurate. There are more than 150 kinds of natural fish in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and some great lakes are rich in fish resources, but these fish are not all suitable for consumption.
In the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Schizothorax has the largest species and number, and is one of the few toxic freshwater fish in China. It is known that the eggs of most Schizothorax fish are toxic, and there is no effective antidote at present.
The edible fish in Tibetan areas are not rich and concentrated, which is not related to most Tibetan areas. Even in areas with many lakes and rivers, due to the slow growth rate of cold water fish on the plateau, residents will not choose fishing as a livelihood with low return as long as they have the conditions to develop agriculture or animal husbandry.
2. Religious belief
Before Buddhism was introduced into Tibet in the 7th century, the Tibetan people mainly believed in bon. The "Lu" God among the lower eleven gods is considered to live in springs, rivers, lakes and other waters. It is a collection similar to "elves". Its image is often associated with fish, frogs, snakes and other animals.
"Lu" is also an evil god. If you disturb or offend, you will be punished. At least you will have sores on your body, and seriously it will harm the whole family. In awe of Lu God, Tibetans try to avoid disturbing creatures in the water, and they can't even touch frogs and snakes.
In the Dragon King Temple in the Dragon King pond next to the Potala Palace, the "Dragon King" here refers to the "Lu" God, not the "dragon" beaten by Nezha.
3. Buddhist belief
Buddhism advocates not killing animals. The Tibetan people firmly believe that killing animals will create evil karma and lead to evil retribution. However, for the residents of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, meat is an important source of nutrition. People can only reduce killing as much as possible, and eating beef and mutton is certainly less harmful to life than eating fish - killing a cow may be enough for a family to eat for a long time, but killing several fish is difficult to bring a full meal.
Therefore, although non killing is aimed at all animals, fish are the most protected in daily life.
The release custom influenced by Buddhist thought also inhibited the Tibetan behavior of fishing and eating fish to a certain extent.
Based on the same economic expenditure, releasing fish can save more lives, so fish has become the main animal released by the Tibetan people.
However, fish cannot be marked when released, so it is inevitable to catch free fish when fishing. Many Tibetans do not eat fish and try to avoid eating fish. Especially during religious festivals such as "Sagadawa" where people live more frequently, eating fish will become more sensitive.
4. Water burial customs
The custom of water burial in some parts of Tibet has also led local residents to avoid eating fish. However, there are few such areas, and water burial is not widely practiced.
After a long time of not eating fish, many Tibetans are not good at handling and cooking fish, and even no longer regard it as food. Just as northerners treat Guangdong game like a zoo, they stay away from it.