About Us
Tibet is what the world calls it. But the people themselves call their land Bo, and call themselves Bo-pa — the people of Bo.
The Tibetan cultural world is traditionally described as Ü-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo. Only Ü-Tsang roughly overlaps with today’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Much of Kham and Amdo lies across what are now western Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and northern Yunnan. In other words, political lines do not map neatly onto cultural realities.
Geography tied Tibet and China together — trade routes, border diplomacy, shared highland frontiers. But culture tied Tibet to India — Buddhism, literary canons, and the script tradition entered from the south.
Yet Tibet is neither China nor India. It formed a world of its own: high-plateau pastoral life, monastery towns, mountain sanctuaries, and a moral imagination steeped in practice and piety, distinct from China’s largely agrarian, Confucian mainstream.
Since Tibet came under direct Chinese rule in 1950, domestic public storytelling has often flattened it into “minority folklore” — bright costumes without the deeper context.
We write to restore context — not to argue politics nor to preach religion. We look at Bo as Tibetans understand it — language, places, craft, devotion, everyday work — and explain it plainly and respectfully from the outside, with sources, history, and the voices of makers wherever possible.
The Shop:
The Tibetan Origins shop was founded to place authentic, rarely seen works from the greater Tibetan region into your hands.
When you choose Tibetan Origins, you’re not just buying a thing. You’re meeting a place — its mountains and passes, its workshops and monasteries, and the people who still call it Bo.
We Value:
- Authenticity — Direct from Tibetan regions; no mass production.
- Respect — Fair dealing with artisans and herders, ethically sourced.
- Preservation — Sustaining traditional skills so they can be passed on.
