"Chemar", a fine box containing zanba (roasted highland barley flour) is an important auspicious Tibetan decoration to pray for good harvest in the Tibetan New Year, which falls on Feb. 19, 2015 this year.
Every time when the annual Tibetan New Year (or Losar) comes, every Tibetan family will put Chemar on their Tibetan-styled cabinet.
When guests come to make a New Year visit, there is a whole set of procedures to go through to express their blessings to the guests. As soon as a visitor enters the house, the host will walk up to the Chemar, pinch a little fried wheat or zanba with his thumb and index finger and spill it into the air for three times; he will also eat a little bit of zanba later, with a greeting "Tashi Delek", which means good luck and happiness in Tibetan. Then the host and guest will begin chatting.
Among all the producing process of the Chemar box, it is the carving procedure that is the most time-consuming one and has the highest technical value. So many workshops will pay a high price for specialists to produce man-made products, while others will use computer engraving machines.
Photo shows that a Tibetan family chooses Chemar boxes before Tibetan New Year [Photo/ Tibetan Commercial News]
