History of the Tibetan Dzi beads

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Dzi made its first appearance during the period between 3000 BC to 1500 BC, in ancient India where Aryans inhabited. People at that time used to pray piously for gods’ blessing. They painted incantations, totems and other symbolic patterns in the ancient Veda (origins of various patterns on today’s Dzi) on stones to sublimate their spirit. Veda recorded, seriously tortured by geographical environment and natural calamities, people at that time prayed to gods for blessing and help, and naturally, “Dzi” emerged. Meanwhile, they intermingled various medicines with the motif of incantations and totems into stones in hope to get blessing and help from gods.

　　

Bead pronounces as DZI in Tibetan language, meaning beauty、authority and wealth, and reads as "Meiziga " in Sanskrit. However, it was piously used as a sacrifice to Buddha gods in the 15th year of Zhenguan (641AD) for Tang Taizong when Wencheng princess married Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, Wencheng took one statue of Buddha from India as dowry. Later, this statue was housed in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa studded with over hundreds of Dzi Beads by Tibetan people, including three nine-eyed Dzi Beads, and scores of three-eyed, two–eyed, treasure bottle Dzi beads (also called immortality bottle Dzi), tiger-stripe Dzi, etc. At present, it is exhibited as an oblation in the Jokhang Temple hall in Lhasa. Historical records suggest that the grassland channel between Yuyuan and Tibet was an important approach for culture exchanges between Tibet and northern grassland. This channel has already offered service as early as in the 5th century BC. Long history, beautiful and mysterious legends along with Tibetan people’s piety for Dzi bead make Dzi bead passed on from generation to generation and an apple in people’s eyes.



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