Myths and Legends The Origin of Gzi beads

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The sites yielding Gzi beads and the circumstances under which these beads were found are heavily invested with mythological and legendary elements.Given below are legends associated with the origin of Gzi beads:

1. Plankton from the Tethys Sea

In very ancient times,the land on which now stands Tibet was a vast inland sea known as Tethys Sea.Gzi were microscopic organisms drifting in the sea.In their original form,they were like mollusks and conches with a fleshy body protected by a shell.They could move about freely.Later,as a result of prodigious geological upheaval,the seabed was thrust skyward to become the Himalayas.The plankton died,their flesh dried up and their shells turned into Gzi beads.

2. Painted stones from India

A couple dwelling in the Himalayas painted designs onto a unique kind of stone from India to create Gzi beads.Since painting such stones involved elaborate skill and learning such skill was extremely difficult,the skill was lost after the death of the couple.

3.Meteorites from outer space

Meteorites fell from outer space onto the fields were refined and tempered into Gzi beads by yogic practitioners.

4.Snake-like living things

Gzi are living things that could move about like a snake. When they are found and touched, they will stop moving and turn into a string of Gzi beads. Legend alleges that where horses rest with their legs thrown up to the sky, there are Gzi beads nearby.

5.Appear in fields and in the dune of cattle and sheep

Gzi beads are ancient relics buried deep underground but geological movements in the course of time expose them on the earth surface. They are picked up by farmers during fieldwork. There are also Tibetan nomads trying to search the dune of the animals they grazed in the meadows in hope of finding Gzi beads.

6.Petrified insects, or the crystallized fossil of the sacred Khyang bird

7.Insects that can fly, run and crawl

Lamas use their long sleeves to strike down those flying and running insects which then harden into Gzi beads. As for those crawling on the ground, men will throw sand onto them to immobilize them. Then they will harden into Gzi beads. If the sand fails to hit them, they will disappear.

8.Gzi meadows

There are several Gzi meadows in Tibet.It is said that people with merits would see them flying above the meadow.After being captured they will turn into fossils.

9.Weapon of Asura

Asura belongs to one of the six classes of living beings.Its abode is deep in the ocean to the north of Mt.Sumera,the center of the Buddhist world.Asura always acts against the Sakyamuni Buddha and does not listen to the Buddha’s words.Therefore it is considered a non-god, non-divine and non-human being with a bellicose character.Gzi beads are its weapons.

10.Precious jewels of the gods

Tibetans believe that Gzi beads are the precious jewels of the gods who discard them to the human world when they become blemished. This explains why it is extremely difficult to find Gzi beads in perfect condition.

11.Gzi come in hoards

Such a legend circulates among the Tibetans in the Kham region. One day, A man herding yaks accidentally found a hoard of beautiful Gzi in the mountain. Many Gzi crawled around in their “nest”. He tried to capture them all but failed to do so .He then ran back to his village to fetch help. Later, he returned to find that except for a few Gzi, the rest had managed to escape from the nest. They could not find the lost Gzi despite repeated searches.

12.Gzi stream in Ngari

Legend alleges that there were Gzi beads flowing continuously like a stream from a mountain slope near Rutog in Ngari.One day, a wicked woman “cast an evil eye” at the mountain and the flow of Gzi immediately stopped. It is said that the spot can still be recognized. It is marked by characteristic black and white stripes like those on a Gzi bead.

13.Magic beads cast by Vajravarahi Buddha

During those early years when Tibet was overwhelmed by severe epidemic, Tibetans were plunged into an abyss of misery and they led a very hard life. Fortunately, the compassionate Vajravarahi Buddha came to relieve them by dropping from the sky magic Gzi beads. Anyone who were predestined to obtain them would be relieved from disease, calamities and bad luck.



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