Eight Lhadé Tsowa (Lha Sde Tsho Brgyad)

A variety of social groups exist in the cultural area known in Tibetan as Amdo (covering parts of present-day Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces in western China; see Map 1). Much investigation remains to be conducted on these terms as other scholars have noted (Hille, Horlemann, and Nietupski 2015:4). Not only are there a multitude of terms in use, but Tibetan communities in different regions use the same term to describe different kinds of social groups. One such term, tsowa, is commonly used in Amdo. Many scholars have translated tsowa as “tribe” or “clan;” both of which introduce inaccurate connotations. As the meaning of tsowa is not uniform, local case studies in different regions are necessary to document the range of meanings this term contains. This work is but one such case study of a group of tsowa, the Eight Lhadé Tsowa, that coalesced as support communities for a monastery in present-day Trika (Ch. Guide) County, which is in Tsolho Prefecture (Ch. Hainan) of Qinghai Province. It is based on documentary sources, both historical and contemporary, and will hopefully be used as the basis for future fieldwork. The present study surveys the available literature on tsowa, examines the history of one group of tsowa, proposes a working definition, and raises questions for future research.