Yak Butter Tea in Shangri-La: A Beverage Icon under Threat

摘要

Using the narratives of four Tibetan experts, we explore the importance of yak butter tea in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province. There, yak butter tea is consumed in much the same ways as tea and coffee are consumed in the West. In Shangri-La, yak butter teais imbued with ritual, meaning, and sociocultural significance. Yet those descriptors are under threat. Globalized forces are impacting the centuries-old traditions of yak butter tea. This article examines the traditions of yak butter tea, and how its consumption and associated rituals are changing. Findings revealed that the four yak butter tea experts were worried that global influences, particularly the quest for convenience, are endangering the sociocultural rituals and traditions of yak butter tea. Yet our experts also noted that globalization could be a positive sociocultural influence in Shangri-La.