Tibet Shoton Festival

Tibet Shoton Festival

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Tibet Shoton Festival

Updated:
Sep 22, 2009;
by:
China Highlights;
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Tibet Shoton Festival

Introduction

Tibet Shoton FestivalShoton Festival, a traditional Tibetan festival, is held annually in late June and early July in Tibetan calendar (about August in the Gregorian calendar). Thousands of Buddhists flock to Lhasa from all over the world and prostrate piously for their pilgrimage during the festival. In Tibetan language, Shoton Festival means a festival to drink yoghourt. Buddhists go to mountains to cultivate themselves and after the cultivation their family members will go and meet them on the mountains. On their way home, people drink yoghourt and sing and dance. This time every year, mainstream Tibetan Opera troupes throughout Tibet assemble in Lhasa's Norbulingka and stage performances and competitions for days, creating an extra-vibrant scene.

Origin

The Gelug Sect regulates that between April and June according to Tibetan calendar, lamas can only practice Buddhism in monasteries to avoid treading and killing tiny lives. The ban will be lifted at the end of June. At that time, all lamas go out of monasteries and laymen will offer them sour milk and perform Tibetan operas for them. After 1642, the Gandain Phodrang (Paradise Palace) of the Drepung Monastery became the political, religious and cultural centre of Tibet. Tens of thousands of people rushed there each June 30th to give sour milk to lamas and ask for blessings. The Tibetan Opera troupes and wild yak dancing troupes all came to perform. In this way, the Shoton Festival was formed.

Buddha Exhibition Ceremony

The prelude of the Shoton Festival is the Buddha exhibition in Drepung Monastery, which is held at the foot of the Gebeiwoze Mountain. The tranquil valley becomes excited. With the sound of sutra bugle reverberating through the balley, about 100 lamas will carry the large-scale tangke portraying Qamba Buddha (or Maitreya) out of the Coqen Hall of the Drepung Monastery and step toward the west of the monastery where a special platform is set up for the Buddha picture exhibition. At this moment, the mulberry smoke arises from all directions, bugles resound and scripture reciting goes on. The large tangka then will be slowly opened up. People rush up to offer white hada. Countless hada fly in front of the Buddha picture, forming a great scene. In no more than two hours, the tangka will be rolled up again and carried back. People will not see it until the next year.

Tibetan Opera Performance

Another important segment of Shoton Festival is Tibetan Opera, which one cannot miss. Starting from the second day of Shoton Festival, Tibetan Opera is performed from 11:00 a.m. till dusk every day at Norbulingka and the Longwangtan Park opposite from the Potala Palace. Due to limited time, those performances are the distillation of Tibetan Opera. Otherwise, only one opera can last for several days. Then people go to the courtyard of Gandain Phodrang to watch Tibetan Opera. In the afternoon, the activities centre moves to Norbulingka. In the following week, the major activity is to watch the Tibetan Opera. During the Shoton Festival, the Tibetans bring along the old and the young and call on relatives and friends to Lingka gardens. The Norbulingka and other parks of Lhasa are dotted with colorful tents.

Nowadays, the Shoton Festival has become a comprehensive celebration activity with the most influences in Tibet. It's also a grand meeting for commodity exchanges. In addition, yak races and singing and dancing performances will also be shown during Shoton Festival, providing tourists a special experience of mysterious Tibetan customs.

China Highlights' Tibet Shoton Festival Tour gives travelers an opportunity to celebrate the Shoton Festival with the local ethnic people.

 

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