Record Number of Tourists Visit Yoghurt Festival
A record number of International Tourists and Tibetans visited Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, during the week-long “Shoton Yoghurt Festival.”
According to the Xinhua News Agency, the administration claimed a total of 906,400 visitors toured Lhasa from August 29 to September 4, 2011 – up by 15 percent for the same period last year. The City also posted that 266 million Yuan (US $41.63 million) in tourism income during this “week”, up by 8.2% year on year.
Yoghurt Festival, Drepung Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet.
© Eva Bartlett
The Chakra News Agency said that the Tibetans “freely” worshipped Buddha at the annual Shoton Festival which is known as the Yogurt Festival, in the autonomous region of Southwest China. With the Tibetans meeting and enjoying picnics while listening to traditional Tibetan Operas, in the western part of the regions capital city of Lhasa.
This year’s celebration began with the traditional “sunning of Buddha” ceremonies, with the huge “Thangka” paintings with the image of Buddha being displayed on the hillsides in front of the Drepung and Sera Monasteries.
The Drepung Monastery which opened the ceremony is situated at the bottom of the Gebeiwoze Mountain, and attracted “tens “of thousands of people.
Established in 1416, the Monastery is considered one of the three great monasteries (the others: Ganden and Sera), and in Tibetan language Drepung Monastery means: “Monastery of Collecting Rice”; becoming the mother temple of the Dalai Lamas.
A guide at the festival, Tsering Donggar, with his wife offered” hada” to the Buddha. He was dressed in traditional Tibetan attire and he offered a piece silk as a greeting gift to the Buddha of the monastery. This process of giving a greeting gift is known as “hada”- reported The Chakra News Agency.
Donggar said that every year the Tibetan people of Lhasa come together at the Shoton Festival either at the Drepubg Monastery or at the Norbulingka Garden.
A man named Gyatso set up tents across two trees preparing for days of family fun, tradition and food in an exciting environment. He looks forward to the celebration every year to spend the seven-day festival in tents with his family playing cards, eating food, drinking, sleeping and watching Tibetan operas on the grassland (CNA).
The Shoton Yoghurt Festival literally means “Yoghurt Banquet” and is one of the two most important festivals for the Tibetan community, along with the Tibetan New Year.
Dating back to the 11th century, it began as a religious occasion with local people offering yoghurt to monks who had finished retreats where they had meditated and fasted.
By the 17th century, the occasion evolved into a full festival, with Tibetan Opera and other forms of entertainment.
This year there was a Beer Festival and Tibetan Opera at Norbulingka, the summer palace for the Dalai Lama; plus horse races and trade fairs.
The Shoton festival brings together the community to celebrate and give homage to Buddha, but like all eastern celebrations it is a movable date and not fixed; however, it nearly always falls in the month of August.
By Jane Poretsis
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