Shoton Festival

Date:Shoton Festival is usually held from the first to the seventh day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, corresponding to August to September in the Gregorian calendar.

Overview:Shoton Festival, also known as the “Yogurt Festival”, is one of the major traditional festivals in Tibet. It originated from the integration of Tibetan Buddhism and folk customs. It was originally a religious activity, and later developed into a comprehensive festival with sun-drying Buddha, Tibetan opera performances, and folk activities as the main contents, becoming a grand event to showcase Tibetan culture and art.

Origin of Shoton Festival

The history of Shoton Festival can be traced back to the Later Hong Period (the period of the revival of Tibetan Buddhism) in the 11th century AD. It is said that at the beginning of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, people would offer yogurt to monks who had ended their retreat, and this tradition gradually evolved into the annual Shoton Festival. “Shoton” means “yogurt festival” in Tibetan. By the 17th century, the Shoton Festival added activities such as sun-drying Buddha and Tibetan opera performances to become the form it is today.

Main Activities of the Shoton Festival

  • Sunning the Buddha:The opening activity of the Shoton Festival is the monastery’s Buddha-drying ceremony. The monks will unfold a huge thangka Buddha statue in the morning and let people admire and pray. This solemn event attracts countless believers to come and worship.
  • Tibetan Opera Performance:Tibetan Opera is one of the cultural highlights of the Shoton Festival. Tibetan opera performance teams from all over the country will gather in Lhasa to bring wonderful traditional repertoires to the audience. Tibetan opera performances are usually held in Norbulingka and Drepung Monastery, full of ethnic characteristics.
  • Yogurt Tasting:During the festival, people will make and share yogurt, which symbolizes auspiciousness and harvest. Yogurt is an important part of Tibetan food culture, and therefore it has become the source of the festival’s name.
  • Folk activities:In addition to religious and cultural activities, there are also grassland competitive activities such as horse racing, archery, wrestling, and folk song and dance performances during the Shoton Festival, reflecting the enthusiasm and vitality of the Tibetan people.
  • Material trading:With the commercialization of the festival, many regions will also hold material trading fairs, which have become places for commodity exchange and cultural dissemination.

The cultural significance of the Shoton Festival

The Shoton Festival is not only a happy festival for the Tibetan people, but also a comprehensive embodiment of religious beliefs, art culture and social life. The Buddha-drying ceremony shows the devout belief of Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan opera performance inherits the ancient art form, and the folk activities reflect the lifestyle and spiritual pursuit of the Tibetan people.

The modern Shoton Festival has become an important window for Tibet to display its culture to the outside world, attracting a large number of tourists and cultural researchers every year. It not only promotes the spread of Tibetan culture, but also promotes the tourism and economic development of the region, and provides a broader platform for the protection and inheritance of Tibetan culture.

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