| Festivals of Tibet |
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If you plan your tour of Tibet well, not only will you be able to see the pristine beauty of the region, you could also participate in the numerous highly colourful festivals of the region. Hardly a day passes without some festivities, ceremonial observances or pilgrimages occurring in some part of the region or the other. Whichever festival you include in your travel itinerary, be sure to carry lots of film. Trust us, you will need it.
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| Gutor |
Usually, explanations of Tibetan festivals start with looking at the New Years Day celebrations. However the years end is also of special importance and Tibetans observe Gutor while they are busy preparing for the New Year’s Day. Preparations for New Year start about two weeks before the day and people arrange their religious offerings, buy new dress clothes, food and drink for the feasts etc. The feasts include a substantial amount of Dresi a sweet buttered rice with added raisins, Droma, which is rice boiled with small potatoes, various meats, fruits, breads, chang, butter tea among others. Kapse, a fried sweet that comes in different shapes and forms, are a must. Tibetans are supposed to see in the New Year with these sweets piled high on their tray.
On Gutor, Tibetan families eat Guthuk a soup with dumplings, in the evening. The dumplings contain beans, broken pieces of wood, chilies, wool, charcoal, or pieces of paper on which various words are written. People eat them in turn and they tell their New Years fortune by checking what the ingredients of the one they chose. There is also a game played at this time where some of the family members decide on an unlucky mark in advance and the one who picks it has to do a forfeit.
Following this everyone participates in the original purpose of Gutor, which is to exorcise the evil spirits from the previous year by running around with a doll representing a fierce god, setting off fireworks, and hand-held fire crackers. On the 3 0th, New Years Eve, Tibetans clean their houses and then wait in anticipation for the following days festivities. |
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| Losar |
The Tibetan New Year is known as Losar, the most popular of all the festivals of the year, when even young Tibetans wear chuba and pay their first visit of the year to a temple with their family early in the morning. On New Years Day, Tibetans are supposed to offer ornaments called Chemar and chang beer to their households deity and to the water dragon who takes care of their water supply. Be careful as the chang served is strong enough to get drunk.
After saying Tashi Delek and exchanging greetings with neighbors, Tibetans do nothing but feast on the food and drink that they have painstakingly prepared. They visit each others feasts and have parties full of drinking and singing. The men do not miss an opportunity to enjoy gambling, with games of Sho (dice), Pakchen (mah-jong), etc. On New Years Day everyone spends time with their family or neighbors and then start paying visits to their relatives on the second day. Children also have a good time New Years gifts of candies, etc.
On the 3rd day they replace the year old tar-choks and dar - shings on the roof of their houses with new ones and burn thick bunches of Sang (fragrant grasses). After so much feasting it is no wonder that Tibetans take days off after the celebrations. Other nationalities such as the Han and Hui have their own New Year celebrations according to different calendars but the shopkeepers among them are said to be too scared to even open their shops during Tibetan Losar, due to the mobs of drunk Tibetans |
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| Monlam (Prayer) Festival |
Monlam means Prayer and at monasteries a great Buddhist service is held and Cham (Buddhist dances) are performed. From New Years day until the end of Monlam, people continue to eat, drink and make merry.
In Lhasa, an offering carefully crafted from butter and over 1O m. high was put in the Jokhang Temple, where most of the monks from the monasteries around Lhasa would gather and hold the Monlam Chenmo or Great Prayer Festival. This festival was banned during the Cultural Revolution and although it was revived once in 1985, it has was once again prohibited in 1990, maybe because the festival encourages Tibetan identity too strongly. |
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| Chunga Choepa Memorial Service |
Also called the Butter Lamp Festival. On the day of Chunga Choepa the Barkhor Square in Lhasa turns into a grand exhibition site for huge Tormas sculpted from butter in the form of various auspicious symbols and lamps. It is a fantastic night. Chunga Choepa used to be the highlight of Monlam in Lhasa and in the past the Dalai Lamas would come to the Jokhang Temple and perform the great Buddhist service. The question and answer test for the highest-ranking monk of Lharampa Geshe was also held before the Dalai Lama during this festival. These events are now carried out in Dharamsala where the Dalai Lamas government is in exile. |
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| Saga Dawa Festival |
The most important festival for Tibetan Buddhism, the Saka Dawa Festivalcommemorates Shakyamunis Buddhahood and the death of his mortal body. At every monastery sutras are recited and Cham dances are performed. It is said that good deeds in the month of this festival deserve 300 fold in return and this leads many people to donate large sums to the religious orders, monasteries and to the beggars that gather at this time of year.
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| Zamling Chisang |
Zamling Chisang was originally meant to commemorate Guru Rinpoches subjugation of the local deities and the founding of Samye Monastery. In Lhasa, there is the spectacle of large amounts of Sang being burned up on the hills of Chakpori, Bumpari (on the southern side of the Kyi-chu) and Gepheiri (behind Drepung Monastery), etc. |
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| Choekhor Duechen |
Also called Drukpa Tsezhi or June 4, Choekhor Duechen is a commemoration of Shakyamunis first teachings at Buddha Gaya that he gave at the age of 35. After paying a visit to the temple, Tibetans then proceed to enjoy a picnic.
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| Guru Tsechu |
This festival is to celebrate the birthday of Guru Rinpoche. This festival is held in higher regard in the outlying Tibetan areas of Bhutan and Ladakh.
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| Shoton |
When the summer retreat for their intensive training is over, monks are served with yoghurt. That is said to be the origin of Zhoton, which is also called the Yoghurt Festival. At Drepung Monastery there are Cham dances and the grand thangka is unveiled early in the morning. After devoutly viewing the thangka, the people go onto the Norbulingka and other popular spots for a lingka (picnic). Zhoton is also known as theTibetan Opera Festival due to the competitive performances of Ache Lhamo, Tibetan Opera that are held at the Norbulingka. |
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| Bathing Festival |
On this starlit night Tibetan people take a ceremonial wash in the waters of their local rivers or natural springs. This is a seductive and tranquil festival.
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| Harvest Festival |
These festivities are not related to Buddhism and the date of them is dictated by the ripening of the crops. The most lively places to catch this festival are in farming villages. |
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| Labab Duechen |
Celebrating Shakyamuni’s descent from the God Realms into his mother Mayas womb. On the day of the festival the number of pilgrims to the sacred places increases substantially as this also corresponds with the agricultural off-season. |
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| Palden Lhamo Festival |
Tibe’s protector deity Palden Lhamos festival. A Palden Lhamo float is paraded through the Barkhor.
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| Ngachu Chenmo |
The anniversary of the death of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa order. Houses, streets, and temples are lit by numerous lamps and it is also known as the Tsongkhapa Butter Lamp Festival. |
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| Tibetan Festival Calendar (Year: 2009 and 2010) |
| LIST OF FESTIVALS |
DATES IN TIBETAN CALENDAR |
YEAR 2009 |
YEAR 2010 |
TIBETAN NEW YEAR (LOSAR) |
1-3 of the 1st Lunar month |
Feb 25 |
Feb 14 |
MONLAM PRAYER FESTIVAL |
4-11 of the 1st lunar month |
Feb 28-Mar 7 |
Feb 18-24 |
BUTTER LAMP/ CHOE-NGA CHOEPA |
15th of the 1st Lunar month |
Mar 14 |
Feb 28 |
SAGA DAWA |
15th of the 4th Lunar month |
June 7 |
May 27 |
GYANTSE HORSE RACE |
14-18th of 4th Lunar month |
June 6-10 |
May 27-30 |
THANKA UNVEILING AT TASHILHUNPO |
15th of the 5th Lunar month |
July 7 |
June 26 |
ZAMLING CHISANG /SAMYA DOLDE |
15th of the 5th Lunar month |
July 7 |
June 26 |
CHOEKOR DUECHEN |
4th of the 6th Lunar month |
July 25 |
July 15 |
SHOTON FESTIVAL |
30th of the 6th Lunar month |
Aug 20-25 |
Aug 10-15 |
NAGCHU HORSE RACE |
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Aug 10-16 |
Aug 10-16 |
LHABAB DHECHEN |
22nd of the 9th Lunar month |
Nov 9 |
Oct 29 |
PALDEN LHAMO FESTIVAL |
15th of the 10th Lunar month |
Dec 2 |
Nov 21 |
GADEN NGA-CHOE |
25th of the 10th Lunar month |
Dec 11 |
Dec 1 |
GADEN THANKA UNVEILING |
15th of 6th Lunar month |
Aug 5 |
July 25 |
LITHANG HORSE RACE |
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Aug 1-3 |
Aug 1-3 |
JE KUNDO HORSE RACE YESHU) |
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July 25- 28 |
July 25-28 |
TIJI FESTIVAL MUSTANG (PALACE) |
25-29th the 3rd Lunar month |
May 19-23 |
May 8-12 |
TIJI FESTIVAL MUSTANG (MONASTERY) |
5-9th of the 5th Lunar month |
June 27-July 1 |
June 17-20 |
MANI RIMDU (TENBOCHE) |
1-19th of the 9th Lunar Month |
Oct 19-Nov 6 (Nov 2-3) |
Oct 8-26 (Oct 22-24) |
MANI RIMDU (CHIWANG) |
1-19th of the 10th Lunar Month |
Nov 17-Dec 4 (Dec 2-4) |
Nov 7-25 (Nov 21-23) |
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