The Shoton Festival

The Sho Dun Festival (Tibetan: ༄༅། ཞོ་སྟོན།; Chinese: 雪頓節; pinyin: Xuědùn Jié), commonly known as the Shoton^[1] or Yogurt Festivalor Banquetsince “Sho” means Yogurt and “Dun” means Banquet, is an annual festival held at Norbulingka or “Jewel Park” palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

The festival is celebrated in the summer, from the 15th to the 24th of the 5th lunar month – usually about the middle of August, after a month’s retreat by the monks who stay within their monasteries to avoid walking on the emerging summer insects and killing them.

It began in the 11th century with a banquet given by the laypeople for the monks featuring yogurt. Later on, summer operas, or Lhamo, and theatricals were added to the festivities.The operas, “last all day with clashing cymbals, bells and drums; piercing recitatives punctuating more melodious choruses; hooded villains, leaping devils, swirling girls with long silk sleeves. In the past, dancers came from all over Tibet, but today there is only the state-run Lhasa Singing and Dancing Troupe.”

In Tibetan, “Sho” means yogurt while “ton” suggests enjoying a feast, so the Shoton Festival literally means enjoying a yogurt banquet. That’s why it is also referred to as the “Yogurt Festival.”

The origin of the Shoton Festival dates back to the mid-11th century in the Drepung Monastery, one of the Great Three Gelugpa monasteries in Lhasa.

As summer heat rises, insects and small creatures come to life. To avoid accidentally stepping on and killing these tiny beings, Tibetan monks will observe a retreat, meditating and reciting scriptures from the 15th to the 30th day of the 6th month on the Tibetan calendar (in August), following the rules of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Learn the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Shoton Festival is teeming with exciting cultural events. As a tradition, it begins with the giant Thangka unveiling in Drepung Monastery.

Before dawn, locals will flock to Drepung Monastery on Gambo Utse Mountain on the western edge of Lhasa to see the Thangka spectacle and get blessings. By 7 am, as the first sunlight breaks through, the sound of long trumpets and ritual drums fills the air. Around a hundred monks carry the massive Jampa Buddha Thangka scroll and slowly make their way up to the Thangka Wall.

After watching the Thangka unfolding at Drepung in the morning, locals will head to Norbulingka. The former summer palace of the Dalai Lama is now the most popular park for locals’ relaxation in Lhasa. They come for the vibrant Tibetan opera performance, one of the highlights of the Shoton Festival.

Drepung Monastery Thangka Unveiling is one of the most significant traditional Buddhist festivals in Tibet, typically held during the Shoton Festival. Drepung Monastery, located on the western outskirts of Lhasa, is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was historically the largest monastery in Tibet. The thangka unveiling ceremony is renowned for its grand scale and solemn atmosphere.

The event takes place at the end of June or early July, usually on the first day of the Shoton Festival, according to the Tibetan lunar calendar.

The introduction text comes from Wiki

Photo By Clint & Wilson