Religious Dancing Festivals in Shigatse

Most of the religious dancing festivals are celebrated to drive off the evils or pray for happiness and good harvest. Different religious dancing festivals would be held in different monasteries in Tibet. Tibet Tour introduces the most noted religious dancing festivals in Shigatse for tourists willing to explore deeper into the religious culture in Shigatse during their lifetime Tibet tour.

Religious Dancing Festivals in Shigatse – Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival

Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival is also noted as Simo Boqen Festival in Shigatse. It was originated from a simple evil driving-off ceremony and developed to an annual traditional religious festival gradually. The annual Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival would be celebrated on August 4th according to the Tibetan calendar. It provides tourists a special chance to look into the Tibetan religious culture though it is not as famous as the other grand Tibetan festivals. Hence, a certain number of tourists would choose to join the Tibet festival tours during the celebration of the Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival so as to witness a special religious ceremony.

With a history of more than 500 years, Tashilhunpo Monastery is the religious center for Tibetans living in Tsang Area. Tourists making a Shigatse tour here could experience rich religious atmosphere created by the ancient rows of prayer wheels, high Mani piles, flying prayer flags, sacred Buddha statues and exquisite murals. Tourists who've been here are always impressed by the majestic Buddha exhibition deck and the valuable cultural relics collected in the halls.

The celebration of the Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival always involves hilarious religious music produced by a series of religious musical instruments. The lamas in the monastery would act different roles, including various Buddha figure and evils or ghosts. All the religious dances presented are aim at the kindness and charity in Buddhism. Tourists don't know too much about the Tibetan Buddhism could also enjoy the religious dancing easily.

Religious Dancing Festivals in Shigatse – Sakya Monastery Religious Dancing Festival

In Shigatse Prefecture, the Tashilhunpo Monastery Religious Dancing Festival is noted as the religious dancing festival in summer while the Sakya Monastery Religious Dancing Festival is noted as the religious dancing festival in winter. The annual Sakya Monastery Religious Dancing Festival would be celebrated on November 29th according to the Tibetan calendar. It is said that this religious festival has a history of more than 500 years and it is mainly celebrated to pray for good weather and pleasant harvest in the coming year. According to statistics, there are more than 20,000 Tibetan audiences would come to watch the annual religious dancing in Sakya Monastery every year.

Various masks play important role in the celebration of the Sakya Monastery Religious Dancing Festival. Sometimes the performers have to act with a pretty big mask, which has a height of more than 3 meters and a weight of 50 kilograms. All these masks are manufactured by the lamas in the monastery or the pilgrims. The lamas in Sakya Monastery have to make a good preparation for the celebration of the Sakya Monastery Religious Dancing Festival every year, including the manufacture of various stage properties and the arrangement of the dance.