Every year, at the end of the sixth month and the beginning of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, is the *** traditional Snowdon Festival. In Tibetan, "snow" is the meaning of sour ***, "ton" is the meaning of "eat", "feast". Snow Festival according to the Tibetan interpretation is to eat acid *** of the festival, so also called "yogurt festival". Because of the Xuedong Festival during the grand and enthusiastic Tibetan opera performances and the scale of the grand sun Buddha ceremony, so some people also called "Tibetan opera festival", "show Buddha Festival". The traditional Snowdon Festival to show Buddha as a prelude to the Tibetan opera to see Tibetan opera, the masses of the main content of the garden, while there are wonderful race yak and equestrian performances.
The center of the festival activities in the *** western suburbs of the Lopblingka. Here is the former *** local political and religious leaders *** Lama's summer garden. Festival comes, Lop Lamka and the surrounding woods, overnight will emerge a brightly colored tent city, but also the formation of several lively and prosperous festival city streets, almost the entire *** city moved into this green world, all the people are in the song and dance in the wild life, deep and enthusiastic singing accompanied by the plateau's unique musical instruments in the shadow of the trees to spread, this is the most energetic days of the *** people.
Snowdon Festival origin
Snowdon Festival originated in the middle of the 11th century AD, when Snowdon Festival is a purely religious activities. According to folklore, there are more than 300 Buddhist precepts, the most taboo is to kill and harm people. As the summer weather warms up, the grass grows, a hundred insects hibernate, the recovery of all things, during which the monks go out and inevitably step on the killing of life, contrary to the precepts of "no killing". Therefore, the precepts of the Gelug school of Tibetan April to June period, lamas can only stay in the monastery, closed quietly cultivation, known as "Ya Le", meaning "summer residence", until the end of June can be opened. Until the day of the opening of the ban, monks have out of the temple downhill, secular people in order to treat the monks, ready to brew yogurt, for them to hold picnics and wild feast, and in the celebration of the Tibetan opera. This is the origin of the Snowdon Festival.
Snowdon Festival history
By the second half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty enthroned the Fifth *** Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso and the Fifth Panchen Lobsang Yixi, given the golden book, the golden seal, so that *** "unity of church and state" system has been strengthened. According to records, to participate in the Xuedong Festival performances are Zazhi Sherpa, very big bar, drop Gaer, Xiangba, Juemulong, Tazhong, Lunzhugang, Lang Zewa, Bintongba, Ruoqi Ga, Xirong Zhongzi, Gonpo Zhuo Ba *** twelve Tibetan opera groups. So this national traditional festival with more than three hundred years of history, in a sense can be said to be a Tibetan opera festival.
Tibetan opera infiltrated into the initial stage of the Snowdon Festival, is the beginning of the combination of religious and recreational activities, but the scope is still limited to the temple. First to Drepung Monastery as the center of activities, so people called "Drepung Snow Festival". Fifth *** from Drepung Monastery moved to the Potala Palace, June 30 each year after the Snowdon Festival, is always the first in the Drepung Monastery Tibetan opera will be performed, the next day to the Potala Palace for *** performances. In the early eighteenth century after the completion of the Roblin card, become *** summer palace, so the activities of the Snow Festival from the Potala Palace moved to the Roblin card, and began to allow the public masses into the garden to watch the Tibetan opera. After this, the activities of the Snowdon Festival is more complete, formed a set of fixed festival ceremonies.
In the West *** before the reform of the Lord, the Tibetan calendar June 29 each year, all over the Tibetan opera troupes early in the morning to the Potala Palace to the local *** supervisor of the Tibetan opera, "Ziqia Lekong" reported to, and a simple ritual performance. Then rushed to Lopblingka to *** greetings, return to Drepung Monastery that night. The next day (June 30) for the Drepung Snowdon Festival, a day of Tibetan opera. July 1, by ***, Riqabe, poor Ji, Ya Long, Durong Deqing, Nimu and other places of the five troupes, six "Zhaxi Xueba" troupe, a yak dance troupe and a "Zhuo Ba" dance that is to beat the drums in the Lop Burin Ka joint performance. July 2 to 5, and then by the Jiangzi, Angren, Namling, *** four local troupes take turns to perform a day of square theater, Xuedong Festival five days, the Kashgar *** vacation, all officials to focus on the Lop Noringka with *** to see the play, every day at noon Kashgar hosted a banquet for all the officials, the seat should be eaten during the sour ***.
In 1959, *** after the democratic reform, the content of the Snowdon Festival is richer. During the festival, *** city near the Tibetan people in groups, young and old with each other, carrying a variety of colorful baggage, handheld barley wine barrels, pouring into the Lop Lam Ka. Festival, in addition to the local *** Tibetan theater group, there are Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces of the Tibetan theater group to the holy city *** cut drama. People in addition to watching Tibetan opera, but also in the shade of a colorful tent, on the ground on the card cushion, carpet, fruit and wine, dishes and other festive food. Some talk and drink, some dance and sing, many cultural organizations also come to perform national songs and dances, so as to cheer. The commercial sector to all kinds of materials and festival food transported to Labrinka, set up stalls and shelters, supplying tourists. In the afternoon, each family began to string curtain as a guest, the host to the guests of three dry a cup of "SongZhunNieTa" wine, in the persuasion, singing different tunes of the wine song, the tents, each other toast, very lively. In recent years, the autonomous region of the organs, units will be large-scale cultural activities, academic seminars, experience sharing will be arranged during the Snowdon Festival, so that the Snowdon Festival is more significant.
Xuedong Festival activities
Xuedong Festival, is *** the most solemn festival, millions of Buddhists from all over the world to ***, with the most pious heart, step by step a worship, pilgrimage Road to the supreme Buddha. Buddhist believers go to the mountains to practice, practice is completed when the family relatives bring yogurt to the mountains to meet them, on the way home people eat yogurt, dancing, singing. Every year at this time, *** around the main schools of Tibetan opera will be gathered in *** Lop Lamka for a few days to perform and competition, the scene is lively and extraordinary. The most solemn ceremony of sun Buddha, the most joyful Tibetan opera performances, as well as race yak, song and dance performances, the mysterious *** flavor as far as the eye can see.
Drepung Monastery sun Buddha
As the prelude to the festival, Drepung Monastery show Buddha is the most eye-catching ceremony. At 8 o'clock in the morning, behind the Drepung Monastery on the hillside, in the first ray of dawn, accompanied by heavy, solemn sound of the law, a 500 square meters, with colorful silk weaving a huge Sakyamuni slowly revealed the peaceful face of ...... tens of thousands of believers and tourists are y infected by the hands together, worship.
Drepung Monastery, is 1416 AD by the Tibetan Buddhism Gelugpa "yellow" founder ZongKaBa's four disciples descending qu knot built, covers an area of 250,000 square meters, is the *** largest Buddhist monastery, the complex is divided into 4,500 square meters of Tsokchin Hall, Duisong Lakang three Buddha Hall, four Zakang (by the College), Gandan Puchang Hall, etc., because of its white facade building built on the mountain, from a distance it seems like a very large pile of rice, and rice in Tibetan called Drepung, which is the origin of the name of the Drepung Monastery.
Tibetan Opera
The Tibetan Opera performance is another highlight. Starting from the second day of the Snowdon Festival, in Lop Burin Ka, Potala Palace opposite the Longwangtan Park, the Tibetan opera every day non-stop from 11:00 a.m. until the twilight of the singing. It is said that, because of time constraints, which has been extracted from the repertoire of the essence of the part, otherwise a play will be sung for a few days, the performers enjoy themselves, the viewer is more enjoyable.
The card mat is spread on the grass, family and friends sitting around idly, set up all the way back to the barley wine, ghee tea, as well as their own to do a variety of Tibetan snacks, a lot of *** while listening to the Tibetan opera, while shaking the hands of the drum, or twisting the beads of the Buddha.
The story of the Tibetan opera, there are "Nosa Dharma King", "Princess Wencheng", etc., its high-pitched moving singing, staccato monologue, magical and magnificent face, simple and solemn costumes, beautiful and moving dance, after more than 600 years of refinement, the Tibetan opera exudes a natural, rich in the unique charm of the bottom.
The significance of the Snowdon Festival
Over the past 200 years, *** there has been a situation in which Drepung Snowdon, Potala Snowdon and Lopblingka Snowdon coexisted, with Lopblingka as the center. Snowdon Festival is an important festival of the Tibetan people, is a specific form of expression of the Tibetan cultural heritage stretches, to live this festival to play the Tibetan people to maintain the uniqueness of the national culture, enhance national unity and maintenance of the world's cultural diversity has a positive significance.
With the evolution of history, now the festival has become a combination of traditional exhibition of Buddha, cultural performances, sports competitions, investment promotion, economic and trade negotiations, trade fairs, tourism and leisure as one of the traditional and modern event.
Snowdon Festival content
Tibetan calendar June 29, do some "harmonic splash", equivalent to the current leadership reception and the opening ceremony, that is, the Tibetan theater groups in various regions to the Potala Palace, Lop Noringka, Drepung Monastery.
Tibetan June 30, engage in the traditional "Drepung Snowdon". This day is the Drepung Monastery held a bathing Buddha Festival, to dozens of feet high brocade embroidery painted Buddha big thangka, by hundreds of young and strong lamas a word long serpentine array carried, religious band for its accompaniment, carried to the northwest side of the monastery steeply sloping back cliffs store hung up, so that millions of monks and laymen to look forward to worshipping. At the same time, this day is also the Drepung Monastery to maintain the normal order of political and religious activities of the iron rod lama "Ge Gui" every year for the day.
The first day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, the groups successively to the Potala Palace and Lopblingka provisions of the place of worship, run the show once again "harmonic splash" ceremony.
The second day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, Zicha Lekong and monks and lay officials in the Lop Burin card within the selection of tents and mantle, put carpet, card mat, food and entertainment, etc., in order to prepare for the theater, fun and worship and other activities with. This day began by the four blue mask school theater troupe to take turns formally dedicate the show.
The Tibetan calendar July 3 to 6, the provisions of the late new school of blue masks by the great Bar, Jiang Gaer, Shamba, Jue Mulong this four major groups, taking turns in the Lop Lamka stage, performing a whole day of their own hand, but also the traditional repertoire of the whole play, there is a "very big Boudon moon Dung Zhu", "Prince Nuosang", "Princess of Wencheng", "Baima Wemba", and so on. These days, is the Snowdon Festival Tibetan theater performance *** stage.
The seventh day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, Zhaxi Sherpa, the largest group of early white mask Tibetan opera, also held a day of performances in Lopblingka. The main performance of the white mask school of the opening ceremony "A Lu Wenba" and the closing ceremony "Zhaxi", to indicate the successful conclusion of the main activities of the Snowdon Festival, celebrate the blessings, pray for good luck.
The Tibetan calendar July 8 to 15, the Tibetan theater groups have to *** performances in various regions, known as the "*** Snowdon".
After the 16th day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, Jue Mulong can go to the *** city area outside of Lincoln performances, foreign individual Tibetan theater groups have been invited to perform in the suburbs outside of the city, but generally began to have to go back to their own areas.
The Tibetan calendar August 1 began to "Sera Chaji" festival, that is, "Sera Snowdon".
The festival begins on August 1 of the Tibetan calendar.