| Sho Dun Festival | |
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| Also called | Shoton Festival, Yogurt Festival, Banquet |
| Observed by | Tibetans,Bhutanese,Nepalese,Monpa |
| Type | Tibetan culture,Tibetan Buddhist |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Part ofa series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
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Institutional roles |
History and overview |
TheSho Dun Festival (Tibetan:༄༅། ཞོ་སྟོན།;Chinese:雪頓節;pinyin:Xuědùn Jié), commonly known as theShoton[1] orYogurt Festival[2] orBanquet[3] since "Sho" means Yogurt and "Dun" means Banquet, is an annualfestival held atNorbulingka or "Jewel Park" palace inLhasa,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 thelaypeople for the monks featuring yogurt. Later on, summer operas, orLhamo, and theatricals were added to the festivities.[4] 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."[5]
