▲ Tibetan riders pick up Hada on the field
Jubilant Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival
Photo: Zhang Guohua
I grew up in the area of both agriculture and animal husbandry production in Shangri-La, grew up on horseback, had wonderful stories of riding on horses, eating on horses, sleeping on horses, and playing on horses, and had a special love for horses, loved horses, and especially admired and ecstatic horses galloping on the grassland, which may also be an innate nature unique to Tibetans.
▲Double riding single horse performance
When it comes to horse racing, let's start with the origin of horses! There are many beautiful legends and stories about the origin of horses in Tibetan areas, which abound and have their own advantages. For example, in Shangri-La City, Dongwang, Gewe and other Tibetan places about the origin of horses, in the form of rap speeches, using simple language to express the local Tibetan masses of the birth of horses, appearance characteristics, equipped with horse harnesses and other aspects of the vivid description of the horse, which is also the local Tibetan people in the mind of the basic measure of horses, indicating the sacred and special status of horses in the minds of the local Tibetan masses, its specific content is: below the Indian Mountain, above the HanDi Mountain, there is a large blue lake, A ruyi tree grew in the lake, and a creation bird flew in, and three eggs were born on the treetops, and one egg flew into the sky, and the sky appeared as sun, moon, and stars, shining; an egg fell to the earth, and the earth appeared densely forested, and the ground was lush; an egg remained in the nest, and a foal hatched in the nest, the hair tip was golden like gold, and the hair root was as white as silver; the tip of the ear was like a spearhead, and the ear root was as thin as satin; the back was short like a sheep's back, and the neck was as long as a wolf's neck; the hind legs were bent like a bow, and the front legs were straight like arrows; the tail was like a water waterfall. The four hooves are as large and round as stone; the neck tip is as thin as the neck of a yellow goose, and the neck root is as thick as the neck of a yak; the tip of the nose is white like a snail, and the nostrils are as wide as a door; the saddle on the back is really strange, the front saddle bridge is like the sun rising, the back saddle bridge is like the moon shining, and the saddle is shaped like the six stars of the South Dipper. Legends and stories about horses are endlessly circulated in the Tibetan area of Shangri-La, and they will not be repeated here.
▲Two fathers and sons enter the racecourse
Humans had horses first, and then there were horses, which evolved into horse racing festivals. After humans tamed horses 4,000 years ago, with the development of society, they were used in agricultural production, transportation, military, sports and other activities. The use of horses by Tibetans is no less than that of other ethnic groups, known as "people on horseback", and horse racing festivals are spread throughout Tibetan areas, such as the Northern Tibetan Horse Racing Festival, the Gyantse Damma Festival, the Kangding Horse Racing Festival, the Panpo Horse Racing Festival, the Tianzhu Horse Racing Festival, the Dangxiong Horse Racing Festival, the Dingri-Ri Horse Racing Festival, etc., of which the Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is also an indispensable part of the Tibetan Horse Racing Festival.
▲Shangri-La Jiantang Town Nairi Village Dabatang Racecourse
The Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is one of the traditional festivals celebrated by the people of all ethnic groups in Shangri-La, and one of the traditional festivals with the theme of Tibetan horse culture stipulated by the Shangri-La Municipal People's Government, which is held every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth lunar calendar for a period of 3 days. There are 3 places where the venue is held, some years are at the foot of Wufeng Mountain in the eastern suburbs of the city, some years are in Jiantang Town Nishi Village La we Tang Grass Dam, and some years are in Jiantang Town Nairi Village Daba Tang Grass Dam. Whenever the Horse Racing Festival comes, the people of all ethnic groups in Shangri-La gather at the racecourse to spend the traditional festivals of joy, festivity, peace, unity and progress, showing Chinese and foreign tourists the unique national culture of Shangri-La and the beautiful scene of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
▲A harness exhibition was held during the Shangri-La May Jockey Club, and the judges exchanged views on the spot
The Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival has a long history of Tibetan horse culture. The Tibetan masses have lived in plateau areas for a long time, with high mountains and long roads, deep canyons, inconvenient transportation, and wild beasts, and in order to survive, they have lived a life of iron horses and riding archery and martial arts since childhood. As a result, it has become the nature of the Tibetan masses to love horses, and horse racing is one of the main contents of the entertainment life of the Tibetan masses. Horse racing, known in Tibetan as "Dajiao". The May Horse Racing Festival, known in Tibetan as "Cape Ambada". From ancient times to the present, horses have been closely linked to the material pursuits and spiritual sustenance of the Tibetan masses. The tibetan masses are strong and mellow in their affection for horses, horses are the closest partners of the Tibetan masses in their daily lives, and horses are the life in the hearts of Tibetan farmers and herdsmen. In Shangri-La, whether it is a Tibetan farmer engaged in agriculture, a Tibetan herdsman engaged in animal husbandry, or a Tibetan businessman engaged in commerce, they all love horses, and they are inseparable from horses, and horses have become indispensable tools in Tibetan production and life.
▲The scene of the horse racing festival organized in the early liberation of Zhongdian. Photo courtesy of Zhang Guohua
According to Tibetan historical records, around 729 AD, the first jockey club was held in Tibet during the inauguration of Samye Monastery in Tibet, which lasted for half a month. From the existing murals, it can be seen that there are two ways to race: one is a long-distance horse race, which determines the victory or defeat with speed and slowness; the other is that a knight stands at the center point, and two other knights gallop in opposite directions from two places at the same distance, and the first to the center wins.
▲ Saddles on display at the Shangri-La May Jockey Club Harness Show.
Speaking of the origin of the Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival, there are many legends, but they are all ever-changing, and their contents are closely related to horses and heroic figures, reflecting the cultural signs of the Tibetan masses' worship of horses and heroes that continue to circulate in today's real production and life.
First: According to legend, the Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is a traditional horse racing festival formed by following the custom of Tibetan hero King Gesar who routinely held horse racing and archery before each expedition.
Second: It is said that in the Spring and Autumn Warring States to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Jiantang Tribal Alliance with Sister Qiang as the main body established the "Ancient Jiantang Kingdom" on the Shangri-La Grassland, and every may on the fifth day of the fifth month, the cavalry of the Jiantang Kingdom practiced horsemanship at the foot of Wufeng Mountain, and the horse training field was naturally formed at the foot of Wufeng Mountain, which evolved into a horse racing festival over time.
▲ Horse mats on display at the Shangri-La May Jockey Club harness exhibition
Third: According to the "Records of Shangri-La County", in the early Tang Dynasty, the Chinese brave army composed of twelve units of Tubo Qinghai Yushu Beijiade went south to the Jiantang Grassland in Shangri-La, and the ancient Jiantang Kingdom surrendered to the Tubo Dynasty. The Tubo cavalry stationed on the Jiantang grassland is still good at riding, and every May on the plateau, during the season of warm spring blossoms and turquoise grasslands, the cavalry gathers at the foot of Wufeng Mountain to practice military parades, and people of all nationalities flock to watch the riding and shooting, and take outings in the green, thus forming a horse racing festival.
Fourth: in the Qing Dynasty, the Green Battalion soldiers were stationed, and Shangri-La set up a small arrow road, and on the fifth day of the first month of May, running horses and shooting arrows at the foot of Wufeng Mountain, over time, it became a grand festival in the eastern Tibetan areas.
Fifth: According to legend, the King of Tibet held a horse race in Lhasa once a year, but the riders of Jiantang (present-day Shangri-La) fell behind several times and were ridiculed by the King of Tibet, and announced that if the Jiantang runners fell in the first place again, they would double their payment of the king's food. At that time, there was a young man named Na Lord Du Dan in Jiantang, who was determined to fight for his hometown. Therefore, he set up a tent under the Wufeng Mountain, thought about it at night, trained horses, and after several cold and hot days, he finally practiced a skill, and later won the first place at the Lhasa Horse Race. The king asked the lord what Dudan wanted, and he said that as long as the king of Tibet spared the people of Jiantang from paying heavy royal grain, he would not want anything else. The King of Tibet agreed to his request. Later, in order to commemorate the merits of the lord Dudan, the people of Jiantang built a pavilion on Wufeng Mountain, in which a statue of the lord Dudan galloping on horseback was erected, and at the initiative of the local people, it was decided to hold an annual horse racing festival at the foot of Wufeng Mountain on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year.
▲ Female riders you chase me to catch the speed of the horse race
With the development of society, the content and form of the horse racing festival have also become colorful, and today's Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is no longer a single horse racing competition, but has changed from a simple viewing of riding and shooting, taking a green outing to a major event of national cultural display, economic exchanges and promotion of tourism. During the Horse Racing Festival, tents fill the surrounding area of the horse racing venue overnight, and tents and flags compete to shine, at which time various cultural and economic activities such as literary and artistic performances, folk song contests, national costume exhibitions, and material exchange meetings are held. At the same time, traditional programs such as tug-of-war, archery, crossbow shooting, stone holding, yak racing, and bull pulling bars were also held, which fully demonstrated the tough, heroic and intelligent character of tibetans.
During the festival, you can also enjoy the horse teams of Jiantang Town and other townships in Shangri-La City and the surrounding areas such as Ganzi, Qamdo, Dali and Lijiang to bring wonderful equestrian performances, horse racing and hada, horse racing shooting, horse speed races, horse walking and other programs, adding more fun to the vast and tranquil Shangri-La.
▲ The crowd watched the horse race
The Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is yet another event of great national unity. During the festival, Tibetan, Yi, Lisu, Naxi and other ethnic groups of men, women and children of all ethnic groups came together in groups, the whole family went out, dressed in various ethnic costumes, carrying ghee, milk residue, rice rice, barley wine and various delicacies from all directions, set up tents around the arena, raised cooking smoke, invited relatives and friends, talked about tea and wine, watched the horse race, and cheered for the horse racers, cheering and thundering, becoming a beautiful scenery in The Plateau may be a beautiful scenery in May.
The Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is also a romantic season of love. During the horse racing festival, when night comes, a roaring bonfire is lit around the racecourse, and groups of people of all ethnic groups around the campfire wear gorgeous national costumes, wear their most worthy gold and silver jewelry, accompanied by melodious melodies, dance a melodious and quaint pot dance, all in silence, the elderly reminisce about the old, young men and women use this to find beautiful love, form lifelong partners on the flower-filled grassland, and ride galloping horses to spend a lifetime on the beautiful grassland.
▲ Horse shackles on display at the Shangri-La May Jockey Club harness exhibition
"Cultural stage, economic singing", Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival has formed an important way to serve the local economy construction, the people of all ethnic groups set up dense tents, sell all kinds of local products, and enliven the festival market. At the same time, governments at all levels also organize investment promotion and economic and trade negotiation activities to attract merchants to develop the Shangri-La market and invigorate the local economy.
The jubilant Shangri-La May Horse Racing Festival is a grand gathering of chance to enjoy the Cultural Feast of Shangri-La Horse, at this moment, meet in the Shangri-La May flower season, each other agreed not to disperse, so that happy, happy, beautiful dreams, galloping on the vast grassland to achieve dreams come true.
▲ A silver statue of Pegasus collecting glory, development and take-off
(The article was published in Diqing Daily and Shangri-La In June 2013, and revised and published in China Tibet, No. 3, 2020) in March 2020).