The Shoton Festival is the biggest and most colourful festival in Lhasa. “Shoton” means “yoghurt feast” in Tibetan. Because Tibetan opera is performed and giant Buddha paintings are shown, it is also called the Tibetan Opera Festival or the Buddha Painting Festival. It usually falls in August.
The Drepung Thangka Unveiling
At dawn on the first day, monks carry a giant thangka of the Buddha up the hillside above Drepung Monastery. As the long horns sound across the valley, the thangka is slowly unrolled down the slope, watched by tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors. People throw white khata scarves towards it as an offering. It is one of the great sights of Tibet.
Origins of the Festival
Tsongkhapa made a rule that monks should stay inside their monasteries for a summer retreat, so they would not harm insects and other small creatures by walking outside. When the retreat ended, local people brought yoghurt to the monks, performed opera and held picnics. Over time this grew into the Shoton Festival.
What You Can Experience
huge crowds of Tibetans in their best traditional clothes at Drepung Monastery
monks carrying the giant thangka up the hillside before dawn
the deep sound of the long monastery horns echoing across the valley
the moment the thangka is unrolled, one of the most photographed scenes in Tibet
several days of Tibetan opera in the Norbulingka park
families picnicking in the parks of Lhasa
sang offerings: juniper, tsampa and butter burned at shrines across the city
Photography tip: the thangka is usually unrolled at sunrise, around 7 am. Crowds are huge, so we leave the hotel very early, often around 4 am, to reach a good place on the hillside. Bring a zoom lens and warm clothes, because it is cold on the hill before dawn.
