Horse Racing Festival
01 · Historical Records
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Qing government organized military corvee training exercises in Nagqu, which were called "Suoma Jidui".
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Chaqing Horse Racing Festival is a traditional festival of the herders of northern Tibet, usually held each August in Nagqu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, and it has become a major mass event jointly participated in by all eleven counties (districts) of the city. Grassland horse racing has existed since ancient times; in Tibetan it is called the "Yaji Festival," meaning the joy of summer. According to folk legend, Gesar once held a "Yaji" horse race on the Wugur Grassland. The former local Kashag (Tibetan government) held a troop-review and horse-racing ceremony each seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, called "Chaqing Dajiu," meaning a review-and-race ceremony. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government, fully respecting traditional folk customs and the wishes of the broad masses of farmers and herders, fixed August 10 to 16 each year as the regular dates of the Chaqing Horse Racing Festival. Generations of herders living on the plateau, generally organized by tribe, dressed in festive finery, mounted on spirited steeds, and equipped with gorgeous saddles, surge in from all directions like a tide to take part in the annual grassland gala — the Chaqing Horse Racing Festival. The Chaqing Horse Racing Festival brings together a series of athletic contests and song-and-dance performances — horse racing, yak racing, snatching khata at a gallop, long-distance and short-distance running, target archery, stone-lifting and weightlifting, mass tug-of-war, mutual-hold wrestling, costume displays, "Layi" antiphonal singing, Gesar epic recitation, and bonfire evenings — forming a comprehensive scene of folk activity. It is both an arena displaying traditional grassland athletic contests and a grand gathering where herders and tourists buy, sell, and enjoy entertainment; it fully displays the rich spiritual and cultural life of the grassland herdsmen and constitutes a multi-dimensional cultural space of interaction, exchange, and blending among all ethnic groups. The Chaqing Horse Racing Festival has a long history, spectacular scenes, and large numbers of participants; it is the grandest annual festival on the northern Tibetan grasslands. During the week-long festival, people from all directions gather together in festive dress, riding ambling horses and singing joyfully, dancing and singing; they pass on friendship, find love, barter goods, exchange salt for grain, supply each other's needs, and solemnly celebrate this traditional ethnic festival. The Chaqing Horse Racing Festival is a brilliant pearl of traditional Tibetan festival culture, a folk activity that herders eagerly await, and an important platform and window for comprehensively displaying the culture of the northern Tibetan grasslands. It has become a grassland gala of interaction, exchange, and blending among all ethnic groups, and it is of great significance for promoting inter-ethnic exchange and strengthening ethnic unity.
Suoma Jidui and Qiaqing Dajiu
The Qing organised military training at Nagqu called Suoma Jidui, and the Tibetan government held an inspection horse race each July called Qiaqing Dajiu.
Yaji and the Urgu grassland race
Grassland racing is ancient, called Yaji or the joy of summer; legend holds that Gesar held a Yaji race on the Urgu grassland.
Snatching scarves and archery
Riders snatch scarves from the ground or shoot at targets at the gallop, among the grassland's traditional sports.
Stone lifting and wrestling
Stone lifting and wrestling are held alongside the races, tug-of-war and footraces as tests of Northern Tibet herders' strength.
Layi love songs and Gesar recitation
At the meeting herders sing Layi courtship songs, recite the Gesar epic and gather around bonfires at night.
The fixed August dates
After 1949 the state fixed the meeting on 10-16 August each year, making it Northern Tibet's greatest annual festival.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Chaqing Horse Racing Festival is jointly participated in by the eleven counties (districts) of Nagqu City, with the venue set on a grassland ground on the outskirts of the city. Herders of the Qiangtang region of northern Tibet come to the gathering in tribal units, bringing tents, butter, highland barley, salt, and grain, and camping around the venue to exchange goods. According to folk legend, Gesar once held a "Yaji" horse race on the Wugur Grassland; this legend is widely told among the herding communities of northern Tibet and has become the local cultural basis of the Chaqing Horse Racing Festival. Generations of herders living on the plateau, dressed in festive finery and equipped with gorgeous saddles, surge in from all directions like a tide to attend.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Horse Racing Festival · Horse Racing Festival · Horse Racing Festival.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The herders of the Qiangtang region of northern Tibet are the principal inheriting community of the Chaqing Horse Racing Festival, and the masses who take part in the festival together serve as its guardians and transmitters. It is an important part of the life of the northern Tibetan herders who survive in the extreme, harsh environment of high altitude, and it is of great value for the study of nomadic culture and folk culture in northern Tibet.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Bajie Abulimajin 05-2553
- Zhawa
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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