Going is good to exciting at dama festival horse race
By Zhu Linyong (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-12 09:32

A child chews a dried pancake among the crowd watching the horse race.

Over the centuries, the festival gradually evolved into an important folk cultural event combining sports games. It became a popular period for distant friends and families to come together to picnic, dance, watch the many events, catch up on gossip and trade.

During our visit, the major activities included religious events such as the unfolding and basking of the tangka scroll of Buddha, the sorcerers dances and popular Tibetan sports such as horse racing, yak racing, a boulder lifting contest, wrestling, archery and tug of war competition.

The horse track lies to the south of the Dzong and is encircled with a clay wall.

Right outside there is a modern sports ground used mainly as a temporary open market.

It was a sunny day in Gyantse. The wind blew gently. The scent of blossoming rape flowers was in the air.

"It is a perfect day for us to have fun," said a young farmer called Puze, 20, from Jieze Town, which lies many miles away from the city.

Bringing with them food, drinks, tents, and goods for sale, local Tibetans - mainly farmers - came from near and far on foot, by bus, by tractor, or by horse to attend the festival, which is one of three similar traditional events held across the region.

A young man holds a Tibetan stringed instrument.

The others are the Shoton Yogurt Festival and the Tibetan New Year.

We learned that others like us drove for hours from Lhasa to Gyantse a few days ago for the remote party. The horse race was to begin at 10 o'clock sharp. So I went alone for a look at the open market.

Shopping here is an interesting experience. Even if you did not want to buy anything, an aimless stroll among the roughly formed rows of vendor stalls was rewarding.

I found that the market was a mix of trade and amusement, both elements offering a strong local flavour.

Some vendors were selling traditional clothes, hats, farming equipments and small articles for daily use. Some were selling mysterious Tibetan medicines that you rarely see in places outside of Tibet. Still some were touting in loud voices their hand-made jewellery and ornaments. With sweets in hands, small kids chased one another among the booths and potential buyers, crying out cheerfully.

Bright-eyed Tibetan girls dressed in bright, colourful clothes and gorgeous head ornaments walked gracefully in groups. A light, charming smile immediately appeared the moment their eyes met with those from visitors from afar. Some senior Tibetan farmers passed through the rows of the vendor stalls, slowly and somewhat absent-mindedly, maybe hoping to spot something he or she wants to buy and take home. But such faraway thoughts never prevented their prayer wheel from rolling.

Some old Tibetan farmers did not bother to walk around but sat on the spot where they could see the horse race clearly, drinking homemade barley wine.

At about 9:50 am, people began to gather around the track. The open market became quiet and at last all selling and buying activities came to a halt. Some members of our travel group climbed up to the top of the hills overlooking the ground. Some went to join a small portion of audiences which was standing behind the iron banisters in the central part of the ground.

I chose to join the crowd standing along the race track right within the walls of the race ground. Twelve young riders and their assistants came into the ground on their steeds.

The youngest challenger was 15 years old while the oldest was 20, I was informed. Older riders are considered not suitable for the intense riding and also their bulk would be too much burden for the horses which were expected to sprint from the off. The young riders wore tight clothing made for easier movement.

Some riders were sporting, to me at least, strange flame-like hairstyles, and the manes of their mounts were fashioned in similar style and adorned with colourful silk ribbons.

Even the tail of the horses were tied in ribbons and resembled a colourful whip. All the riders were in high spirits and appeared extremely confident of themselves.

I had learned earlier that 54 young riders from 18 towns in Gyantse County had competed in the early stages of the race meeting. Days before the festival, tryout heats between up to five riders decided which lucky one would represent the towns.

Once in the history of the festival, said locals, 100 riders competed in the final race to be champion. When not racing, the nags are used for farming activities.

One or two months or several weeks before the festival begins, the horses are intensively trained for the big race meeting, said Ciwangzhaxi, a police officer on duty at the race ground along with some 200 colleagues, a local government's measure to ensure the safe and smooth operation of the contest. Ambulance teams were also at hand in case of an emergency. About 30,000 spectators witnessed the climax of this year's festival.

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