The Horse Races

By the beginning of the 5th lunar month the Tibetans have finished sowing their fields. Work is slight until the rains come, nourish the crops and make the valuable mushrooms sprout in the forests. But Tibetans are busy all the same, not in the fields but at home, preparing for the great social event of the year-Saimajie, the Horse Racing Festival, staged the 5th and 6th days of the month. Folks from all parts of the prefecture attend: Tibetans from sundry directions, even as far away as Batang and Litang in Sichuan, Naxi from Baishuitai, Lisu from Weixi, Yi from the mountains south of Zhongdian, and local Bai, Naxi, Hui and Han.

Much of the preparation, beyond riding practice, focuses on making a properly stunning appearance. New silks are cut into blouses, heirloom jewellery brought out, swords sharpened, ponies dressed up, fine old carpets cleaned and the best copperware and silver-inlaid cups and bowls polished up for the coming picnic. Capacious tents start going up around the festival site, which is in the lap of Wufengshan, a few km south of Zhongdian. Events there run in the morning and afternoon, with a long break for lunch, so families hold a feast in their tents, with meat, vegetables, snacks, fruits, jiu(barley liquor) and plenty of buttered tea, dining on the carpets.

In the late 90's a new track was constructed for the festival, with a more sophisticated grandstand than the single set of bleachers in the past. Ethnic dances precede the equestrian show, beginning with an abbreviated version of the New Year masked dances. Troupes from different townships perform next, including dongba dancers from Baishuitai and local middle school troupes. When this pageantry concludes the horse show commences.

First comes a display of local horsemanship, always including a couple of female jockeys, who later pair off in their own separate race. Then four ponies advance to the starting line for the first heat. Their riders, sometimes mounted bareback, use quirts to spur them on, but Tibetan ponies are temperamental. The race is supposed to be three laps around the track, but of the four competing ponies, never do all of them complete the race. Usually two make a contest out of it, one never gets beyond a trot, while the fourth wanders off the track and refuses to run at all, to the great amusement of the crowd.

After a number of heats the racing takes a break and on come the individual jockeys to show off another kind of riding skill. Urging on their ponies to a full gallop they then lean way over to one side to snatch one of the white scarves laid out on the track at regular intervals. This can be exciting to witness when the pony's on a full run, but again, Tibetan ponies don't always respond to the rider's urging. A few will barely work up any speed, providing mirthful interludes in the show.

Races resume in the afternoon and all next day, though only one or two dance troupes will perform the second morning. Instead, a traditional Tibetan opera, in full costume, will be staged on the open ground near the track. In the city, besides the general bazaar scene, the streets at night are full of different groups of young Tibetans, singing and dancing, right through the traffic interruptions, until the wee hours of the morning. And the air of romance pervading these groups is all but palpable.