![Farmers in Tohlung Dechen County, Lhasa, hold a horse race to celebrate Ongkor Festival, literally meaning the Bumper Harvest Festival, on August 7. [Photo/Chinanews.com]](./W020110809316428125259.jpg)
Farmers in Tohlung Dechen County, Lhasa, hold a horse race to celebrate the Ongkor Festival, meaning the Bumper Harvest Festival, on August 7. [Photo/Chinanews.com]
Farmers in Tohlung Dechen County of Lhasa celebrated the Ongkor Festival on August 7.
In rural Tibet, the Ongkor Festival is celebrated before the annual harvest season by Tibetan farmers.
Holding chemar, a box containing Tsampa - a traditional Tibetan food, and barley wine in hands, Tibetan farmers in festive costumes sang and danced to celebrate their traditional festival.
Tibetan farmers usually have a grand celebration including horse racing, archery, singing, dancing, Tibetan Opera as well as trading of commodities. Integrated with art, sports and commerce, the festival has tremendously enriched the material and cultural life of rural Tibetans.
The Ongkor Festival, originally a religious festival, is a traditional Tibetan festival popular among farmers in Lhasa city, Shigatse and Lhoka prefectures of Tibet Autonomous Region. In general, the festival begins two or three days before the barley reaping period in July or August on Tibetan calendar.
Due to the variation of the farming season from place to place, the Ongkor Festival is decided correspondingly by each township after a collective discussion by all the farmers according to the conditions of local crops.
