Traditional Sports
The Tibetan people of Yunnan live in the hinterland of the Hengduan Mountains where lots of snow-capped peaks stand and the three rivers of Yangtze River, Nu River and Lancang River flow in parallel, so most of the traditional sports of the Tibetan people of Yunnan are the product of the unique natural geography and the customs of ethnic life. Traditional sports are linked to recreational activities, both as competitions and as performances. Nowadays, some of the traditional folk sports have been incorporated into modern sports competitions and have been standardized. The main traditional sports are horse racing, yak racing, archery and Tibetan Go.
(1) Horse Racing
Horse racing is a traditional sport enjoyed by the Tibetan people around Shangri-La in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is customary to hold a sacrificial competition at the Wufeng Mountain and the Immortal Cave in Longzhan Mountain for good luck and prosperity. After the sacrifice, people perform Guozhuang dance[20] and sing to celebrate. On lunar May 5th, a horse racing is held on a grand scale at the foot ofWufeng Mountain, and the next day it is held at the Immortal Cave in Longzhan Mountain. There are four types of races: One is a speed race, with distances ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 meters. The second is a pace race, where the horses are compared on their looks, physique and pace. The third is a pick-up race, in which stones or flags are placed on the prescribed course. The winner is the person who can pick up the most. The fourth is the competition for archery on horseback.Targets are set up along the prescribed track. In the stipulated time, whoever hits the most targets is the winner.
(2) Yak Racing
Yak racing is a traditional sport in the Tibetan areas of Yunnan, where riders race on yaks. Yaks are very grumpy, so the sport requires a lot of guts and skill from the rider. But it is also a fun sport that not only develops the ability to handle the yak well, but also shows the bravery and resourcefulness ofthe riders very well. For this reason, it is very popular.
(3) Archery
Archery is a traditional sport of the Tibetan people in Deqin. Every year, in the fourth month of the lunar calendar, an archery festival is held in honour of King Gesar[21]. Before the festival, adult men from the village meet together and elect a host who is responsible for preparing arrows and wine. The host must be in the animal year where he was born and a person of authority in the village. The festival lasts two to three days and each village has a special archery range. Each participant hands over a marked arrow and one to two kilograms ofbarley, or wine, for use in the festival. All men must be present for the competition, and those who are unable to shoot can ask someone else to replace him.
The host gathers all the arrows that have been handed in and divides them evenly into two, dividing the teams by arrows. The targets are placed about forty-five meters apart, with the archers standing opposite each other. Each person shoots two arrows. The team with the most arrows hit the target scores one point, while the other team does not score. There are three to five rounds per competition.
At the end of a competition, the host brings the marked arrows back together and regroups them. The cycle continues until the end of the festival. In addition, each person prepares a small wooden stick before the match. For each loss, the host carves a mark on the stick. The more marks there are, the more losses there are.
The archery festival is very large and the competition takes place from morning to night.Meals are eaten on the range and even tents are set up to sleep on the range. During the festival, there is a special custom that women are not allowed to enter the range during the day. Only at night do the women come to the range to toast and bless the shooters, and a bonfire is lit with songs and dances.
(4) Tibetan Go
Tibetan Go is also known as “Mimang”, which means “many-eyed Go “. Tibetan Go is very similar to Go and prevailed during the Tibetan Tubo dynasty 7th-11th century AD. Its board has 17 lines lengthways and horizontally (compared to 19 lines in Go); 12 pieces are laid out before the game, 6 each for black and white, and the player with the white piece moves first. Tibetan Go can be played not only by two players, but also by four or even six,with no time limit. The average player can finish a game in three or four hours, while the best players take a day to finish the game.
(5) Mountaineering
The Tibetan people of Yunnan have lived on the Diqing Plateau for generations.The terrain here is high and steep with rolling mountains and overlapping snow-capped peaks. They are extremely adaptable to high altitude and low pressure environments and are good at mountaineering. They have made a great contribution to the development of mountaineering in China. The famous Chinese mountaineering team includes many Tibetan athletes.