Twenty teams to take part in Kyaukse’s famous elephant dancing festival

Yangon 20-10-2015

A total of 20 teams will take part in Kyaukse’s most famous festival, the annual elephant dancing competition held to mark the Thadingyut or Lighting Festival.

The event, unique to Kyaukse in Mandalay Region, features the dancing of elephants which are skilfully made of bamboo and papers and adorably decorated by local craftsmen.

This year’s competition will take place on October 27 which is 14 Waxing of Thadingyut on Myanmar calendar. The annual festival is held in the month of Thadingyut on Myanmar calendar, in which Myanmar people pay respects to their parents, seniors, and elderly persons as a token of their gratitude toward them.

This year, four child elephant dancing teams and 11 men’s traditional elephant dancing teams and five men’s decorated elephant dancing teams will join the event.

The first prize for the child competition is 600,000 kyat, the second 400,000 kyat and the third 200,000 kyat and the first prize for traditional elephant dancing is 1 million kyat, the second 800,000 kyat and the third 600,000 kyat. The first prize for the decorated elephant dancing is 800,000 kyat, the second 600,000 kyat and the third 400,000 kyat.

The organizing committee for the festival will give 500,000 kyat for traditional elephant dancing special prize winner and the Kanbawza Bank, also 500,000 kyat, totalling one million kyat.

The festival dates back to the time of King Anawrahta, the founder of first Myanmar Empire and has celebrated more than 980 anniversaries now. There is a traditional belief that the elephant dancing can bring about temperate climate and bumper harvest for local people. (447)

The Myawady Daily, Page(19)

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