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Information about Yak Racing

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Yaks may be the best way to plow fields in Tibet, but they are also surprisingly fast runners over short distances.
Yak racing is a spectator sport held at many traditional festivals of Tibet and Mongolia, and can be one of the most entertaining parts of a Tibetan horse festival,[1] in gatherings which integrate popular dances and songs with traditional physical games.[2] Each competitor, which commonly number 10 or 12, will mount the yak, and run towards the opposite end of the race course in a sprint. Yaks can run surprisingly fast over short distances. The winner is usually given several khata (a traditional Tibetan scarf) as well as a small amount of prize money. Yak racing is also known to be performed in parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and in Pamir in Pakistan.[3]

Yak racing became an integral part of the Jyekundo (Yushu in Chinese) Horse Festival in 2006. It was held 20km south of Jyekundo in the small town of Batang. with over 20,000 people in attendance. For the 2007 horse festival all 6 counties of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture are combining resources and financing together to provide a larger festival in the prefecure capital of Jyekundo with an anticipated 40,000 to 50,000 people in attendance.
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In Tibet, yaks are decorated and honored by the families they are part of.
Yak racing is also an integral part of the nineteen-day Darma Festival in Gyangze,[4] and a comic highlight of the Damxung Horse Festival also known as the Dajyur.[5]

Yak racing is also a common sport in the farming and stockbreeding areas on the grand Qingzang altiplano. They hold yak racing events annually to celebrate the good harvest, and they pray for good weather during the coming year. <ref name="chinafpa" />

In the northern Khangai Mountains of Mongolia, the traditional Yak Festival is held near Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake every year, on the first and second days of August. Nomadic culture in the Khangai Mountains is very strong, and the area has one of the highest concentrations of yaks in the world. The event is eagerly anticipated by the community and great fun is had by all participants. The event includes yak racing and showing, wild stallion and yak rodeo riding, milking contests and other traditional Naadam events of horse racing, wrestling and archery. [6]

See also

References

1. ^ Yak Races. Life on the Tibetan Plateau. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
2. ^ China Folklore Photographic Association. Yak Racing. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
3. ^ Mountain Voices: oral testimonies from the Karakorum mountains, Pakistan: local themes: history. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
4. ^ (2004) Tibet Customs. China Intercontinental Press. ISBN 7-5085-0654-5. 
5. ^ Bhutan Gyurme Dorje (1996). Tibet Handbook. Footprint Handbooks, p. 436. ISBN 1-900949-33-4. 
6. ^ Mongolia. Panoramic Journeys. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.

External links

A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. For instance, basketball and baseball are spectator sports, while hunting or underwater hockey typically are not.
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A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.

Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or gods. A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable.
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Tibet (see Name section below for other spellings) is a Plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World.
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Anthem
"Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"
National anthem of Mongolia
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B. grunniens

Binomial name
Bos grunniens
Linnaeus, 1766

Subspecies

Bos grunniens grunniens
Bos grunniens mutus
The yak (Bos grunniens
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A khata, (also khada, khatag or khatak; or from Chinese, hada (哈达)) is a traditional ceremonial scarf given in Tibet. It symbolizes goodwill, auspiciousness and compassion.
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Anthem
My Kazakhstan


Capital Astana

Largest city Almaty
Official languages Kazakh (state language), Russian
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Kyrgyz Republic


Flag Coat of arms
Motto
none
Anthem
National Anthem of the Kyrgyz Republic
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Pamir may refer to:
  • Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia
  • Pamir languages, a group of languages spoken in this area
  • Pamir (ship), an ill-fated German sailing ship
  • Pamir River, later becoming the Amu Darya

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Motto
اتحاد، تنظيم، يقين محکم
Ittehad, Tanzim, Yaqeen-e-Muhkam   (Urdu)
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  • Batang Regency
  • Batang, Batang
  • Batang County (Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China)
  • a type of font

This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name.

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Yushu can refer to two places:
  • Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture with the prefectural capital in Gyêgu
  • Yushu, Jilin

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Damxung is a small modern Tibetan town of low-barrack like buildings and is the administrative centre of Damxung County near Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
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Dajyur or the Damxung Horse Festival is a Tibetan festival that takes place at the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (solar September) throughout southern Tibet.
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Animal husbandry, also called animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.

The science of animal husbandry is taught in many universities and colleges around the world.
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Qingzang railway, Qinghai–Xizang railway, or Qinghai–Tibet railway (Simplified Chinese: 青藏铁路; Traditional Chinese:
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Anthem
"Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"
National anthem of Mongolia
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Rodeo (IPA: /ˈroʊdioʊ/ or /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/
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Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two unarmed persons, in which each wrestler strives to get an advantage over or control of their opponent. Physical techniques which embody the style of wrestling are clinching, holding, locking, and leverage.
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Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. Archery has historically been used in hunting and combat and has become a precision sport. A person practicing archery is called an archer, and one who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a
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Buzkashi, Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis (Persian: بزکشی bozkæšī, Tajik: бузкашӣ buzkašī: goat grabbing) (Uzbek, Tatar, Turkmen: kökbörü,
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