"NOMAD FESTIVALS of the EASTERN GRASSLANDS of TIBET: Their Textiles, Costumes & Horse Trappings" with Cheri Hunter, Sponsored by Textile Museum Associates of Southern California

Kham and Amdo are remote, isolated and culturally Tibetan provinces in China. Their landscapes consist of snowy peaks and rolling grasslands on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, where nomadic peoples have maintained grazing cultures with sheep and yaks for centuries. Just as at American county fairs and rodeos, Tibetan nomads love to come together for spectacular annual festivals, featuring dance, costume contests, and wild competitions of horsemanship. Tibetan Buddhist culture, which is often mixed with the local animistic shaman practices, also presents opportunities for seasonal celebrations. Cheri Hunter, longtime photographer and traveler, traversed the grasslands in 2006, photographing the colorful festivals and rituals, several of which have since disappeared. This program will emphasize both the costumes, jewelry and pile trappings in use throughout the Eastern Grasslands, as well as in shaman rituals and horse competitions, where all of the participants, including the horses, are dressed in their finest.