Bang the drum for ralpa

Dengchen county in Tibet’s eastern Chamdo prefecture has long been known as the land of the ralpa dance. The dance features drums, rap-style lyrics, acrobatics and martial arts.

Ralpa originated from primitive sorcery in the 11th century. Legend has it the dance’s founder is Chungpo Mila Topakar, also known as Mila Repa. The legend goes that Dengchen county was a tropical climate with elephants; the locals killed the elephants and danced on the skins as a sacrifice to their gods, hence the ralpa dance originated.

A dancer will swirl her or his long sleeves with acrobatic agility and high-flung motions. In the old days, the dance used to be performed by the whole family. Today, the dancers will dance as a team; they put on colorful clothes, and hang big drums on their waists, and wave the drumsticks.