Dancing Elephants Festival
DATE & DURATION
Celebrated for 2 days in October starting one day before the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut and the Full Moon Day
LOCATION
Kyaukse, about 40km southeast of Mandalay.
HIGHLIGHTS
Dancers put on elephant costumes, mimic elephants and compete to be the best performer. Each costume is made by hand every year.
People dance in elephant costumes to celebrate this festival. Held in October in Kyaukse, men participate in this dance competition in pairs. Participants would then mimick the movements of an elephant and compete to perform the best elephant dance. The elephant costumes are all hand made using brightly coloured fabric, bamboo and striking glitter. The costumes are created every year, which means no costumes are repeated in any of the performance. In this festival, locals also give offerings and donations to the pagoda and monks.
