Elephant Dance Festival: T Annual traditional festival of Kyaukse

The Annual Elephant Dance Festival was held at the foot of ShweThalyaung Pagoda in Kyaukse, Mandalay region.

The festival has been celebrated since the 11th century, the era of King Anawratha and passed on from generation to generation. It is a celebration that commemorates the role elephants in Myanmar culture. The elephant festival features a number of pantomime elephants, created by groups of townspeople from Kyaukse.

According to the Chairman of Kyaukse District Administrative Body, the event is aimed for preservation of traditional cultural heritage and it is one of the significant festivals of Myanmar. A total of 67 elephants participated in the elephant dance festival. This year, the reward has been increased and the 1st prize is 5 million kyats for traditional elephant, the second prize is 4 million kyats and the 3rd prize is 3 million kyats.

The rewards for sequined elephants and baby elephant have also increased. 500,000 kyats are provided each to the participating elephant groups.

Kyaukse is the only one place where the elephant dance festival is held in Myanmar. 3 sequined elephants, 6 traditional elephants, 4 baby elephants, 2 traditional innovative elephants along with 46 decorated elephants participated in the event and visited around the town.