<正>ON August 14, 2012, a group of Tibetan farmers gathered in a cornfield by a hamlet in Changzhu Town, Nedong County, Shannan Prefecture in southern Tibet. They weren’t here, however, to farm or enjoy the country air, but to rehearse a unique form of Tibetan opera in preparation for the upcoming Lhasa Shoton Festival, one of the biggest events of the year among Tibetan communities. After a traditional drumtuning ritual involving the heating and