Sixteen year-old lone Tibetan student Tenzin Dekyi of grade eleven participated in an International Festival organized by Broughton High School, Raleigh, North Carolina last Wednesday, March 07, 2007. Tenzin Dekyi was able to get a double sized booth in the hall where she displayed various Tibetan objects and materials such as a Tibetan map, Tibetan National flag, Tibetan hundred note, portrait of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, traditional Tibetan dresses, a Tibetan opera mask, Tibetan hats, Buddhist scriptures, Thankas (Buddhist scroll), banner with eight auspicious symbols, musical instruments, Tibetan CD, DVD and Video Cassettes. She also displayed books on Tibet namely Freedom in Exile by HH the Dalai lama, Tibetan songs and Tibetan folk tales.
Interestingly, she was able to get her booth next to the Chinese booth. She wrote names of students and visitors in Tibetan scripts and also explained whatever she could about Tibetan culture, history and present situation when the visitors asked her about them.
Tenzin prepared an elaborate chart where she pasted numerous pictures on Tibet such as Potala palace, monasteries, the Tibetan alphabet, performing group photographs in traditional costume, nomads and farming life of the Tibetan people. She pasted numerous typed information on Tibet including facts about Tibet/Tibet at Glance obtained from the website of the Tibetan Youth Congress. She also prepared Tibetan food items including Deysil (ceremonial sweetened rice and Khabsey (Tibetan cookie).
In addition, she performed a solo Tibetan dance in traditional Tibetan dress. She presented portion of dances and music extracted from the three provinces of Tibet which she was able to compile from DVDs of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA). Everyone applauded her performance.
Students from numerous countries from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America including India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, The Philippines, Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Russia, France, Poland, Ireland, Germany, Turkey, the United States, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela took part in the Festival.
The festival started at 5:30 p.m. and ended at 8.30 p.m. A large number of parents, students, teachers and visitors including the Board members of local the Tibetan Buddhist Center and the President of Cognizance Tibet were gathered. The students brought pot-luck food items from their respective countries and served everybody.
Dr. Richard J. Richardson, former Vice Chancellor of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the Guest Speaker spoke on the occasion. He praised the students efforts in organizing such a grand International Festival in the High school. He said that he enjoyed cultural performances from various countries for over two hours. This is the second International Festival organized in the school.
All proceeds went to benefit the Heifer International program, a worldwide organization dedicated to eradicating hunger by providing communities in need with a means to feed themselves. There was a five-Dollar entry ticket.
Tenzin Dekyi in fact took part in the first International Festival last year but she was not able to perform a Tibetan dance that time. She is the lone Tibetan student in the school. Tenzin Dekyi, her mother and brother immigrated to the United States in 2002. Her father, Ngawang Choechen came to the United States earlier. Tenzin learnt her Tibetan dances in Tibetan schools before coming to the US and also when she attended Tibetan Sunday school in New York and then in Culture school in Minnesota. Mr. Tenzin Nawang, a professional TIPA dance and music teacher taught her Tibetan songs, dances and instruments in Minnesota. She also became a member of SFT in Minnesota. She now hopes to start a SFT chapter in her school and later in her college. She is an Honors student in the school. Broughton High school is one of the oldest and best High schools in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. Presently, there are only a few Tibetan families in North Carolina. But friends and relative of the families have expressed their desire to relocate in this beautiful state with a mild climate.
Next year, Tenzin Dekyi plans to present a group Tibetan dance by teaching Tibetan songs and dances to her friends from various countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, India, Spain, the US, etc. She also plans to request two of the Tibetan college going girls to join in the proposed Tibetan group dance. She also wants to show video on Tibet in her booth.
