Butter sculptures, together with prayer wheels, colorful prayer flags and piles of prayer stones, were endorsed by ancient Buddhist masters in Tibet as a flexible approach to help illiterate commoners practice Buddhism.
The sculptures made of white yak butter and mineral dyes depict scenes from the Buddha’s teachings and show the sculptors’ reverence for the Buddha and their wishes on the special day.
It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in 2006.