Festivals Unwrapped: Test your Cultural IQ

1. At the Angkor Festival, temple dances are traditionally performed facing the shrines because they are believed to:

Improve acousticsEntertain monksNarrate sacred myths, and serve as offeringsFollow royal law

2. What makes Angkor Wat architecturally unusual compared to most temples?

It faces westIt has no towersIt has no carvingsIt’s built of wood

3. Which traditional instrument is commonly heard during Angkor cultural events?

SaxophoneRoneatViolinSitar

4. Angkor Wat appears on Cambodia’s flag - making Cambodia one of only two countries to feature what on their national flag?

A mountainA religious symbolA buildingAn animal

5. Which belief underpins many Angkor Festival offerings?

Temples demand tributeThere is balance between humans, nature, and spiritsWealth ensures blessingsRituals prevent conflict

6. Which traditional Rajasthani performance is a highlight of the Jaisalmer Desert festival?

GarbaGhoomarKathakBhangra

7. What unusual competition adds a playful edge to the festival?

Longest moustache contestDesert cooking battleSand sculptingSword fighting

8. Turban-tying contests at Jaisalmer are judged mainly on:

SpeedColour brightnessRegional style and techniqueFabric cost

9. Folk songs performed during the Desert Festival often recount stories of:

Foreign tradersDesert battlesLove, migration, and enduranceCourt politics

10. Why is night-time celebration important at the Jaisalmer Desert Festival?

Cooler temperaturesAstronomical ritualsDesert life traditionally comes alive after sunsetPower conservation

11. Which desert skill is often showcased subtly during performances?

Navigation by starsSand sculptingFire walkingFalconry

12. Traditional Rajasthani folk music at the festival is often performed using which instrument?

VeenaSitarSarangiTabla

13. The famous Kalbelia dance seen at the festival is inspired by…

Royal court dancesSnake movementsDesert windsCamel gait

14. Which folk community is most closely associated with the music at the festival?

BaulsBhilsKalbeliasManganiyars

15. If both festivals could be summed up in one idea, it would be:

Celebration through spectacleSurvival through cultureFaith through performanceIdentity through competition