FAIRS AND FESTIVALS.

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A number of fairs and festivals are celebrated in ladakh , among which the annual  festivals of major monesteries are well  worth watching . these  take the form of dance -dramas enacted in the monastic courtyards. lamas, dressed in colourful robes and masks, perform mimes depicting various aspects of the religion , like the triumph of good over evil. the most famous festival is that of the hemis monastery, held in june or early july. every 12th years, a huge thangka of padmasambhava, founder of tibetan buddhism, is ritually exhibited during the festival - the next unvelling is due in 2004, 2016, 2028.

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                     FESTIVALS OF LADAKH

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GU-STOR

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commemorating the victory of good over evil

monasteries- spituk and stongin zanskar valley- de -karsha -korzok shashukul- thiksey- likir in the indus valley - deskit in nubra valley

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Gu-stor litetally mean's sacrifice of the 9th day and marks the birthday of tsongkha-pa,the  founder of Geluks-pa monastic order in tibet. a festival of sacred dances or chhams is held to commemorate the event in the major geluks pa monasteries

The Gu-stor tradition begins with the ceremony of gold libation [ser-kyem] in which liquid offering is presented to invite the gods of the four quaters to winterss the sacred dances and protect all living - beings from the evil spirits. Throughout the two days of the festival, sacred dances are perfored by the resident lamas of the monastery, wearing masks of various divinities, which include the guardians of law or 'dharmapalas' and patron divinities of the Geluks-pa monastic order. on the second and last day a 'sacrificial figure' moulded from dough is ritually dismembered with the help or ritual weapons in a ceremony called Dao tulva[killing of the enemy].its pieces are then dispersed in the 4 cardinal directions. This symbolises the banishment of the enemies of the religion , as well as the assassination of the Tibetan apostate king lang-dar-ma by a Buddhist monk during the mid 9th century. in the evening ,an effigy symbolising the stonger force of evil [stor-ma] is burnt with fanfare.

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THE SPITUK MONASTERY

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clings to a hillock overlooking the village, about 7km west of leh. originally founded during the 11th century as a kadam-pa establishment, it was converted to the Geluks-pa order during the early 15th century. to day, with about 100 resident lamas and several branch monasteries including those at sankar and stok, spituk monastery is one of the major geluks-pa establishments of ladakh. The festival of Gu-stor is held here every year on the 28th & 29th of the 11th Tibetan month which correspondingly falls in the month of January. The dances performed here are considered to be the best in terms of presentation and the costumes of the dancers.

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THE THIKSEY MONASTERY

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on the other hand celebrates its Gu-stor two months in advance, on 17th & 19th of the 9th Tibetan month, which generally falls in november.Thiksey, only 19kms from leh, is perhaps the most visited monastery after Hemis, on account of its excellent maintenance and impressive potala - like location, along the rising slopes of a hills, over looking many picturesque villages. founded about 550years ago on the site of an earlier kadam-pa establishment, today it is a major Geluks-pa monastery with about 100 lamas on its rolls and several branch monasteries affiliated ti it. the mystic dances here are considered to be among the most impressive, like those of spituk monastery.

In the Nubra valley, the tradition of Gu-stor offering is held in the Deskit monastery. This takes places on the same days on which the leh dosmoche festivals is held and accordingly it is also identified as Dosmoche.

 

In the zanskar valley, the monastery of karsha, with more than a hundred resident lamas, is the largest Geluks-pa foundation. it is spectacularly located along the steep mountain- sides rising above the village of karsha, 12kms from padum, which is the regions ancient capital and present - day administrative head quater. The festival of karsha Gu-stor is held on the 27th and 28th day of the 6th Tibetan month which falls in the month of july. close by is the other major Geluks-pa monastery of the area at stong-de, believed to have been founded during the middle of the 11th century on the site used by the Tibetan yogi marpa for meditation. it was subsequently acquired by the Geluks-pa order in the 15th century. There are about 60 monks o its rolls. The festival of stong-de-Gu-stor is held on the 28th and 29th day of the 11th Tibetan month,which falls in january.

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DOSMOCHE

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The great winter fertival of leh.

Dosmoche is the annual prayer festival, which was instituted by the kings of ladakh on the pattern of the famous mon-lam [or great prayer] ceremony of lhasa. it is the last event of the new year celebrations , and is held every year on the 28th and 29th day of the 12th Tibetan month, which falls in february. the core event comprises sacred dances in the courtyard of the old chapel called the 'new monastery' situated below the gates of leh palace. lamas for this purpose are drawn from different monasteries of ladakh on rotation basis however, only the lamas of Tak-Thok monastery who are experts in tantric practices and astrology, can prepare the elaborate thread- cross model or 'do' which serves as the main votive of the festival. It is believed to ensnare all the evil spirits ,hungry ghosts and demonic forces when consecrated with prayers and the prescribed rites ten other kinds of votive offerings of different shapes and sizes complement the main offering . these are abought down from the venue of the dances and carried through leh's historic bazaar, in an elaborate procession in which thousands of colourfully attired local people as well as the lamas of various monasteries participate both the common and the monastic orchestra lead the way. as the procession reaches the end of the town the great 'do' or thread- cross model is overturened and the offerings are burnt with great fanfare. all the participants join in chanting prayers to wish away the evil spirits and seek protection against natural calamities and disasters in the coming year.

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DOSMOCHE AT LIKIR AND DEKIT.

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concurrent with the leh 'dosmoche' the tradition of offering Gu-stor votive and the performance of sacred dances is also observed in the monastery of likir, situated to the west of leh at a distance of 52kms likir monastery, with about 100 lamas on its rolls, is a major Geluks-pa foundation and one of the several monasteries of ladakh which are under the direct chargeof nari rimpoche, whose present incornation is the Dalai lama's younger brother. initial foundation of the monastery as a kadam-pa establishment is attributed to the year 1065 ad, while in the early, 15th century it was expanded and acquired by the 'Geluks-pa' order, much in the same way as the other old kadam-pa foundations were acquired. being a major monastery of the region, it attracts thousands of devotees and visitors from all parts of ladakh on the eve of Dosmoche festivals. Another monastery that holds the same tradition concurrently with leh Dosmoche is that of Deskit head quarters 'early 15th century Deskit monastery during the festival, lamas perform sacred dances while the devotees present folk dances of the area as intertudes.

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TSE-CHU FESTIVAL.

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padma sambhava's anniversary

They  10th day [tseschu] of every Tibetan month is considered very auspicious. in particular, the 10th day of the 5th  and the 10th month are celebrated as the birth anniversary of padmasambhava, founder of Tibetan Buddhism and the patron saint of tibet. on this occasion, the festival of Tse-chu is held in the major monasteries that fallows the kargyud-pa [old school] traditions. 

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HEMIS TSE-CHU

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In the Hemis monastery, the event is celebrated as a 2-day festival popularly known as hemis tse-chu for which ladakh is famous all over the world.