Buddhist Masks
No wonder Picasso loved masks. I think he would have liked the Tibetan Buddhist ones too. The mask above is of Yamantaka, the Terminator of Death, who is the wrathful incarnation of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of Wisdom. According to legend, the Lord of Death, Yama, was about to destroy Tibet, but the people sought help [...]
Hemis Festival
The biggest and most commercial festival in Ladakh is not the best, but still worth checking out. Thousands of people, mostly tourists and photographers, attend Hemis Monastery’s annual summer festival. It’s unbearably packed, pushy and hot, but it’s still Ladakhi and for that worth the effort to visit. I couldn’t even see the masked dancing [...]
Karsha Festival Rehearsal
The day before the festival began I went to check out the rehearsal. The dusk light and vibe were perfect and it felt good to be at Karsha again.
Ama & Aba (and one crazy old monk)
First day in Padum and I walked to a nearby monastery. In the main prayer room I saw these old, wood, tribal-looking masks of mother (ama, above) and father (aba, below) used for the annual festival. Usually ama and aba circulate the crowd “harassing” people for donations and maybe serve chang (an alcoholic drink made [...]
Lamayuru Festival
Lamayuru is one of my favorite places in Ladakh. It’s a beautiful village with an amazing monastery set in a totally surreal mountain landscape. I went to the monastery’s annual festival last weekend. Masked dances (chams) enacting themes from Tibetan mythology are the center stage of these festivals and the house is always packed. (Thankfully, [...]
