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Festivals in Ladakh are celebrated as the occasions for
merry-making. These festivals provide people with ample
opportunities to interact with each other, form new ties and renew
the old ones.
Many of the annual festivals of the Gompas take place in winter,
which is a relatively idle time for majority of the people. These
take the form of dance-dramas in the gompa courtyards. Lamas,
attired in colourful robes and wearing masks, perform mimes
symbolising various aspects of the religion such as the progress of
the individual soul and its purification or the triumph of good over
evil. Local people flock from near and far to these events and the
spiritual benefits they get are no doubt heightened by their
enjoyment of the party atmosphere .
Ladakh
Festival The blend of various cultures of Central Asian, Tibetan,
Northern India are found in Ladakh. The duration of Ladakh festival
is of 15 days i.e From the 1st to the 15th of September. Various
sports such as polo and archery are conducted. Folk dances and
songs, its age-old social And cultural ceremonies, its art and
handicrafts, all come alive in a colorful kaleidoscope.
Hemis
Festival in Ladakh
Hemis is the biggest and and the most popular festival in Ladakh. It
is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Guru Padmasambhava who
according to a legend fought with demons to save the people of
Ladakh.
The Hemis Festival brings an opportunity for all the villagers and
families to come together and socialise. Men can be seen wearing
cummerbands while women are dressed in bright headgear and lots of
jewellery. Brass trumpets, which are 3 metre in length, are played
and the whole festive scene becomes a sight to behold. Travellers
also stand good chances of interacting with rural people which is
otherwise not possible.
The
Hemis festival takes on an auspicious hue every 12 years in the
Tibetan Year of the Monkey, when the two-storey high 'Thankga'
depicting Padmasambhava is displayed. This famous Thankga, richly
embroidered with pearls and semi-precious stones, on rich brightly
colored silk, is due to be displayed next in AD 2016.
The Hemis Gompa becomes a hub of celebratory activities during the
festival. The gompa, which is known to be the wealthiest and the
biggest in Ladakh, also features the largest thangka in Ladakh. The
Buddhist gompa remains divided into two main parts - the assembly
hall on the right and the temple on the left. During the Hemis
celebrations, the hall Dukhang becomes the greenroom of the dancers.
The temple is locally known as Tshogkhang.
A colourful fair is also organised during the Hemis Festival and
serves as a major attraction for tourists as well as locals. A range
of handicrafts are put on sale during the exhibition and you can
always find some wonderful souvenirs to take back home.
There are a number of other Buddhist festivals in Ladakh for you to
join in. Each one of these has a special significance and has its
own festive highlights.
Dosmoche Festival in Ladakh
Dosmoche, the festival of the scapegoat, is celebrated with fervor
at Leh. Falling in the second half of February, Dosmoche is one of
two New Year festivals, the other being Losar. At Dosmoche, a great
wooden mast decorated with streamers and religious emblems is et up
outside Leh. At the appointed time, offerings of storma, ritual
figures moulded out of dough, are brought out and ceremonially cast
away into the desert, or burnt. These scapegoats carry away with
them the evil spirits of the old year, and thus the town is cleansed
and made ready to welcome the new year. Spituk, stok, thikse,
chemrey and Matho all have their festivals in winter, between
November and March. Likir and Deskit (Nubra )time their festivals to
coincide with Dosmoche.
Losar
Losar -this spectacular festival celebrates the Ladakhi/Tibetan new
year. Festivities last for 2 weeks during December or
January,depending on the Lunar calander . All Ladakhi Buddhists
celebrate it by making offerings to the gods, both in gompas and in
their domestic shrines. The festival is marked with ancient
rituals,the stage fights between good & evil, chanting and passing
through the crowds with fire torches. The dance of the Ibex deer and
the dramatic battles between the King & his ministers add to the
joyous atmosphere. Full of music,dancing and merry-making ! This
important festival changes location & dates every year.
Sindhu Darshan
Sindhu Darshan Festival, as the name suggests, is a celebration of
river Sindhu, also known as the Indus. People travel for a Darshan
and Puja of the River Sindhu (Indus) which originates from the
Mansarovar in Tibet. The Festival aims at projecting the Sindhu
river as a symbol of multi-dimensional cultural identity, communal
harmony and peaceful co-existence in India. Whilst promoting tourism
in this area, this festival is also a symbolic salute to the brave
soldiers of India who have valiantly fought the odds at Siachen,
Kargil and other places.
It is also an opportunity for people from around the country and
overseas to visit the beautiful regions of Leh and Ladakh.
Celebrated first time in the year 1997, the festival is organised
annually at Leh in the month of May-June by the Government of Jammu
and Kashmir with the support of the Ministry of tourism and culture,
Government of India. The festival is kaleidoscope of Indian culture
and showcases an exciting array of performing arts being brought
together at an exciting place. As part of the celebrations, various
groups from different states in India bring water from the other
mighty rivers in the country in earthen pots and immerse these pots
in the Sindhu river, thereby mingling the river water with other
waters of the land.
Harvest Festival
The festival usually starts from 1st september and lasts till
sepftember 15th. It is a colourful celebration of the rich,cultural
diversity of Ladakh's people. The weeks long festivities are held
all over the region. Music, theatre, polo, archery,& wedding
ceremonies,are performed daily along with mask and folk dances,with
the final carnival parade passing through the streets of Leh.
Tak -Tok Festival
Tak-Tok festival is celebrated at cave Gompa of Tak- Tok . It is
among the major festivals of Ladakh. Celebrated in summer, it is yet
another tourist attraction. The festival is celebrated with fanfare
and locals from far-flung areas storm the place on the occasion.
Stok Guru Tsechu
The monks of Stok and Spituk monasteries also celebrate Stok Gruru
Tsechu for two days with mask dances performed. It is also held in
Feb. around a week before the Matho Nagrang. During the festival two
oracle appears, but they are laymen from the same village prepared
by monks to receive the spirit of the deities.
Phyang Festival
Phyang Festival, ladakh Fairs & FestivalsPhyang Tsedup takes place
in July / August. Like other monasteries, monks wearing colorful
brocade robes and Mask in the form of different god and goddesses
perform mask dances. The huge thanka of Skyoba Giksten Gonbo is hung
in the courtyard during the festival.
Yuru Kabgyat
The 2-day festival takes place in July in Lamayuru monastery around
125 kms. from Leh. Monks like other monastic festival perform mask
dances. During the festival monks perform prayer and rituals to get
rid of disaster and peace in the world |
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