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Fairs & Festivals
Most of the festival events in Ladakh are the annual monastic festivals. Among
non-monastic events count the Losar or New Year celebrations and the notable
Ladakh Festival organized by the Kashmir and Jammu government. The monastic
festivals are dance-dramas in the gompa courtyards. The performers are the lamas,
the monks themselves. Wearing colorful garments and often frightful, at times
comic masks, the monks perform mimes representing various aspects of the religion,
be it the progress of the individual soul and its purification or the triumph
of good over evil. The events draw spectators from among the local populace,
from near and far, in great numbers for attending these auspicious events promises
spiritual benefits aside the enjoyment of the party atmosphere. Huge crowds
that gather heighten the sense of the occasion. Most monastic festivals are
two-day events. Losar celebrations take close to one month and the Ladakh Festival
is a two-week event. Our tours are designed around the dates of these unique
events, bringing you the first hand experience of their festive atmosphere and
thus broadening your insight into the cultural heritage of Ladakh.
Hemis Festival
Hemis festival is one of the most famous monastic festivals in June to commemorate
birth of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet. The sacred
dance drama of the life and mission is performed wearing facial masks and colorful
brocades robes. The three-day festival takes place from 9th to 11th. Especially
the monkey year festival, which comes in a cycle of 12 years. During it the
four-storey thanka of Guru Padma Sambhava is hung in the courtyard and other
precious thankas are also exhibited.
Thiksey, Karsha and Spituk Gustor
Gustors take place at Thiksey, Spituk and Karsha in different months of the
year. The festival takes place for two days. The celebration is to mark the
victory over evils. The mask worn by the dancers represent the Guardians, Protectors
and the Gods and Goddesses. The festival ends with the symbolic assassination
of evils and burning of the effigy of evils.
Dosmochey
Dosmochey is celebrated in Leh (Leh Palace), Liker (Lower Ladakh) and Deskit
(Nubra valley) monasteries in February. The most famous among all is Leh Dosmochey,
which is celebrated for two days in the courtyards of the Leh palace. The monks
from different monasteries perform the Chams every year turn by turn. The festival
takes place in the end and starting of the Tibetan New Year. The monks of Takthok
monastery prepares the offering with Thread crosses which binds all the evil,
hungry ghosts and guard against natural disaster in the coming year. On the
second day of the festival, the offerings are taken out of the town in a procession
and burn it while people whistle to chase away the evil spirits.
Matho Nagrang
Matho Nagrang is celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st month of Tibetan calander,
at Matho monastery, the only monastery of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism.
During these two days of festival mask dances are performed by monks of the
monastery wearing colorful silk brocaded robes and mask in different forms of
God and Goddesses. The festival is famous because of appearance of the two oracles
during the festival after full month meditation in complete isolation. The two
oracles appear in the courtyard accompanying mask dancers and predict future
events and people from far and away come to seek advice to perform ritual to
tackle with disasters.
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 Tsedup
Phyang 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.
Losar Celebration
The Losar (New Year) celebration is followed by Galdan Namchot, the birth anniversary
of Tsogkha pa who introduced Gelukpa School of order. During Namchot people
illuminate their houses, monasteries and mountains and make offerings in the
houses and monasteries.
The Losar festival is celebrated in the eleventh month of Tibetan calendar,
two months ahead of Tibetan New Year. In early 17th century, King Jamyang Namgyal
decided to lead an expedition against the Baltistan forces in winter; therefore
he decided to celebrate the festival two months before. Later it became a tradition
and being celebrated in the eleventh month.
The festival lasts for around a month, during which Gods, deities, ancestors
and even the animals are fed without fail. Images of Ibex are made as auspicious
symbol, walls of the kitchens are dotted and are believed to bring prosperity
in coming year. The Metho (procession of fire) is thrown out chanting slogans
and chasing hungry ghosts and evil spirits, and they return with rocks of ice
as auspicious symbol and these are kept in the store. In some villages there
is a tradition of making Old men and women, from this snow which last for a
week. Over all the Losar all children and young and olds enjoy and celebrate
the festival. All family members get together to celebrate if someone missing
will have their cups filled with tea by their name.
Ladakh Festival
Ladakh festival takes place in September 1-15 every year in Leh and villages.
The inauguration ceremony takes place in Leh on large scale with the procession
of various cultural troupes from different part of Ladakh. It passes through
Leh Market dancing, singing with traditional music, in colorful traditional
Ladakhi dresses, and finishes at Polo ground after performing their best dances
and songs. The festival last for 15 days with regular program in different villages.
The program includes Archery, Polo, and Mask Dances from the monasteries, traditional
dances by cultural troupes from Villages. There are series of musical concert
and dance program in Leh town.
Sindhu Darshan (Visit Indus) Festival
Sindhu Darshan is three-day festival held from 1st to 3rd June, in Shey Manla
around 8 kms. from Leh on the bank of Indus river. For the first time it was
organized in October 1997, as a symbol of unity and Communal harmony and national
integration. Whilst promoting domestic tourism in Ladakh. It is also a symbolic
salute to brave soldiers of India who have been fighting not only with enemies
in the in the human form but also in the form of nature.
During this festival artists from different parts of the country perform traditional
dances and people from all religions, castes and regions participate.
Ladakh Festival, Ladakh Tourism Reservation
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