My first tour to Ladakh coincided with the Hemis Festival which, in 1983, was held
in the latter part of June. This festival of masked dancers celebrates the
birthday of Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, believed to have been
incarnated as an 8-year old child in a lotus flower (the meaning of his name)
floating on a lake in Swat Valley in the 8th century. In Tibetan
Buddhism he is the most important manifestation of Amitabha, the Buddha of
Infinite Light. Each morning of the five-day Hemis festival a large ‘tanka’ of
Guru Rinpoche is placed on display in the courtyard of Hemis Monastery.
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| Greeting the Head Lama, Hemis Monastery, Ladakh 1983 |
The
highlight of the colourful ceremonies are the masked monks, representing both
good and evil, dancing and swirling to the thunderous booming of large tympani,
clashing cymbals, the mystical droning of the long Tibetan alpine horns along
with an eerie, disjointed cacophony of sound from horns and trumpets. In the
alpine setting of Ladakh it was an unforgettable, mystical experience.
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| Dancing masked monk, Hemis Festival, Ladakh 1983 |
Leh
is the capital and largest town in Ladakh. Situated at an elevation of 3524
metres, Leh is around the same elevation as Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The
old town is dominated by the ruins of the former palace of the Namgyal dynasty,
abandoned since the mid-19th century and, higher up, the Leh Gompa,
or monastery. At first sight most of the mudbrick buildings look broken-down
and empty, but closer inspection soon shows that this is not the case. Even the
most ramshackle building appeared to be occupied.
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| Jumble of buildings in the old city of Leh, Ladakh |
I scrambled up to the old fort
and the view was magnificent. The upper Indus River meanders between the
distant snowy-capped Zanskar Mountains and the town. The amazing jumble of
mudbrick dwellings I could see below was the old town through which runs a
large mani wall. On this wall Ladakhis
place prayer stones, usually with the mantra “Om mani padme hum” (“Behold, the jewel in the lotus”), inscribed in
Tibetan upon them. Mani stones are found in strategic places near all the
monasteries in Ladakh and Tibet.
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| The former Palace of the Namgyal overlooks Leh, Ladkah |
The
Explore groups stayed at the Yak-Tail, one of the oldest hotels in Leh, which
was just a short walk from the bustling town centre. I remember the hotel was
comfortable but little else about it. As
well as having plenty of time to explore Leh, we also visited other Monasteries
in the area. The most spectacular was Thiksey, a magnificent construction
emulating the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
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| The Potala-like monastery at Thiksey, Ladakh |
Although the Monastery had been constructed
in the 15th century, its most imposing feature was the huge modern golden statue
of Maitreya Buddha, the largest in Ladakh, which was erected to commemorate the
visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to Thiksey in 1970. The Monastery had many
associated temples, chapels, stupas and living quarters, mostly painted white
which was accentuated against the very dark blue sky that is an indication of high
altitude.
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| The Zanskar Mountains from Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh |
© Neil Rawlins text & photography
An excerpt from my book One Foot in Front of the Other - Full Stride Now available in paperback from Amzon Books
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