Hemis festival in Ladakh

Posted on 03. Jan, 2012 by Thrillchimp in Adventure, Destinations, Ladakh

The Hemis festival is one of the biggest and the most famous religious festivals of Ladakh and is an attraction for both the tourist and the local people. The Hemis festival is a colorful two-day affair that falls on the 10th day (called Tse-Chu in the local language) of the Tibetan lunar month. This festival is a celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet. The main venue and stage for this festival is the courtyard of Hemis Gompa-the biggest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.

The Hemis Jangchub Choling Monastery: Positioned 40 km from Leh, this monastery is the biggest, wealthiest, prettiest and best-known gompa of Ladakh. Hemis was built in 1630 during the reign of Sengge Namgyal, an illustrious ruler of Ladakh. It flourished under the Namgyal dynasty for the royalty favoured the Drugpa sect, which managed the monastery. Its popularity stems from the major annual festival held here in summer. It also has the largest Thanka in Ladakh, which is unfurled, once in 12 years.

The festive preparations: The head lama presides over the function. The local people are seen transformed and dolled up in their finest traditional attires for the occasion. Lamas called ‘chams’ perform splendid masked dances sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns played by monks. The performers wear elaborate and bizarre colorful brocade dresses and mask and costumes and brightly painted masks. These masks are the most vital part of the dance. The music is characteristically punctuated with sounds of cymbals, drums, and unwieldy trumpets.

The Cham Dance: The dance movements are slow, and the expressions grotesque. Each colorful mask depicts a different figure in the legend that’s being portrayed. The Padmasambhava dance, which shows the conquest of the ruta demons, includes Yama — the God of death, and the black-hatted sorcerer, Guru Trakpo — the vanquisher of all demons.

Special display every 12 years: Every 12 years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, this vibrant festival takes an auspicious turn, when the two-storey high ‘Thanka’ depicting Padmasambhava is displayed. This famous ‘Thanka’, richly embroidered with pearls and semi-precious stones, was last displayed in the festivities of the year 2004. A colourful fair, displaying some beautiful handicrafts, is the special highlight of the festival.

The festival dates and duration: This festival falls in the 5th month of Tibetan calendar and is in the month of June or the first half of July. The fanfare lasts for 2-3 days.

Feel the thrill with ThrillChimp: Live your dream of taking part in this vibrant festival and enjoy the local cuisine and adventure safaris on yaks and camels while there. Reach out to us today for our special customizable seasonal packages to Leh-Ladakh and let us plan the best holiday of your life!

Tags: hemis festival, Ladakh, ladakh travel diaries, leh