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| Buddhists
monks dance to celebrate Dosmoche festival in Leh's hills
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Buddhists monks dance to celebrate Dosmoche festival
in Leh's hills By Jigmat
Angchuk, Leh: The silent hills, surrounding the
courtyard of the main monastery of Leh, came alive
recently as several people dotted the slopes for
celebrating the annual two-day winter festival,
“Dosmoche”, in the mountainous Ladakh region.
Hundreds of Buddhist faithfully converged at Leh
to witness the spectacular mask dances performed the
occasion of the winter festival of
“Dosmoche”.
Buddhists believe the annual ritual
could ward off evil spirits and natural calamities.
Thus, during the festival, monks and the largely
Buddhist population come together to chant away evil
spirits.
The rhythmic beats of the drum
accompanying the high drawl of the trumpet like
instruments called “gyaling” with the occasional clashes
of the cymbals resonated off the rocky bare slopes.
It was all captivating as the monks, adorned in
multi-hued robes and vivid masks representing wrathful
forms of various deities considered the manifestations
of Buddha himself, danced to the beats with gay. It was
a gesture to ward off evil and welcome universal peace
and happiness.
Dosmoche festival was started
during the reign of King Lhachen Gongdup (1295-1320) who
fought two battles with Nyungti (Kullu of Himachal
Pradesh).
It used to be sponsored by the royal
Namgyal family of Ladakh, whose palace still stands as
an imposing backdrop, and is today celebrated by the
monks of various monasteries in turn every
year.
“Earlier, it was the monks from Matho and
Phyang monasteries who performed the mask dance. But
over the years the system has changed under the
supervision of Ladakh Buddhist Association and other
main monasteries, except for Likir and Diskit, were also
given this religious duty turn wise annually”, said
Nawang Dechen, a monk.
Dosmoche's main ritual
involves the burning of a colourful structure, basically
made of thread. It is accompanied by another minor
ritual and mask dances in the courtyard. Monks of
various monasteries alternately perform these dances.
“Dos” is symbolic of the sacred ritual
traditionally performed by the monks of Tug Thog
monastery at the shrine on the foothills of the Namgyal
Palace, home of Ladakh's royal family.
This year
the monks of the Hemis monastery performed the
spectacular mask dances. The two-day festival was also a
huge draw for several tourists from far off places, who
along with the locals participated in it with much
devotion and excitement.
For the youngsters, the
festival provided a chance to shop till you drop and
roam around with friends in the specially organised mini
stalls during festival. But for the old, the festival
was nothing short of a great pilgrimage for which they
travelled from remote areas.
Though Ladakh hosts
a lot of festivals round the year, “Dosmoche” is the
only festival celebrated by all the monasteries.
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