Two-day annual festival 'Hemis Tsechu' begins in Ladakh
The two-day annual 'Hemis Tsechu Festival' at Hemis Gompa (monastery) in Leh city of Ladakh is being celebrated with great enthusiasm on 28- 29 June 2023. This two-day grand cultural festival is celebrated on the birthday of Guru Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche.
It is an annual event celebrated on the 10th day of the lunar Tibetan calendar. Prayer meetings, mask dance, and thanka i.e. mural painting exhibition are being organized to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava.
The legend of Guru Padmasambhava dates back to the late 8th century. He introduced Tantric Buddhism to the Himalayan Kingdom. He had driven away demons and evil spirits and freed the local people from their negative captivity.
He played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Tibet. He apparently had eight manifestations or incarnations in which he preached the Dharma to the people.
'Hemis Tsechu'
The festival begins with two monks playing the dungeon (long trumpet) in front of the flagpole. The dance is then performed in coordinated steps in a circle around the sacred pole.
Cham dance is a major part of the festival where lamas and monks dance. For this sacred dance, he is dressed in the eight different avatars of Guru Padmasambhava.
As part of the dance, an idol made of dough, which is colored red, is destroyed with a sword by a masked lama. It symbolizes the destruction of evil. The idol is broken and burnt, and the ashes are thrown in different directions resulting in the purification of the soul after death.
