Festivals & Sacred Gatherings

Pujas

In Tibetan country, the large gatherings are mostly held in the monasteries according to the Tibetan calendar, and are called pujas. They are both a memorial of the great events of the Buddha's life, and a transmission of the highest tantric teachings. The most visually striking part of a puja is the cham dance, in which the monks, wearing masks and ceremonial robes, perform the steps of the teaching and subdue the demons. The monastic community also chants together, praying for the well-being of the laypeople and the dispelling of disaster.

Before some pujas, the monks spend several days building a complex sand mandala out of colored mineral grains, a symbol of the order of the universe; when the puja ends, the mandala is swept away, to mean that all things are impermanent. In some pujas, senior lamas also perform initiations or empowerments.

These ceremonies, even for those who are not Tibetan Buddhists, may be hard to grasp on the level of doctrine — but if you are there in person, you will feel their impact and their cleansing of the heart, or you may, in the moment the mandala is swept away, have a taste of the impermanence of all things.

A great puja is not only a spiritual event; it is also a town gathering. The laypeople come with folding chairs, sit around and watch; around the grounds, food tents and small stalls set up shop, the air full of tea smoke and the smell of food — a lively, unmistakably Tibetan living atmosphere.

Manigango's most important pujas are usually in late July or early August (Guru Rinpoche's birthday), or around Losar, the Tibetan New Year. Because the dates shift with the Tibetan calendar, please confirm them with us in advance.

Visit guidelines: dress with decorum — no shorts, no short skirts, no spaghetti straps; in the main prayer hall, do take off your hat and your sunglasses; no photography inside the hall, no flash during the cham, ask the monks before photographing them; do not point at a buddha image with a single finger — use the open palm, all five fingers together; do not touch a monk's head; pass and receive things with both hands.

Gesar epic theater

In the neighboring township of Co'a, every summer the Gesar epic theater is performed — a folk activity that has been going on here for a hundred years. The theater was born at Dege's Trüchen monastery, created in 1870 by the monastery's fifth abbot, Tupten Chöying Dorje, and is based on the Gesar epic, which is a national intangible cultural heritage of China.

The performance is usually held on the open meadow by the Tashi Chö forest, with several dozen actors in traditional dress, wearing hand-made masks, performing in the old, plain steps the classic chapters such as "The Birth" and "The Horse-Race Coronation." The singing blends the lugü and the free folk-song styles, the language is condensed, the mythical stories and the memory of the people merged into one. As a living transmission, the theater continues here in the old-passing-down-to-the-new arrangement, and the actors, while holding on to the traditional core, also make modest innovations to suit contemporary taste. During the performance, herders and farmers in the surrounding area bring their families, pitch tents, and watch with Tibetan food and drink.

If you visit Manigango in summer, we will go together to the meadow, sit on the ground like the locals, and feel the grandeur of the Gesar theater in the sound of cymbals and singing, and at the same time catch a glimpse of the past, epic history of the grassland people.

Horse-racing festival

Manigango's horse-racing festival (the Gesar Arts Festival) comes from the ancient tradition of the Ashü grassland, and carries the local philosophy of life about strength and courage, set against the background of the "horse-race coronation." It is not a tourist event, but a pure festival of life.

In July and August, the various villages hold their horse races — for example, a two-day race in Quxi village, or the large biennial gathering at Mani village. The villagers set up great tents, and they come in their finest dress. The heart of the festival is the racing and the horsemanship: the riders in their finery, wearing their inherited jewelry, dress up the horses as "color horses." There is straight racing, and there are high-difficulty performances, like picking something up from the ground at a full gallop. During the horse-racing festival, there is a different program every day — on the opening day, the traditional dress performance; then, the large-scale guozhuang dance, free-form dance, and various collective games. The most exciting of all is the yak-riding race: the yak are hard to tame, do not like to be ridden, and do not run in a straight line, so the rider is either thrown off, or runs wild together with the yak — the scene is chaotic, thrilling, and funny at once. Men and women, old and young, in their grandest clothes, lay out great food, and revel on the grassland. You may be invited into a local family's tent, and treated to a generous meal. Please restrain yourself a little, because when you walk out of one tent, another family may already be inviting you in.

Shua bazi

"Shua bazi" is a typical folk activity of the western Sichuan plateau, meaning "go to the grassland to play, to gather." In summer, the plateau is cool and the grass is green, and it happens to be the school and monastic-college summer holidays — a good time for family and friends to come together in the natural world. People will bring tents, cooking gear, and food, and stay for a day and a night at the foot of a snow mountain or beside a mountain lake; or they may set out on the spur of the moment, on a beautiful afternoon of light and shadow, with only a Tibetan blanket, a small table, and a four-string dramyin, and go to the grassland, play, sing, melt into the world, and forget themselves. This is by no means a simple outing — it is the most intimate connection between Tibetan people and nature, and between people themselves.

Lungta

Lungta is a holy blessing ritual in Tibetan country. The "lung" is the wind, the "ta" is the horse, so "lungta" means wind-horse — a square piece of paper printed with mantras, a treasure-laden horse, and the totems of the four auspicious animals, the tiger, the lion, the dragon, and the garuda — a symbol of auspiciousness, wisdom, and power. People believe the wind is the messenger that carries the blessing; throw the lungta into the air, and the clear wind carries the prayer, like a horse, to all the world — a wish for one's own peace and the well-being of the family. Lungta can be a collective ritual (such as at Losar, or at a shua bazi to honor the mountain god), or it can be done by a single person at a mountain pass or a saddle where the wind blows. When you throw, you lift it from your chest upward into the air, and leap up, calling out "Lha gyalo!" (May the gods prevail). To protect the ecology, the lungta is now mostly made of rice paper or other degradable material, which dissolves in water.

What you can do

• Pujas: monastics in mask and brocade perform the cham dance, build and sweep away the sand mandala — visual shock and the lesson of impermanence, side by side.
• Gesar epic theater: a national intangible cultural heritage, performed each summer on the Tashi Chö meadow in Co'a township — living transmission of the Gesar saga.
• Horse-racing festival: Khampa riders in full dress, galloping across the grassland in July–August, with yak-racing, guozhuang, and free-form dance — two or three days of unbroken celebration.
• Shua bazi: the most representative Kham picnic — blankets, a four-string dramyin, and a few families disappear into the grass for a day.
• Lungta: throw the wind-horse flags skyward and leap — "Lha gyalo!" — a personal blessing you can offer at any pass, any time.

The other four doors