Three Must-see Gompas To Visit Near Leh, India
Phyang & Hemis Monastery Festivals In Ladakh–Thikse Also Worth Visit
Aug 21, 2009
Buddhism is an integral part of daily life for most Ladakhis. Introduced to the north-eastern corner of India (Ladakh) in roughly the start of the 10th Century with the founding of the influential Lha Chen dynasty, there are broadly speaking two distinct "schools" of Buddhism – the "newer" yellow hats and the "older" red hats. This article covers monasteries from both orders, and highlights two with summertime festivals. (Most gompas hold their annual festivals in the winter – a quieter time of year for the majority of the local inhabitants).
Hemis Gompa – The Largest And Most Well-known Summertime Monastic Festival
Nearly 50km south-east of Leh off the Leh-Manali road, this monastery hosts the best known of all the monastic festivals in Ladakh. Held in late June/early July, one particular highlight of this monastery's festival is the unrolling of it's Thangka once in every 12 years. (A thangka is a complicated religious artwork, comprised of textiles, painting and additional accessories such as silk covers, wooden dowels etc). The Hemis Thangka is reputed to be the largest in the world, and this gains the monastery its fame. Although Hemis Monastery was founded in the early 17th Century, it follows the older "red-hat" order, rather than the reformist "yellow-hat" order that was founded during the 14th Century.
Phyang Gompa - An Alternative Summertime Monastic Festival
This monastery is one of the closest to Leh itself – being situated roughly 20km away in the next valley westwards. Access is via a turnoff from the main Leh-Kargil road. This gompa (as most village monastery's are called in the region) holds the main alternative summertime festival to that of Hemis, and is also of the red-hat variety. Like Hemis gompa, this festival takes place over two days, and the first day involves a lot of complicated dramtic dances called "chhams". These are very ritualised dances performed by monks wearing costumes that are highly elaborate, and sometimes contain quite scary masks, representing the more fearsome deities. One particular highlight of the Phyang festival dances is the dance of the monkeys – where two young novices dressed up in monkey costumes first harass then are caught by three white-masked characters, culminating with a sequence in which both monkeys are ritually bound together by a long loop of rope to perform an act where both monkeys try to run in opposite directions.
Thikse Gompa - A Large Monastery Of The Yellow-hat Order
Although built earlier than Hemis and Phyang Gompas, Thikse Monastery was founded in the late 15th Century for one of the breakaway groups of monks following the newer, and reforming, yellow-hat order. Situated roughly 20km from Leh off the main Leh-Manali road, Thikse is best known for its 12m tall ornate statue of the Maitreya – the future Buddha. This occupies a two-story temple – with visitors coming in on the upper floor, roughly at shoulder height with the Maitreya. Its size ensure that even so, its head towers above everyone while its lower body poses cross-legged on the floor far below.
The region of Ladakh has a vast array of gompas spread throughout its villages. As most monastic festivals are held in winter, if a visitor only has time (or desire) to see just three monasteries from the region, then Hemis, Phyang and Thikse are three important ones not to miss.
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