Hemis festival celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. It is celebrated on the tenth day of the Tibetan lunar month on the premises of Hemis Gompa. Hemis Monastery was built in the year 1630 during the reign of Sengge Namgyal in the medieval era, an illustrious ruler of Ladakh, now in modern Jammu and Kashmir. It flourished under the Namgyal dynasty for the royalty favoured the Drugpa sect, which managed the monastery.
Fall of Hemis Festival
The colourful two-day pageant falls on the 10th day (Tse-Chu) of the Tibetan lunar month. The local people are seen dressed up in their finest traditional garb for the occasion. The festival takes an auspicious turn every 12 years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, when the two-storey high `Thanka` depicting Padmasambhava is displayed. This is known as Tshogkhang. The verandahs have a surfeit of frescoes, among them the Buddhist `Wheel of Life` (Kalachakra) and the lords of the four quarters, besides the prayer wheel.
Performances of Hemis Festival
The local people of near Hemis monastery dress up in their finest traditional garb for the occasion. Lamas perform splendid masked dances and sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. The function is headed by the head lama presides over the function.
Promotion in Hemis Festival
Hemis festival takes a favourable turn every twelve years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, when the two-storey high `Thanka` depicting Padmasambhava is displayed. A colourful fair, displaying some beautiful handicrafts made by the local people is a major highlight of the festival.
Dances in Hemis Festival
The impressive masked dances are performed to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. Hemis festival the courtyard of Hemis Gompa-the biggest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh is the stage for the famous `Hemis` festival that celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. Lamas called `chhams` perform splendid masked dances and sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. The head lama presides over the function. Splendid masked dances are performed to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. A colourful fair, displaying some beautiful handicrafts is the highlight of the festival.
Cham Dance in Hemis Festival
Cham Dance is performed in courtyard of Hemis Monastery. This dance considers the movements of Lamas which are slow, and the expressions are grotesque in nature. Each multihued mask represents an unusual stature of the myth that"s being exhibited in Hemis Festival.
