Animals and Surroundings
THE WIND HORSE
Before Buddhism spread across the plateau, the wind horse was already an ancient bearer of good fortune. Depicted running and bearing the flami...
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Religion and Culture
SUMMER EQUINOX ~ LAPTSE
Thousands of white papers flutter in the air and land like snowfall on the celebrated hill, one of Ritoma’s four sacred peaks. They are printed wi...
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Religion and Culture
SAGADAWA IN RITOMA — ས་ག་ཟླ་བ།
For Mahayana Buddhists around the world, Sagadawa is the holiest month of the year and celebrates Buddha’s birth, Nirvana and Parinirvana (death)...
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Religion and Culture
DUKAR DOLMA PRAYERS
Dukar, also known as Sitatapatra in Sanskrit is a female deity with a white body, a slightly wrathful expression and an eye in the palm of each han...
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Religion and Culture
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NAGA
How the community remains rooted in the land The Norlha community is directly issued from the pastoral background they were born into and are eith...
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Religion and Culture
MONLAM CHENMO
The Great Prayer Festival, or Monlam Chenmo, was established by Je-Rinpoche, or Tsong Khapa, in Lhasa in 1409. The timing, the first two weeks of ...
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Religion and Culture
LUNAR NEW YEAR
On the Tibetan Plateau, Losar, or New Year, is the most awaited and celebrated event of the year, a time for family reunions, weddings, and new beg...
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Religion and Culture
PROSTRATING
When traveling on the Tibetan Plateau, one will often encounter groups of pilgrims clad in heavy leather aprons making the journey by prostrating, ...
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Animals and Surroundings
STONE CAIRNS
The dumbom, or stone cairn, is an endemic feature of the Tibetan Plateau landscape. They appear on common ground, on the banks of lakes, hilltops, ...
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Religion and Culture
KHATA SCARF
A Khata is a white scarf used for ceremonial occasions in regions where Tibetan Buddhism is practised or holds a strong influence. A symbol of hono...
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