CURATED NEWS JUNE 2021
Curated news is a bi-monthly newsletter showcasing ideas, initiatives and practices from around the world and here in Ritoma. We hope these findings bring you fresh insights, a renewed sense of connection and grounding nourishment.
INSIGHT
Observe ‘Stamping the Water,’ a performance by Song Dong in the Lhasa River, Tibet (1996).
Immerse yourself in the colourful creations of Sheila Hicks
Contemplate the allure of timeless clothing with Eileen Fisher.
CONNECT
Celebrate the lifetime work of Claudia Andujar collaborating with the Yanomami people of Brazil.
Watch a Tibetan Step Dance Shalung Tra filmed in the village McLeod Ganj in 1979.
Discover the ancient craft of barkcloth making from the Baganda people of Southern Uganda.
NOURISH
Evoke the divine through Tibetan Tsakali Mandalas.
Get lost in the Star Dreaming story of the Seven Sisters, an ancient myth from Aboriginal Australia.
Ground into nature with the intelligent earth playlist.
LOCAL
Accumulating Merit. The 9th of June marked the end of the Sagadawa month, a time the Ritoma villagers dedicated to acts of merit. They often set goals in prostrations and temple circumambulations and make offerings to the monastery and to the poor. It is said that the merit accumulated during this holy month is more powerful, and its effect more potent, an investment towards a better future life.
Laptse Festival. Each year during the 5th Lunar Month, the men from the five areas of Zorge assemble to celebrate the biggest Laptse festival of the summer. On the 23rd of June, over 1000 horsemen came together on a large plain near Ritoma to pay homage to the local deity Amnye Dongra, whose abode is a mountain in the shape of a hunched Tiger, Ritoma’s highest peak. Tents are pitched in a large circle and horsemen carrying their clan arrows circle a cone shaped contraption, then climb on it and plant their arrows, requesting the deity’s protection. Elaborate incense offerings are made, followed by horse races that last up to three days.
Summer Pastures. On the 27th of June the Ritoma nomads left the winter villages for Chakka, the summer pastures, 20km away at an altitude of 4000 meters. They pack their tents and all their belongings onto a truck of a ‘Blue Camel’ three wheeler and lead their herds to the flower filled pastures where they will feed on the abundant summer grass. They will remain until mid August, and move on to the tall grasses or the Autumn pasture.
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