Midweek Dharma

Hemis Festival's Masked Buddhist Dance

For centuries, tantric ritual dances have been an important part of the Indian Mahayana-Vajrayana tradition. They still exist in Himalayan Buddhist cultures, most notably amongst the Tibetan and Newar Buddhists. These days, such dances are still performed during important annual occasions. The most famous of these is the Hemis Tsechu—the Hemis Festival—which is held every summer at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh. This is both a conventional summer festival, but also a celebration of the life and legends of Guru Padmasambhava, the great 8th century Indian tantric monk who helped initiate the first spread of Buddhism into Tibet. Although the festival takes place every year, there is a special performance once every 12 years. I was there when the last one happened, in 2016. This is my story of the sheer scale and splendour of that day’s festivities. If you’d like to read my in-depth post on the Hemis Festival, you can find it here [https://bibekbhattacharya.substack.com/p/power-pilgrimage-and-performance]. Thanks for listening to The Buddhism History Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new episodes and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bibekbhattacharya.substack.com [https://bibekbhattacharya.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]