Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Yongning ceremonies, 1928 and 2004


KIF_1108, originally uploaded by mutikonka1.

"A huge applique thangka of Tsongkhapa displayed at Youngning monastery to celebrate his festival." - Joseph Rock


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A similar ceremony being held in 2004.
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Note the same thangka as in the first picture
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"Lamas make the demons of hell seem very real" From left to right they represent the yak, or bron; the deer; Yama, the king of hell, and Tsametthre, his wife.
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"Youngning lamas don weird masks in preparation for a religous dance."
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"They serve the prince of darkness": the two outside figures represent the deer, or showa spirits. All of them help the prince of the netherworld in torturing the souls of departed beings.
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"Impersonator of the Showa frighten pious Tibetans": together with the yak and a gruesome retinue of living skeletons, he appears in many of the lama dances as a lieutenant of Yama, the king of hell.
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A good demon: this deity of the white lama sect in Youngning holds a drum in one hand and a human thigh bone in the other.

Here are some pictures of a similar ceremony being held at the rebuilt Zhamei temple in 2004:

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Tibetan lama prefects - dobdob - keeping order at the monastery in 1924.

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A modern day dobdob at Yongning

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