In Ladakh, a very famous Buddhist monastery is located Karsha. This beautiful place will amaze you with its rich culture, beauty and peaceful atmosphere. The celebration of the Güster festival takes place in the month of July. It is filled with masked dances, spiritual chanting and music.
If you want to experience the culture of Ladakh and want to know about how to make people happy and peaceful, then this festival can help you a lot. The main theme of this festival is to spread the message of “good over evil”. It makes us realize what we all are missing in humanity today.
Here is all you need to know about this unique Buddhist festival!
Significance of Gustor Festival
The Guster Festival is a celebration that shows the victory of good over evil forces. On the birthday of the Tibetan saint-scholar, Tsongkhapa, this big celebration of the Güster Festival takes place. During the 14th century, Tsongkhapa established the Gelukpa School.
In addition, the school was known for propagating Tibetan Buddhism. Ladakh is fully decorated with lights and flowers that make the festival more vibrant.
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This festival is so important for the people of Ladakh because it reflects progressive Buddhism. The celebration includes dances and spiritual chanting that ward off evil forces.
Significance of Dance Drama
The festival is filled with many important dance performances. The dancers look attractive in colorful costumes and their dance is composed by the Gelupaka monks. The ceremony includes a 2-day dance. The dance performances are hidden in the sense of showing the illusion performed by Lhang Dar-ma on the Tibetan monk.
Bad acts of jealousy, sin, bad behavior etc. are performed by the dancers through their dance. The aim is to educate people that no matter how big a bad force they are, they never grow up with good forces. Evil will always be defeated against good.
We should never sacrifice being good. And no matter how difficult things are in life, no one should ever cease fighting for good things. The dancers try to portray Jeet wearing a mask. Most importantly, the main purpose of the festival is to protect Buddhism and spread its importance among the people.
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How is the Gustor Festival celebrated?
The celebration of the festival is very lively. It attracts people from all over the world. The Gustav Festival is an important event for Buddhist people. There are many activities that are performed by devotees at the festival. The most important activities of these celebrations are:
- First, the celebration of the festival begins with a cake called cake called a sacrificial cake or storm. It depicts evil powers. The cake is cut into two pieces by monks with black caps. This ceremony is known as Argam or Killing.
- Secondly, Buddhist monks chant spiritual to drive away evil forces. It brings positivity and charm to the atmosphere. Chanting also helps to bring peace in nature and make people less suffering.
- Thirdly, the dancers wearing the costumes perform dances depicting different meanings and it makes the festival energetic. The Güster Festival is very famous for dance performances and masks that dance during it. It makes the entire area colorful.
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Special Dishes of Gustor Festival
- One of the most important dishes at the festival is the “Bali Cake”, also known as Argham.
- Other traditional dishes like ‘Thukpa’ make very tasty food for the people attending the festival.
People gift each other with a traditional ceremony known as ‘Khatak’.
Timings of The Festival
Ladakh follows the Tibetan calendar for its festivals and the Buddhist Festival is very important for Buddhist monks in Ladakh. The time for the festival usually depends on lunar movements. It usually occurs in July or August. Therefore, the date for the Gustor Festival 2020 is 18–19 July.