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| Riding Through Lo Manthang On Evening of the First Day |
The main reason, besides sharing a previous wonderful experience with my wife, for our tour of Upper Mustang in August was to witness the Yartung ( Tibetan "Summers End") Festival.
The Yartung Festival in Lo Manthang is held at the end of the monsoon season; marking the end of the growing season and the start of the harvest season. This year the festival was held from August 15th to August 17th. The festival is typically held in August or early September. There are other Yartung Festivals held in Upper Mustang, the Former Kingdom of Lo. During our tour of the region, we learned of upcoming festivals in Kegbeni as well as Muktinath.
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| Riders and Their Horses Assemble For the Afternoon Procession |
The festival is held over three days. The first day is focused or dedicated to "men". The second day is for "women" with the last day being focused or dedicated to "Monks".
From YOUTUBE, I watched several film clips of the actual festival in Lo Manthang as well as a couple other locales. For me the highights of the films was the riders of horses demonstrating their bravery, skill, and strength by leaning over on their racing stead to pick up a khata from the ground as they raced by. Khatas are long silk scarves associated with Tibetan Buddhism that are given at special occasions to people to show love and respect by the people who offer them. They come in different colors. White is the most common and symbolizes the pure heart of the giver as well as "peace". Yellow symbolizes "happiness'. After seeing the films of the racing and picking up of the khatas, I was very excited about our upcoming tour.
"There is the way that thing are supposed to be and then there is the way that they actually are" - "Allen's World", Allen A Hale
"2. Everything Changes" - the second of Buddhism's Three Universal Truths
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| Riding Fast and Hard In the Evening |
We attended and even participated in all days and events of this year's Yartung Festival. There was no actual horse racing per say during the festival. In the afternoon of each day there was a mounted procession through the town on the way to the festival grounds to the west of town. In the evening just before the sun went down riders would ride up and down one of the main east/west streets in town. Although the horses were traveling rapidly along the street, it was not a competition. The groups of riders reminded me of many evenings that I spent as a child riding bicycles up and down the neighborhood street with my friends - riding for the companionship and the joy of it all - no winners and no losers, just happiness.
For the start of the first day of the festival, the day focused on men, we waited for the start of the afternoon procession at Lo Manthang's main square, just outside of the City Gate. The main square is not very large but is strategically located close to the King's Palace. We were informed that the festival would start around 1:00 PM so we arrived at Noon to ensure that we would not miss anything. We then found out that the procession would start at 2:00 PM. No matter - we wandered about the small town and enjoyed watching the local people along with their horses preparing for the festival.
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| Spectators At The City Gate |
Based upon my previous walks about the town and anticipating the route of the procession, my wife and I walked down the street and set up to observe the procession in front of the monastery where the procession would have to make a right hand turn. We were fortunate and had the location all to ourselves.
The 2:00 PM start was actually a 2:45 PM start. After a vanguard of a small group of fast riders passed, a slow procession of the King and Crown Prince rode by. The monarchy was abolished by the Nepal government in 2008. The last official King died in 2016 however the people of Lo Manthang still consider the late King's son to be King. The Royal Family is highly revered to this day.
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| The Royal Pocession |
After riding through the town, the procession stopped at the intersection of the north main town street and the road leading past the Royal Mustang Resort (recently opened by the Royal Family) eventually going to the fields northwest of town. A short ceremony was held at the intersection. Offerings to the King and members of the Royal Procession were given by a small group of women. The women presented khatas, flowers, food and sang some traditional songs. At the conclusion of the ceremony, everyone rode or walked up to the festival grounds.
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| Offering Ceremony on Day 1 |
At the festival grounds there were three large tents. The first one that we encountered was surrounded by schoolchildren. Adults were busy serving lunch to the children. After eating their meal, the students washed their metal food trays, think metal military plates, in the mountain stream a short distance down and behind the large tent. The children enjoyed the afternoon socializing and listening to music on a portable PA system.
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| Horses Resting at Festival Grounds |
The next tent was the Royal Tent. The King, Crown Prince, and other dignitaries were seated inside. Lesser dignitaries sat outside of the tent on horse blankets and mats. People entered the tent to pay their respects to the King. It was all very low key and very relaxed. You could sit down next to the King and Crown Prince and be photographed - an opportunity that Duang took full advantage of after I had introduced her to the Crown Prince whom I had met last October. Whether you were photographed or not, everyone was offered hot tea and snacks - cookies and local fried dough treats.
It was a very nice experience.
The last tent was where local officials were relaxing. We were invited in and served hot tea along with some more snacks. The people were extremely gracious and friendly.
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| Preparing Tea and Sncks |
After our visits to the tents we headed back to town in order to rest in preparrtion for the scheduled evening ride.
Around 5:00 PM, people walked back into town to witness the riders returning from the festival field and riding along the north main east/west street of the town. I situated myself on the south side of the street where I could photograph the riders with the local spectators in the background. I had selected my location well as it turned out. There was a small alcove in the mud brick/stone wall that ran alongside the street behind me. There was a pile of dirt and stones to my left. Several times during the evening rides
It was quite a sight and very exciting watching the horses and riders flying past me left to right followed by right to left. There was no racing - just the joy and happiness of people celebrating the freedom as well as mobility that the horse had brought to them. Lo Manthang is a remote destination. Only recently has there men an auto route from Jomsom to Lo Manthang. The road requires 4WD vehicles to navigate its curves, water crossings, hills, and mountain passses. Most of the time we traveled at 10 KPH (6 mph). Our maximum speed was 22 KPH ( 13 mph). Due to monsoon conditions, we had to walk part of the way and change vehicles three times to get there. Prior to the road, people walked or road horses to access Upper Mustang. Lo Manthang is on the salt route from Tibet to Kathmandu. Traders transported salt from Tibet to Nepal and Nepalese goods to Tibet in horse caravans until the combination of low cost salt from India and the Chinese takeover of Tibet eliminated the trade.
The Yartung Festivals celebrate the role and freedom that the horse provides the people of Upper Mustang. I was not disappointed that there was no competitive racing. Watching the joy of the local Loba people participating in their festival. I write "their" festival in the sense that the people were doing it all for their own joy and relaxation rather than putting on a show for the outside world.
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| Announcing Arrival of King and Queen on Day 2 |
The second day of the festival was focused on "women" and followed roughly the same schedule as the previous day. For the start of the afternoon procession, we set up and remained at the main square just outside of the City Gate. Because the second day is dedicated or focused on women, the Queen participated in the procession.
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| King and Queen Exit City Gate Into Main Square |
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| The Royal Procession On Day 2 |
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| Day 2 Procession |
Just as on the first day festivities, there was a short ceremony at the intersection of the streets leading up to the festival field. Offerings were made to the Queen along with others prior to proceeding up to the tents.
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| Offering Ceremony On Day 2 |
We followed the procession up to the festival field. Our first stop was at the Royal Tent where we enjoyed hot tea and more snacks. Unlike the previous day, there was not a bottle of "Royal Treasure Whiskey" placed in front of the King. I joked with the King about the missing whiskey and then I told the Queen about the bottle that day before but that the King had not drank any of it. We all enjoyed a good laugh. The King ended up having the last laugh ... on me, the next day.
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| Serving Refreshments At Royal Tent |
As Duang and I walked by the large tent in which the Monks (lamas) were relaxing and having refreshments, we were invited to join them. We entered the tent and paid our respects to the lamas - kneeling on the ground with our hands in front of our chests in the praying position, we then started bend at our waists while our hands spread out to touch the ground remaing there until our forehead touched the top of them, we then reversed the process so that we were once again in the vertical kneeling position with our hands on our chest in the praying position. We did this three times. We then took a seat on the horse blankets placed upon the ground. We were welcomed by the High Lama and he asked us where we were from and other topics. We were given Tibetan butter tea in a bowl and some snacks - Tibetan fried dough - sort of like donuts. They then offered us Coca Cola.
We sat there enjoying our snacks, talking with the holy men and listening to some laymen who broke out into song. I thought that the song sounded sad and was about loosing their homeland in Tibet. The High Lama told me that the song was a traditional Tibetan song about wishing people good luck and happiness. He also told me that when people are singing and you like the way that they are singing , you yell out "Shay Shay" to indicate your appreciation. Duang was too shy but I let out a couple "Shay Shay"s when the men sang their songs. After a while, the High Lama said "Now it is your turn. Time for you to sing" I thought for a while. I was taken aback a bit for I had never considered let alone prepared to be singing on the Tibetan Plateau in Upper Mustang for a group of lamas. I collected my thoughts and sang the 1970s Eagles song "Take It Easy" There were several shouts of "Shay, Shay" while I was singing. It was now Duang's turn to sing but she was way too shy to sing. We were then offered a local alcohol drink - very similar to Ara in Bhutan. It was even served from a container just like the ones used in Bhutan. Ara is a distilled liquid made from most likely barley. It is also similar to a drink here in NE Thailand and Lao - "Lao Lao". Ara, Chang, or Lao Lao start off as a wine made from rice, corn, millet, or wheat. It is then distilled in a homemade still over a wood fire.
I accepted the chang which was poured from a wood container that reminded me of a beer stein but without a flip lid on it. The beverage was poured out of a small spout located at the top of the closed container. The container had four small lumps of yak butter placed 90 degrees apart along the rim. The drink was poured into my empty Tibetan Tea bowl. The man also placed a small lump of the yak butter on the rim of my bowl. The High Lama then instructed me the proper etiquette to consume the drink. Before drinking, I had to lightly dip my third finger into the bowl, and upon withdrawing my finger from the bowl, I had to flip the liquid on my finger into the air. I had to do this three times as a symbol of making a sacrifice to the sky, the earth and my ancestors.Duang does not drink so she did not participate. However there was a small shrine in the center of the tent between our seating area and where the lamas were seated. Duang is a devout Buddhist so she took the opportunity to worship at the shrine. The shrine obscured our visions of each other. I broke out into an Ian Tyson song which the lamas seemed to appreciate. A man came over to refill my bowl with some more Chang. I looked over to where Duang was worshiping to see if she was watching. I pantomimed to keep it a secret and not to let her know I was going to have some more. The Lamas started laughing. Hearing the laughing, and knowing me all to well, Duang poked her head from behind the shrine to see what I was up to. I was caught red handed and red faced. She and I joined the lamas in laughing.
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| Traditional Dancing At Festival Field |
That evening, the combination of so much activity and the 12,000 foot elevation caught up with Duang. She chose to rest at our guesthouse while I went out to witness the evening rides. I went back to the same location that I had chosen the evening before. Everything was going fine. After a while, all the old ladies across the street started yelling at me and motioning to me to come over to their side of the street. I ignored them at first but when they did not relent, I crossed over to the other side. Once on the other side I looked one way and then the other way. I did not particularly care for the photography angles and background. I then went back to my original location. I had no sooner got back to my spot when an out of control horse came galloping down the street headed directly for .... the old ladies! They all had to scramble and scatter to avoid the horse which the rider did get under control before hitting anyone. After things had calmed back down, I looked at the reassembled group of old ladies. I gave them a "WTF?" look, pointed to my head with my right index finger and tapped my right temple three times while moving my head up and down in a knowingly manner. I then motioned rather strongly for them to come across the street and join me! They laughed like crazy along with the other people on that side of the street - talk about a special memory!
Day 3 of the festival, the last day, followed the same routine and schedule as the previous two days. However there one big difference, the monks were riding the horses. The afternoon procession was a particularly unique photography opportunity - the khenpos were wearing their pandita hats. Khenpos are outstanding religious scholars who are also outstanding teachers as well as exhibiting exemplary conduct and a devotion to helping others. Pandita hats are the Tibetan Buddhist pointy hats in which the color identifies the sect and stripes, if present, indicate the areas of scholarly expertise.
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| Lama Afternoon Procession - Day 3 |
Every day of the festival, we ended up meeting and speaking with young monks. They spoke English very well. I am certain that they welcomed the opportunity to learn something about our life in the outside world just as we appreciated and cherished the chance to learn more of theirs'.
When I returned to Thailand and commenced to edit and post-process the thousands of photographs from our tour, I found this special photograph. It was one of the monks that I had spoken to several times. I posted the photo on Facebook and the story got even better - he is a Facebook friend!
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| Paying Respect to Lamas Upon Entering Tent |
The student Monks split two teams. The goal of the competition was to pass a soccer ball between the legs to the person behind you in a sort of a relay race. Once you passed the pall behind you, you ran to the back of the line. The winner of the competition was the first team to have their first student return to the front of the line.
There was a competition to see which student could get his monk clothing on the fastest.
Another competition was to see who could dissolve a tootsie roll lollipop the fastest in their mouth.
There was a contest where boys had a balloon tied to their leg. They then hopped on their one leg attempting to pop the balloon on the leg of the other competitors. The boy remaining with an inflated balloon was the winner.
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| The Gurus Watching the Student Competition |
As the afternoon grew late the monks headed back into town. Many of the students rode down the hill into town in a farm wagon.
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| Lamas Assembling For Evening Rides Through Town |
The Monks riding down from the festival field assembled in a small corral area next to where the afternoon offering ceremony had been held.
For the evening rides, I changed my vantage point. My guide encouraged me to climb the stairway to the finished second floor of a building that was under construction. This was a special viewing place for the monks. Each evening, couches had been placed up there for the Monks to sit and enjoy the rides. The building was at the end of the street upon which the riders "raced". It provided a great viewing location and a different perspective for photography.
I made sure that out of respect for the Lamas that I stayed behind them or off to the side. I enjoyed the location and was enjoying my time up there.
After a while, the King arrived and joined the Lamas. I took a break from photographing the Monks riding the horses along the street and looked in the direction of the King. He was looking at me and laughing as the High Lama was also laughing while looking at me while pointing at me. I suspect they were discussing my singing the day before. No matter, I smiled and gave them a wave which they returned.
The Yartung Festival was not what it was supposed to be according to all my research. However what the festival was actually a wonderful opportunity to see a unique cultural event. We were able to see and to a certain extent, participate, in a unique cultural event. We had three days to better understand the life of the Loba people. Our tour also helped us to begin to understand Tibetan Buddhism.
I did not get all that I wanted but I got more than what I needed. It was a great trip and an even better life experience.
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