Showing posts with label Allen A Hale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allen A Hale. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Tiji Festival 2019





In 2019, I went on three major journeys to photograph "ordinary people doing extraordinary things".

The first journey was at the end of May.  I returned to Upper Mustang, "The Former Kingdom of Lo", for the third time in three years ostensibly to witness and document a major festival, Tiji Festival" held in Lo Manthang.

The Tiji Festival is one of the two major festivals held in Lo Manthang each year.  It is held typically at the end of May and early June, prior to the start of the rainy season.  The other major festival, which I attended the previous year, is "Yartung Festival, which is held at the end of the rainy season in August.

In the 17th century the King of Mustang invited the Sakya Trizin (Holder of the Sakya Throne) in Samye Monastery in Tibet, the home of Vajrakila sacred dance, to reside at the Chode Monastery in Lo Manthang. The Tibetan culture and tradition is very strong in Mustang.  Today it is said that Upper Mustang is more like Tibet than the post WWII Chinese dominated Tibet of today.

While at the Chode Monastery, the Sakya Trizin performed a special Vajrakila ritual for the well being of all conscious as well as mindful beings such as divinities, humans, animals, tormented spirits, and denizens of hell.  He started a Cham, sacred Vajakila dances, associated with meditation.

Since that time in the 17th century, the Monks of Chode Monastery have been performing the dance and rituals.  Just as the Chams of Bhutan, every intricate movement, gesture, and expression of the dancer is prescribed and holds significant meaning.  In performing the Cham the Monk dancer has meditated to become the deity that he portrays.

The Tiji Festival, "Prayer for world peace", is a very religious Vajrayana Buddhist purification ceremony and ritual that commemorates the legend of a son who defeated his father in order to save the Kingdom of Lo.  The son, a deity named Dorji Jono, fought his demon father who had brought drought which caused famine in the land.

The Tiji Festival, which is held at the end of the dry season and the start of the wet growing season, commerates the victory of good over evil.

The Tiji Festival is a three day event.  In 2019 the first day of the festival was May 31st.  On the morning of the 31st, I attended a puja, a religious ritual, at the Chode Monastery.  I did not take any photographs because photography is not allowed UNLESS you had purchased a special permit just for that event.  If I remember is was something like $100 for two hours.

Unfurling the Thankla

In the afternoon, the ceremony started with a procession of costumed Monks from the monastery to the courtyard south of the Palace Gate and East of the Royal Palace.  I had been informed that the festivities would commence at 1:00 PM.  I arrived early, around 12:00 PM in order to not miss anything.  The area for spectators was already rapidly filling with people - locals as well as tourists.  I found a good location and sat on the cobble stone paving to await the start. 1:00 PM came and went.  I spoke with some people and they informed me that the ritual would start around 2:00 PM.  2:00 PM came and went.  I spoke with a monk that I know in Lo Manthang and he informed me that the start would be at 3:00 PM.  3:00 PM came and went.  However, at 3:30 PM the festivities actually started.  The wait and confusion is fairly typical for events in Upper Mustang.  Waiting is not all that unpleasant when you are surrounded by such beautiful scenery, ancient buildings, interesting local residents, and perhaps just as important - protecting your vantage point from the ever increasing number of spectators.



A Grandfather Escorts His Grandson



Monks Arriving at the Festival Site



Monk Performing Cham














The second afternoon, was highlighted by unfurling the ancient Thangka.  The ancient tapestry is said to be 400 years old.  It depicts the image of the Padmasambhava also known as Guru Rinpoche.  Guru Rinpoche was an 8th century Buddhist master.  He constructed the first monastery in Tibet.  He he is widely worshiped as the second Buddha by devotees of Tibetan Buddhism, typically found in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and the mountainous areas of India.

Devotees of Tibetan Buddhism believe that viewing the sacred dances and the thangka brings them peace as well as prosperity.  The chams performed during the Tiji Festival cleanses Lo Manthang and surrounding area of evil spirits.




Unfurling the ancient thangka of Guru Rinpoche

The afternoon of the second day of the Tiji Festival, is filled with sacred dances, Chams.  The Chams performed on that day are more energetic and lively than the ones performed the previous afternoon.




Local women pay their respects to Guru Rinpoche


Lamas play cymbals and blow radong (long horn)

























Monks Performing Durdag Cham - Lord of the Cremation Ground Dance


Lord of the Cremation Ground Dance




Young Monk Performs  Cham

On the third day of the festival, June 2, involved more sacred cham performances at the festival site.  At approximately, 5:00 PM there was a procession lead by the Lamas from the festival site through the streets of Lo Manthang to a field outside of the village.


Inside of Lo Manthang, Lamas beat drums and chant

At the edge of town, the man who many people recognize as the King stopped and lit the musket held by his bodyguard.  The matchlock musket erupted in a thunderous clap and filled the air with copious clouds of white smoke along with fragments of paper.  The firing of the musket is to banish evil from the town.


The "King's" Bodyguard Holds and Ancient Musket that the "King" Has Just Fired.

Once the procession had cleared the village of Lo Manthang, the ritual was concluded in an open field with the snow capped Himalaya mountains as a backdrop.  Several times, the ancient matchlock muskets were fired to signify the destruction and defeat of Dorjee Jono's evil father for the benefit of Lo Manthang and the Lowa people.  Firing of the muskets also banished any current demons from the region.


Outside of Lo Manthang, a man loads his ancient musket




Men Prepare Musket to be fired



Ramming the Charge



I am glad that I attended the Tiji Festival.  It was a interesting and unique experience.  

Would I return to the Tiji Festival?

Having "been there and done that", I can honestly say that I would not return to the Tiji Festival.

The ritual and ceremony met all my expectations.  The photo opportunities met my needs.

The local people were friendly and very photogenic.  It was a pleasure to see some friends once again and to make some new friends.

However, I did not completely enjoy my visit like during the previous two journeys to Lo Manthang.

The problem on this visit were the other foreign visitors.  There were not necessarily a great number of foreign visitors but I estimate that there were approximately 200 foreigners.  For a "town" of 500 residents, the amount of visitors made a big impact.

Two hundred visitors in the confined space of the Royal Palace Courtyard along with the local people attending THEIR festival was difficult.

I can tolerate the number of visitors.  I can even live, but grudgingly, with some of them wearing bright yellow or red jackets - who wants  photographs of an ethnic festival with brightly dressed foreigners conspicuously in the background? I always attend dressed in tan and black to minimize my visual impact on others.

What I have a low tolerance for and have difficulty in accepting is the poor behavior of  some visitors.  Granted that most visitors behave properly but there is a certain percentage of people who behave poorly.  The greater the number of people in any group, the greater the number of miscreants. I have also found that certain nationalities also tend to be more prevalent to poor public behavior.

Americans used to be considered to be the world's worst tourists.  They have been superseded by Chinese, South Korean, Russian, and German tourists.  I suspect that Italian tourists could also outrank the Americans now.

The Tiji Festival is highly publicized and touted for tourism to Upper Mustang.  Although Upper Mustang receives approximately 3,000 visitors a year, the vast majority of them arrive for the three day Tiji Festival.  Most have not done their homework as to what the festival is about, and most of all how sacred and important it is to the local people.

The festival is for the local people.  They believe that just by attending and witnessing the ritual, they will receive blessings and merit.  The festival is not a commercial event to attract tourists and their money.

Some of the visitors that I observed behaved as if the festival was being conducted for their benefit and entertainment.  That did not excuse their boorish behavior.  On the right hand side of the courtyard, there were a series of well made long benches with red plush cushions on top of them. HINT.  HINT!  They were obviously not intended for tourists!  Other than the chairs set up on the opposite side of the courtyard with "VIP" signs on them, there were no other seating arrangements at the performance venue.

I realized right off the bat that these benches were for the Monks.  Taking advantage of that, I stood right behind them with my knees against the bench - I knew that the young Monks would not be standing and I would have an unobstructed view of the ritual.  

Many tourists came and sat on the benches before the start of the ritual.  Perhaps they did not know or realize.  Some of the tourists sat and refused to move even when they were told that the benches were for the Monks.  As the young Monks stood before them, they would not move.  Even when they were informed by the local people they refused to allow the Monks to use the benches.  Only after an authority figure in a uniform arrived did they reluctantly vacate the benches.

The area of the courtyard where the cham is performed is sacred ground having been purified before the start of the ritual and marked out in two large concentric red lines placed by a Monk pouring the red liquid on the cobble stoned courtyard.  This did not stop some tourists from sitting in the space and refusing to move or respect the area when informed ...until an authority figure appeared with a baton to move them.

Some people behaved even more disgracefully.  There was one Chinese female tourist who kept violating the sacred space to squat and get "HER" shot.  Her presence at times interfered with the movement of the performers. Despite protests from local as well as other tourists she persisted with her obnoxious and inconsiderate behavior.  She became well known and despised throughout the festival.

One foreign man would stand in front of the seated local people at the edge of the audience obstructing their view.  He was not there for a short period of time to take a photo but to watch the ritual!  At other times I saw him placing his hand on local people to move them.  

These were all behaviors that I had not observed in Lo Manthang during my other trips.  It was not an environment that I enjoy or prefer.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

More Places Less Visited



Wodaabe young woman at Gerewol Festival

Roadside travelers - Dhaulagiri Zone, Upper Mustang, Nepal

"My ambition and goal is to show extraordinary people doing ordinary things.  In so doing, I wish to show how different people can appear, to provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind, and to demonstrate that despite our appearances we are so much alike." - Artist's Statement, Allen A Hale

Eight years ago as part of the submittal process for a gallery exposition, I had thought about my photography to develop the above artist statement.  Since that time, my photography efforts have followed the statement whether intentionally or by happenstance.

My journeys to experience and photograph the "extraordinary people doing ordinary things" have taken me to Bhutan, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Upper Mustang (Former Kingdom of Lo), Thailand, and Vietnam.


Monks filling butter lamps in Kagbeni, Upper Mustang



The journeys often involved travel along dirt roads to access the isolated locations where the extraordinary people were located.  In the case of Upper Mustang the travel involved travel where roads did not exist in many locations.  The way was often just following tire tracks across the dirt and rock strewn landscape.  Travel in Upper Mustang also included several determining your own crossing points across rivers.

Lo Manthang Street Scene, Upper Mustang (Former Kingdom of Lo)




Preparing firearm to banish "evil" - Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang
These experiences have lead me to appreciate and treasure traveling unimproved roads, dirt roads and even the lack of roads to access "places less visited".  My travels have included traveling along paved roads to access many well-known as well as popular tourist destinations including Angkor Wat, Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Addis Ababa and Kathmandu.  However the ease of access from the outside world to those places has made them popular which results in the dilution of their unique culture and homogenization of them.  International hotel chains, fast food outlets, and bus loads of Chinese, South Korean, and European tour groups can easily be found in these locations.  Great efforts are made to accommodate, appeal, and placate these masses often at the expense of local custom, style, and culture.

Making Coal Briquettes - Quan Lan Island, Vietnam

I have found that the extraordinary people are most likely to be found in the places less visited along with the places that are more difficult to get to.

Bhutan's West- East Main Highway, Trongsa, Bhutan

Some of the places to find extraordinary people do not even have roads.  One of my favorite places to visit is Tonle Sap in Cambodia.  Tonle Sap is a huge fresh water lake, the largest in Southeast Asia, near Angkor Wat.  It is more than just a "Great Lake".  Tonle Sap is a way of life and a unique culture to be experienced. It is one of my favorite places.  While Angkor Wat is overwhelmed (you have been warned) with hundreds of busloads of tourists a day, Tonle Sap gets much fewer visitors - mainly to Chong Kneas (you have been warned) by some of those busloads from Angkor Wat as part of their package tour.  However Tonle Sap is  large lake and there are unique places that get very few visitors where you can observe the unique culture.  Kampong Khleang can be accessed by land during the dry season.
 
There is floating fishing village called Moat Khla (also shown as Meat Khla) on Google Maps.  Moat Khla is 24 Km south of Kampong Khleang and accessible only by boat.  It is located 24 km south of Kampong Khleang - a 2 hour boat ride.  The entire village of fishermen and their families live on floating house boats. The school is also a floating structure.  The Buddhist temple is also  floating Wat.  There are also some floating gardens - small barges with dirt beds on top of them to supplement the inhabitant's diet with greens and vegetables.

Preparing dinner in Moat Khla, floating village, on Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Moat Khla, Tonle Sap, Cambodia
 
In May 2018, Duang and I returned from our second trip within a year to the Himalayan nation of Bhutan.

It was amazing at how much change in one year that we observed .  The change is driven by the widening and paving of the West to East road across the nation.  I was carrying some photographs to give to people that I had photographed the previous Spring.  I found just about everyone, a benefit of traveling to remote and sparsely populated locations.  However I missed one little boy and his father whom we had visited before.  I missed them because their home is now much closer to where we had spent the night before.  No, they had not moved, but the improvement of the main road has cut hours from the journey between the two locations.  I started looking for the four house village long after we had passed it   Fortunately our drivers and guides were going to pass the place on their drive back at the end of our eastern leg of the tour.  They agreed to give the photos and clothing gifts to the family on their return.

Rice Planting - Sapa, Vietnam

In 2019, besides returning to Upper Mustang for a third time, I traveled to Chad to attend the Gerewol Festival and later to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia to photograph some of the unique tribes that live there.

The Gerewol Festival was definitely a place less visited.  The festival is held somewhere on the Sahel, a vast semi-arid savannah on which the Wodaabe people lead their nomadic life tending their herds of cattle and goats.  There were often not even tire tracks let alone roads to travel on in order to get to the designated location of this year's festival.

Wodaabe men imitate birds to attract the attention and interest of women

Wodaabe men chanting and dancing at Gerewol Festival, Chad, Africa

No matter how far the distance, how less visited the culture, or how different the culture, life is basically the same ...




My interaction with the different cultures, various peoples, and witnessing some of their life style reinforces my conviction that, although we appear different, we are all alike.  I feel privileged and honored to be able to share the diversity of mankind as well as to celebrate the adaptability of mankind.
 
The Omo Valley of Ethiopia is part of the Rift Valley, the birthplace of man.  Many unique tribes inhabit the Omo Valley.  To visit some of the tribes is is necessary to have a 4WD vehicle and to camp out.

Suri people of the Omo Valley



The Buddhist philosophy is that life is change.  Most people have the attitude that most change is progress and progress is considered to be good.  I sometimes feel somewhat guilty when I reflect upon progress being a threat and disruptive to people.  Improving highways and other means to ease the access of people to the outside world benefits people through opening up markets for their goods as well as giving them greater access to conveniences and ideas not readily available to them.  This can be destructive for unique cultures, and lifestyles.  Access to the outside world often leads to the erosion of unique people's culture in that they make compromises for the sensitivities and comforts of their visitors.

Hamar young woman of the Omo Valley, Ethiopia

I hope that the people of those places, less visited, make decisions regarding "progress" that fully take into consideration the value of their traditions and culture rather than acquiescing to the false siren of becoming "modern" and emulating the dominant "advanced" cultures.

It is not for me to say what is best for others.  I can not stop "progress" no more than I can control the changes in my own life.  I do not have to like or approve the changes in this world.  I need only to recognize and adapt to all the changes in this world.

Until that day when changes will no longer happen in my life, a day that I am certain will arrive long before all the roads are paved, I will strive to seek out those places less visited.

I will cherish those places less visited.

I will enjoy those places less visited.

I will share with others those special places less visited through my photographs and writing so that they too may know of what is and may not long be - places less visited.

As this year draws to a close, the upcoming year offers new opportunities to visit the people of "places less visited".

For me, 2020, will bring a journey to PNG, Papua New Guinea, to document the people and culture.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Tiji Festival Gallery Is Now Available






I am getting caught up on my photography website.  Today I got around to selecting and uploading 45 photographs from my May/June 2019 journey to Upper Mustang, The Former Kingdom of Lo, in Northern Nepal to attend the Tiji Festival.

The Tiji Festival is an annual event which commemorates the forces of good vanquishing evil.  It is a ritual which has deep roots in Tibetan Buddhism - Vajrayana practice.  It has been conducted in Lo Manthang since the 17th century.


Mobile App Link:








Thursday, November 14, 2019

Hamer Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available





A gallery of 24 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Hamer-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Hamer-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true


The fourth tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Hamer", also known as the "Hamar".




The Hamer is a tribe of approximately 70,000 people in the Omo Valley. They grow corn, and sorghum as well as tend cattle and goats..

Hamer women are world renowned for their appearance.  Their hairstyle is particularly unique - fringes of tightly braided hair smeared with ochre and butter.  They wear a goatskin garment called a "kasha" which hangs around their neck and covers their breasts.  The kasha is decorated with rows of cowrie shells.



I was very fortunate to spend some quality and very productive time interacting with as well as photographing some Hamer people inside of their home located in a very small village.

I am very pleased with the photographs from that visit.

Karo Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available






A gallery of 33 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Karo-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:


https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Karo-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true

The third tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Karo", also known as the "Kara".



The Karo are a small tribe of less than 3,000 in the Omo Valley. They grow corn, beans, and sorghum.

I visited the tribe late in the afternoon.  Although suffering from giardiasis, I managed to get some memorable photos of the people, and their homes.  Realizing that I was feeling ill, one of the elders ensured that the people gave me some personal space.  Many of the visits to the Omo Valley can be somewhat daunting, with people pressing to have their photos taken and to view thier photos on the back of your camera.

I was very impressed with the openness and friendliness of the Omo Valley tribes.  The people were very interesting and a pleasure to interact with.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Nyangatom Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available





A gallery of 32 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Nyangatom-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Nyangatom-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true

The second tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Nyangatom".



The Nyangatom, also known as the Bome (Bume), are a tribe of approximately 20,000 in the Omo Valley. They are pastoralists - tending their herds and growing some crops as the availability of water allows.   They are known for being fearsome warriors. Even these days there are fatal encounter with the neighbors - Hamer, Suri, and Karo tribes.

I was able to witness and photograph an early morning ritual where a family extracted fresh blood from their cattle to drink.  It was unlike anything that I have ever experienced to date.

NOTE:  This gallery contains photographs of naked men, blood., and the drawing blood from live cattle.

The linked gallery provides a glimpse of a people and their culture in a land far away and living in a long ago time in today's world.

Long may they continue and thrive as they choose.