Labrang Monastery
The Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, Gansu, is the second most important monastery for Tibetans, after the one in Lhasa, Tibet. Hundreds of pilgrims come here everyday to spin the 1174 prayer drums, which are placed in many long halls surrounding the vast monastery complex. Most pilgrims don't seem to take the spinning very seriously, they barely touch the drums while walking past them. You're supposed to mumble the prayer written on each drum while spinning it, but I didn't hear much of that. The whole pilgrimage looks very mechanical and uninspired, at least for most pilgrims.
The monastery complex is huge, and it's composed of a large number of buildings, including housing for the 1400 or so monks who live and study here. It used to be 4000 monks, but the Cultural Revolution has hit the Tibetan monks hard, and most monasteries were completely wiped out.
The small town of Xiahe, where the monastery is located, is situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by steep mountains, covered with green grass, and some fir trees. The town has a lot of Tibetan shops and restaurants, and many guesthouses for the pilgrims and the occasional tourist. Some Chinese and some Western tourist visit the town, but they are vastly outnumbered by the pilgrims, making it a very colorful place. Most Tibetan pilgrims wear their finest clothes, big oversized coats of wool, lined with and sheep or goat skin, and with colorful embroidered details. The coats worn by men have very long sleeves, and it's interesting to see how they manage to ride a motorcycle, with sleeves pushed up, or just by holding the handle bars through the sleeves, the sleeve ends dangling down. Often one sleeve is empty, and flung over the shoulder or just hanging down, the arm uncovered. I guess they use the same clothes year round, and they just adapt the style of wearing according to the climate, which changes significanlty between summer and winter. The women just have the bulk of their clothes propped up on their back, held in place by a silk scarf tied around the bundle. All women have very long hair, worn in two braids, which are joined at the end. Lots of silver and stone jewelry and a large silver belt make the outfit complete.
All in all a very impressive look intoTibetan life. I don't have to go to Tibet anymore!
The monastery complex is huge, and it's composed of a large number of buildings, including housing for the 1400 or so monks who live and study here. It used to be 4000 monks, but the Cultural Revolution has hit the Tibetan monks hard, and most monasteries were completely wiped out.
The small town of Xiahe, where the monastery is located, is situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by steep mountains, covered with green grass, and some fir trees. The town has a lot of Tibetan shops and restaurants, and many guesthouses for the pilgrims and the occasional tourist. Some Chinese and some Western tourist visit the town, but they are vastly outnumbered by the pilgrims, making it a very colorful place. Most Tibetan pilgrims wear their finest clothes, big oversized coats of wool, lined with and sheep or goat skin, and with colorful embroidered details. The coats worn by men have very long sleeves, and it's interesting to see how they manage to ride a motorcycle, with sleeves pushed up, or just by holding the handle bars through the sleeves, the sleeve ends dangling down. Often one sleeve is empty, and flung over the shoulder or just hanging down, the arm uncovered. I guess they use the same clothes year round, and they just adapt the style of wearing according to the climate, which changes significanlty between summer and winter. The women just have the bulk of their clothes propped up on their back, held in place by a silk scarf tied around the bundle. All women have very long hair, worn in two braids, which are joined at the end. Lots of silver and stone jewelry and a large silver belt make the outfit complete.
All in all a very impressive look intoTibetan life. I don't have to go to Tibet anymore!
posted by marc at 20:24
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