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Great Himalaya Treks & Expedition
Mustang District
Journey of Transformation
The Mustang District, is part of the Dhawalagiri Zone, it`s one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal. Mustang or the kingdom of Lo as it`s know is politically part of Nepal but culturally and geographically Tibetan, it is home to 6,000 Lobas. Most of them trade in the winter and practice subsistence agriculture the rest of the year. If you haven't been this way before or would like to remember what it`s like, scroll down and watching the short film called Mustang - Journey of Transformation narrated by Richard Gere.
The Tiji festival mentioned in the video is a three-day ritual known as "The chasing of the Demons" that centers on the Tiji myth. The myth tells of a deity named Dorje Jono who must battle against his demon father to save the Kingdom of Mustang from destruction. The demon father wreaked havoc on Mustang by bringing a shortage of water (a highly precious resource in this very dry land) and causing many resulting disasters from famine to animal loss. Dorje Jono eventually beats the demon and banishes him from the land. Teji is a celebration and reaffirmation of this myth and throughout the festival the various scenes of the myth will be enacted. It is of course timed to coincide with the end of the dry winter / spring season and will usher in the wetter monsoon season (the growing season for Mustang). Tiji comes from the word "ten che" meaning the hope of Buddha Dharma prevailing in all worlds and is effectively a spring renewal festival
Surrounded by the Himalayas, Lo Manthang served as the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Mustang, which survived as the Kingdom of Lo in Upper (northern) Mustang. The monarchy ceased to exist on October 7th 2008 by Nepali Government order. The last king is Jigme Palbar Bista (born 1930), a part of the historic monarchy. Recently a series of at least 12 caves were discovered north of Annapurna and near the village, decorated with ancient Buddhist paintings and set in sheer cliffs at 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The paintings show Newari influence, dating to approximately the 13th century, and also contain Tibetan scripts executed in ink, silver and gold and pre-Christian era pottery shards. Explorers found stupas, decorative art and paintings depicting various forms of the Buddha, often with disciples, supplicants and attendants, with some mural paintings showing sub-tropical themes containing palm trees, billowing Indian textiles and birds