Tiji Festival, Mustang

The Tiji festival of Lo Manthang, Mustang is a three days ritual known as ‘the chasing of the demons” which centers around the myth of a deity named Dorje Jono who must battle against his demon father to save the kingdom of Mustang from destruction.  Enacted to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, Tiji comes from the word ‘ten che’ meaning the hope of Buddha Dharma prevailing in the world which effectively is a spring renewal festival celebrated yearly in Mustang.  
As the story of the myth goes:  the demon father of Dorje Jono wreaks havoc on Mustang by bringing a shortage of water (a highly precious resource in this dry land) and thereby causing many resulting disasters from famine to animal losses. Realizing the prospects o eventuality laying ahead, Dorje feels compelled to save the kingdom and eventually beats the demon by banishing him from the land once for and all. This festival is therefore a celebration and reaffirmation of this myth and throughout the festival various sequences and scenes leading to the victory of Dorje Jono over his demonic father are enacted. The timing of the festival coincides with the end of the dry (winter/spring) season ushering in the wetter monsoon season. The festival depicts a concise view of the land and the people of Lo, through a holistic description of the myth relating to the celebration of this festival. It initially begins as a religious ceremony, to ward off obstacles and suffering that might befall the land, but it has also come to symbolize the future hopes and aspirations of the people as well as its significance and the role of the community in it.

A kingdom within a kingdom, Mustang-meaning fertile plain, is also known as the forbidden Kingdom where accesses to the foreigners were denied up until recently. Situated in the north east of Nepal bordering Tibet on the central Asian plateau between Dolpo and Manang, this former Kingdom of Lo is the easiest corridor through the Himalayas linking Tibetan plateau and central Asia with tropical Indian plains and derives its wealth from its position on the Kali Gandaki / Thak Khola trade route to Tibet. With an average elevation of 13,600 ft, Mustang has also been referred to as “little Tibet” as it is almost entirely Tibetan in Character and appearance. Forbidden to the foreigners until 1992, it remains a strictly control region requiring a special permits from the Nepal government to visit this region.
A visit to this fabled Kingdom revels us a unique kingdom of vast space, high arid valleys, eroded canyons, stratified rock formations, colorfully painted mud bricked houses, yak caravans and barren desert like plateaus. With its unusually beautiful landscape, uniquely intact Tibetan culture and panoramic views of Nilgiri, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and many other soaring peaks, the trip to Mustang could be once in a life time experience for those who wish to explore the Tibetan culture in its purest forms. Although fierce winds, exposed terrain, high altitude and the rigors of the Tibetan plateau make this region a challenging one, the rewards for venturing deep into this forbidden Kingdom are immense. Timing your visit to Mustang coinciding it with the Tiji festival of Lo-Manthang could be a perfect way to explore this region at its best.
Nestling like the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle into the borders of Western Tibet and with its untouched temples, colorful festivals and red-robed lamas, the kingdom preserves not only the daily vernacular of Buddhist ethics, but a unique heritage of Tibetan religion, art and architect. The ‘Land of the Lo’ as it is known to its seven thousand inhabitants- is a truly a center of religious art and learning second only to Lhasa.

History of Tiji
Allegiance to the Phurba (Sa Phur) tradition i.e. invoking the wrathful deity of Dorje Shunu who is considered to banish all forms of obstacles has prevailed since the time of Lama Lowo Khenchen (1456-1532), the son of Lo’s second King amgon Sangpo (1419-1482). This influence could be due to the visits of the great Sakyapa master Ngorchen Kunga Sangpo who was invited by Amedpal (1388-1447) the first ruler of Lo and was honoured as his chief religious preceptor. Lowo Khenchen was considered as one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of his time and he played a major role in spreading Buddhism in Mustang.
Tiji is believed to have started around the time of Lowo khenchen and continued with great pomp and fervor in the few centuries thereafter. It thus became one of the main festivals of Lo. The country at that time was flourishing, food was plentiful, and Buddhist religion was practiced and followed by the Royal family as well as the lay people. Large monasteries were built and great teachers were born. Evidence of this golden age of religion and prosperity can still be seen in most villages in the form of monasteries, dzongs, large houses and private chapels.
During the reign of the 15th King of Mustang, Ahang Jamba Dadul, (enthronement approx 1816, died 1837) the country of Lo witnessed unrest and economic downfall. The Queen was also unable to bear a son, so to appease the gods and remove obstacles to the Buddhist religious traditions, Ngachen Ngawang Kunga Sonam, a great Sakyapa master from Tibet, was invited to visit Lo. At the festival of Tiji this master is said to have performed the masked dances as the main dancer, or tsowo. Folklore describes a mound outside the city walls of Lo Manthang where the arrow used by the great master to drive away the demons is said to have been buried, and left an indent upon the mound. This place is known as Sa Kawo or the “White Land”, and exists to this very day. Following Ngachen Ngawang Kunga Sonam’s visit to Lo, the festival regained its popularity and prior glory.
However, towards the mid 19th century, political changes in Nepal affected Mustang, and many age-old traditions were abolished including Tiji. Although the main ceremony in the city’s square no longer took place, Choede Gompa, the central monastery of Lo Manthang, continued to celebrate the festival with the monastery without economic support from the people. This has been practiced since 1963, and still continues today, despite the main festival having being revived.
An intriguing story behind the most recent revival of Tiji denotes that an apparition appeared to Pemba, a layman from Lo Manthang, and it was prophesized that if the Tiji festival was not practiced, great evil and suffering would befall Lo. Epidemics would plague the area and there would be death, suffering and poverty everywhere. So the present King, now 25th in the lineage, Jigme Dadul Palbar Bista met with the late Khempo (Head Lama) Tashi Tenzin of Lo Manthang’s Choede Gompa, the representatives of Lo Tso Dun and high officials to discuss the matter.
It was then decided that the festival would be restarted, and by the 1970s the main festival in the square (in front of the King’s Palace), within the high city walls, was again celebrated with great enthusiasm. It can thus be said that despite much antagonism (both political and economic), the tradition and continuity of Tiji was never really broken, and continues in its original form to this day.

The Three days of Tiji festival
Day One: - Early in the afternoon, horns resounded, announcing the two twelve-foot copper dunchens, with their elephantine blurting, followed by two double-reeled horns, all accompanied by drum and cymbals. Next, an ancient and enormous tanka three story high was unrolled down the entire south wall of the square. The thanka portrayed Padma Sambhava or (Guru Rimpoche) who brought this ceremony to Tibet in the 8th century." At mid-afternoon, in high wind and blowing dust, eleven lamas in maroon and gold, wearing high red hats, came from the palace and took their places along the wall beneath the thanka, with Tashi Tenzing on the elevated seat just in the center. As the monks and lamas commence chanting, twelve more monks come from the palace in maroon and royal blue and glittering gold brocade, with cymbal-shaped hats decked with upright peacock plumes. Soon they withdraw, to be replaced by the masked dancers who" start the portrayal of the Tiji myth. Dorje Jono repels the demon through the power of his magical dancing - he dances fifty-two separate dances, one of them in ten different bodies, each with a different head. As the dances end, Dorje Jono kills the demon, after which his people are relieved of their plague of misfortunes, water becomes plentiful once more, balance and the harmony of existence are restored.

Day Two: - On the second day of Tiji, numbers of Loba have arrived from the outlying hamlets, and the small square is thronged with wild beautiful people, with all of the women and children, at least, in traditional dress. The King of Mustang " wears a whole crown of tiny river pearls set off by dozens of large red coralline tones interspersed with matched ornaments of turquoise. The costumes and masks, the twelve-foot horns, the gold cups of wheat, the butter cakes, the snow peaks and wind and dust and sun, the mehti, snow leopard, snow pigeons, saligrams, the dying glacier and the desert ruins, the drunks and rajas and foreigners, the dogs and the yaks and the great Tantras.

Day three: - On the third day, Tiji ends with the ceremonial destruction of the evil remains, represented by some long black yak hair and red torma cakes minced to a dark red gurry. The demons red remnants are set out on an old tiger skin, where-upon they are attacked by bow and arrow, slings, and the old guns. The poor devils remains are over- turned upon the ground, each time to a wild cannonade from the old muzzle-loaders and a wave of cheers and smoke.

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