Written by
Ivy Dong |
Many of the Tibetan Buddhist festivalsĀ celebrate the life of famous Buddhist figures like Padmasambhava, Tsongkhapa and Palden Lhamo. The festivals include rituals, prayers and making offerings at the temples. The monasteries or temples in Tibet are often associated closely with one or more of the festivals.Ā For example the Drepung MonasteryĀ is associated with the celebrations of the Shoton Festival. Just like these festivals,Ā the Palden Lhamo Festival can only be celebratedĀ Tibet at the Jokhang TempleĀ in Lhasa.
The Tibetan Pal Lhamo Festival honorsĀ the angry female deity of Tibetan Buddhism, Pal Lhamo, also known as Dharmapala Palden Lhamo. She also protects the Dalai Lamas of Tibet, the Gelugpa Order, and the city of Lhasa.
What is the Tibetan Pal Lhamo Festival?
Every Tibetan festivalĀ has a story. For Tibetan Pal Lhamo Festival, legend has it that Pal Lhamo was a young girl who was naughty and disobeyed her mother. When her mother got fed up with running after her she cursed her daughter that when she grew up she would be ugly and only get to see her lover one day a year. Having her motherās curse Pal Lhamo grew up to be as ugly as a frog and only be with her lover (a protector deity from the village of Drip) one day a year.
The festival of Pal Lhama is celebrated on the day that the young girl got to be with her lover. The Pal Lhamo Festival is unique to Lhasa. The festival is also called the Tianmu Festival, the Fairy Festival and the Womenās’ Festival.
How is Pal Lhamo Festival Celebrated?
The major difference between the Pal Lhamo Festival and other Tibetan Buddhist Festivals is that the festival is celebrated by Tibetan women rather than by Tibetan men. Local Lhasa women get very excited about this festival which is celebrated on the 15th day of the Tibetan month of Mindrug (usually in December). If you travel to TibetĀ at this period, you get the chance to witness the Tibetan Pal Lhamo Festival celebration.
Tibetan women come from across the region. Some have to travel miles to get to Lhasa where they can worship the frog-like Palden Lhamo and the statue of King Songtsen Gampo in the Jokhang Temple.
On the morning of the festival women wake up and put on their finest clothing. They treat themselves to the best food and go shopping to spoil themselves a little. The women ask men for money to donate to the fairies on Pal Lhamo day. Tradition allows the women to ask any man they meet for money; and they shouldnāt be refused.
The women go to Barkhor StreetĀ and burn aromatic plants and pray. Then they go to the Jokhang Temple to make an offering and pray. Buddhist women jostle to get a place at the front of the line waiting for an audience with the statues and the line can often extend for a few kilometers. As the Pal Lhamo FestivalĀ is only celebrated on one day a year and only in Lhasa it is a truly unique event.
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