Lama Dances, 2018

Lama dances at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery, 2018

The highlight of the seven day long Gutor Puja is the all-day Lama Dancing, or cham (Tib). The dance takes place in the monastery’s courtyards.

Shortly before sunset, the grand finale of the costumed dance performance features the ceremonial burning of an effigy in a haystack erected in the lower front courtyard. This incineration symbolizes turning one’s back on one’s own destructive habitual patterns and the resulting harmful circumstances.