TIBETAN CHAM DANCING
  • Tibetan Cham Dancing - contents and site map
    • Losar / Monlam ***
    • Displaying the Tangka
    • Butter Tea Ceremony
    • Maitreya Transportation
    • Butter Lamp Festival
  • FESTIVAL GUIDE BROCHURE
  • TNY 2020 - 21st Excursion!!
  • The Cham Dance
    • Types of Cham Dancing
    • Gonpo Dorje Cham
    • Masks / Costumes
    • Dharmapalas and Shanags
    • Mahakala - The Great Black ***
    • Ksetrapala
    • Citipati, Atsaras, and others
    • Orchestra and instruments
    • Implements and Instruments
  • Cham Dance Videos
    • Yama Dharmaraja Cham
    • Burning of the zor at Yagotsang ***
    • Nyingma Cham
    • Gonpo Dorje (Milarepa) Cham
    • Shanag Cham at Gonlung Monastery
  • Cham Publications
  • Tangkas and Murals ***
  • CHAM STORE IS OPEN -Tibetan and Uigher treasures for you..
  • About the author and webmaster
  • TNY2017 - REPORT (2 - 17 February 2017)
  • TNY2016 excursion into Amdo and Kham
    • Lost Hats at Gomang Thangka Display
    • Spirit Bashing
    • Cleaning of Gyalings
  • Blog
  • Contact Form
  • Monlam videos and photos
  • Photos of note ***
  • Fortress Towers of Danba - Revisited

Losar / Monlam


LOSAR is the Tibetan New Year festival and is celebrated during the two weeks of the first month of the lunar new year. While Losar spans about two weeks, the main focus is on the first three days and involves prayer offerings and ritual activities for the monks.  A central aspect is the invocation of continued protection by the supreme protector Palden Lhamo who is the main protector of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, and the government of Tibet.  Following these activities, the monks and the Tibetan people start to enjoy and celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

MONLAM is the Great Prayer Festival and is held during the second and third weeks of the first month of the lunar new year.  This celebration was inaugurated by Tsongkapa (Je Rinpoche) as a way to gather all the monks together and re-affirm their vows and commitment to Tibetan Buddhism.  During Monlam, while the monks are gathered to renew their commitment, examinations are held for the award of the highest degree in Buddhist philosophy.  This is the 'Geshe' degree (roughly equivalent to the western PhD.) and is central to the Gelug order.

Monlam is also a time for the Tibetan people to witness some of the outward demonstrations of the power and rigor of Tibetan Buddhism.  These communal activities can include Displaying the Tangka, Butter Tea Ceremony, Maitreya Transportation, Butter Lamp Festival, and Cham dancing.  While this website is devoted to Cham dancing, the other major activities of Monlam are introduced in the following pages.
Displaying the Tangka
Butter Tea Ceremony
Maitreya Transportation
Butter Lamp Festival
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