Sherpa Losar (New Year) Bird Year Losar ( Lo = year, Sar = new)
Losar, or Gyalwu losar, is the Sherpa New Year and is celebrated on the first day of the 11 th or 12 th month. Special bread, khapse, is made and served with chhyang.Each year is represented with an animal. The twelve animals are used to designated years, months, days, and hours. The current year is 2132, the Chya (Bird) Year.
In the evening of the 29th day of the 12th month of the Sherpa calendar, a stew (Guthuk) of nine ingredients is cooked. Sometimes a small piece of coal, chilly, butter or salt is wrapped in a larger round of dough and cooked in the stew. Each family member gets one of these dough balls with their stew. It is said that the substances wrapped in the dough represents personal nature of the family member who gets it. For instance he who gets chilly in a dough with stew is considered short-tempered. It is also said that each person should have nine bowls of the stew. On the very day the home is painted, all furniture are cleaned and the garbage should be thrown away. The doors and windows are embellished with new curtains and evil effigy is also sent out on this day. Normally the eight auspicious signs and notes are painted on the wall and prepare all the things required for the New Year such as special food, clothes etc are prepared. The next day (the thirteenth day of a Sherpa month) is the eve of the New Year, and shrines are ornamented well with sprout, chimar, incense and other offerings. A meat offering is not needed, while it is important to have a sheep head on the shrine in the Tibetan Losar. It is remarkable that Sherpas don't kill animals. Lots of Sherpa bread {khapse} is made on the same day.
On the New Year, one gets up early in the morning, cleans their body and hands and puts on their best new clothes. One of the family members goes to fetch water very early in the morning and performs incense burning prayers to the Nag (Water God) with the first bits of foods. During this ritual, three stones are piled and three pinches of butter are put on each stone. The water tank in the home is filled and three pinches of butter are put on the tank. After the ritual, the morning tea and beer is prepared. First the tea is served, followed by changul (local beer mixed with flour), fried rice, khapse and other delicious varieties. A strong chang with cheese is also served. The children and grand children offer khata (white scarf) to the parents and parents in return give presents to the children. No one goes to other's house on this day. No work is done, but the day is enjoyed with food, drinks, dance and humor. After the first day of the first month, the neighbours go to each other house to share the warmth of the New Year. Whoever comes to the house is received with chimar and yang-chang. He who offers the chimar should say 'may everything be well, attain peace forever in abundance'. In the same month, a special day is chosen for public incense burning prayer, according to the astrological chart. Losar is celebrated according to one's own family condition, but if they can't enjoy Losar they consider it an unfortunate year. Celebrating the Losar appropriately is important in Sherpa community.
Dukpa chesi
This festival falls on the month of September. On this day Sherpas observe social festival named, fangi. Fangi is basically a radish eating festival. After the harvest season, farmers collectively gather and celebrate dukpa chesi. It is prevalent mostly in Khumbu.
Yerchang
Yerchang is the next festival which is celebrated after dukpa chesi. It is observed only by those who have high altitude cattle at pasture. On this particular day, cattles and local spirits are worshipped for the protection of cattle. The herders gather and perform this rite at a particular place through the help of lama
Mani Rimdu
Mani-Rimdu also involves rituals and tantric dances, with prayer recitals. It is with ten days of prayers, worships, and dances from sixteenth day onwards. The dances come from when Guru Rinpoche blessed Samye, the first monastery in Tibet. He pretended to be Samye's favorite god by imitating the body and danced the blessing. Mani Rimdu is observed on the fifth month.
The devotees recite the six syllable mantra of Chenrezig (The Buddha of Compassion) Om, Ma Ni, Pad, Me, Hung for several days, placing mani pills in front of the shrine. Thus the name Mani-Rimdu ("Rim" means pills, whereas dum means to accomplish). Mani-Rimdu first spread among Sherpa communities at the beginning of 20th century. Mani Rimdu and Dumchi are not a demonstration of religious devotion, but a practice of the highest Tantric yoga through which one can accomplish both knowledge and religious merit.
Today some of the Sherpa monasteries which celebrate Mani-Rimdu are the Thame monastry, Tangboche monastery, Chiwang monastery and Kyilkhor-Dingma monasteries. It is held in the ninth month at Tenboche, tenth month at Chiwong, and fourth month at Thame.
The festive Mani Rimdu includes ten days of prayers to benefit all. In Tibet, this kind of festival is performed mostly in the fifth month, with the dances on the 10th day. It is called Tse Chu, and is the most important one of the year. A small Tse Chu is done on the tenth day of every month. Mani Rimdu starts on the first day of the ninth month with Sa-chog, the earth pujah to the gods of the four directions that consecrates the place where the pujah will take place. Thig-kor, the preparations of making torma and using colored sand to make the mandala, called the Dul-tson Kyil-khor begin the same day and continue until the fourth day.
From the fifth to the fourteenth days, the monks do the pujah called Ngo Zhi Cho-pa, that goes all day and night. In the morning the main pujah is to the action aspect of Phakpa Chenrezig, Lhachen Wangchuk, and then to the god Maha-kala, the protector of the Buddhist faith. Pujahs to other gods are done by turn, three one day, then three the next.
For the whang, on the fifteenth day, people come for the lama's blessing and to receive the rilbu. On the sixteenth day, the monks worship Phakpa Chenrezig by dancing. There are sixteen dances. The dances aim to prevent interference, accidents, impediments, change of mind, faith, or hindrance by sin. The seventeenth day concludes whhjinsak, a fire pujah.
The Blessing Ceremony
On the fifteenth morning, the tawas (monks) receive a blessing themselves and in the afternoon people come for the lama's blessing and to receive the rilbu. On the sixteenth day, are the dances that worship Phakpa Chenrezig. Each dance relates to a pujah done during the previous days.
The dances come from when Guru Rinpoche blessed Samye, the first monastery in Tibet. He pretended to be his favorite god by imitating its body and danced the blessing. Since then, some lamas think they will see these dances in Dewachen. Cham means sacred dance.
Dumje
This festival falls on April and it is observed for four-five days. It is performed for the purpose of bringing peace and prosperity to the village. Various types of religious and legendary dances are exhibited at gomba but basically it is a rite of exorcism. The tantric dance of Guru Tsengyed (eight different aspects of Guru Ringpoche) is performed annually.
On Dumje lavish and expensive rituals are performed to dispell the evil spirits. Each family involving 3-4 families has its turn to sponsor the event. Dumchi began in the 16th century. They are held in Pangpoche moanstery, Jung monastery, Khumjung monastery, Thame monastery, Nabuche monastery, Luklha monastery and Rimejung monastery etc. They are celebrated at the same time in every monastery. Lama Sangwa Dorje started Dumje in Pangboche about 350 years ago.
Nyungne
Nyungne is totally different from other festivities and village rites. This rite is observed by old males and females at gomba for three days. On this they fast in order to obtain religious merit and forgiveness of sin. During their fast, the prayer Om Mani Pe Me Hung Ri in invoked and prostration is frequently followed before the altar. This rite is purely related with the religious activities which signifies the peoples salvation for the next life.
