The Tiji Festival, Mustang, Nepal
The Tiji (or Tenche) festival is celebrated every spring in Lo Manthang. During the festival, a three day ritual dance by masked monks known as "The Chasing of the Demons" is performed. The story describes the battle of Dorje Jono against his father, a demon king, to save Mustang. The demons inflict a drought on Mustang, a catastrophe in this extremely arid and parched land. Dorje Jono ultimately prevails against the demons and expels them from Mustang.
The ceremonies conclude with the creation of an effigy representing the Dorje Jono that is ritually stabbed and burnt to exorcise the demons, before musket fire closes the festival.
Believed to have been introduced by the son of the second King of Mustang in the 15th Century, the tradition was lost for an unknown period, before its re-introduction in 1963. From the 1970s it has been performed outside the King’s Palace in the main square in Lo Manthang.
The first Westerner believed to have seen the festival was Michel Peissel in 1964. He managed to arrive in time to see the final day of the festival, despite being unaware that it was happening, and was amazed by what he saw: "The scenes I witnessed were so extraordinary and so unexpected that I dared not believe my eyes and even today I have some trouble in believing in the reality of what I saw that day."
These photographs were taken during the festival on the 29th, 30th and 31st of May 2011.
Read MoreThe ceremonies conclude with the creation of an effigy representing the Dorje Jono that is ritually stabbed and burnt to exorcise the demons, before musket fire closes the festival.
Believed to have been introduced by the son of the second King of Mustang in the 15th Century, the tradition was lost for an unknown period, before its re-introduction in 1963. From the 1970s it has been performed outside the King’s Palace in the main square in Lo Manthang.
The first Westerner believed to have seen the festival was Michel Peissel in 1964. He managed to arrive in time to see the final day of the festival, despite being unaware that it was happening, and was amazed by what he saw: "The scenes I witnessed were so extraordinary and so unexpected that I dared not believe my eyes and even today I have some trouble in believing in the reality of what I saw that day."
These photographs were taken during the festival on the 29th, 30th and 31st of May 2011.
