Cham dance during Dosmoche festival in Leh Palace
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Cham dance during Dosmoche festival 2018 in Leh Palace
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| Observed by | Buddhists |
| Type | Religious festival New year Commemoration |
| Significance | being celebrated for peace and prosperity in the coming Ladakhi new year |
| Begins | February |
| Ends | February |
| Date | 28th and 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan lunar calendar every year |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Part of a serieson |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
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History and overview |
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Dosmoche is a Buddhist festival celebrated in Ladakh, India. It is celebrated in Leh, Likir and Diskit monasteries.[1] It is the last festival of New Year Celebrations, the other one is Losar.[2] The two-day Dosmoche festival is a gazetted holiday for Leh district and Zanskar Sub Division. Dosmoche is also known as the "Festival of Scapegoat" and is one of Ladakh's most popular prayer festivals.[3] This festival is also celebrated to purify the town from evil spirits.
Dosmoche was started by the rulers of Ladakh.[4] The festival was started during kingdom of King Lhachen Gongdup/ Lha-chen-Dnos-grub (1295–1320).[5][4] He fought two battles with invaders from Nyungti (Kullu of Himachal Pradesh) to inhibit the exterminatory forces of the battles.[4] Sacred mask dances, known as Cham dance, are carried out in the courtyard of the old chapel, below the gates of the Leh Palace.[6] Lamas are drawn from different monasteries from across Ladakh on a rotation basis for this festival.
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High pitched sound of gyaling with the periodic sound of the cymbals echoed off the bare rocky slopes with the rhythmic beats of the drum.[4] Monks look attractive in multicoloured robes and various masks, representing various forms of deities including Buddha.[4] They danced to the beats with colorful fluttering surge to ward off evil and welcome universal peace and happiness.[4] Mask dances are an essential part of Tantric tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.[7]
At a one-kilometre stretch from Moti-Market to the other end of Leh Bazaar, thousands of stalls are also famous for a two-day long festival.[7] Thousands of people in colourful dresses converge at Leh bazaar[8] for games like tambola, lotteries and shopping.[7]
Since Ladakh follows the Tibetan lunar calendar and Dosmoche festival comes on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month of the Tibetan calendar, every year the festival falls on a different date of the Gregorian calendar.[9]
| Year | Date |
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| 2014 | 27–28 February |
| 2015 | 17–18 February |
| 2016 | 6–7 February |
| 2017 | 24–25 February |
| 2018 | 13–14 February |
| 2019 | 2–3 February |
| 2020 | 21–22 February |
| 2021 | 12–13 February |
| 2022 | 28 February - 1 March |
| 2023 | 18–19 February |
Dosmoche Festival
Holidays
India
