Diskit Tsechu (Diskit Monastery)

Understand

Where Diskit Tsechu (Diskit Monastery) comes from

The Diskit Tsechu is the Cham mask-dance of the Diskit monastery of the Nubra Valley of Ladakh, performed at the Diskit Tsechu festival. The Diskit monastery is one of the principal monasteries of the Nubra Valley and is associated with the Yabgo dynasty (the historical royal house of the Nubra Valley). The dance is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Nubra Valley and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the Diskit Tsechu festival.

How it's practiced

The Diskit Tsechu dance is performed by monks of the Diskit monastery in a circle at the central courtyard of the monastery or at the open ground of the festival. The monks wear the elaborate mask of the protector deities and the embroidered silk costume of the Tibetan tradition. The dance is vigorous, with the small warrior-steps of the Cham vocabulary. Music is the long horn, the large cymbals and the small cymbals of the monastery. Costume is the elaborate Tibetan silk costume with the painted mask. Performances are at the central courtyard of the Diskit monastery and at the cultural programmes of the state.