Ladakh 'Phyang Tsedup' (Phyang Monastery)

Understand

Where Ladakh 'Phyang Tsedup' (Phyang Monastery) comes from

The Phyang Tsedup is the annual festival dance of the Phyang monastery of Ladakh, performed at the central courtyard of the Phyang monastery. The Phyang monastery is one of the principal monasteries of the Ladakh Buddhist tradition, with its own school (the Phyang-pa of the Kagyu lineage). The dance is one of the documented regional traditions of Ladakh and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the annual Phyang festival.

How it's practiced

The Phyang Tsedup dance is performed by monks of the Phyang 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 Phyang monastery and at the cultural programmes of the state.