Stok Guru Tsechu (Stok Palace Mask Dance)

Understand

Where Stok Guru Tsechu (Stok Palace Mask Dance) comes from

The Stok Guru Tsechu is the royal mask-dance tradition of the Stok Palace of Ladakh, performed at the annual Stok Tsechu festival of the palace. The dance is associated with the royal-cultural life of the Ladakhi court of Stok (one of the principal royal houses of Ladakh) and is performed at the courtyard of the palace. The form is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Ladakhi royal-cultural life and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the Stok Tsechu festival.

How it's practiced

The Stok Guru Tsechu is performed by the royal-monk dancers of the Stok Palace in a circle at the central courtyard of the palace. The dancers wear the elaborate mask of the protector deities (the Mahakala, the Yamantaka) 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 palace orchestra. Costume is the elaborate Tibetan silk costume with the painted mask. Performances are at the central courtyard of the Stok Palace and at the cultural programmes of the state.