Today is Pang Lhabsol, an important festival in Sikkim. The festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Tibetan calendar, corresponding to late August/early September.
This festival is unique to Sikkim and commemorates the consecration of Mount Khangchendzonga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. It is believed that the mountain god played an active role in introducing Buddhism into this former kingdom.
According to a handwritten biography by Lhatsun Chenpo, the chief propagator of Buddhism in Sikkim, it was divine visions sent by the mountain god which guided him to Demajong (the hidden valley of rice, as the Bhutias refer to Sikkim). Pang means ‘to witness’, and on this day the mountain god is invoked and prayed upon at Pang Lhabsol to continue protecting Sikkim.
The ‘chaams’ which are part of this festival are unique and the spectacular Pangtoed or warrior dance was choreographed by the third Chogyal Chador Namgyal, who is said to have appeared to him in a vision.
The festival also marks the commemoration of blood brotherhood sworn between the Lepchas and the Bhutias at Kabi in the 15th century.
Meeting your idol
Show me your USA map…
First Day of Work
No good birthdays today, but here’s a fun video from Postmodern Jukebox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnZ1NQm2uk
