Hemis Tsechu 2008

Hemis Tsechu is a festival commemorating the birth of Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. Celebrated on the tenth day of the fifth Tibetan lunar month, Hemis Tsechu usually falls between the end of June and the beginning of July.

The festival is celebrated as a two-day event at the Hemis monastery, about 45 kilometers (abt 28 miles) south of Leh in Ladakh, India. During the festival, the monastery resident lamas perform a series of masked dances which are re-enactments of the magical feats of Padmasambhava.

The legend goes, in Tibet and its adjacent regions that Padmasambhava fought demons to save the local people. As a remembrance to that event, the lamas perform these dances to depict how good prevails over evil.