Monlam festival – the New Year celebration, called “the Great Prayer” - runs from the 4th to the 15th day of the Tibetan calendar. During the festival, buddhist pilgrims from all over the region come to Labrang monastery to celebrate the miracles Buddha did 2500 years ago, by praying and performing religious rituals.

On this videos, the monks perform the Cham Dance (“dances of spirits”), one of the main rituals of Monlam festival. The dancers wear masks that represent Wrathful Deities, which means protector entities supposed to conjure the forces of evil and bring the Buddhist practitioner to enlightment. The music instruments leading the dances, including longhorns and drums, are supposed to help awaking the protector entities.

Recorded in Labrang monastery, march 2015, on a rare snowy day.

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