Home › Magazine › Spring 1993 › The Masked Lama Dances of Lo

The Masked Lama Dances of Lo

Peter Matthiessen

Article Preview

To access this entire article and all other member-supported
content, join Tricycle as a Supporting or Sustaining Member

Join Tricycle

In his book The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen chronicled his journey to the Tibetan kingdom of Dolpo in northwest Nepal. At that time, he learned of the even more inaccessible Kingdom of Lo, which dates back to the Middle Ages and is better known to Westerners as Mustang. Last May, Matthiessen reached this remote Buddhist land by horseback, in company with photographer Thomas Laird, a resident of Kathmandu. In this extract from his journals, Matthiessen describes the Masked Lama Dances of the Tiji ceremony, an annual three-day reenactment of a myth reflecting this mountain desert's dependence on scarce water as well as the Buddhist teachings on impermanence.

Thomas Laird

LO IS BORDERED on three sides by Tibet, from which its culture and language are mostly derived. Until this year, travel in Lo has been discouraged by Nepal—especially after 1959, when it became the base of operations for the Kham-ba guerrillas from Eastern Tibet who resisted the Chinese occupation. The kingdom was entirely closed to visitors from the early sixties to late 1991, when a new government took over in Kathmandu.

Share with a Friend

Email to a Friend

Already a member? Log in to share this content.

You must be a Tricycle Community member to use this feature.

1. Join as a Basic Member

Signing up to Tricycle newsletters will enroll you as a free Tricycle Basic Member.You can opt out of our emails at any time from your account screen.

2. Enter Your Message Details

Enter multiple email addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.

Become a Supporting Member

$25*

*With Autorenew

  • You Get
  • Tricycle | The Magazine - a one-year subscription to premier Buddhist quarterly
  • Tricycle Retreats - a new online video teaching every every week by a contemporary Buddhist teacher
  • Tricycle | The Digital Edition - web based edition of the magazine
  • The Wisdom Collection - nearly two decades of teachings by the world's most compelling teachers, from the pages of Tricycle
  • Tricycle Gallery - the best in Buddhist art to download and share with friends
  • Tricycle Book Club - online discussions with leading Buddhist authors
  • Tricycle Discussions - teacher-led explorations of dharma in daily life
  • The Tricycle Blog - our diary of the global Buddhist movement
  • Daily Dharma - heart advice delivered direct to your inbox
  • The Tricycle Newsletter - the latest news, teachings, events, and more, every Monday

Become a Supporting Member

Become a Sustaining Member

$30*

*With Autorenew

  • You Get
  • Tricycle | The Magazine - a one-year subscription to premier Buddhist quarterly
  • Tricycle Retreats - a new online video teaching every every week by a contemporary Buddhist teacher
  • Tricycle | The Digital Edition - web based edition of the magazine
  • The Wisdom Collection - nearly two decades of teachings by the world's most compelling teachers, from the pages of Tricycle
  • Tricycle Gallery - the best in Buddhist art to download and share with friends
  • Tricycle Book Club - online discussions with leading Buddhist authors
  • Tricycle Discussions - teacher-led explorations of dharma in daily life
  • The Tricycle Blog - our diary of the global Buddhist movement
  • Daily Dharma - heart advice delivered direct to your inbox
  • The Tricycle Newsletter - the latest news, teachings, events, and more, every Monday

Become a Sustaining Member