LAPTSE & THE WIND HORSE
From the tops of mountains to the banks of the most beautiful lakes, nomads call for the victory of the gods by scattering countless paper wind horses to the sky.
Laptse ceremonies are practiced all over the Tibetan Plateau as a means for people to connect with the environment and the natural and supernatural forces that influence their lives. Performed by the people of Ritoma several times a year, the ceremony is a gift for the senses: prayer flags fluttering in the wind, the sound of hoofs hitting the ground, chanting, songs praising the gods, billowing smoke releasing the calming smell of juniper. Clad in red chubas or robes, men on stallions gallop to the top of a hill toward a conical edifice called the dashing to pay their respects and celebrate their local gods.
The dashings that crown hills, mountain tops, and the banks of rivers and lakes are a characteristic feature of the Tibetan landscape. Built to honour the local deities, they are witnesses to the deep connection between humanity and the landscape. The landscape- stretches of grassland interspersed with hills and snowy peaks - is believed to be the abode of these gods, whose goodwill must be sought or maintained.
The Windhorse symbolises this well-being and goodwill, and is also a personification of luck, used in the expression ‘lungta gyu’, meaning good fortune flowing one’s way. A laptse is a ceremony of peace and unity, regularly bringing together the members of an area’s clans and factions. 
In the weeks leading up to a laptse, women spin long threads of sheep wool, stretching out across the pasture, and men paint arrow tips. The men take the threads spun by the women, which are wrapped into skeins of white wool called mitak, and wrap the arrows together as a sign of unity between all the families and clans in the village.
On the day of the laptse, men representing all the clans and families of Ritoma don their best clothes and, bearing their clan banners and symbolic arrows, ride their stallions to the laptse site on top of the hill, dominated by the dashing. They bring yak dung to light the fire and begin the ceremony with offerings. They burn juniper branches and pour butter and tsampa, a roasted barley flour, into the fire, which is believed to have a purifying effect. All the while, they recite a three-page prayer that dedicates their offering of fragrant smoke first to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, wishing that all sentient beings achieve enlightenment.
After that, the assembled request the deity to grant their worldly wishes, for their families and animals to remain healthy, and for the grassland to provide them with plentiful grass and prosperity. The men vow to be generous to those less fortunate by making gifts of food or clothing.
Then the men climb the dashing to plant their arrows. The arrows are a symbol of violence, but by placing them on the dashing, the men of the clans and families of an area vow not to fight and go to war with each other. In the old days, the men planted real arrows, but now that they no longer fight, they place decorative ones with ornamental tips.
The dashing, which literally means ‘wooden arrows,’ is built around a central wooden pole - the sokshing, meaning tree of life or spine - which is placed at the centre of the treasure vault. When making a new dashing, a hole is dug and filled with precious objects, substances, and weapons, symbolizing the men’s wish to put down their arms and live in peace. The sokshing is the heart of the structure and supports the poles bound in prayer flags and covered in hundreds of arrows provided by each family in the village.
