Religion and Culture
EARTH CLEANSING
Each year, on the 19th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, the monks of Ritoma Monastery and men representing each clan and household make ...
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Religion and Culture
THE MOVE TO CHAKKA
From time immemorial, harmony among various pastoral groups relied on equal access to their most important asset; grassland. Norlha lies in the dis...
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Religion and Culture
EARTH DAY IN RITOMA
Historically, Ritoma has been home to Tibetan nomads who are closely tied to nature’s cycles, knowing that moderation helps to maintain a balance, ...
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Religion and Culture
MONLAM CHENMO
The Monlam Chenmo, also known as The Great Prayer Festival, is the most important Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the year and begins on the 4th da...
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Animals and Surroundings
YEAR OF THE WATER RABBIT
The Lunar New Year is marked by the first day of the lunar year and is the most celebrated festival on the Tibetan Plateau. It is a symbol of new b...
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Religion and Culture
TORKYA CEREMONY
Each year, across the Tibetan Plateau, monks perform the ‘Torkya’ or Ritual Cake Throwing Ceremony, a ritual meant to cleanse the air of any malevo...
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Religion and Culture
GANDEN NAMCHOE
Each year on a winter night, the outlines of a multitude of villages and nomad settlements across the Tibetan Plateau emerge from obscurity, illumi...
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Religion and Culture
WINTER CHAM
Every year around December, when the cold has settled in and the new year is close, the monastery in Garnying, a few kilometers from Ritoma, holds ...
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Animals and Surroundings
CHOEKHOR DAY
As autumn rolls in with yellowing and darkening skies, Ritoma’s pastoralists prepare for winter. Yak and sheep, which had been grazing at higher al...
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People
THE FOUR FRIENDS
To celebrate this month’s full moon, we would like to offer a blessing to our community of friends. The Four Friends blessing is hand-painted in co...
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