L'Arte di Viaggiare - Art of Travel - Francis Galton
6 July Bodnath
Namaste Nepal En
Today is the Dalai Lama’s birthday. It’s a must, therefore, to go to the Tibetan festival in Bodnath. I share a three wheeler with a Swede who lives in Rome and came to Nepal especially for this festival. We arrive there at nine, there are still few people around. I take this opportunity to climb the huge stupa. Meanwhile, I read the guide: "... The Bodnath stupa, 8 km from the centre of Katmandu, is the largest Buddhist shrine in Nepal. Originally built in the sixth century, its present state dates from the eleventh century. Placed at the culmination of three concentric octagonal terraces, the huge dome of whitewashed brick rises to 40 meters high, surmounted by a tower that on all four sides bears painted the immutable blue eyes of the serene Buddha. At the boundary wall there are hundreds of prayer wheels that the faithful spin during ritual circumambulationThe blinding white of the lime wash that covers the entire surface of the temple is often stained with orange saffron powder, which is thrown on the walls as a sign of devotion. The colourful prayer flags attached to the top await admission into heaven once faded and worn by the sun, wind and rain... " The space under the awning is now crowded and some of these Tibetans have walked for days to reach here. Behind a curtain there are some groups of dancers wearing traditional costumes. All I know about Buddhist dance are the titles from a text I read before leaving. Here they are:
- Golden libation
- Guardian King of the West (of demons), East, North, South
- The Serpent God
- Padmasambava charging at the demons
- Dance of the celestial drums
- The drum playing the song of the truth
- Total victory of the demons inimical to the Buddist principles of life
- The dance of death
- Conversion of the demons
- Lord of death
- The protectress of the Dalai Lama
- The merry go round of the eight furies
- The eight protectors of the faith
- The God of wealth
- The White Brahma (or Scarlett or Yellow)
- The warrior God
- The protector God of Kumbu
- The protector God of Sherpa
- The protector God of the places of pilgrimage
- Semi-Goddesses
- Comic interludes and farcical scenes.
Will these titles be sufficient to follow the dance? I somehow doubt it!