A little after the start of the Tibetan new year, 2 inhabitants from the village of Stock and 2 monks from the Matho monastery repeatedly fall into a trance and make prophecies on religious questions as well as bestowing blessings to remove obstacles and bad luck. The chosen oracles, called lu-yar (body lenders), prepare for the event with a long hermitage where they meditate and make offerings to the Dharma guardians before the Rongsten Karmar divinity takes possession of their body. When this occurs, the oracles exhibit themselves with a series of Cham (sacred dances) inside the two monasteries. All these ceremonies originate from the shamanic tradition found in Ladakh before the arrival of Buddhism into which it was then introduced.
(Text by Marco Vasta available upon request)
