Event Profile
The Gustor festival of Ladakh is celebrated at the Karsha and Zanskar Monasteries. Gustor literally means "sacrifice of the 29th day". This festival is associated with a special kind of dance that represents the victory of black hat dancers over evil. The masks of the black hat dancers symbolize the patron divinities of the Geluk-pa order and the guardian divinities of the Buddhist pantheon. The dancers enact the killing of the Tibetan traitor Lang-dar-ma by a Buddhist monk in ninth century. Gustor Festival is usually held in the monastery of reformist Geluk-pa order of Tibetan Buddhism. This two days festival concludes with the dispersal of the storma (sacrificial cake) by the leader of the black hat dancers in a special ceremony. The ceremony is popular as Argham (killing), which represents the destruction of all kinds of evils. At the end of the Gustor festival, an effigy is also burnt in some monasteries.
