Rare Bumskor Festival in Ladakh: Once-a-Year Buddhist Sutra Procession!
680 views · Published 5 August 2012 · 2:08 · Indexed 20 October 2026
Channel: Travel: The Good, The Bad & The Funny · 2012 · Travel & Events
http://www.TravelsWithSheila.com Driving outside of Sumur in the Nubra Valley, I see locals carrying books on their backs; not just any books but holy Buddhist "sutras" (texts) usually just seen in Monasteries behind glass doors. I "think" there are 108 books; the same number as beads in Buddhist prayer beads (rosaries) - not that they were carrying 108 books. I shout, "Stop," to driver Panjara and jump out of the car to see what was going on. It is the once a year, one day only Bumskor Festival when the sacred texts are removed from the nearest monastery and carried by Buddhist monks through the villages to bless the people. Drums, and shorter Dungchen (Dung Chen) horns that make the most mournful sounds) announced their arrival to villagers who then came out of fields and houses to be blessed. Traveling is all about luck; being in the right place at the right time. If we had left Sumur five minutes earlier or five minutes later, the entire Bumskor Festival would have already crossed the road!
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