Gustor festival is celebrated in different monasteries of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

. It is celebrated by various monasteries such as

Thiksey Thiksey is a village and the headquarter of its eponymous block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil. The Thikse Monastery is located here. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India The 2011 Cen ...

, Spituk,

Korzok Karzok or Korzok is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located close to Nyoma, in the Rupshu region and block, on the shores of the Tso Moriri lake. It is among the highest towns in the world and the highest settlement in Indi ...

and

Karsha Karsha Monastery or Karsha Gompa is a Buddhist monastery in the Padum Valley of the Zanskar region of the union territory of Ladakh in northern India. The Doda River flows past the monastery from its source at the Drang Drung Glacier of the ...

. The word Gustor དགུ་གཏོར / དགུ་སྟོར literally means 'Sacrifice of the 29th Day' in the Tibetan language. The festival is celebrated for two days, with different kinds of rituals, ceremonies, music & Cham Dance.

Thikse Gustor Festival

Thikse Gustor Festival in

Thikse Monastery Thikse Gompa or Thikse Monastery (also transliterated from Ladakhi as Tiksey, Thiksey or Thiksay) is a gompa (Tibetan-style monastery) affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located on top of a hill in Thiksey approximately e ...

is held on the month of (October–November) which is held from the 17th to 19th day of the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar.

Korzok Gustor Festival

Korzok Gustor Festival in

Korzok Monastery Korzok, དཀོར་མཛོད་ (wylie dkor-mdzod) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Drukpa Lineage. It is located in the Korzok village, on the northwestern bank of Tso Moriri (lake) in Leh District, Ladakh, India. The gom ...

is held on the month of July. Many Chang-pa, the Tibetan plateau nomadic herdsmen are attracted to this festival. In Korzok Gustor festival, Lama dancers wear masks to represent the

Dharmapalas A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...

. Dharmapalas are guardian divinities of the Buddhist pantheon. They are the patron divinities of the Drukpa sect of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

Karsha Gustor Festival

Karsha Gustor Festival in Karsha Monastery is held on the 27th and 28th day of the 6th Tibetan month which falls in July. Karsha (biggest Monastery in Zanskar). This festival has masked dance, quaint music and spiritual chants which continue for two days.

Stonday Gustor Festival

Stonday Gustor Festival is held in the Stonday Monastery. The dates of this festival depends on the Tibetan calendar. Date varies every year but mostly in July.

Schedule

Since Ladakh follows the Tibetan lunar calendar and Gustor festival comes on the 28th and 29th day of the 11 month

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, s ...

, every year the festival falls on a different date of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

Gallery

File:Spituk Lama during Gustor festival.JPG, Spituk Lama with

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

during Gustor festival File:Spituk Gustor Festival 4.jpg, Musical instrument

Tibetan horn The Tibetan horn or dungchen (; mn, hiidiin buree, script=Latn; ) is a long trumpet or horn used in Tibetan Buddhist and Mongolian buddhist ceremonies. It is the most widely used instrument in Tibetan Buddhist culture. It is often played in pair ...

kept on the floor during Spituk Gustor Festival in

Spituk Monastery Spituk Monastery, also known as Spituk Gompa or Pethup Gompa, is a Buddhist monastery in Spituk, Leh district, Ladakh, northern India. 8 kilometres from Leh. The site of Spituk was blessed by the Arhat Nyimagung. It was founded by Od-de, the eld ...

File:Spituk Gustor Festival 2.jpg, Ladakh Horn Players File:Spituk Gustor Festival 5.jpg, Spituk Cham Dance during Gustor festival File:Spituk Gustor Festival 8.jpg, Cham Dancer File:Playing of Dungchen at Spituk Gustor Festival.JPG, Dungchen player

References

{{Reflist Buddhist festivals in India Tibetan Buddhist festivals festivals of Ladakh