Retour à Kathmandu ce 22 Janvier

Court passage en Belgique fin Décembre à ce jour et deux jours à tenter de faire du fromage (frais et autres).
Merci à Jehanne et Philippe.

Visitez le site de Félix et sa vidéo de leur tour VTT de Décembre en mon absence: http://myoldblog.freehostia.com/

Une autre caméra (résolution WEB) étant maintenant disponible, je mettrai des vidéos de VTT ou d’autres sur le blog ou sur Picasa.

• Travail à Kathmandu, premiers essais de fabrication de fromage frais après les deux jours passés en Belgique avec Jehanne et Philippe pour me faire un peu la main.
• 2 semaines à Muktinath fin Février pour une première reconnaissance vers les lacs du Purkun et Taawa Himal.
• Ou du VTT ? …

Mars:

• Le 5, départ du trek du Sancuaire des Annapurna pour Sandrine.
• Le 15 départ du Tour du Manaslu avec Christophe Goethals et Matthieu Bogaert en semi-autonomie.

Avril: re-passage à Muktinath puis Kathmandu et dans les environs ou ré-exploration, avec Eric Lon, des lacs au dessus de Muktinath pour préparer un trek un peu hors du commun avec dépôt d’une statue de Boudha au Thorong La ou d’un autre vers ces lacs et la Purkun Himal.

Mai-Juin: Séjour de deux mois à Muktinath, et dans ses environs, avec Claire pour des cours d’Anglais, de la fabrication de fromage, une tentative de cours de stretching avec un programme de Muriel André (Merci à elle) si je parviens à me rappeler de toute la gestuelle.
Plus un trek au Haut-Mustang (Lo Mantang) autour du 21 mai pour le festival de TIJI
May 17/Day 1: From Kagbeni trek to Chele 3200m. 6hrs. 
May 18/Day 2: From Chele trek to Geling 3510m. 6hrs. 
May 19 /Day 3: From Geling trek to Charang 3650m. 5-6hrs. 
May 20/Day 4: From Charang trek to Lo Manthang 3910m. 5hrs. 
May 21/Day 5: Tiji festival starts and witness of the first day of Tiji and visits around 
May 22/Day 6: second day of Tiji and visits around 
May 23/Day 7: third day of Tiji festival and visits around. 
May 24/Day 8: Return trek from Lo Manthang to Surkhan 3460m. 5-6hrs. 
May 25/Day 9: Trek from Surkhan – Tange 2640m. 6-7hrs. 
May 26/Day 10: Trek from Tange – Tetang 3160m. 5-6hrs. 
May 27/Day 11: Trek from Tetang- Muktinath 3750m. 6hrs. 

Tiji Festival

The Tiji festival is a three-day ritual known as “The chasing of the Demons” that centers on the Tiji myth. The myth tells of a deity named Dorje Jono who must battle against his demon father to save the Kingdom of Mustang from destruction. The demon father wreaked havoc on Mustang by bringing a shortage of water (a highly precious resource in this very dry land) and causing many resulting disasters from famine to animal loss. Dorje Jono eventually beats the demon and banishes him from the land. Tiji is a celebration and reaffirmation of this myth and throughout the festival the various scenes of the myth will be enacted. It is of course timed to coincide with the end of the dry winter/spring season and will usher in the wetter monsoon season (the growing season for Mustang). Tiji comes from the word “ten che” meaing ‘the hope of Buddha Dharma prevailing in all worlds’ and is effectively a spring renewal festival.

Three Days in TIJI Festival

Early in the afternoon, horns resounded, announcing the two twelve-foot copper dunchens, with their elephantine blurting, followed by two double-reeled horns, all accompanied by drum and cymbals.Next, an ancient and enormous tanka three stories high was unrolled down the entire south wall of the square. The thanka portrayed Padma Sambhava or (Guru Rimpoche) who brought this ceremony to Tibet in the 8th century.”

At mid-afternoon, in high wind and blowing dust, eleven lamas in maroon and gold, wearing high red hats, came from the palace and took their places along the wall beneath the thanka, with Tashi Tenzing on the elevated seat just in the center.As the monks and lamas commence chanting, twelve more monks come from the palace in maroon and royal blue and glittering gold brocade, with cymbal-shaped hats decked with upright peacock plumes. Soon they withdraw, to be replaced by the masked dancers who” start the portrayal of the Tiji myth.Dorje Jono repels the demon through the power of his magical dancing — he dances fifty-two separate dances, one of them in ten different bodies, each with a different head. As the dances end, Dorje Jono kills the demon, after which his people are relieved of their plague of misfortunes, water becomes plentiful once more, and the balance and harmony of existence are restored.

On the second day of Tiji, numbers of Loba have arrived from the outlying hamlets, and the small square is thronged with wild beautiful people, with all of the women and children, at least, in traditional dress.The King of Mustang, “wears a whole crown of tiny river pearls set off by dozens of large red coralline tones interspersed with matched ornaments of turquoise.The costumes and masks, the twelve-foot horns, the gold cups of wheat, the butter cakes, the snow peaks and wind and dust and sun, the mehti, snow leopard, snow pigeons, saligrams, the dying glacier and the desert ruins, the drunks and rajas and foreigners, the dogs and yaks. Tantra!

On the third day, Tiji ends with the ceremonial destruction of the evil remains, represented by some long black yak hair and red torma cakes minced to a dark red gurry. The demons red remnants are set out on an old tiger skin, where-upon they are attacked by bow and arrow, slings, and the old guns. The poor devils remains are over- turned upon the ground, each time to a wild cannonade from the old muzzle-loaders and a wave of cheers and smoke.