Upper Mustang Tiji Festival Trek

Tiji festival trek is a cultural or a religious trek in the Annapurna region of Nepal. Tiji is a festival celebrated by people of Lo Manthang. Lo Manthang is a village in Annapurna region which is also known as Upper Mustang.

This festival which we know as Tiji is actually pronounced ‘Ten Che’ which means hope. This festival of hope is celebrated by performing ancient rituals. These rituals date back to the time of Guru Rinpoche. Rinpoche was a Buddhist guru who introduced Tantric Buddhism in Tibet and Nepal. To begin with, Tiji Festival lasts for 3 complete days.

To begin with, Tiji Festival lasts for 3 days. The meaning of the festival is hope and in these 3 days they chant prayers and perform dances to restore hope. The rituals and dances is a way to drive the evil out of the village. On the other hand, people celebrate this festival to mark the beginning of spring season . In these three days, people celebrate by praying, dancing and finaly by having a feast. The first day begins by dancing, followed by performing the rituals and on final day by dancing and drinking.

The festival revolves around a character called Dorje Jono. Dorje Jono is the central character of Tiji festival. On the other hand,  other important character includes of his father. The father on the contrary is an evil demon who causes chaos in the village. The chaos in the form of drought, cattle abduction and destruction of the houses. In these 3 days of Tiji Festival, through dance, the people find hope and victory of good over evil.

The festival takes place only once in a year and usually falls in May or June. On the first day of the festival begins with a dance performance by the central character. The dance is difficult and requires rigorous practices. Hence, the person playing the central character practices for months before performing the dance. Adding up, only a senior monks perform the dance and only after going through process of cleansing can perform this dance. Furthermore, the first day of the festi has 3 long dances followed by few funny role plays.

Moving on, on the second day the dances get more rigorous and aggressive than the first day. On this day people from all over Mustang and even Tibet come to Lo Manthang. They come here to witness variety of dances performed by the monks. This day of the Tiji Festival is an important day. It is important because the central Character Dorje Jono stabs and pierces the straw effigy at the end of the day. The effigy represents the bad demons that created chaos in the village and lives. Furthermore, this act represents the win of good over the evil.

On day 3, another effigy made of dough comes to existence in the scene. This time Dorje Jono stabs the effigy and detaches the head with the body. Furthermore, people burry the head of the effigy outside the entrance of the palace. Leaving the effigy and ritual aside, locals play traditional music. While the music goes on, Dorje Jono performs last minute proceedings. The proceeding comes to an end by Dorje Jono shooting the demon (effigy) with bow and arrow and slingshot. Finally, the celebration begins when Dorje Jono confirms death of the demon.

Tiji Festival is a must attend unique festival in Nepal. Dignitaries like king of Mustang, government officials and monks attend this festival. Simultaneously, people from all over the world come to witness this beautiful festival. After the end of festival people drink, dance, eat and celebrate the victory of good over evil.