The Himalayan Beacon

Pang Lhabsol, a festival commemorating the conservation of Mt. Kanchenjunga as the guardian deity of the state, is unique to Sikkim. This festival is held on the 15th day of the 7th month around the end of August. In this festival the snowy range of Khangchendzonga is worshipped for its unifying powers. In fact Phang means witness. On this day, the guardian deity is portrayed by masked Lama dances as a fiery red-faced deity with a crown of five skulls, riding a snow lion. To lighten the mood of the spectators, jesters called ‘Atchars’ play antics during the Chaams. Toed dance performed by monks on this day. This festival also marks the signing of the treaty of blood brotherhood between the Lepchas and Bhutias by Khye Bumsa and Tetong Tek when the local deities were invoked to witness the occasion.

It has its origin in the Lepcha people’s belief that the mountain is their place of origin. It is also believed that the festival has its roots in Lhatsun Chenpo’s (the propagator of Buddhism in Sikkim) vision while meditating in a cave at Dzongri in west Sikkim, the mountain the guardian deity of the state.

Subsequently, Chador Namgyal, the third Chogyal of Sikkim, introduced the “pangtoed” dance and dedicated it to Kanchenjunga as a war deity. However, the actual origin of the festival is said to be the blood-brotherhood pact between the Lepcha bonthing, Thekung Tek, and Khye-Bumsa, the ancestor of the Namgyal royal family. Read the rest of this entry »