Hemis Festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Sri Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), believed as the representative reincarnate of Lord Buddha. The festival is celebrated at Hemis, the biggest Buddhist Monastery of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the significant Tibetan Buddhist Gompa festivals of Ladakh and is celebrated with full pomp.

Guru Padmasambhava-the founder of Tibetan Buddhism is believed to be fought with devils for the wellbeing of the local people. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava is born on the tenth day of the fifth month of the Monkey year. That is why the festival falls on the tenth day of lunar month. For 2008, it falls on 12th and 13th, July, Saturday and Sunday.

Sacred plays by Lamas called ‘chhams’, performance of the mystic masked dances to the beats of drums and cymbals and a colorful fair displaying stunning handicrafts are the special attractions of this two day festival.

Hemis Festival Celebrations
Celebrations of Hemis festival takes place in front of the main door of the monastery, in the rectangular open courtyard. On this occasion people dress up in their exclusive traditional garb. Women wear brilliant headdresses and lots of jewelry and men wear colorful cummerbands. The Lamas wear i.e. long brocade gowns and quaint headgears. The masks worn by Lamas symbolize the guardian divinities of the Dugpa order, of which Hemis is the prime establishment in Ladakh. The holy mask dance performed by the monks and Lamas illustrates the devastation of evil forces and the celebration of right over evil. A special musical instrument i.e. a 3 meter long brass trumpets are played during the dance performances.

The colorful dances of the festival end with a ritual demolition of a sacrificial offering of a human figure made up dough by the leader of the Black Hat dancers. The pieces of the sacrifice are then dispersed in four directions. This signifies Tibetan apostate king Lang-dar-ma’s assassination.

‘Rimpoche’-the head Lama presides over the function. Lamas chant the mantras related to the different episodes of ‘chhams’. The festival takes a significant and auspicious turn in every twelve years according to the Tibetan Year of the Monkey. During this time the two stored high ‘Thanks’ depicting Sri Padmasambhava is displayed. The richly decorated and embroidered ‘Thanka’ with precious stones and pearls will be next displayed in 2004 AD.

Significance of Hemis Festival
It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava spent his entire life for the well being of the society and taught people the meaning of spirituality and right path. So the observance of the different rituals of the festival is strongly considered to give spiritual power and good health.

Beside this, the festival carries a significant cultural significance, as this is the time when all the families from the nearby villages and tourists from Indian and other parts of the world visit the Buddhist Monastery. The festival brings a chance to all rural families to socialize together.