picture and text by Kim Gutschow

Laywomen from Sani baking breads for the annual Sani Kangyur festival held annually at the end of the 4th Tibetan month at Sani temple.  The Sani Kangyur festival is the largest single gathering of monks in Zangskar and often includes monks from the assemblies of Karsha, Stongde, Dzongkhul, Bardan, and Stagrimo monasteries.  The monks gather for 3-4 days to read the entire Kangyur, primarily as a merit making exercise, rather than for the edification of villagers. This is because the entire Kangyur is divided up, volume by volume, page by page, each of which are read simulataneously by the gathered monks. The resulting cacaphony provides symbolic merit for both the monks and the assembled villagers who have come to make offerings at this time.

The breads (dro dkar) shown here are a classic staple of the Zangskari diet as well as of Zangskari rituals, festivals, and other celebrations (deaths, weddings, births) where they function as gifts for the assembled guests or donors.  The number of breads produced can range in the thousands, depending on the size of the festival or celebration.