Welcome to the only living walled city of Nepal.
Built in 1380AD by the first king of Lo, Ame Pal, the walled city still stands
as a testimony to Lo- Manthangs prosperity and rich cultural heritage. The
wall, which is 2472 feet long and 26 feet high, has series of 14 towers along
its periphery. These towers rise 40 feet high and are 6 feet wide at its base
and 3 feet wide at the top. During the region of the Mustangi Rajas, the towers
were guarded by armed guards to defend the town from bandits and enemies.
The only entrance to the town is through a huge wooden gate
located at the east of the township. In early days, this gate used to be closed
before dusk and opened at dawn. Until recently, the town inhabitants followed
this rule dutifully, but the rule is no more in practice. Nonetheless, as in
the past, except for the Raja(king), Rani (queen) and the Khempo (chief priest)
everyone dismount their horses while passing through the town gate. This custom
is observed to pay respect to Avalokiteshwara (God of compassion), Mahne
(prayer wheel) and Jhong Lha(Deity of the fort) that are located in front of
and the Khempo considered as equals to the deities are not required to dismount
their horses while entering the gate.
The city is divided into four traditional wards (Si-Shu)
namely “Ghun-thang”, “Domaling”, “Potaling” and “Jhythang”. These names refer
to as the shrines of deities from the respective wards. “Ghun-thang” is the
shrine of “Mahakala or “Gompo”, “Domaling” the shrine of “Tara” or “Doma”,
“Potaling” the shrine of “Dipangar Buddha” or “Hyepo Mahe” and “jhythang” the
shrine of “Jhampaor Maitria”, the
future Buddha. These wards take turn to perform various religious and social
tasks of the town.
People of Lo-Manthang
About 1100 Lobas People of Lo lived in the 180 mud houses of
the walled city and surprisingly they observe a form of caste hierarchy. This
may be the reason why it is mainly the Kudak (Bista-the nobility and royalty of
Lo) and the Phalwa (Gurung) who live within the walled city. Ghara (black
smith), Shemba (butcher) and Emeta (musician) mostly live in the settlement
beside the Lo-Manthang river that flows to the east of the city. The Raja and
Rani or Mustang live in “Monkhar”- the four storied white-washed palace located
in the middle of the town. The palace was believed to be built by the first
King of Mustang, Ame Pal, in the early 14th century. The present Raja is his
twentysecond descendent. Livestock husbandry combined with agriculture is still
the mainstay of the local economy. Seasonal migration for trade to the southern
parts of Nepaland North India and bate trade with neighboring Tibetsupplements household income. With the advent of tourism in Lo in 1992, few
local people have also started taking up tourism as a new economic profession.
To prevent fragmentation of family property, some Lobas still practice
Polyandry. A woman is married to all the brothers of a family.
Culture and Religion
Lo-Manthang’s culture is deep rooted in the religious
sentiments of its people. The township abound with many chhortens,
mahne-wallsand monastries. Prayer flags
flutter above all the houses-conveying mantras to all corners of the world. The
Lobas are exclusively Buddhists and confirm to Sakya-pa sect of Tibetan
Buddhism. Bon prevailed before Buddhism, which was later replaced by Ningma Pa
Sect (Dhakar-Kayu subsect) and subsequently by Sakya Pa Sect (Sakyapa Ngorpa
subsects) of Buddhism.
Of the three Gompas in Lo- Manthang , the Jhampa Gompa is
the oldest. It was built in 1387 AD during the reign of the famous King Anguin
sangbo and is believed to be a replica of Ghangtse Jhampa Gompa of Tibet,
which still exists in Ghangtse, near Khasa. The three storied Jhampa Gompa, is
an exemplary piece of art. It amply exhibits Lo-Manthangs great architectural
depth of the past. The uniqueness of this gompa lies in gold painted tantric
mandalas entirely covering the interiors of thewall of the first and second floors.
The main prayer hall is painted with double register of
mandalas interspersed with smaller mandalas. The sheer size of the gompa itself
is an attraction. One will be surprised to know that the walls of the gompa are
5ft 4inches thick, 55 ft high,150ft long and 80ft wide.
Thupchen is the second oldest gompa of the town. It was
built in the early 15th century by Tashi Gon, the third Raja of Mustang.
Despite being smaller than Jhamba, Thupchen is an equally rich archetype of
Tibetan art. The main hall ‘Dukhang’ has beautiful ceiling and wall paintings
painted of natural color and gold and silver paints. The wall painting bears
various images of Buddha and other deities in different mudras. The wooden
beams in Dukhang carry Buddhist mantra engraved in it and the ceiling has
beautifully placed rafters. It its heyday, Thupchen was the major center of
religious activity in Lo- Manthang.
Tenchi is the most popular festival of Lo Tsho Dyun, and is
celebrated over three days to mark the killing of a demon by Dorje Sonnu, the
demon’s son. Tenchi isa derivative of
the Tibetan word “Tempa Chirim”, meaning a prayer for world peace. The festival
is celebrated on the fifth month of the Tibetan calender, which unusually come
to place in May. Two huge Thankas are displayed during the occasion. Numerous
other festivals are celebrated throughout the year. Some important ones are
Mahne Dance (which marks the killings of the demon through a dance drama),
Sakaluka (seed sowing ceremony for good harvest), Duk Chu (Monk’s dance and
prayer for a prosperous New Year),Chug Emma (household prayers fro prosperous
new year), Phakne (group of same age visit different holy places), Loh Sar (New
Year) and so forth. A MonasticSchool- Tse Chhen Shedrubling Tukling Mon Gon Lobdra - is attached to the Chhoede
Gompa. This is the only Sakya-pa monastic school of Upper Mustang where young monks
(Dhawa) are taught on the teaching of Buddha.
The people of Lo have for long relied on traditional herbal
medicines to cure ailments and the faith still holds true. With some donor
support, an AmchiSchoolnow runs in Lo under the local Amchi family (Tibetan herbal Doctor).
