Art/ Photography Workshop Nepal

Here are some images of the art workshop which I co hosted this past month with founder, Ilsa Brittain. She focused on the painting and I offered tips and helped with in the field photography. We had a great group of creative art teachers who were patient throughout all the traffic jams and other chaos as we spent 16 days exploring the artistan work and traditions throughout the valley.

more lokta paper

loved the colors

colors and patterns of felt

Lokta Paper

Local lokta paper factory.

The grueling work of carrying slate, bricks, and stones is a common scene throughout Nepal.

Annapurna

a bit more info....

Photos to come but before, I just wanted to give a little more info, now that i just looked into the history of this ritual.

The festival sees the local yak herders making money by selling the blood of live yaks to people who queue up in hundreds to drink it, in the belief their illnesses will be cured.While lactating female yaks are spared, other yaks above the age of two are chosen for the ritual. Pinned down by people who hold their tails and horns and their legs tied, the yaks are then bled by a professional bleeder, known as the aamji.The aamji pierces the jugular vein of the hapless animal and the streaming blood is collected in cups that are then passed among the crowd, who drink the warm, frothy liquid unwaveringly.

Each yak is bled to collect between 20 to 40 cups of blood.

The ritual is believed to be an old Tibetan one that originated in Mustang in northern Nepal, once part of an ancient Tibetan kingdom.

The participants are mostly people suffering from chronic diseases who have given up hope of being cured by modern medicine.

A researcher correlates the ritual to the belief in witchcraft and the superstition that blood is effective as medicine as well as an aphrodisiac.

sacred yaks~

just got back from a short trek in the annapurna mountains...
as i was walking past a small garung village, i spotted a herd of yak in the distance. i thought that was odd, seeing yak normally roam at higher altitudes. my guide soon informed me that they were performing an annual ceremony where they drink the blood of the yak, close to 30, and slaughter one. a few villagers made a two day pilgrimage to this area with the entire herd. being the only tourist, i tried to be an inconspicuous as possible with my camera in hand. as i approach the scene, there were about 50 villagers in line for the precious and potent blood from the yes, still alive, yak. they cut open the jugular veins which acted like a tap. this blood is believed to be sacred and protects one from cancer. they drained the blood from the one yak and continued to cut off the head and eventually killed it entirely. the meat would soon be dispersed throughout the villagers. everyone in the village was in line to drink a full glass of the blood. thinking that that was the end, i was wrong. i soon noticed another man corralling another yak. this yak was soon drained of its blood and then let free. the process continued. by yak #4 i had enough. by the end of the day, they would have drank blood from all of the yak and then let them free to roam. with little energy, they then walk back to their high altitude home, days away. i had to bit my tongue and keep my judgments to myself.

below i have included some images from the sacred burning grounds. you see it all in kathmandu... nothing is guarded.

day 16- completed the workshop and it was tiring but really amazing. we had such a good group. sorry of the lack of posts more photos are coming soon!