-Written by Rinchen.
My Abile(granny) said that today is Shey Shrubhlha: the day on which Shey’s protector deity Dorje Chenmo enters a human being in order to give advice to the village of Shey. The day of Shrubh lha also marks the beginning of harvest. I’m not exactly sure how this spans out these days and all that I know about how it spanned out back in my granny’s youth is stemming from bits of memories that my granny still holds. For those who don’t know, Shey, now a village, was once the summer capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh.
My granny said two of the things she remembers from this occasion is that on this day Dorje Chenmo using a human being as a medium visits the Shey Lonpo House ( one of the foremost erstwhile ministerial families in Ladakh during the King’s reign) and a traditional dance is held on the lawn before the Lha-khang (abode of the lha (deity), in this case Dorje Chenmo). Ofcourse, other important events also take place on this occasion, but these are the two which my grandmother recalls from personal experience.
My Abile joyfully recollected that on one such occasion when she had attended the event with her mother at the Shey Lonpo House, Dorje Chenmo (in human form) threw aside the cup of khunak (black butter tea) because it hadn’t been boiling hot as it should have been. She also recalled how Dorje Chhenmo walked about on the perimeters of the Shey Lonpo House’s roof and gave advice to the family.
Another tradition she recalls is that on this day all the members of Shey village would gather on the lawn before the Lha-khang (abode of the lha (deity) in this case Dorje Chenmo). In the lawn a traditional dance would be performed, which would as per tradition have to be opened by a member of the Shey Tongspon family.
Since Dorje Chenmo is Shey’s yul lha ( deity protecting a place ), Shey’s people in particular should revere the protective deity, if they have the good fortune to understand what that means.
It is believed that Lotsava Rinchen Zangpo entreated the deity to accompany him to Nyarma in order receive guidance in his journey to disseminate the dharma (Buddhist teachings). Then in the 18th century, Lama Kathog Rigzin Tsewang Norbu is believed to have followed the procedure to entreat and consequently instate the revered Dorje Chenmo as the protector deity of Shey during the time of the king’s coronation (Dollfus 2006).
These days many people dismiss things without understanding what they mean. Protector deities are not works of myth, they have been a very important part of the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Dismissing something without reason cannot make that dismissal a fact. Facts must be understood and in order to understand historical and religious facts, history and religion must be understood by reading, asking, and studying. Many elements go into the survival of a region; elements beyond temporary anthropogenic schemes.
