Photos of a Buddhist festival show ritual dances in India’s Ladakh

Photos of a Buddhist festival show ritual dances in India’s Ladakh

LADAKH, India (AP) — One by one, 13 Buddhist monks wearing brightly colored silk costumes and wide-brimmed black hats, stepped onto the rectangular courtyard of the Hemis monastery. They began a ritual dance to a slow rhythm set by drums, cymbals and horns. As they moved, the white human skull motifs on their costume caught the morning sun. They danced to ward off mythical evil beings and clear the courtyard of negative energy. That set the stag…

Photos of a Buddhist festival show ritual dances in India's Ladakh

Photos of a Buddhist festival show ritual dances in India’s Ladakh - The Morning Sun

LADAKH, India (AP) — One by one, 13 Buddhist monks wearing brightly colored silk costumes and wide-brimmed black hats, stepped onto the rectangular courtyard of the Hemis monastery. They began a ritual dance to a slow rhythm set by drums, cymbals and horns. As they moved, the white human skull motifs on their costume caught the morning sun. They danced to ward off mythical evil beings and clear the courtyard of negative energy. That set the stag…