Puja ceremony

At Base Camp, a Lama and two sherpas stand before an altar created for a ceremony known as puja, which will invite blessings for the trip. On the left, a sherpa in a red jacket bends over a fire of juniper branches. The Lama, behind him, dressed in brown and white, bows slightly. On the right, a sherpa stands behind a table that holds offerings of food and drinks. Three large pieces of stone stand on the altar with yellow ribbons tied around them. A tall pole topped with juniper branches leans on the back of the altar. In the background are the Khumbu Glacier and the bases of Mount Everest and Mount Nuptse. (Learn more)

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The puja — blessing of the expedition — at Base Camp marked the end of the trekking chapter of Chip’s expedition and the beginning of the mountaineering phase of the journey.

Puja is a ceremony officiated by a Lama and two or more monks in front of an altar built of stone. Those performing a puja ask the Gods for good fortune for the sherpas and the climbers as they attempt to summit the mountain. In front of the altar, offerings are made to the Gods: sampa cake, yak milk butter, fried dough, fruits, chocolate, and drinks. Juniper burns continuously in a niche in the altar. All the critical climbing equipment is blessed — harnesses, crampons, ice-axes, and helmets, as well as the expedition flag. Prayer flags are strewn for 100 feet in several directions. During the ceremony, the sherpas chant along with the Lama and monks, and everyone throws rice. The sherpas raise a pole with juniper branches on the top, and it is a sign of good fortune if a gorak (raven) lands on the pole. The ceremony closes with the participants sharing food, and finally with the climbers and sherpas smearing gray sampa flour on each others’ faces — a symbol of their hope that they may live to see each other when they are old and gray.

Learn more about Buddhism, Mount Everest, Puja, and ceremonies.

Definitions

trek n.
A journey on foot that involves considerable effort.
lama n.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a spiritual leader or monk.
sherpa n.
When capitalized, refers to an ethnic group living in the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. Lowercase "sherpa" refers to local people who work as guides to mountain climbers in the Himalayas.
sampa n.
A ground gray-colored flour made from roasted barley. A staple of traditional Tibetan and Nepalese food, it is used to make a fried dough and eaten with tea.
juniper n.
A cone-bearing evergreen shrub of the genus Juniperus having blue berries that are used to make medicine and gin.
crampon n.
Spiked metal device that attaches to a mountain climber's boot and provides sure footing on ice and snow.

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