Bumchu
religious
When it happens
February
The fourteenth and fifteenth days of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, falling in late February or March.
Significance
A genuine, continuously observed monastic tradition rather than a tourism creation, and one of the few Buddhist oracle rituals in India that a visitor can actually attend.
Why it's celebrated
A sealed vase of holy water kept on the monastery's main altar is opened once a year and its water level read as an oracle for Sikkim's coming year.
How it's celebrated
Pilgrims gather through the night. The monks inspect the vase's seal, perform a recitation, and break it open before the high lamas. The level of the water is read, some is drawn out and shared with the crowd, and the vase is refilled and resealed for another year.
Key rituals
Inspection of the seal, recitation, the breaking of the vase, the reading of the level, and the redistribution and resealing.
Beliefs & spiritual meaning
A full vase portends prosperity; a low level is read as warning of hardship or disturbance in the year ahead.
History & origins
Tashiding was founded in 1641, and the vase ritual has been kept there since, with the reading of the water treated as a forecast for the territory.
Frequently asked
When is Bumchu held?+
On the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, which falls in late February or March. It is held at Tashiding Monastery in West Sikkim, and entry is free.
What is actually read from the vase?+
The water level. A sealed vase kept on the monastery's main altar is opened once a year before the high lamas, and the level of the water inside is read as an oracle for Sikkim's coming year — full for prosperity, low as a warning. Seven cups are drawn out and shared with the crowd before the vase is refilled and resealed.
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