Blowing (Dung-kar) conch shell
A young monk from the "red hat sect" at the Hemis Gompa is practicing his skill at blowing a (Dung-kar) conch shell horn. Conch shells (turbinella pyrum) were traded throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau where they are used as ritual trumpets. In India and Nepal they are a Hindu ritual tool associated with Vishnu called Sanka. In Tibet they are called Dunkar, one of the ubiquitous Tashi Tah Gay or eight auspicious symbols from Tibetan Buddhism.
© Kieron Nelson 2009 "Vanishing Cultures Photography" All rights reserved
