procession of haroo

On the last day of our stay at the festival, we took part in the Kharoo procession — an ancient Buddhist ritual that has been performed for over 5,000 years. It was powerful...

I walked alongside the lamas and the guys with trumpets at the very front of the column. As the procession went on, my state grew more and more elevated — insights and revelations came. A trance-like meditative state. And so we walked 12.5 km all the way to the temple…

Once inside the temple, the monks briefly explained what was about to happen, then sat down and began to chant, occasionally making sounds on what seemed to be drums or something similar. My state quickly became altered, close to drowsy. It resembled the focus-10 state — "body asleep, mind awake." I took this effect as cleansing…

At the end, all participants took out their personal items they intended to charge, turning them into amulets. The monks spoke in Tuvan, and at first I thought these items were meant for sacrifice. But when I saw what objects people were holding in their palms, I realized they had no intention of parting with them. So I took out my rune set, which at that point I hadn't yet finished. To conclude, the whole crowd filed single file toward some boxes, touching Buddha figurines... After that, having stood in line for a bit, I headed toward the exit. And, packed in tight, we drove back to camp in the PAZ bus…