This is an eyewitness account of the major state rituals and festivals officially enacted in the Tibetan capital under the auspices of the Dalai Lama's government before the Chinese Communist takeover in 1959. In this contribution to the library of works by those who knew traditional Tibet before its dissolution, Hugh Richardson provides his own detailed memories of the calendar of spectacular rituals which served both to demonstrate and legitimize the power of the old Tibetan state.

As head of the last British and first Indian missions to Tibet, he was uniquely placed to observe and participate in these extraordinary ceremonies over a period of nine years. More than 40 years later he has used his notes and memories, supplemented by recent accounts in Tibetan and copious photographs from his own and other collections. Starting with the month-long ceremonies of the New Year, the reader is taken through the full chronological sequence of both secular and Buddhist rites which punctuated the Tibetan year.

Together they form an intricate panoply of processions, sacred dances, oracular seances, ritual competitions and official feasting which occupied the energies, enjoyment and deep faith of the entire populace of Lhasa, from the highest to the lowest.