Images of Kham

PAINTED LINTEL
Ganze is the capital of Ganze County, the traditional Trehor region of Kham. This lintel is over the main door into the Ganze Monastery, a Gelugpa monastery that was once the largest monastery in Kham. Although Kham was originally dominated by the Nyingma and Kagyu sects, in the 1600's the Qosot Mongols invaded, destroyed many Nyingma and Kagyu institutions, and established the Gelug order as the local orthodoxy. Shown here are two snow lions, the traditional symbol of Tibet.