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Through the Icefallpart 2 | back to part 1 The Puja The lama throws rice in the air as an offering to the mountain god. It is a day of ceremony, called the puja, and our team joins in, eating the food and drinking the tea that was made especially for the occasion. Before the Sherpas will go into the Khumbu Icefall, the first leg of the climb up Everest, they must have a puja and beseech the gods of the mountains for a safe journey to the summit. 
Everest is known as "Chomolungma" in Sherpa, translated as
'Mother Goddess of the World.' Chomo means goddess, lung means
region and ma is a female god. The Sherpas believe the gods of
early man dwell in the Himalayas. With the powerful shifting
of wind, rock, and ice, the forces at play here seem both
mystical and terribly real.
Juniper smoke circles up toward the summits above us as
Jamling chants alongside the lama. He explains: "The mountains
are our gods and are worshipped. They are our protectors. So
before you go up in their territory you need to give them
offerings, prayers, put up prayer flags, or "lung-ta," which
means wind horse. You'll see most of the prayer flags have a
horse with wings. Horses are believed to be very sacred
animals and very fast, especially with wings. So they take
messages that are written on the prayer flags everywhere."
Click here to hear the puja ceremony (RealAudio).Continue Photos: (3) courtesy Robert Schauer. Lost on Everest | High Exposure | Climb | History & Culture | Earth, Wind, & Ice E-mail | Previous Expeditions | Resources | Site Map | Everest Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |