Once we arrived at Advanced Base Camp our Sherpas were keen to hold a puja. A puja is a Buddhist act of reverence to a god or a spirit through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. An essential part of puja is making a spiritual connection with the divine. Most often that contact is made through an object: an element of nature, a sculpture, a vessel, a painting, or a print.
What has this to do with Cho Oyu? Buddhists consider the mountain to be divine and that we unclean westerners are effectively despoiling their divinity through our presence, and in particular by touching the mountain with our climbing accoutrements, especially our crampons and ice axes. Therefore as soon as possible after arriving at ABC it is necessary to have a puja during which we seek forgiveness from the mountain divinity for what we are going to do. This may seem odd to those not of the Buddhist religion but the puja was taken very seriously by the Sherpas who by nature are immensely superstitious, and so out of respect for them and their beliefs, by us too.
During puja an image or other symbol of the god serves as a means of gaining access to the divine. This icon is not the deity itself but a focal point for honoring and communicating with the god. At our puja the symbol was an altar of rocks built on the perimeter of ABC. On this altar was placed a beautifully coloured silk together with food such as rice, cakes, bread, meats, and fruits, and also drink, including coca-cola, tea, Lhasa beer and some special brandy. There were also candles and other symbols of respect for the mountain. Alongside the altar we placed our crampons and ice axes to be blessed. Atop the altar was erected a pole from which were strung 3 long lines of brand new prayer flags. While these preparations were underway mats were placed to one side of the altar for we, the unclean, to sit and take part in proceedings.
At the appointed hour we were invited to sit or kneel on the mat; ensuring that we kept our boots on the surrounding rock. Then Ishi, one of the Tibetan cooking team took his place right in front of the altar and began to chant. Many of the climbing team were a little taken aback that this important ritual was to be led by a cook boy. It was then explained to us by Pasang, our Sirdar, that Ishi was not just a cook boy but a fully trained Tibetan monk; indeed he was a Lama. Lama, which means 'high priest' in Tibetan, is the name given to a monk who has achieved an advanced level of spirituality and is not only a very senior monk but a teacher too. It transpired that Ishi was taking time away from his monastery to work in the community. His love of mountains had brought him to Cho Oyu as our cook boy No. 2. How extraordinary!
With Ishi, head bowed, chanting the puja the Sherpas came to us offering food and drink from the altar. Believing that to drink alcohol at altitude was unwise we all declined initially, until we were advised by Tim that a small can wouldn't hurt and that to refuse this gift would certainly upset the Sherpas and possibly the divinity too. No more encouragement was required!
With the sky a deep blue, the air crystal clear, the beauty of the Nangpa La behind us and magnificent vistas all around it was not hard to understand the reverence with which the Sherpas held this place; especially considering the potential dangers of climbing here should the 'gods' not be appeased. The might of Cho Oyu, the divine Cho Oyu, was a massive physical, emotional and spiritual presence to our right as the words spoken by Ishi were whipped skywards by a freshening breeze. That same breeze whipped the prayer flags into great animation and, according to tradition, carried our prayers to the divinity. Pasang came to each of in in turn and tied a yellow cord around our necks. We learned later that this was to protect us on the mountain and each cord had been blessed by the Dalai Lama. Having had the cord put in place we were each daubed on our foreheads and faces with flour from the altar.
We were not the only creatures enjoying this ritual. Choughs, the large black birds that were often to be seen around ABC, were tempted by the rice despite our presence and having taken a peck or two would fly of to eat, seemingly to add to the process of transferring earthly gifts to the mountain divinity.
The puja lasted around an hour during which Ishi barely took a breather from his reverence and we enjoyed the hospitality of our Sherpas and the glorious sunshine, while fervently hoping that Cho Oyu was listening. It was Ishi's view afterwards that judging by the weather, the actions of the choughs and other spiritual indicators, that the puja had been welcomed by the divinity and that his entreaties on our behalf had been accepted.
That we all returned safely from our several forays towards the summit without injury testifies that Ishi, our very own holy man, our Lama, was right.