Culture · Samdruptse
Hang prayer flags on Samdruptse
Buy a string of lungta flags in Namchi market and hang them on the windy ridge at Samdruptse, as Sikkimese families do for a new year, a birth or a journey. We explain what the colours and printed prayers mean so it is done with respect.
Photo: Masum Ibn Musa · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Prayer flags, lungta or wind horses, are printed with mantras and images that the wind is believed to carry out across the land. They come in five colours in a fixed order, blue, white, red, green and yellow, which stand for sky, air, fire, water and earth. Families hang new flags for Losar, after a death or before a long journey.
Buy a set in Namchi market, where shops sell strings of 10–25 flags for about ₹150–500. At Samdruptse, ask the caretakers where flags can be tied; there are designated lines along the ridge. Hang them high, in the wind, and never let them touch the ground.
Some families ask a lama to bless their flags first and choose an auspicious day from the Tibetan calendar. As a visitor you need not go that far, but you should handle flags with respect: do not step on them, use them as decoration elsewhere, or throw old ones away.
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Questions travellers ask
Before you book
Is it respectful for non-Buddhists to hang prayer flags?
Yes. Prayer flags are hung for the benefit of all beings, and Sikkimese Buddhists generally welcome visitors who do it respectfully. Follow the five-colour order, hang them in a high, clean place and never let them touch the ground. Ask the caretaker where it is permitted.
What do the colours of prayer flags mean?
The usual order is blue, white, red, green, yellow, representing sky (space), air (wind), fire, water and earth. Together they stand for balance among the elements. The central image is often the wind horse carrying the Buddhist triple gem.
Where can we buy prayer flags?
Namchi market and the stalls near Samdruptse sell them, as do shops in Ravangla and Gangtok. A string of 10 small flags costs around ₹150; larger sets ₹300–500. Cotton flags fade naturally, which is considered fine: the prayers have been carried by the wind.
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