Climate change is damaging the 1000 year old Tabo Monastery in southeast Spiti. Its famous and historically important wall paintings and sculpture dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries could be victims of new weather patterns if they are permitted to continue to affect the buildings.
View of the Tabo Monastery from the north, with the new monastery in back, the old monastery in the middle, and the town of Tabo in front and to the viewer’s left.
Since the inception of the Tabo monastery in 996 C.E., the Spiti valley has experienced dry weather. With global warming and changing rainfall patterns Spiti has recently seen more rainfall than accustomed to in the past. Increased moisture means more seepage and cracking in the old monastery buildings' traditional mud brick architecture.
The Golden Temple, to the south of the Main Temple.
The art of Tabo Monastery is particularly important for understanding the practice of Buddhism a millennium ago in North India and Tibet. The paintings and sculptures in the Main Temple were created between 996 C.E. and 1042 C.E. and unlike most institutions of its age or older its early artistic program representing the Vajradhatu-mandala, the Pilgrimage of Sudhana, the Life of the Buddha, and other Buddhist images and Deities is intact. The painting and sculpture include many beautiful and significant images which need to be protected.
Chortens and the Small ‘Bromston Temple (viewer’s left) and the Maitreya Temple viewed from the western side of the temple compound.
More information can be found in an article by Pratibha Chauhan in The Tribune's Spectrum section titled "Rain Ruining Relics", published on Sunday, July 25, 2010. A highly recommended and beautifully illustrated book on Tabo Monastery and its art is "Tabo, a Light for the Kingdom" by D.E. Klimburg-Salter.
