Kora curiosities

More from the Dege kora circuit.

[The kora is the ritual pilgrims' walk around a sacred mountain, building or shrine. In Dege, the kora goes round the monastery.]

1. A deflated inflatable Father Christmas.



2. A dead cat.


3. Another dead cat


One dead cat, and you might just think, well, a cat has to die somewhere.

But two? That has to be more than coincidence.

Do devout Buddhist cats come to the monastery walls to die, like Hindus to Varanasi?

Or is it more akin to the fabled elephant graveyards of Africa?

I should probably not make semi-facetious remarks about peoples', or indeed animals', religions, especially when I'm coming from a position of utter ignorance.

But seriously, the cats are there, and they are dead. Can anyone help me out? What are they doing there? Waiting to be reincarnated? Somebody must know.

And as for Father Christmas, well, that's anyone's guess.