© Robert Powell

Houses on the old Wall, Lo Manthang
61 x 169 cm

The original square plan of the walled town of Lo Manthang was disrupted in Iron Tiger year (1710). The Lo Manthang Chöde was built in that year outside the northern wall and it seems likely that the walls were then extended to enclose the new monastic area. Now only a few massive lumps of the wall remain, incorporated into a row of houses that back on to a field of vegetables. Coloured clays protect the houses from evil and prayerflags flutter their message of merit for all sentient beings.