About ceromony

This is a two week ceremony that takes place twice a year in mustang district of Nepal. First in Baishakh (April) at Sekong and Nupsang Kharka in Kobang and second in Shrawan ( July) at Marche and Muli in Kobang, Phache in tukuche and Alubari in Marpha.

150 to 400 people gather from all over Nepal but majority of them are from neighboring villages. nowadays Magar villagers from myagdi districts also come to see the ceremony.This blood drinking ceremony was for illness people but many people come for an entertainment.

The blood is extracted from a healthy yak aged two or older through a small hole carefully pierced on its neck. A yak can produce around 5 to 25 glasses of blood at a time. the blood is believed to cure gastronomical problems as well as weakness and other diseases.


During the ceremony yak herders provide food at the sheds and people camp at these location. they drink 1 to 2 glasses a day for 7 to 9 days. the locals favors drinking odd numbers of blood and alcohol is believed to aid digestion.

Although it has been in mustang for over 100 years, the origin of this tradition and how it came to mustang is unknown , while some believes that it came from Tibet. but this  yak blood drinking ceremony is not a custom in upper mustang.

Yak blood drinking ceromony

Yaks spends most of year on high altitude pastures above 2500m, grazing on various kinds of Himalayan  herbs.On the high altitude there are many medicinal herbs grown.Yasargumba (Cordyceps) one of the medicinal herb that contains Protein, Vitamin A, B1,B2,B6,B12 which is used for treatment of leprosy infection of lungs and respiratory organs and other treatment of our body.

The local people of mustang believes that  while yaks graze in high the medicinal quality of those herbs remains in the animal's blood and thus drinking the blood i beneficial to their health.