Presentation Construction of sand mandalas Credits Thursday May 1, 1997 Friday May 2, 1997 Saturday May 3, 1997 Sunday May 4, 1997

Monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in South India are welcomed to the National Capital Region by Native elder Josee Whiteduck. With the accompaniment of ritual chanting, the monks request the permission and blessings of local spiritual forces to create a sand mandala in the First Peoples Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In adherence to an ancient pattern, the monks lay down a chalk outline of the mandala.