Kee Gompa :

Kee Gompa (also spelled Ki, Key or Kee ) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district.

History :

Kee Gompa is said to have been founded by Dromtön (Brom-ston, 1008-1064 CE), a pupil of the famous teacher, Atisha, in the 11th century. This may however, refer to a now destroyed Kadampa monastery at the nearby village of Rangrik, which was probably destroyed in the 14th century when the Sakya sect rose to power with Mongol assistance.

Kee was attacked again by the Mongols during the 17th century, during the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and became a Gelugpaestablishment. In 1830, it was sacked again during the wars between Ladakh and Kulu. In 1841, it was severely damaged by the Dograarmy under Ghulam Khan and Rahim Khan. Later that same year, it suffered more damage from a Sikh army. In the 1840s, it was ravaged by fire and, in 1975, a violent earthquake caused further damage which was repaired with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India and the State Public Works Department.

Architecture :

The walls of the monastery are covered with paintings and murals, an example of the 14th century monastic architecture, which developed as the result of Chinese influence. Kye monastery has a collection of ancient murals and books, including Buddha images.

There are three floors, the first one is mainly underground and used for storage. One room, called the Tangyur is richly painted with murals. The ground floor has the beautifully decorated Assembly Hall and cells for many monks.

Kye Gompa now belongs to the Gelugpa sect, along with Tabo Monastery and Dhankar Gompa, one of three in Spiti. The monastery of Kee, for instance, accommodates nearly 250 monks, who reside within the sacred walls in winter, and stay during the summer with their parents or brothers, working in the fields, or employed in carrying travellers' goods. These monasteries have their regular heads, or abbots, and the higher ecclesiastical titles can only be obtained by the candidates proceeding in person to either Shigatzee (Shigatse) or Lhassa (Lhasa).

      It is the biggest monastery of Spiti Valley and a religious training centre for Lamas. It reportedly had 100 monks in 1855,  the oldest and the biggest monastery of Spiti dominating Kee-Village. About 300 lamas are receiving their religious training in this monastery, which houses rare paintings and beautiful scriptures of Buddha and other gods and goddesses. It is serving western population of Spiti.7 Kms on the way to Kaza Kibber.on the top of the mountains of Spiti, the Key Monastery is one of the most famous monasteries of Spiti Valley. The beautiful sculptures of the monastery are noteworthy. The religious training provided in the monastery entails singing, dancing and playing pipes and horns.

Celebration :

Around the month of June and July, the Kye monastery celebrates a festival, in which the Chaam dancers are followed by a procession by lamas who reaches the ritual ground below the monastery to perform dance. A large butter sculpture of a demon is set on fire and the devotees lays themselves down on the route, so that the lamas can walk over them as a part of a ritual. The Key Monastery is located merely 12 kms from Kaza and it has its headquarters in Kaza.