After spending the winter of 1926–27 in Ulaan Baatar, Holed Up in a Building which is now being turned into the Roerich-Mongolia Museum, on April 13, 1927 the Roerich Expedition left the Mongolian capital and headed west by motor car to Amarbuyant Monastery, in what is now Bayankhongor Aimag. From Amarbuyant they traveled south by camel to Shar Khuls Oasis, following the Route Used by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1904. From Shar Khuls they proceeded further south across to Black Gobi to the Mazong Mountains, where they passed by the Desert Fortress of the notorious Ja Lama.
From here they took the traditional route to Tibet, passing near the town of Anxi, and by the last week of June reached the Nan Shan, the mountains on the northern rim of the Tibetan Plateau. At a place called Sharagolji (probably a corruption the Mongolian Shar Gol = “Yellow River”) they camped for six weeks while awaiting the beginning of the Fall caravan season onward to Tibet. According to the account of George Roerich, in his book Trails in Inmost Asia:
From here they took the traditional route to Tibet, passing near the town of Anxi, and by the last week of June reached the Nan Shan, the mountains on the northern rim of the Tibetan Plateau. At a place called Sharagolji (probably a corruption the Mongolian Shar Gol = “Yellow River”) they camped for six weeks while awaiting the beginning of the Fall caravan season onward to Tibet. According to the account of George Roerich, in his book Trails in Inmost Asia:
To commemorate the spot of our camp, Professor Roerich [his father, Nicholas] decided to build a stupa and our Mongolian friends busied themselves preparing stones and bricks for the construction. Soon the stately white structure of the stupa rose among our tents.
According to Ruth A. Drayer, in her book Nicholas and Helena Roerich, Revised Edition: The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers:
Nicholas Roerich wrote in his book Altai-Himalaya:
It was a peaceful time. Roerich painted the Bogdo-Ulas [apparently the Bogd Khan Uul south of Ulaan Baatar, but perhaps Ikh Bogd Uul, which they would have passed on their way to Amarbuyant Monastery] several times, then sketched and painted Guardian of the Entrance, The Great Horseman, and others. The Humboldt peaks glowed white with snow, and the air was invigorating. The stillness reminded them of the Himalayan heights. At night, the group held wonderful discussions on the new Prayer to Shambhala, the prophecies of the Panchen Lama, or the need for a pan-Asiatic language to reconcile, at least elementally, the three hundred dialects of Asia. Roerich yearned to convey to the West through his paintings and books—and through the establishment of the New Country—the importance that Maitreya, Shambhala, and Gessar Khan have in Asia.
They were camped in the area where the Mahatma had rested on way to Mongolia forty years before, so they decided to commemorate the spot with a suburgan [stupa] of Shambhala. Everyone gaily joined in the construction, building the understructure of stones, reinforced with clay and grass. The top was made of wood, covered with tin from a gasoline tank, and the entire surface was given a sturdy coat of Humboldt lime and reverently painted with red, yellow, and green designs by a Buriat lama using Roerich's paints. The suburgan was completed July 2.
Nicholas Roerich wrote in his book Altai-Himalaya:
Here are some photos of the stupa, courtesy of the Roerich Museum in New York City, a veritable cornucopia of All Things Roerichian.In front of the tent of Shambhala, the lamas prayed for the coming of the Blessed Rigden Jyepo and placed a polished mirror before the image. Water was poured onto the mirror and the glass seemed to come alive with strange figures appearing on the surface. When it blurred, it resembled one of the magic mirrors in ancient stories. A procession walked around the shrine with burning incense while the lama held onto a thread suspended from the roof. The altar was filled with gifts of turquoise, coral, and beads, an image of the Buddha, a silver ring with a most significant inscription, prophecies for the future, and other precious objects that had been placed there by an old lama who had helped with the construction. We also lay the Ak-dorje and the Maitreya Sangha within. After a long service, the white thread that connected the lama and the suburgan was severed, and the monument stood there alone in the purple of the desert, forever to shine brightly, defended only by invisible powers.
The Roerich Stupa. Note American flag to right. What passports the Roerichs were using at the time and what nationality they were claiming is a bit of a mystery, but the expedition was supported by American Wall Street financiers.
Mongols at the stupa. It is not clear if these were locals or men accompanying the Roerich Expedition.
Putting the finishing touches on the Shambhala Stupa
Circumambulating the Shambhala Stupa
What appears to be local Mongols posing at the StupaIt is not known if the stupa still exists. Interestingly, just two weeks later, while camped at the same spot, the Roerichs made one of the twentieth century’s first recorded sightings of a UFO. Apparently it has been dispatched from Shambhala. But that is another story . . .
