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Festivals"Deities, heroes, clowns, demons, and animals all come to life . . ." "Being a tour guide for some is simply a job, a way to earn a living. For (our guide) Oser it is a lifestyle. Oser enriched my experience and helped provide me with a lifetime of great memories. He could do the same for you." Namyet, Jay David USA |
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At various times of the year, Bhutanese in towns and villages congregate to witness the masked dance festivals known as Tsechus. These colorful events draw thousands of locals, some of whom walk for days in order to attend. While the underlying purpose is spiritual, dances are more often like plays where good triumphs over evil or depict significant historical events, especially surrounding the life of Bhutan’s patron saint, Padmasambhava (also known as guru Rinpoche). There is inevitably a great deal of socializing; it is an opportunity for people to relax and forget the daily routine, to dress in their finest clothes and jewelry but, more importantly, it is an occasion for prayer and blessings. Tsechus are mainly composed of mask dances with some folk dance entertainment in between. Festivals are not pageants or entertainment events and definitely not held as tourists’ attraction. They are genuine manifestations of religious traditions thousands of years old, which outsiders are given the privilege to attend.
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Annual religious festivals in Bhutan are one of the most vivid expressions of the Bhutanese faith and have remained basically unchanged for hundreds of years. These events feature masked dances performed in especially striking and spectacular costumes by monks from the local monastery. Wrathful and compassionate deities, heroes, clowns, demons, and animals all come to life in a swirling, noisy spectacle . . . the dancers may be invoking protection from demonic spirits, or depicting a morality tale, or perhaps proclaiming Buddhist victories and the glory of remarkable saints.
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Other important celebrations with traditional dance, drama and sports are :
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