Tsechus are religious festivals typically 3-4 days long held
in every Bhutanese town or district in honour of Guru Rinpoche, also known as
Padmasambhava, who brought Tantric Buddhism to the Himalayan regions of Bhutan,
Tibet, Nepal and Ladakh around 800 A.D.. Tsechus first arose in the 16th
century and comprise of dances depicting stories of Guru Rinpoche's life and
exploits, as well as moral tales and folklore. Bhutanese believe that by
watching a tsechu, they gain religious merits. When tsechu is held in a
district, public holidays will be proclaim and everyone dress in their best
national costumes to go to the dzong to watch the tsechus. Sept/Oct is the
period with the largest tsechus, hence the most popular time of the year for
tourists to visit Bhutan.
The grandest tsechu in Bhutan is that held in Thimphu, but it
is also the most crowded and police make sure rules on security and public order
are properly enforced. It would be most ideal to attend the tsechu in
Thimphu as well as the one in Wangdue Phodrang as both tsechu are held around
the same period.
The spectacular Black Hat Dance (Shana Cham)
- depicting
powerful yogis with the power to create and destroy life. The yogis first
form a mandala, cut demons into pieces, take possession of the world to protect
it and then dance the sacred "steps of the thunderbolt". An
important dance that is also used in purification ceremonies during the
construction of Dzongs, temples, chortens.
Black Hat Dance with
Drums (Shana Nga Cham)
- From
this site: In
honour of the victory the religion over the enemies, the Black Hats beat the
drums, the sound of which resounds throughout the three worlds.
Then, when the Black Hat Dancers have destroyed the malevolent enemies who
persecuted the beings and the Buddhists, they beat the great drums of Buddhism.
The sound of the drums represent the religion itself which cannot be represented
in any other way because it has no visible form.
Dance of the Drums of Drametse (Dramitse
Ngacham)
-
Another amazing ancient religious dance from Bhutan - A vision seen by 15th
cent Another
amazing ancient religious dance from Bhutan - A vision seen by 15th century
nun in which she saw the attendants of Guru Rimpoche performing a dance.
Dancers in animal masks and colourful costumes
Also from the Dance of the Drums of Drametse (Dramitse Ngacham)
The tales and opinions expressed on this site are the
author’s and by their very nature, personal and opinionated.
You may not agree with them and you are welcomed to voice them by emailing to
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will not entertain anyone who furl insults and vulgarities. The names of
individuals mentioned in this site have been changed to maintain their
privacy.
Tan Wee Cheng, Singapore 
weecheng.com
Kingdom
of Bhutan 2006 
