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Festivals
In Bhutan the biggest and the most colourful festival is the ‘Tshechu’. Tsechus are festivals extolling the great deeds of the Buddhist Saint, Padmasambhava, popularly known as “Guru Rinpoche” in our mountain kingdom, who contributed enormously to the diffusion of Tantric Buddhism in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan in the 8th century. He was the founder of the Nyingmapa sect, the “old school” of Mahayana Buddhism, which has a wide following today. All of Guru Rinpoche’s great deeds are believed to have taken place on the 10th day of the month, which is the meaning of the word tsechu. Tsechus are celebrated for several days; the dates and the duration of the festivals vary from one district to another, but they always take place on or around the 10th day of the month in the Bhutanese calendar. Each village takes pride in its annual religious festival, and any villagers who have gone to live in the city are expected to come back home for it. Such villagers will themselves sponsor a large part of the cost of mounting the festival.
The dances are performed by monks as well as lay people, and the dancers take on the aspects of wrathful and compassionate deities, heroes, demons and animals. The dances, known as cham, bring blessings upon the onlookers, instruct them in the dharma (Buddhist teachings), protect them from misfortune, and exorcise evil influences. The Tshechu is a religious festival and people believe they gain merit by attending it. Deities are invoked during the dances; through their power and benediction misfortunes may be annihilated, luck increased and wishes realized.
Certain tsechus end with the veneration of a huge appliqué thangkha, called a "thongdroel". The thongdroel is unveiled at dawn to bring enlightenment to all who view it. Festival goers believe that by simply viewing this thongdroel, they can be delivered from the cycle of birth and rebirth, which is the ultimate aim of Buddhism.
Some tsechus also have a "wang", a collective verbal blessing given by a high lama. Colored threads are distributed, and people tie them around their necks as witness to the blessing. Sometimes the wang is called "mewang" meaning "blessing by fire" which burns away their impurities.
Atsaras are clowns whose expressive masks and postures are an indispensable element in any religious festival. They confront the monks, toss out salacious jokes, and distract the crowd with their antics when the religious dances begin to grow tedious. Believed to represent Acharyas, religious masters of India, they are the only people permitted to mock religion in a society where sacred matters are treated with the highest respect.
For the Bhutanese, attendance at religious festivals offers an opportunity to become immersed in the meaning of their religion and to gain much merit. The festivals are also occasions for seeing people, and for being seen, for social exchanges, and for flaunting success. People bring out their finest clothes, their most beautiful jewelry, and enjoy picnics with abundant alcohol and meat. Men and women joke and flirt with one another. An atmosphere of convivial, slightly ribald good humor prevails.
Festival Etiquette
Festivals are religious events. The ground where they are held is purified and consecrated by lamas, so when you are watching a festival you are, in essence, on sacred ground equal to that of a church, monastery or temple. The conduct of the onlooker should be governed with this in mind. The dancers, whether monks or laymen, are in a state of meditation. They transform themselves into the deities which they represent on the dance ground. They generate a spiritual power, which cleanses, purifies, enlightens and blesses the spectators.
With this in mind, it should be clear that obtrusive, disrespectful or discourteous behavior is unwelcome. The dance ground is not a place to eat, drink or smoke, talk or laugh loudly at inappropriate times, flash cameras or intrude on the dance space. Common courtesy should rule one's action when photographing dances or onlookers.
Festivals are not held as tourist attractions. They are genuine manifestations of religious traditions thousands of years old which outsiders are given the privilege of witnessing. It is our hope that our tour members will always display courtesy, sensitivity and respect to the people of Bhutan who have welcomed them to attend these beautiful and sacred events, and visibly demonstrate their respect by dressing as well as their circumstances permit on such occasions.
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