Tsechu Mask Dance Festival, Bhutan (video)

Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; EBSLanguage (EBS 외국어 학습); Tapas Photography

(Part 4) "In Search of a Celestial Kingdom," onward to Bhutan's capital Thimphu for a Tsechu ("Day Ten"), the kingdom’s grand festival (영어로 하는 세계테마기행, Themes Around the World).

Indigenous Himalayan shamanic influences color Teschu masked dance festivals (TP).

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Bhutan's famed Tiger's Nest monastery (AW)

High in the last Himalayan Buddhist kingdom -- now a democracy after the final king stepped down to modernize the country rich in unspoiled resources but more interested in Gross Domestic Happiness than Gross Domestic Product -- there is an ancient festival underway.

Hindu sadhu far below on the Ganges (TP)

Bhutan's Vajrayana Buddhism, which blends indigenous shamanism (Bon) and Tibetan/Chinese Mahayana universalism, devotees take part in a colorful annual display.

Tsechu is a masked dance festival that lasts for several days and celebrates the life of Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan.

Tsechu: "Day Ten"

Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

Dance of the Black Hats (Stephen Shephard)

Tsechu (ཚེས་བཅུ།), literally "Day Ten," is an annual Bhutanese religious festival held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar, the month depending on the place.

Tsechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism (Bhutanese Vajrayana). They are large social gatherings that perform the function of social bonding among people from remote and very spread out villages.

Buddhist India, Arunchal Pradesh (TP)

Large markets congregate at fair locations, leading to brisk commerce (Dancing on the Demon's Back: the Dramnyen Dance and Song of Bhutan, Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, Univ. of Western Australia, July 2003). The Thimphu and Paro tsechus are among the largest in terms of participation and audience. More