![Dance of the Black Hats with Drums, Paro Tsechu 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Dance_of_the_Black_Hats_with_Drums%2C_Paro_Tsechu_5.jpg)
A tshechu ( dz, ཚེས་བཅུ།, literally "day ten") is any of the annual religious
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
ese festivals held in each district or
dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the
lunar
Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon".
Lunar may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games
* "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta
* "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
Tibetan calendar
The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years ...
. The month depends on the place. Tshechus are
religious festival
A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is known ...
s of the
Drukpa Lineage
The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or " Red Hat sect" in older sources, of the
Kagyu school of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
.
Tshechus are large social gatherings, which perform the function of social bonding among people of remote and spread-out villages. Large markets also congregate at the fair locations, leading to brisk commerce.
[Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan](_blank)
by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music
Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003 The
Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
tshechu and the
Paro tshechu are among the biggest of the tshechus in terms of participation and audience. They are related to traditions in other branches of
Himalayan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, many of which have been banned in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
.
Tshechu traditions
The focal point of the tshechus are
Cham dances. These costumed, masked dances typically are
moral vignettes, or based on incidents from the life of the 9th century
Nyingma
Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
teacher
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
and other saints.
Typically, monks perform unmasked in certain group dances, including the Black Hat dance, while laymen perform masked, in largely different plays. The monks are generally very precise in their movement, while some roles played by laymen involve considerable athleticism (such as the leaping dog shown below, who repeats this move over and over again). Groups of women perform songs, with limited dance movements, in between the plays.
Most tshechus also feature the unfurling of a
thongdrel
A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large appliqué religious image normally only unveiled during ''tsechus'', the main religious festivals in Bhutan. They are the largest form of ''thangka'' paintings in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...
- a large
appliqué
Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...
thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...
typically depicting a seated Padmasambhava surrounded by holy beings, the mere viewing of which is said to cleanse the viewer of sin. The thongdrel is raised before dawn and rolled down by morning.
Because tshechus depend on the availability of masked dancers, registered dancers are subject to fine if they refuse to perform during festivals.
History of Tshechus
Padmasambhava, the great scholar, visited Tibet and Bhutan in the 8th century and 9th century. He used to convert opponents of Buddhism by performing rites, reciting
mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...
s and finally performing a dance of subjugation to conquer local spirits and gods. He visited Bhutan to aid the dying king
Sindhu Raja
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
. Padmasambhava performed a series of such dances in the Bumthang Valley to restore the health of the king. The grateful king helped spread Buddhism in Bhutan. Padmasambhava organized the first tshechu in
Bumthang, where the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava were presented through eight forms of dances. These became the Cham dances depicting the glory of Padmasambhava.
Schedule
The dance schedule for each day of the four-day festival is set out and generally consists of the following dances.
* On the first day, the performances cover: Dance of the Four Stags (Sha Tsam); Dance of the Three kinds of Ging (Pelage Gingsum); Dance of the Heroes (Pacham), Dance of the Stags and Hounds (Shawo Shachi) and Dance with Guitar (Dranyeo Cham)
* On the second day the dances performed are: The Black Hat Dance (Shana), Dance of the 21 black hats with drums (Sha nga ngacham), Dance of the Noblemen and the Ladies (Pholeg Moleg), Dance of the Drums from Dramitse (Dramitse Ngacham), Dance of the Noblemen and the Ladies (Pholeg Moleg) and Dance of the Stag and Hounds (Shawa Shachi)
* On the third day, the dances performed are: Dance of the Lords of the Cremation Grounds (Durdag), Dance of the Terrifying Deities (Tungam) and Dance of the Rakshas and the Judgement of the Dead (Ragsha Mangcham)
* On the last day of the festival, the dances performed cover: Dance of
Tamzhing Monastery
Tamzhing Lhündrup Monastery () in Bumthang District in central Bhutan is a Nyingma gompa in Bhutan. Its temple and monastery are remarkable for their direct connection to the Bhutanese tertön and saint, Pema Lingpa (1450-1521) and his tulkus. I ...
in
Jakar
Jakar (Dzongkha: བྱ་ཀར་; Wylie: ''Bya-kar'') is a town in the central-eastern region of Bhutan. It is the district capital (dzongkhag thromde) of Bumthang District and the location of Jakar Dzong, the regional dzong fortress. The na ...
, Dance of the Lords of the Cremation grounds (the same dance as day 3), Dance of the Ging and Tsoling (Ging Dang Tsoling) and Dance of the Eight Manifestations of
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
(Guru Tshen Gye).
The last day of the four-day festival also marks the unfurling of the
Thongdrel
A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large appliqué religious image normally only unveiled during ''tsechus'', the main religious festivals in Bhutan. They are the largest form of ''thangka'' paintings in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...
, a very large scroll painting or
thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, ...
, which is unfurled with intense religious fervour, early in the morning. This painting measuring × has the images of Padmasambhava at the centre flanked by his two consorts and also his eight incarnations. Devotees who gather to witness this occasion offer obeisance in front of the ''Thongdrel'' seeking blessings. Folk dances are performed on the occasion. Before sunrise, the painting is rolled up and kept in the Dzong before it is displayed again one year later.
[Palin, pp. 269–270]
List of tshechus
Below is a list of major tshechus in Bhutan, along with their 2011 dates. Dates in other years will vary.
In popular culture
The Bhutanese film ''
Travellers and Magicians
''Travellers and Magicians''; Wylie: ''chang hub thengs gcig gi 'khrul snang''; literally: "''once upon a time hallucinating on a sip of wine''" is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha-language film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, writer and direc ...
'' is set among a group of travellers, most of whom are going to the Thimphu tshechu.
See also
*
List of Buddhist festivals
Japanese, Burmese, Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Chakma, Marma and Barua festivals often show the influence of Buddhist culture. Pagoda festivals in Myanmar are one example. In Tibet, India and Bhutan these festivals may include t ...
*
Poya
Poya is the name given to the Lunar monthly Buddhist holiday of Uposatha in Sri Lanka, where it is a civil and bank holiday.
Full moon day is normally considered as the poya day in every month.
Poya
A Poya occurs every full moon.[ ...]
, similar concept in Sri Lanka however revolves around the cycle of the full moon of the lunar calendar
References
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhist festivals in Bhutan
Festivals in Bhutan
January events
February events
March events
April events
May events
September events
October events
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