Personal travel impressions in stories and pictures from Bumthang Tsechu, Jakar, Bhutan. Click on the pictures to enlarge, send as a free e-card, or download for personal use. You can locate Bumthang Tsechu and navigate the world using Google Earth
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N 27° 32.960 E 90° 44.649
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Trongsa Dzong
Bhutanese women
Bhutanese monks
Kunzangdrak Monastery
Punakha Dzong
Petsheling monastery
Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten
Cheri Monastery
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Tango Monastery
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Burning Lake
Thowada Goemba
Tiger Nest Monastery
Visited: October 2009
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We were supposed to leave early that day, to make the long drive back to western Bhutan. However, we found out that a tsechu was about to start, and my guide proposed that we should at least spend some time to witness it, even though we would not be able to see the entire three days. So, we decided to postpone our departure, had a relaxed breakfast, and headed to Jakar Dzong. When we arrived in the courtyard of the religious part of the dzong, the festival had already started, but since there were nearly no people yet, I thought we had done pretty well. The sun just started to shine in the far corner of the dzong, and I hoped it would move fast to assure better light conditions over the courtyard. Meanwhile, I noticed how all Bhutanese onlookers were wearing their best dresses. All corners of the courtyard were already full with Bhutanese sitting on the floor, and the multitude of colours, in combination with their beautiful faces, was a sight in itself.
The tsechu is the most significant festivity in Bhutanese Buddhism, and are held in honour of the second Buddha, Guru Rinpoche. They are normally organized around the 10th day of the Bhutanese calendar, and take days to finish. Tsechus consist mostly of dances, depicting the life of the Guru in 12 episodes. The dances are performed not only by monks, but also lay people. The dances, or cham, are instructive to onlookers, bring good fortune to them, have a meditative function, and it is believed that attending benefits the visitors. At the same time, a tsechu is a social event, where people come together and interact. After having traveled around Bhutan for more than a week, I could understand how people living in different villages and valleys would want to come together. Tsechus are held all around the country in dzongs and monasteries.
A horn was blown, and drums were beaten as the first monks wearing black hats entered the courtyard. What followed was a dazzling display of swirling brocade dresses, concentrated monks rhythmically moving with the music, with their black hats with Bhutanese characters on top, a skull, peacock feathers on a half moon, with colourful banners attached. The dancers are dressed up as yogis; the dance performed symbolizes the suppression of demons, and the power to kill and recreate life. During the long dance, more and more Bhutanese arrived, and the floor was filling up with spectators. The balconies on the first floor were full, too, and the atmosphere got more informal. In between the religious dances, lay men and women performed traditional Bhutanese dances. It was especially during these that two clowns, or atsaras, were making fun, adding some lightness to the very serious religious performances. They would take a camera from a visitor, take pictures of themselves, took a wooden phallus out of their pocket and "direct" the female dancers, or just sat among visitors and chatted through their red masks. The deadline we had set had long passed, when the kyecham started: a dance where the monks were wearing yellow dreses and wore masks with various animals. Rhythmic like the Black Hat dance, this dance looked less serious. The dancers were bare-footed, with long, brightly coloured strings of hair that had a hint of reggae. As more and more people were arriving the intimate setting of Jakar tsechu, it was time for us to leave. And that was very difficult.
