| Description |
Tshechu literally means the “Tenth Day”. Tshechu festivals are normally dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava and held on or close to the 10th day of a lunar month, as
Guru Rinpoche had said that he would be present on this occasion for the benefit of sentient beings. Such festivals, dedicated to Guru Rinpoche, are held annually
in dzongs and monasteries across Bhutan. Tshechu festival has many names given different communities though it carries the same meaning and significances. some of the terms are; Rabney, Chodpa, Me-wang, Mani, Duechod, Nyarub, etc.. People come from far and near, dressed in their finest attire, to witness the three-day event. The monks perform rituals in the temples and enact didactic mask dances for the benefit of the public.
Folk dances are interspersed between the mask dances to entertain the devotees, but actually, they are really the offerings of songs to the Bodhisattvas, dakas and
dakinis. On these days, family members meet together not only to enjoy sumptuous lunches but also to educate each other on the moral significance of the dances and dramas enacted by the mask dancers. This is one way of learning about the sufferings undergone in samsara as well as during the intermediate stage of existence after death and helps guide one’s thoughts, speeches and actions along the right path while still in the land of the living. The festival ends with the display of a thongdroe (meaning ‘liberation by sight’), a huge silk appliqué thangka on which the images of sublime beings are depicted, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Tshechu was introduced in Bhutan by 4th Druk Desi Tenzin Rabgey (1638–1696), who in 1688 had sent one of his attendants to witness festivals in Tibet. The first tshechus were held at Trashi Choedzong, Thimpu in 1690 and at Rinpung Dzong, Paro in 1692. Similar events were then instituted at other dzongs and
monasteries. |
