Festivals:

Religious festivals are perfect occasions to glimpse Bhutanese culture.

Celebrated throughout the country, most popular of these festivals or Tshechus take place annually in or around the great Dzongs, attracting both tourists and large numbers locals from the surrounding villages.

They last several days and the main focuses are the series of prayers and religion inspired dances. These dances are made especially striking by the spectacular costumes, ornate head gears, extraordinary masks, depicting morality tales, invoke protection from demonic spirits or proclaim Buddhist victories and the glory of remarkable saints. There are clowns sporting fiendish masks, making lewd gestures and cracking salacious jokes - who mingle on the periphery of the performance, mocking both spiritual and temporal subjects, and through their distractions infuse a lighter side to otherwise serious matters.

The whole gathering begins to resemble a country fair, as the jolly and convivial assembly - many turning out in their vibrant finery - further entertains itself in lively conversation, the playing of an assortment of games and the imbibing of copious amounts of food and alcohol.

Tshechus end with the bestowing of powerful blessings, delivered orally by a high lama or visually with the unfurling of a huge appliqué thangka representing Guru Rinpoche and his Eight Manifestations.

The commanding backdrop of a monastic fortress, the visual extravagance of the dances, the cacophony of musical accompaniments, the solemnity of chanting mantras, the artistic splendor, the unfamiliar smells and the overall exuberance of the diverse crowd lend the scene an extremely exotic air.

Bhutan Festivals 2009: