Tshechu

A tshechu (Dzongkha: ཚེས་བཅུ།, literally "day ten") is any of the annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the place. Tshechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

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.^[1] The Thimphu 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, many of which have been banned in Tibet.^[2]

Several scenes from a tshechu in 2013

^ Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan^{[permanent dead link]}, by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003
^ Brockman, Norbert C. (2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 565. ISBN 9781598846553.

[dr-1] Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan^{[permanent dead link]}, by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003

[2] Brockman, Norbert C. (2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 565. ISBN 9781598846553.

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