Punakha Drubchen

The Punakha Dromche festival is unique in that it is the only festival to feature a procession reenacting the war against the Tibetans in the 17th century.

Dromche usually includes dancing and this festival is dedicated to Yeshe Gompo (Mahakala) or Palden Lhamo, the two main guardian deities of the Drukpa people (Drukpas = people of the country Druk or Bhutanese). Punakha Dromche takes place in the first month of the lunar year and ends with the ‘Serda’, a splendid procession that recreates an episode of the war against the Tibetans in the 17th century.

Religious dances Performers in the festival are called ‘Cham’ and there are a large number of them. The dancers wear sumptuous costumes of golden silk or brocade, often decorated with carved bone ornaments.For some dances, they wear masks that can represent animals, scary gods, skulls, or simply simple humans. These dances can be grouped into three categories;

(I) Dances that guide or teach,

(II) Dances that purify and protect a place from evil spirits,
(III) Buddhist victory declaration dances.