The spectacular Festival Tours are now open for booking with the launch of the Paro Festival tours 2013 by BhutanTravelAgency.com. Festivals are an important time in Bhutan and have a special place in the hearts of the Bhutanese people. Religion and social life are sunk deep in the culture of the Bhutanese people as a result of which festivals appear to be taking place somewhere in Bhutan throughout the year.
It is believed that one gains blessings by attending religious festivals in Bhutan. There are various dances that are performed during the festival as the dances invoke the deities to wipe out misfortunes, increase luck and grant personal wishes. The dances that are performed during the festivals are performed to bless onlookers and to teach them the Buddhist way of life. Th women's coats e dancers take on the aspects of wrathful and compassionate deities, heroes, demons, and animals. There are also Atsaras or clowns who move through the crowds mimicking the dancers and performing comic routines in their masks with long red noses.
A major highlight of the Paro Festival is the Thongdrel which is revealed on the last day of the festival. Thongdrel is a huge religious scroll with the image of Guru Rimpoche which is opened in the early morning hours and scrolled back once the sun is out.
On the first day of the Paro festival, one would get to see various dances inside the dzong. The Dance of the Lord of Death and his Consort (Shinje Yab Yum), the Dance of Lords of Cremations Grounds ( Durdag ), the Dance of Black Hats ( Shanag), the Dance of Drum from Dramistse (Dramitse Nacham) are some of the dances performed on the first day of the festioval.
The second day one could see the Dance of the Lord of Death and His Consort (Shinje Yab Yum), the Dance of Black Hats with Drums (Shanag Nga Cham), the Dance of three kinds of Ging with Drums (Ngaging), the Dance of Stage and the Hounds (Shawa Shachi) 1st part, this is a favorite tale of a Drukpa Saint, Milarepa, who converted a hunter to Buddhism. All these are held outside the dzong.
The third day of a must see dance is the Pholeg-Moleg, dance of the noblemen and noble women. The dance is full of bawdy, rustic humour, and depicts a tale from the life of King Norzhang.
On the fourth day there is the Dance of Lord of Death and His Consort (Shinje Yab Yum,), the Dance of four Stags (Sha Tsam) the dance tells of how Guru Rinpoche subdued the god of wind who was creating havoc on earth. There is also the Dance of Judgement of the Dead (Raksha Mangcham) and the Dance of the Drums from Dramitse ( Dramitse Nga Cham).
The Raksha Mangcham, or the dance of the judgment of the dead is one of the more famous Tshechu dances making it into all Bhutan festival tours, and tells the story of what happens when a being dies.
And so the Paro festival is a must see for all as it will definitely make your travel Bhutan experience memorable.
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