Tsechu, the days the courtyard fills

A tsechu gathers a whole district into a dzong courtyard. Masked dancers in brocade perform cham, sacred dances that carry stories from Buddhist teaching. The masks are less a costume than a role.

For three days a year, the courtyard is the whole district.

The largest are Paro Tsechu in spring and Thimphu Tsechu in autumn. On the last day of Paro Tsechu a vast thangka, a silk applique scroll, is unrolled down the wall and shown to the crowd before dawn.

Villagers come in their best clothes and stay for the day. The courtyard is part theatre, part reunion and part act of devotion, and the three usually run together.