THE GREAT PROCESSION OF PUNAKHA
At the start of the year 1639, an army coming from Tibet had crossed the passes, still covered in snow, to seize by force at Punakha the most precious of relics, the Ranjung Karsapani, which Ngawang Namgyal, the spiritual and temporal leader of Bhutan, had brought back from Tibet. But their attempt ended in a bitter defeat and the Bhutanese commemorate each year this glorious episode in their history with a big festival. During two weeks, the great dzong or monastery fortress of Punakha plays host to an uninterrupted succession of prayers, ceremonies and dances. Highlight of the festivities, the Serda, the great procession brings together the monks dressed in their richest attire and 136 soldiers or pazaps, armed with bows, swords and shields, incarnating the army of Bhutan’s founding father combating the Tibetan invaders. The last days of the festival are devoted to ceremonies and dances in honour of Mahakala, the patron deity of Bhutan.The monks unroll an immense 30 meter high brocade thangka supposed to cleanse the faithful of their past sins and lead them to awakening. The courtyard of the monastery has transformed itself into a theater where the eternal combat between good and evil, the hero and the demon is acted out…