Jakar Dzong Festival

 Twice a year there is a dance festival held at Jakar Dzong, a fortress in the Bumthang region.  Dancer are dressed in beautiful festival clothes and wear masks, some of which are quite scary.  The dancing goes on most of the day but we chose to attend for a few hours in the morning.  I also so mention that the rain from yesterday continued today.  

There were lots of onlookers, both local and tourists, so finding a place to take pictures was a challenge.  A very steep ladder led to more perimeter viewing.  I finally found a place in a corner on the main dance area and a local even gave me a cushion to sit on.  






In between the main dances there were also dances by locals that didn’t involve masks.  Children also participated in the dancing.  One of the characters looked a little like a devil but I think he was actually more of a trickster.  These dancers roamed among the crowd to collect donations.  Also happening at the same time was something like communion where people lined up for blessings from monks.  There was a lot happening all the time.

For lunch we drove to Pema Choling Nunnery in Tang Valley.  It was simple but filling.  Afterwards we were allowed to observe some of the nuns chanting, singing and playing instruments.  Normally tourists would not be allowed to observe this and take photographs but we had gotten permission.



We returned to the hotel for much needed rest time and also time to sort through our photos.

Tomorrow: Trongsa 

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