​Sikkim celebrates Kagyed dance festival, CM Tamang extends greetings

Gangtok: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Sunday extended greetings on the occasion of the Kagyed Dance Festival being celebrated across the mountain state.

CM Tamang said, “On this auspicious occasion of the Kagyed Dance Festival, I extend my warmest greetings to the people of Sikkim. May the masked monks’ performances symbolize the victory over negativity and inspire a year of peace and prosperity. Let us honour the cultural heritage of our festivals with mutual respect and unity.”

“Wishing everyone enduring happiness, love, and the dawn of new opportunities in our lives,” he added.

A customary dance festival, it is celebrated annually in Sikkim and falls on the 28th and 29th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar, which as per the English calendar is December.

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In various monasteries, Lamas dance and sing in honour of eight tantric gods and goddesses known as the Kagyed. The Lamas also pray to these deities, asking them to protect people from evil spirits that torture them and provide them with good health and good fortune.

According to an official release, the festival is celebrated by Buddhists and takes place in monasteries, particularly at the Old Rumtek Monastery, Phodong Monastery and the Tshuklakhang Palace. Kagyed Dance or Chaam is another Buddhist festival unique to Sikkim.

The celebrations commence two days before the onset of the Loosong festival, which is another major festival. Monks elaborately dress in traditional attires with ceremonial swords and masks swaying to the rhythm of echoing drums and trumpeting horns swiftly and gracefully in perfect coordination with their fellow dancers depicting narrativized tales from Buddhist mythology, particularly the chronicles of Guru Padmasambhava and his powers.

“Not only is the Chaam a symbol of victory but it is also believed that those who witness it are supposedly blessed with good health and wealth. It eventually comes to a closure with the burning of effigies made with flour, wood and paper.

A number of variants are performed on different festivals, with one thing remaining common in all, i.e., the masks representing scores of human, deities and animal faces enacting an interesting story from Buddhist mythology,” the official statement added.