Dance of Swordsmanship

Most Bhutanese festivals have a theme of victory of good over evil. A ritual to vanquish or exorcize the evil and harmful forces are conducted with pomp and ceremony. As part of this ritual, the men, dressed as warriors with helmets, armour and swords perform a dance of swordsmanship while they also chant the recitations expressing heroism and bravery. The recitations, which varies from place to place and people to people, contain verses for tantric Buddhist visualisation as a powerful deity. The display of swordsmanship concludes with a strike on the imagined foe or evil force.