Jambay Lhakhang Singye
Cham

Fire, Darkness & the Midnight Dance

The Mewang — The Fire Blessing Ceremony

As darkness falls on the festival ground at Jambay Lhakhang, the Gomchens (lay monks) begin constructing the sacred bonfire from dry grasses. When it is lit, the fire is enormous — a gate of flame through which villagers, pilgrims, and visitors run or jump. The Gomchens chant purification mantras throughout, directing the fire’s spiritual power toward the participants. Each person who passes through the fire is believed to have their accumulated sins of the year burned away — a physical enactment of what Buddhist practice achieves through meditation and prayer.

The tradition holds that jumping over the bonfire three times confers specific protection from misfortune for the entire year. Many participants make the three-jump circuit regardless of the physical demands. The ceremony is also specifically believed to benefit women who have been unable to conceive — the fire blessing is considered to carry a fertility power that formal medicine cannot replicate. This dimension of the Mewang brings many families to Jambay Lhakhang specifically to participate in the fire ceremony.

The Tercham — The Midnight Naked Dance

At midnight, with the bonfire dying and the crowd quieted, the Tercham begins. Sixteen men emerge, completely naked except for white cloths covering their faces and sacred masks. They dance by torchlight to the sound of drums and cymbals in a performance that is simultaneously ancient, sacred, and deeply strange to outside eyes.

The origin of the Tercham is specific. Terton Dorji Lingpa, a great treasure-discoverer, received a prophecy from Guru Rinpoche about a monastery being destroyed by demons each night as fast as it was built during the day. He instituted the Tercham as a sacred distraction: the demons, overwhelmed and confused by the naked dancers, ceased their destruction long enough for the monastery to be completed and consecrated. The dance originated at Nabji Korphu in Trongsa and was brought to Jambay Lhakhang for its consecration. It has been performed at midnight ever since.

Photography of the Tercham dancers is strictly prohibited. This is not a guideline — it is an absolute prohibition. The sacred nature of the ceremony requires that no image be made. Visitors who attempt to photograph the Tercham will be removed. The prohibition also means that the Tercham exists in a very rare category: a ceremony almost entirely unrepresented in photographs, which must be witnessed to be known. For those who see it, the experience is invariably described as one of the most extraordinary moments of any visit to Bhutan.

The Singye Cham — The Lion Dance

The Singye Cham (Lion Dance) is the ceremony from which this page takes its name. Performed by dancers wearing elaborate lion masks and costumes, it depicts the lion as a symbol of the Buddha’s teaching — the “Lion’s Roar” of the Dharma that silences all opposition. The Singye Cham is performed both as a daytime and an evening ceremony, and its dramatic visual quality — the lion masks, the physical demands on the dancers, the accompanying music — makes it one of the most memorable dances of the entire Jambay Lhakhang Drup programme.

Things to Do in Bumthang Around the Festival

• Kurjey Lhakhang — directly across the Chamkhar river from Jambay Lhakhang. The body imprint of Guru Rinpoche is preserved in a cave inside. The Kurjey Tshechu (June) is held here.
• Tamzhing Lhakhang — 500m from Jambay, founded by Pema Lingpa in 1501. Contains Bhutan’s oldest surviving murals and Pema Lingpa’s 25kg chain mail coat.
• Mebar Tsho (Burning Lake) — in the Tang Valley, the sacred gorge where Pema Lingpa dived with a lit torch to retrieve hidden terma. About an hour from Jakar.
• Jakar Dzong — the Castle of the White Bird, 2km from Jambay Lhakhang. The Jakar Tshechu is held here in October/November, potentially combinable with the Jambay Drup.
• Bumthang brewery — Red Panda beer is brewed in Bumthang using local ingredients. A short walk from Jakar town; tours available.