Village elders in Momring under Lauri Gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar are worried that some of their sacred mask dances, passed on from generation to generation, may soon disappear.
The sacred mask dances are unique to their village and now only a few frail, elderly mask dancers know how to dance these dances.
The dances are performed during the annual tshechu festival. One of them is known as the Keng cham. It is performed by 11 men wearing skeleton masks and bare minimum costumes. Years ago, this dance was performed naked.
Last week, as the men performed the solemn dance, the villagers watched reverentially, hands held together, murmuring prayers as they have always done.
“Over the last seven to eight years, we have been facing difficulties finding mask dancers. The young people have all left the village in search of jobs and only the elderly are left behind,” said Yangay.
This time round though, a few civil servants from the village who are working in the capital and other places came back to the village especially to perform the dance.
“We practiced for more than a month after office hours and during weekends. That’s how we were able to perform during the tshechu,” said Tandin Wangdi.
Tandin and his friends are happy that for once they have been able to come back to their village but it is uncertain whether they can come back year after year to keep alive the tradition.
The village elders are aware of that and they have a plan. They will train the younger school going children to perform the mask dances.
This year a few children, with some encouragement, performed at the tshechu. They jumped and twirled around, their tiny hands and feet moving in perfect sync with the more elderly and experienced dancers.
If their performance is anything to go by, it is highly unlikely that the sacred mask dances of Momring will die and disappear into the annals of history.
