Raksha Mangcham || Bardo Cham || Dance of the Judgement of the Dead || Bhutan

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Raksha Mangcham || Bardo Cham || Dance of the Judgement of the Dead || Bhutan

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Thimphu Tsechu || Raksha Mangcham || Bardo Cham || Dance of the Judgement of the Dead || Bhutan
Shinje Chhogyel, Lord of Death, estimates the value of the white and black deeds during the judgement. Also present are the White god and the Black Demon who live with every being from birth, and all the shinje’s helpers who emanate under numerous forms. These are the ox-headed justice minister, the wild hog-headed helper who takes account of the black and white deeds, the khyung-headed bird (the khyung is a mythical bird) who holds a small sword which cuts the root of the three poisons (ignorance, envy anger) and a big hammer which destroys the rocky mountains of sins, the lion-headed helper who holds a lasso which represents love and an iron chain which represents compassion, the fierce bear-headed helper who holds the magical noose which ties the means and wisdom together and saw which cuts selfishness, the serpent-headed helper whose mirror reflects all actions, the monkey-headed helper who weighs them on a scale.
All these helpers are called Rakshas and they separate with equanimity the black actions from the white actions of all beings, just as in the case of he sinner, Nyelwabum and the virtuous Chimdapelkye. The frightening Court of Justic cannot be avoided by the condemned beings. But after enduring certain suffering, their sins are washed away and they are purified. Progressively they are led to the pure fields and paradise. Unfortunately some beings do not understand that everything is the result of their mind, wheather it is pur of impure. The dance shows everyone that if they devot themselves to virtuous actions, they will be sent immediately to the pure fields and paradise. Regarding the different forms of Shinje’s helpers shown in this dance, the beings who are born into the human world where the doctrine of Buddha has been propagated, know that they are the Gods who have taken refuge in Buddhism.
Then after life, when they have to cross the Bardo and meet Shinje’s helpers and the assembly of peaceful and terrifying deities, they recognize them as incarnations of Buddha, they are deliverd from the frightening Barod and go to the pure fields and paradise. The origin of this dance is to be found not only in the Sutras and Tantras, but alos in the books discovered by Karma Lingpa (14th century).
he dance can be described as more of a play than a dance and lasts approximately two hours. Firstly, there is the long dance of all the Raksha who are the helpers of Shinje, the Lord of Death during the judgement. Then shinje himself appears, symbolized by a huge puppet which holds a mirror. The white god and the Black Demon enter the courtyard with him. Shinje sits and all his helpers follow taking up their places in two rows in front of him. Then the judgement begins. First the Black Demon and the main helpers perform a dance. Then the sinner who is dressed in black and wearing a red hat, arrives. He is very frightened and tries to escape but is recaptured each time by the helpers. From his basket, a freshly severed cow’s head is taken, implying that the sinner was responsible for killing it. The judge then weighs his actions. Afterwards the White God sings of the merits of the man, followed by the Black Demon who expounds the sins of the man. Finally a black strip of cloth symbolising the rod to hell, is spread and then the sinner is sent to hell.
This is followed by a general dance after which everyone assumes their former seating positions. Another man arrives. He is clad in white and holds a prayer flag and a ceremonial scarf, which altogether is implicit of his virtues. The same scene as above is re-enacted and at the conclusion a white strip of cloth symbolizing the road to heaven is deployed. Fairies elaborately dressed in brocade and bone-ornament come to fetch him. At the last moment, the Black Demon, furious at having lost a being, tries to grab the virtuous man but the White God protects him.