Pemyantse Monastery, the cardinal monastery of the state, welcomed the Tibetan New Year with a three-day colourful mask dance. The three-day Guruthamar dance concluded with the unfurling of one of the holiest and largest of thankas with images of Lord Buddha and Guru Rinpoche on it. It signified the turning of all evils of the past year into positive forces. For three days, the lamas of the monastery performed dances to put an end to all the evils of the passing year.

Along with other mask dances, there was the dance of Guru Rimpoche who is said to have brought Buddhism to Sikkim. The head lama of the monastery danced and prayed to the Kanchendzonga wearing a mask about triple the size of a human being. ''The Guruthamar dance is held in the Phensang, Labrang, Inche, Lachen, Dzongu and Pathing monasteries of Sikkim. It was introduced in Sikkim by Chogyal (king) Chagdor Namgyal, the third King of Sikkim about 300 years ago. It signifies the turning of all evils into positive forces,'' said Tempy gyatso, the head lama of the monastery. ''The Rongcham, which is one of the significant mask dances, was visualised by Chagdor Namgyal in Rabdense, the third capital of Sikkim which is a place close to Pelling and the ruins of the former palace are still visible in the place,'' he added. ''Guruthamar is a treasure text discovered by Terton Terda, the treasure finder from Tibet. The Goto Cham, which is held in the monasteries belonging to the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, is similar to the Guruthamar dance, except that in the former, Mahakala is worshipped, while in the latter Guru Rinpoche is worshipped. The main prayers for warding away evil were performed from January 3 within the monastery. The purpose of the dance is to demonstrate it to the people,'' Gyatso explained.

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