Kagyed

Kagyed or Kagyad is a Buddhist festival held in parts of northern India, particularly Sikkim. The Kagyed dance is performed on the 28th and 29th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Calendar which usually falls in early December.

The Kagyed dance symbolizes destruction of the evil forces by burning effigies made of wood, flour, and paper. Practitioners also pray for peace and prosperity for every Sikimmese home. Annually the festival is performed by the monks at the Tsuklakhang Palace two days before Sikkimese new year.^[1]The festival is typically associated with the Pang Lhabsol, practised not only at Tsuklakhang Palace but at Ralang Monastery and some other monasteries in Sikkim where earlier celebrations are held in mid September in honor of Mount Khangchendzonga, and then finalized by the Kagyed in early December.

Although the dance is very serious in nature, jesters perform in between to provide comic relief.^[2]

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