Zhana Cham

The Zhanag (ཞྭ་ནག་) or Black Hat dance is one of the most popular sacred cham dances without mask seen in Bhutan and other parts of the Buddhist Himalayas. Named after the black hats which the dancers wear, the dance has a deep spiritual significance and is performed as an act of religious ritual and practice, and not as a piece of entertainment.The dancers of the Zhanag dance are dressed in long silk robe called phoego (ཕོད་གོ་), which is tied around the hip from within using a special prop so that the robe whirls smoothly and elegantly when the dancers perform whirling movements. The robes are made of different colours of silk brocade and have striped patterns on the main body as well as the sleeves, which have a very broad end. The dancers wear the dorji gong (རྡོ་རྗེ་གོང་) shoulder cover and a dark apron with the wrathful face on it and tassels at the bottom. Inside the robe, the dancers wear their usual clothes and a pair of pink trousers. For the Zhanag dance, when people can afford, the dancers normally wear the traditional boots made in Bhutan.The most definig characteristic of the dance costumes is the black hat, which has a flat circular base on which are sometimes drawn tantric diagrams or mantras. The central part is the copula which is fitted on the dancer’s head and tied with a strap going under the chin. The different type of mask dances is taught in history suject and this can be used to teach about zhana Cham (Black head dance) which is one of the mask dances in bhutan.