A thongdrel (མཐོང་གྲོལ།) or throngdrel is a large

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

(གོས་དྲུབ།) religious image normally only unveiled during '' tsechus(ཚེ་བཅུ།)'', the main religious festivals in

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. They are the largest form of '' thangka(ཐང་ཀ།)'' paintings in the tradition of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

. Thongdrels typically depict a seated Guru Rinpoche surrounded by holy beings in a composition that, unlike most smaller thangkas, is in a "landscape" format, somewhat wider than it is tall. Thongdrels are composed of several layers, mostly of silk. These begin with a backing, then the image itself, made up of appliqué pieces sewn to a background. Finally there is a yellow drape that covers and protects it when not on display. Thongdrels are stored rolled up. Thongdrels are displayed once a year as the highlight of the tsechu festival of a district or ''

dzongkhag The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts (Dzongkha: ). Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia. are the primary subdivisions of Bhutan. They pos ...

'' (although not every district has a thongdrel). Typically they are displayed on the last day of the tsechu. The painting is not allowed to be struck by the direct rays of the sun, thus it may be unfurled at around 3:00 in the morning and rolled back up by 7:30 AM. Usually the architecture of the

dzong Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery (, , ) architectural style, architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of ...

provides a wall with access above, down which they may be unrolled, but sometimes metal hanging frames may be used. Major Tibetan centres have thangka walls, structures built into the defensive walls or other buildings specifically designed to give a large space for the display of festival thangkas. The mere viewing of the unfurled thongdrel is said to cleanse the viewer of negative karma. They may also be exhibited at other important occasions such as royal coronations, when the thongdrel from a number of monasteries may be transported to appear.

See also