Kagyed or Kagyad is a Buddhist festival held in parts of northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, particularly Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

. The Kagyed dance is performed on the 28th and 29th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan Calendar

Tibetan calendar

The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.The Tibetan New Year...

 which usually falls in early December.

The Kagyed dance symbolizes destruction of the evil forces by burning effigies made of wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

, flour

Flour

Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

, and paper

Paper

Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

. Practitioners also pray for peace and prosperity for every Sikimmese home. Annually the festival is performed by the monks at the Tsuklakhang Palace

Tsuklakhang Palace

Tsuklakhang Palace or Tsuklakhang Royal Chapel and Monastery is a Buddhist palacial monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim, India.The Royal Chapel of the Chogyals is the main centre for prayers with an assembly hall in the centre and large depository of Buddhist scriptures and literature and contains altars...

 two days before Sikkimese new year.The festival is typically associated with the Pang Lhabsol, practised not only at Tsuklakhang Palace but at Ralang Monastery

Ralang Monastery

Ralang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla....

 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

Comic relief

Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...

.