According to Bhutanese accounts, the origin of masked dances there goes back to 747 CE, when Guru Padma Jungney (more familiarly called Guru Rinpoche) came to central Bhutan to attend to Chakhar Gyalpo, King of Bumthang. This is slightly different from accounts elswhere in the Himalayas, which usually trace these rituals to Guru Padmasambhava; in Bhutan, Padmasambhava is thought to be a slightly later manifestation of Padma Jungney, who is himself regarded as a reincarnation of the Buddha. Guru Rinpoche is said to have cured the King by staging a festival of ritual dances, thus bringing Buddhism - and the the Cham – to Bhutan. The word Tschechu refers to commemorations of twelve episodes connecting the life of Guru Rinpoche to that of the original Buddha as set forth according to the Bhutanese almanac. The most important dance of the Tshechu Festival is the Guru Tshen-Gay, featuring the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche. Associated with the Nyingmapa School of Mahayana, the composers of the dances are said to have visited the realm of Guru Rinpoche while in a dream or trance and there the dances were revealed to them. The autobiography of the great saint Pema Lingpa (1450-1521) – an ancestor of the present Bhutanese royal family – recorded dances and movements which still form part of all major festivals in Bhutan. These dances provide interludes before and after the main ritual. Many of Pema Lingpa's compositions portray different sets of acrobatic heavenly attendants, who prepare and guide a person's path after death. Pema Lingpa was the source of inspiration of the Drukpa sect of the Kargyudpa school of Vajrayana Buddhism, which was established over most of Bhutan by the 17th century. The masked dances are performed in local temples, monasteries and dzongs with the accompaniment of horns, gongs, cymbals, and drums. It is considered auspicious to witness the sacred dances and to see the enactments of evil spirits being subdued; the very act of watching Tshechu is said to help one acquire spiritual merit and liberation from worldly sufferings.

The masked dances performed by the monks and laity alike are held at the annual Tsechu Festival either in the spring – at the end of a severe winter – or in the autumn after harvest. The festival is celebrated for three to five days on the tenth of the lunar month so that the community can gather and witness the teachings of the Buddha as interpreted by the Vajrayana tradition within Buddhism.

There are dances of peaceful and wrathful deities and of the Durdag – lords and protectors of the eight cremation grounds. The Ging dances enact the searching out evil spirits with the stick of wisdom. The evil spirits are then tied with the 'noose of compassion,' their bodies are turned into offerings and their souls sent to heaven. The gods in their terrifying forms encircle the enemies of Dharma and Guru Rinpoche in his form as Dorji Dragpo – ‘the fierce Thunderbolt’ – enacts their ritual killing. The masked animal-headed dancers are Guru Rinpoche’s attendants, who are also manifestations of his power. The masks are made of wood and of papier mache and are highly decorated.