Bhutan

The fourth king of Bhutan challenged the materialistic ideas of the world and chose the middle path of measuring the health of the nation by looking at its Gross National Happiness. Bhutan is an agrarian society with Buddhism as its guiding principle. With its festivals steeped in mythology, the fixed sets of sacred masked dances or cham are held in monastic dzongs or central village courtyards where the audience receives a form of spiritual empowerment via the dance.