Atsara, the Bhutanese version of a clown, and the most popular dancer in the ceremony, frequently gets roars laughter from the crowd. This big, red-nosed character wields a large wooden penis, waves it in women's faces, and tries to get them to grab and shake this dildo. Often mocking and tricking the other dancers as well as laymen in the crowd, this "divine jester" acts out the relationship between the sacred and profane, yin and yang, inner life and external events.
The Atsara represents the "crazy wisdom" tradition of Tantra as personified by Bhutan's "patron saint," the "Divine Madman" Drukpa Kunley. Also known as the "Mad Monk," Lama Kunley wandered Bhutan and Tibet with his little dog, Sachi, drinking, playing with the girls, and demonstrating that the blissful nature of all phenomena is realized in the union of duality. In his teachings, Kinley often referred to his erect member as "the thunderbolt of wisdom.”