A More Formal Celebration

Takila, Lhuntse Dzongkhag, Bhutan

2019-09-13 

This Buddhist puja was our intended destination, when I was distracted by the folk festival. Again the exact nature of the ceremony was not clear. The guides and people gathered here suggested that this was a puja dating back to Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). This is the person credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan, and Tibet in the 8th or 9th century. It could date back a long time, as Tibetan Buddhist lineages are very important and have been maintained and transmitted over the centuries.

The story of my adventures in Bhutan are contained in these posts:

             Dairy of Madcap Idea or preparations for my next trip 
             Diary of a Madcap Idea part II
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part III
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part IV - I've got to go up HOW far!!!
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part V - I have a cunning plan
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part VI
            Decay of a Madcap Idea (Diary part VII) 
              The Trek
                      The Sun in his Glory
                      A few photos
               Not trekking 
                      Black-necked Cranes
                      Wildlife - the story behind the pictures

                      Folk Festival

 A More Formal Celebration (this post)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Folk Festival

Takila, Lhuntse Dzongkhag, Bhutan

2019-09-13 

While travelling in Bhutan, I came across this festival. It was a very local one, comprising as far as I could see about a dozen extended families from the immediate area. Whilst it was difficult even for my guide and interpreter to determine exactly what was involved, it seemed to be a combination of harvest festival, courtship ritual, fun day out, a day of rest, thanksgiving, ancient fertility rite, and generally a good time to be had by all.

It expressed thanks for the harvest just gathered in; invocations for a good harvest next time; and the production of an very alcoholic grain based fermentation. (This was in eastern Bhutan, a far more alcohol drinking area than the rest.) 

 

When we arrived, I was quickly engulfed, and welcomed into one of the family groups. Here I was pressed to have a drink. I was offered some, but when I refused, they gave me an endless supply of tea. This was a good decision as the drink was the really good stuff - it had been prepared in anticipation of this festival, so was about a fortnight old. At this point I was taken in hand by one of the materfamiliases, and made to feel totally welcome, and encouraged to join in  the jollity. Throughout the few hours I spent there, there was a fine drizzle all the time. Ignored by everybody, it did not put a damper on the arrangements.

Difficult though it was to determine what it all was about, I did manage to infer a few things. The festival was about thanks for the harvest just gathered, and invocation for future fertility of both crops and people. The unattached of both sexes then lined up; with their greenery crowns, and their bare feet (important it seemed); solemnly instructed in what to do; and then raced for a very large and old tree which was decorated with ribbons and prayer flags. They then linked hands and attempted to dance round the tree - a task made incredibly difficult because the tree was growing on a slope of 45o. It was apparently important too that the linkage was maintained, and their costumes, though obviously their best, were not really designed with this action in mind.

It was unclear how things were arranged after the race and dance. It did seem to be designed to pair people off. How long lasting, how formal, and how intimate the selection was, were all obscure. I have encountered, in Tibet, polyandry, and polygamy. I have no idea if this is also the case in Bhutan.

These pictures show some of the event.

 

 

 

 

 

I attempted to do the Snowman Trek in 2019 in Bhutan. I did a series of posts on the attempt during my preparations, and when I got back. I did not finish the series of posts due to life happening (lockdown, computer crashes, and other such wonderful events). I have now come back to the project. This post and a couple more will conclude the saga. 

The list of posts is:

             Dairy of Madcap Idea or preparations for my next trip 
             Diary of a Madcap Idea part II
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part III
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part IV - I've got to go up HOW far!!!
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part V - I have a cunning plan
            Diary of a Madcap Idea part VI
            Decay of a Madcap Idea (Diary part VII) 
              The Trek
                      The Sun in his Glory
                      A few photos
               Not trekking 
                      Black-necked Cranes
                      Wildlife - the story behind the pictures

                      Folk Festival (this post)