After lunch, we walked to the village lhakhang. As I noted before, Guru Rinpoche visited this area in the 8th century. While here he mediated peace between King Na’oche and King Sindhu of Assam and Bumthang. The name Nabji derives from the word “Ngaa” or oath taken by the two warring kings. To mark their oaths they left imprints of their thumbs on a stone pillar which is now housed in the the Nabji temple.
Nabji Lhakhang
The day of my visit was a village work day. I think everyone in the village must have been there. During our morning bird walk we had seen several men cutting rocks, and we later saw them hauling the stones back to the village. When we got to the lhakhang we discovered why. A large group of men from the village were building a stone wall around the temple.
Note the dogs in the picture above. There are dogs everywhere in Bhutan. In towns and villages they spend a greater part of the night defending their territory–loudly. During the day they just lay around. Presumably they forage on garbage and off the land. A barking dog in the daytime was a rare event.
Barking dog
While the men worked on the stone wall, some women were doing various tasks inside, but there were several groups sitting around and, presumably, gossiping.
There were children everywhere. These kids were not dressed in their best clothes for an important event; they were dressed for play.
Children playing in field beside lhakhang
Children following us through village
In the evening, five ten-year old girls arrived to sing and dance for me. They were delightful, but unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures.