Trails and Treasures

Some of the women attending the drubchen were extremely well dressed with beautiful kiras and gold jewelry.  I’ll be doing a gallery of fabric patterns in my next post, so you don’t have to squint to see just how beautiful they are.  Also, remember when looking at these photos that I was sitting on a wall trying to be as inconspicuous as possible in my picture-taking.  While the kids usually hadn’t a clue or didn’t care what I was doing, capturing the faces of adults without attracting their attention was far more difficult.

Traditionally, women in Bhutan have kept their hair short.  From these photos I would guess that hair length increases with family income and decreases with age.

Some of the men’s ghos are quite colorful, but the number of patterns is fairly limited.

Note the socks

Orange is a common gho color

Absorbed in the pazaps' drama

Graying and balding are not uncommon

Facial hair is rare

Bhutanese babies are carried on women’s backs using a type of sling.

Our first drubchen

I don't need a hat

It is sunny somewhere

It really wasn't that cold

Some babies never left the sling even when the mother sat down.

Sitting with baby on back

Some babies moved back and forth among various relatives.

A hand-off between Mom and Grandma

Just so you don’t get the impression that Dads never took their turn–

In Daddy's lap

In Daddy's arms

 Personally, I found the children old enough to have a say in how they dressed the most interesting.  I couldn’t help smiling at the various combinations of Bhutanese and Western dress.  Will these kids adhere to the national dress code when they become teenagers?

It's too hot to wear my gho!

Give me food and I'll wear anything

I'm not sure about this

What is this money for?

Traditional or Western?

I'm having a good time!

Why am I wearing this?

It was a long, dusty walk to get here.

I'm wearing my cap!

Note: wearing a hat is generally considered disrespectful.  You won’t see any adults with hats.

I know it's here somewhere

Enough already!

I'm enthralled by the warriors' dance!

I'm not!

Where are my friends?

Traditional or Western?

I'm okay with waiting

While there was a fair amount of food around to keep the kids occupied and a few toddlers had a small toy of some sort,  there were no electronic games.  These kids were extremely well behaved.  They didn’t run around or make a lot of noise even though they were outdoors.  Then again, I didn’t see any books either.  The only troublesome sight was this–

A soldier or a terrorist in waiting?

As you probably have surmised by now, I had lots of time to contemplate my surroundings while attending the Punakha Drubchen.  Pelden had told me it was okay to photograph people and, since I’m an inveterate people-watcher, I took hundreds of candid shots.  Whittling them down to a manageable number is hard, so this may take several posts.

I’ll start with some overall impressions.  The drubchen is a religious, ceremonial affair in celebration of a great victory.  Because it is a celebratory occasion, it is also festive.  Everyone dresses up in their finest clothing. 

Waiting for the mask dance on Day 1

Because it is a lengthy affair, everyone comes prepared with picnic lunches and seat cushions.

Everyone comes prepared with a seat cushion and picnic lunch

By 10:30 on the final day, the crowds are already gathering.

A family that arrived early with their picnic

By 11 when the pazaps start their exit dance, it's really crowded.

Snacks are compensatory for the young

A portrait of two monks

A monk in red T-shirt

A monk on a cellphone

A young monk with his family

A monk in red and purple

A monk in purple and red

Did you notice the two monks with eyeglasses?  You’ll see few others with glasses, and only one pair of sunglasses in the rest of my portraits.  Is this because the Bhutanese have a lower incidence of myopia/hyperopia or less access to eyeglasses?

Leaving the dzong, we could see the crowds beginning to gather on both sides of the Mo Chhu. 

Gathering along the banks of the Mo Chhu

It was blistering hot when we joined the others on the sand bar.

Roasting on the sandbar, craning to see what's happening on the other side

(Note: I had to use my digital telephoto for most of the following pictures, so they’re pretty grainy after compression for internet display.)

I managed to capture one of the pazap general’s leaving the dzong.  Note the pazap camp in the background.  This group had a shadier location than the one I showed earlier.

A Pazap General leaving the dzong

Around 1 p.m., about two hours after the pazaps started their ritual departure from the dzong, the ceremonial procession of the monks (serdang) began, accompanied by cymbals, drums, and trumpets–and a few firecrackers. 

Grand Procession (Serdang)

The monks in the large red hats belong to the Drukpa Kagyuorder.  Once they all had assembled they unfurled something, but I can find no reference to it on the internet.

Monks Unfurling ?

They were then organized for a photo op.

Monks arranged for photo op

Meanwhile, the crowds from inside the dzong were gathering along the river, although I can’t imagine what they managed to see.

Crowds growing

Finally, His Holiness the Je Khenpo arrived.  He’s the one is the elaborate robe and extraordinarily tall black hat.

Je Khenpo arriving

The tableau is set

The Je Khenpo performs a blessing

I missed the actual act of flinging the fake Rangjung Kharsapani into the river, but I did catch the Je Khenpo’s raised arm after the fling.

And away it goes!

Note the kids in the water returning to shore after trying to catch the oranges representing the fake relic.

Kids returning to shore

This one managed to retrieve an orange. 

This one caught one of the oranges

As the Je Khenpo turned away for the procession back to the dzong, one of the monks appeared to be emptying a bottle.  Wonder what was in it?

Je Khenpo departing. What was in the bottle the monk is emptying?

According to the descriptions of the drubchen I found on the internet, at this point the Je Khenpo would lead a triumphant procession back to the dzong where more mask dances would occur celebrating the Zhabrung’s defeat of the Tibetans. 

Since it was 1:30 p.m. and breakfast was at 8 a.m., we headed off to lunch and some sorely needed rehydration.  Of course, we first had to sit in a massive traffic jam.  These days a significant number of the attendees arrive by motor vehicle, but there is only a tiny parking lot for the usually small number of dzong visitors.  Consequently, most attendees had to park along the shoulders of the narrow road that runs along the river, and most hadn’t thought ahead enough to turn their vehicle so that it faced homeward.  Plus, there was no one directing traffic.  What a mess!

Starting around 9:30 a.m. on the third and last day of the drubchen, the pazap squads left their camps for the dzong–one group at a time.

There seemed to be no particular order or formation in the way they arrived or ascended the staircase.  Here’s squad one–

and squad two–

I was quite surprised at the informality of the arrival process; it was all so un-military. 

Then we had a one to 1 1/2-hour wait while the pazaps participated in a ceremony in the dzong courtyard.  Since it was an either/or choice between the dzong courtyard or the exterior of the dzong because of the staircase, we had elected to stay outside.

In contrast to the pazaps entrance into the dzong, their exit was highly dramatic–and prolonged.  The pazaps exited in pairs or triplets yelling and brandishing their swords as they descended to the staircase landing.  Other pazaps added to the noise of the simulated battlefield by setting off firecrackers.

Here they performed a sword dance with more yelling.

Pazap yelling and brandishing sword

Back at the top of the staircase, something was going on with the monks.

Monks at top of staircase

Here’s another pazap who had to perform the dance while holding a standard.

Another Pazap with standard brandishing sword

I couldn’t usually see the second or third pazap, but in this case I caught two in my photo.

The last member of the squad to descend was the general.

But he didn’t dance.  He just walked down and mounted his horse.  From my vantage point, I couldn’t tell who was twirling the standard.

Here’s the next horse waiting for his general.

The generals exited in four directions, so I had one chance to grab a photo.

With 136 pazaps and 8 generals, we knew it was going to take a while for everyone to do their dance and exit the dzong.  So, we moved our location to get a good spot for the finale.

The Zhabdrung’s “army” consisted of eight local militia.  At the drubchen there are just 17 pazaps or warriors in each of the squads, for a total of 136, and each squad has a general.  Only men belonging to the Wang Tshochengye – the eight great clans or geogs situated within the boundaries of the Thimphu and Punakha regions-can play the role of a pazap.

Pazaps

Pazap General

Pazap Footwear

The pazaps gather before the drumchoe begins; each squad setting up its own camp.

Pazap Encampment outside dzong

Pazaps’ horses grazing outside dzong

 

After the pazaps ascend the dzong’s entrance stairway, they perform a dance.

Pazaps dancing

Inside the dzong they create a circle inside a square and perform a ceremonial dance or procession around the courtyard.  Sporadically the warriors set off fireworks simulating the firing of guns into the air.

Pazaps Dancing in Dzong Courtyard

Upon the completion of this dance, they all sat down in two sets of facing rows.  A monk then read a long document which I assume had something to do with their obligations, a mixture of rules and goals that included a pep talk since at various times the warriors would whoop it up.  At the end, the pazaps pledged an oath of allegiance.

Pazaps listening to their charge

Then it was time to inspect the troops.  Among the dignitaries doing the inspection were the local member of parliament, district manager, and other high ranking officials.

Inspecting the Troops

When the formal ceremonies were complete, a prolonged photo op began.  Each group got its chance to be photographed with the dignitaries, starting with the generals.

Generals and Dignitaries at Photo Op

The masked dances (or cham) began with what I interpreted as four stags.  It may have been the Shacham or Shazam Cham, but these stags had ankle-length red robes not the knee-length yellow ones I found reference to on the internet.

Mask dances have their roots in 8th century Tibetan Buddhism.  Many of the dances seen today were choreographed in the 17th century or earlier.  Supposedly all of the dancers are monks or male members of the Royal Academy of Performing Arts.

After this dance, a group of young people performed a dance.  I gathered from Pelden that the introduction of non-mask dances (and women) is something new.

Next came a dance that began with at least three different figures which I interpreted as a garuda (bjachung), wild boar (phabi), and a raven.

Note the object in his left hand below–and the wedding ring.  Do monk’s wear wedding rings?

This dancer has something different in his hand.

Perhaps the figure on the right is a raven.  It doesn’t have horns. 

Then came a group in red rather than blue robes.

This one might be a “terrifying deity”.

Maybe a monkey?

Perhaps the judge (ox)?

This may be the snake.

These have multiple faces

The musicians stood along the side.

Note the men behind the musicians–the pazaps.  We’ll get to them in another post.

There obviously was a story behind the dance, but the cast of characters does not seem to match up with any on this list.  Nor do all of the masks appear on this list.  But my guess is this was the Raksha Marcham or Mangcham (Judgement of the Dead).  It was forty minutes from the point at which the masked dancers began after the young women finished until my last photo of the dance when we left for lunch.  If this was the Raksha Mangcham, it continued on for a couple more hours.