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The
lha festival: A dying Bon tradition
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Gortshom
village in Mongar celebrates the vestiges of a Bon festival which was aimed at ensuring soil fertility, timely rainfall, health of
cattle, and bumper harvests.
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Procession to Halong
The lha (pronounced Ha in Gortshom) festival in Gortshom takes place in the sixth
month, to propitiate local deities. Two households - Thogpa and Wogpa -
host the lha festival every year the reason being that about 60 years ago,
Gortshom had only these two households. These tsawas (hosts), with
today's family extensions, are responsible for contributing and participating
in the festival every year. |
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Traditionally,
the lha festival was presided over by a Bonpa (Bon practitioner) known as Lha Bon. The last one was Sangay (Meme Lha Bon), who died
about 40 years ago. Since then, the lha tradition in Gortshom has gradually
entered into a decline. While a gomchen from the village has now assumed
some minor roles, the people conduct the festival relying on their memories.
Singing
wayo verses is a main feature of the lha celebration, with different versions
sung in the different communities it is celebrated. The exact meaning being
lost, reference to wayo recitation in Kurtoe dialect is 'wayo bo' meaning
'call wayo'. Wayo wayo bjing is a refrain after each wayo couplet. Over
the years the self-contained couplets, which have a unique rhythm, have
reduced.
Recited
without a clear sequence most couplets contain lewd and ribald phrases,
expressions that echo the spirit of the celebration or the shedding of
inhibitions in sexual behaviour. The expression zhag sum Ha bang ngo me
tsha characterizes this spirit.
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Bon
Vocabulary
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ridam |
closure
of mountain |
. |
serkem |
drink
offering |
Bonpa |
Bon
practitioner |
|
tsawas |
hosts |
dulang |
collection
of maize |
. |
singing
nyojang |
a
farewell song |
chhangkor |
drinks-circuit |
|
tsen
choed |
offering
to Tsen deity |
chhang |
drinks |
. |
Lha
Bon's photsen |
male-tsen
deity |
keptang |
loaf |
|
dudkilan |
restriction
of evil spirits |
dromzar |
breakfast |
. |
chogtse |
cmini-table |
lanchhen |
the
greater lan |
|
mani |
stupa |
lanchhung |
the
smaller lan |
. |
Phagchham |
dance
of hog |
dulang |
collection
of maize |
|
Tsenjan |
gift
of tsen |
Contributed
by Tashi Choden, The Centre for Bhutan Studies
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