Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [230]
gho – traditional dress for men
global positioning system (GPS) – a device that calculates position and elevation by reading and decoding signals from satellites
goemba – a Mahayana Buddhist monastery
goenkhang – chapel devoted to protective and terrifying deities, usually Mahakala
gomchen – lay or married monk
gorikha – porch of a lhakhang, literally ‘mouth of the door’
GSI – Geological Survey of India
gup – elected leader of a village
Guru Rinpoche – the common name of Padmasambhava, the founder of Mahayana Buddhism
gyalpo – ruler or king
himal – Sanskrit word for mountain
IMTRAT – Indian Military Training Team
Je Khenpo – Chief Abbot of Bhutan
jogyig – Bhutanese cursive script
kabney – scarf worn over the shoulder on formal occasions
khandroma – a female celestial being; dakini in Sanskrit
khenpo – abbot
khonying – archway chorten
kira – traditional dress for women
kora – circumambulation
kuru – a game played with large darts thrown 20m to a small target
la – mountain pass
lam – path or road
lama – Mahayana Buddhist teacher or priest
lha – god or deity
lhakhang – temple, literally ‘god house’
lhentshog – commission
lho – south
Lhotshampa – southern Bhutanese people, mainly Nepali-speaking
lopon – Senior monk or teacher
Losar – Bhutanese and Tibetan New Year
lu – serpent deities, called naga in Sanskrit
lyonpo – government minister
Mahakala – Yeshe Goenpo, the guardian god of Bhutan, who manifests himself as a raven
Mahayana – school of Buddhism, literally ‘great vehicle’
mandala – cosmic diagram; kyilkhor in Dzongkha
mani stone – stone carved with the Buddhist mantra om mani peme hum
mantra – prayer formula or chant
momo – a steamed or fried dumpling
moraine – ridge of rocks that a glacier pushed up along its edges (a medial moraine) or at its foot (a terminal moraine)
nakey – fiddlehead fern frond
naktshang – temple dedicated to warlord or protective deity, literally ‘place of vows’
NCCA – National Commission for Cultural Affairs
ney – sacred site
NGO – nongovernment organisation
ngultrum – unit of Bhutanese currency
nup – west
NWAB – National Womens’ Association of Bhutan
Nyingma – lineage of Himalayan Buddhism; its practitioners are Nyingmapa
om mani peme hum – sacred Buddhist mantra, roughly translates as ‘hail to the jewel in the lotus’
outreach clinic – health posts in remote villages
PCO – Public Call Office
penlop – regional governor, literally lord-teacher
phajo – priest
prayer flag – long strips of cloth printed with prayers that are ‘said’ whenever the flag flaps in the wind
prayer wheel – cylindrical wheel inscribed with, and containing, prayers
PWD – Public Works Department
rabdey – district monk body
rachu – shoulder cloth worn by women on formal occasions
RBA – Royal Bhutan Army
RBG – Royal Body Guard
RBP – Royal Bhutan Police
rigney – name used for a school for traditional studies
rinpoche – reincarnate lama, usually the abbot of a goemba
river left – the left bank of a river when facing downstream
river right – the right bank of a river when facing downstream
RSPN – Royal Society for Protection of Nature
SAARC – South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation. This includes the seven countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Sakyamuni – one name for Gautama Buddha, the Historical Buddha
shar – east
shedra – Buddhist college
shing – wood
shunglam – highway
sonam – good luck
stupa – hemispherical Buddhist structure from which the chorten evolved
terma – texts and artefacts hidden by Guru Rinpoche
terton – discoverer of terma
thang – plain
thangka – painted or embroidered religious picture
thondrol – huge thangka that is unfurled on special occasions, literally ‘liberation on sight’
thos – a heap of stones representing the guardians of the four directions
thukpa – noodles, often served in a soup
torma – ritual cake made of tsampa, butter and sugar
trulku – a reincarnation; the spiritual head of a goemba
Tsa-Wa-Sum