Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [60]
Phagchepo, the blue king of the south, holds a sword in his right hand.
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Entry to dzongs is through a single gate controlled by a policeman who restricts entry and enforces dzong protocol. Bhutanese are required to wear formal dress (gho for men and kira for women) and scarf (kabney and rachu) at all times within the dzong.
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Bhutan’s dzongs were built of stone or pounded mud, and a considerable amount of timber, including massive beams and wooden shingle roofs. This, combined with the large number of butter lamps used in temples, has caused fires in almost all dzongs. Most of Bhutan’s dzongs suffered severe damage during the 1897 earthquake and were repaired or rebuilt in their original style. All important dzongs have been (or are being) rebuilt using traditional construction methods, though in many places corrugated-iron roofs have replaced wooden shingles.
Bhutanese proclaim proudly that no nails are used to construct dzongs. Furthermore, dzong architects don’t prepare any plans or drawings. They rely only on a mental concept of what is to be built, and this was how Thimphu’s Trashi Chhoe Dzong was reconstructed in 1966.
Each dzong has unique details, but most follow the same general design principles. Most dzongs are divided into two wings: one containing temples and monks’ quarters and one for government offices. The monastic wing of many dzongs actually serves as a monastery, with the resident monk body called a rabdey. In early days, most dzongs had a rabdey, but today only the dzongs of Thimphu, Punakha, Paro, Mongar, Trongsa, Jakar and Trashigang serve as monasteries. The dratshang (central monk body) maintains monastic schools in the dzongs of Punakha, Trongsa and Paro. Punakha Dzong is the seat of the chief abbot, His Holiness the Je Khenpo.
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Often the entire population of the valley sought refuge in the dzong during a war.
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The main courtyard of the dzong is the dochey, which is paved with large flagstones. Along the outer walls of the dzong are several storeys of rooms and galleries overlooking the paved courtyard; these rooms are the monks’ quarters and classrooms. Because the monastic wing of the dzong is physically separate from the secular wing, many dzongs have two docheys, the second being surrounded by administrative offices.
The central structure of the dzong is a tower-like building called the utse. In most dzongs, the utse has a series of chapels, one on each floor. On the ground floor of the utse is the lhakhang.
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GOEMBAS & LHAKHANGS
Bhutan has an enormous number of religious buildings. According to the National Commission for Cultural Affairs there are 2002 such buildings – 437 are owned by the state in the custody of the dratshang and another 127 are in the care of reincarnate lamas. In addition, there are another 870 village lhakhangs and an estimated 568 that are privately owned. Each was designed for a different purpose to suit the wishes of the founders, architects or sponsors.
In Dzongkha, a monastery is called a goemba, and the word is pronounced quite differently from the corresponding Tibetan word, gompa. A primary reason for selecting the location of a monastery is to have a remote location where the monks can find peace and solitude. This is particularly evident in Bhutan where goembas are built atop rocky crags or on remote hillsides.
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To prevent potentially destructive fires in goembas, arrays of ritual butter lamps are often burned in a separate small building.
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Several goembas in Bhutan were built at sacred caves that had previously been places of meditation. Taktshang in Paro and Kurjey in Bumthang are two famous examples that were built around caves where Guru Rinpoche is believed to have meditated for extended periods.
All Bhutanese goembas are different, but they all possess certain common features. They are self-contained communities, with a central lhakhang and separate quarters for sleeping. The lhakhang is at the centre of