The ecological price of ‘progress’

Once the river’s course is changed, some highly endangered species will lose their habitat
«The White-bellied heron Photo: Yeshey Dorji
Punatsangchu Hydropower Projects: The endangered white-bellied heron, the great Indian hornbill and the endangered golden mahseer gaming fish found along the Punatsangchu river could come under great risk, once the Punatsangchu hydropower projects start operations.

As of now, the two projects, with an optimum generating capacity of around 2,150MW are still in the construction stage, and have not had much impact on these life forms as the river system has not been seriously disturbed.

“There is noise pollution, as of now,” a senior environment officer of Punatsangchu II project, Sangay Dorji, said.

But once the river is channeled in from dams to the underground powerhouses through the 8.9km headrace tunnel of phase I and 8.6km of phase II, the original river course will under go a massive change, Sangay Dorji said.

Mahseer

Environmentalists and conservationists are concerned on how to conserve the sensitive golden mahseer, which get distracted so easily. “When we try to use a net, they don’t show up for the next week,” Sangay Dorji, who led a sample study of the fish to understand its behaviour and habitat, said. “The fish may stop coming.”

The golden mahseer, found in Dichu, and at the confluence of the Punatsangchu and Kamechu streams, migrate to Brahmaputra, India, by the first week of October, and return in early summer.

The fish has been known to grow 2.75m (9ft) in length; but, so far, the biggest catch in Bhutan is said to be of the height of an average Bhutanese man.

Around the world, this species has suffered severe decline, because of overfishing, pollution and habitat loss. Environmentalists, this year, curved the Kamechu stream at the confluence to slow down the river current, so that the mahseer can easily lay eggs, and thereby grow in numbers.

Indian hornbill

The critically threatened white-bellied heron, seen along Kamechu and Punatsangchu rivers in Pinsa, will be affected when the Punatsangchu is dewatered, and only a small quantity of water remains its original course.  When the water quantity goes down, so will the fish, environmentalists said.  The bird feeds on the asla fish.

“In dewater stage, when the river undergoes a complete change, resulting in loss of aquatic ecology, the white-bellied heron will no longer be able to feed in its original place,” Sangay Dorji said.

Dark grey with a white throat and underparts, the heron is mostly solitary, and found in undisturbed areas of the riverside and wetland habitats.  The species is threatened by disturbance and habitat degradation.  It is believed that, out of 140 white-bellied herons across the globe, 26 are in Bhutan.

The great hornbill, another near threatened bird that nests in the evergreen forest and tall trees will lose its habitat, when roads, electricity, and housing colonies come up on both sides of the Punatsangchu.  Bright yellow and with a black casque on top of its massive bill, the bird feeds on small mammals, reptiles, birds and fruits.

The common otter found in Kamechu will also lose its source of food.  But since the mammal is mobile, the impact on it could be less, Sangay Dorji said.

Source Kuensel

Naming in Bhutan

Names in Bhutan do not carry any family names. The person may add one by himself in the later part of his or her life or educated parents give part of their names while naming their children.

Although most of the names are given by lamas, from the temples, some are given by the astrologers and some by the parents themselves or by the grand parents. Those given from the temples can be associated with the name of the deity of the particular temple.

Children are usually given good names but sometimes the parents and grandparents often give bad names like Tsagay means stupid, it can because he had been a bad child or can be because he used to act stupid.

Names like Nala and Nado have reference to facial color of a person. Someone with dark complexioned is nick named Nala or Nado meaing dark.

Bhutanese in general have two names, but there are many who just have a single name.   Names can be grouped in genders. The first name would be same for both the gender of a person. There are specific names to differentiate men from women.  Wangmo can be only for women whereas Wangdi can be only for men.  Those with the single names, it is hard to know the gender of the person by names.

Naming in certain part of Bhutan are associated with certain beliefs, for example, if a child had a prematurebirth, he or she will be put in a copper pot and pretend to cook so that he or she is believed to get completely matured. Such child is called Zangla meaning copper.

And sometimes premature child is put in the measuring beam and weighed to make him or her matured, such child is called Sangla meaning measuring beam.

The twins are named Nima and Dawa (sun and Moon) and if it is triplet, the third is called Karma (star). 

The dying melodies of Bhutan

One morning 49 years ago, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck had his huntsmen and guards prepared for a hunting trip along the ancient travel route between Thimphu and Trongsa. All was arranged for the day, speck and preen, down to the last detail as desired by the King. He had a group of entertainers join the team too.
Upon reaching Zachok Tangka, King’s favourite resting place below Zimtokha, time-out was ordered. Overwhelmed by verdure abundance and the sheer beauty of the season, King ordered Ap Tsheten Dorji to write a song there and then and to sing for him.  Tsheten Dorji had the gift of words. Already a prolific composer by then, he was an excellent singer, too. He sang Changla Chichang Nyichang extemporaneously, which was his first Bhutanese song. It was summer of 1963.
Since then, Tsheten Dorji, who fled Tsay, his home in Lhodra Dozong in Tibet, and came to Bhutan in 1960 with 30 boedra songs, has upwards of 60 drukdra songs to his credit. His last song for the King was Druk Zamling Chitshok, which was written to commemorate Bhutan’s entry to the United Nations on September 21, 1971.
Today, however, boedra, drukdra and zhungdra – the essential song and dance forms of Bhutan – are facing quick death. That’s what Sonam Dorji, who is doing research on Bhutanese music, thinks. Songs and music are the essential part of a country’s national identity, he says.
Boedra came to Bhutan from Tibet in the early 1900s. Professional beggars from Tibet would camp in the fields of Punakha, Bumthang, Thimphu and Paro, playing fiddles and songs. But it gained popularity during the reign of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, who was a great connoisseur of music. He gave the genres its name – Boedra.
“These are the endangered species. Now is the time to preserve what little we have in terms of our cultural identity,” he says, running through the songs that he has classified under various genres that belong to two main categories – Zhabdro Dangrem and Zhabdro Gorgum.
“Bhutan is changing so fast and we are losing our values at a rate much faster than we can work to save them. I am doing this because these materials could be used as points of reference in future,” he says. But songs and dance forms are not the only things he is researching and saving them for the posterity. Even choreographies or artistic dance movements are being studied and archived.
According to Sonam, traditionally, there is even a limit to how high the dancers can raise their hands while dancing.  During those days, of course, dancers were required to have good height, good looks and flexibility. Good voice above all.
Besides monastic dance or cham, traditional Bhutanese music falls under two categories – Zhabdro
Dangrem and Zhabdro Gorgum. Under Zhabdro Dangrem come zhungdra, zhey, zheym, alo, langko and some traditional regional specific dangrems of Mangde, Talo, Mongar and Trashigang. Under Zhabdro Gorgum comes Boedra and Drukdra – song that came from Tibet and songs that originated in Bhutan.
Sonam Dorji does not agree that Zhabdro Dangrem is synonymous to Zhungdra and Zhabdro Gorgum to Boedra.  There are also many songs that are neither Zhungdra nor Boedra but have qualities of both dangrem and gorgum.
He saves the materials in three forms because of risk of corruption and theft. He records them in the cassettes, external hard drives and CDs. And he stores the copies of the same materials in different places with date and time of interview and the names of the singers and dancers written on it. From 2008 till now, Sonam has interviews some 80 traditional singers.
“Anything could happen, and shall have lost them all.”
Much has changed in the manners of lyrics and dances since King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck sent a group of prominent Bhutanese singers to Calcutta in 1969 to records the songs on gramophone.
Led by Drinpon Sonam Dorji and Tsheten Dorji, Aum Thinlem, Aum Tshewang Lham, Ap Dawa Pel, Ninja Kado, Ap Khitu and Ramjam Goley, among others, were in the team.
They recorded popular boedra and drukdra songs like Maja Yamo, Ribja Samtenling La, Tsechi Chongyen Dawa, Sho Sho Tsheringla Jamo Sho and Changla Chichang Nyichang. Dangrem songs recorded include Gelong Zhenphen Dawa, Samye Gi Sala Mo, Thrung Thrungta Karmo and Mangdepai Zhem.These songs were then transmitted through radio stations in Kurseong and Shillong in India.

Source: Bhutan Observer 

Six and half strings

How one of the strings of the Bhutanese lute was lowered
The Dramnyen The Bhutanese dramnyen or lute has the distinction of having six and half strings, referred to as drays, which denote seven different scales.

How one of the strings got lowered is recorded in an oral folklore, which master traditional musician, Ap Dawpey (85), is familiar with.

Once there lived seven dakinis.  In spring, they would descend to earth and bathe in a pool in the middle of a lush meadow bordered by snow peaked mountains.

Near the meadow lived an orphan.  The young shepherd used this idyllic land as pastures for his sheep.

One day, after taking a nap under a willow tree, the shepherd woke up to find a lute next to him.  He plucked a string and a beautiful melody flowed forth.  Enthralled he plucked more strings and enjoyed the sound it produced.

Excited with his new toy, the shepherd immediately rounded up the sheep to take them to the barn.  On the way home, he crossed the pool and saw seven beautiful women bathing in the pool, but showed no interest in them.

After putting the sheeps in the barn, the shepherd hid his new possession in the attic.  Every night, he climbed to the attic to play the lute at midnight.

The youngest dakini allowed the orphan boy to keep the lute, on the condition that under no circumstances was he to play the instrument or show it to other people.  Every night he was to play it only for her, and beckon her by strumming the lute.

So every night the dakini would sneak to the attic and spend the night, listening to the young boy play the lute.  At the sound of the rooster, she would disappear.

As the story goes, the blessings of the lute made the poor boy rich.  He became as rich as the king in his valley.  In the same valley, but across the river, lived a powerful king, who fathered the most beautiful women in the kingdom.

Every night, the music flowed into the air, and the wind carried it to the kingdom.  Soon the music enveloped the princess and she would spend the whole night listening to the music.

On her 21st birthday, the king wanted the musician to play for his daughter, and sent men across the river to look for the musician.  The king built a bridge over the river, and the princess started visiting the musician and called him uncle.

The princess also arranged archery matches for the man, who loved to sing and dance.  The princess inspected his house, opening and closing the door several times, and noticed a lute behind the door.

In her joyful mood, she strummed the lute and the dakini appeared.  Realizing the presence of other people the dakini immediately cut all seven strings of the lute and disappeared.

That night, at the stroke of midnight, the shepherd picked up his lute and noticed that all the strings had been cut.  Before he knew it, he started to become poor and, in a short time, had nothing.

The next spring, he hid in the meadow and waited for the dakinis to take their bath.  The young man confronted the youngest dakini and pleaded, “Please put back the strings,” to which she replied, no.

The young boy was adamant and persistently pleaded.  The dakini reasoned, “If I hadn’t cut the strings that day, I’d have died because of the impurity caused by betrayal.”  Later, the dakini consented to string the lute, but lowered one to indicate a breach of trust.

Why Crocodile?

All the old lutes in the country have a crocodile carved as the head.  Ap Dawpey explained why traditional lutes have this animal.

In the old days, all lute players went insane.  No one knew why, so they consulted Sha Gyalp (King of the East).

According to Bhutanese myth, each direction has a king, whose responsibility is to protect the kingdom.

For example, the king of the east is known as the Sha Gyalp’s and it is said that his voice was so powerful that every time he spoke it would destroy anything that came its way.  As a result, he had to remain silent until he discovered that he could convey his information through the lute.

So the Sha Gyalp used the dramnyen to relay his messages, even though he was neither a great musician nor a singer.

Through the lute, the Sha Gyalp explained the melody of the lute had attracted demons.  Like the people, the demons also became enthralled by the music, and they would come as close as the knees of the lute players.

Since they were invisible, the lute players never noticed but, because of the negative energy anyone in their proximity, would go insane.

As a remedial measure, the Sha Gyalp instructed that all lute to have the head of the crocodile with horns and beaks as a figurehead to ward off negative forces.

This way, even if the melody of the lute would attract demons, the sight of the crocodile would keep them at a safe distance.

Today, however any of the modern lutes have heads of different animals that has Ap Dawpey very concerned.

Source Kuensel

Six birds join list of protected animals

The Cabinet yesterday added six birds to the list of protected wild animals in Bhutan under the Forest and Nature Conservation Act.

This, forestry officials said, was the first change since the Act’s introduction in 1995, taking the total number of protected wild animals to 30 different species.

The bird species added to the list include White-belled heron, Chesnut-brested hill Patridge, White-rumped vulture, beautiful Nuthatch, Blyth’s Tragopan and Satyr Tragopan.

The birds are spread all over the country with white-belled Heron found in Wangduephodrang, Punakha, Dagana, Sarpang and Zhemgang.

The Beautiful Nuthatch is found both in the eastern regions of Zhemgang, Monger, Samdrupjongkhar and Trashigang and in Chhukha in the west.

Blyth’s Tragopan is found only in Trashigang and like wise Chestnut-brested hill Patridge is found in Mongar.

The White-rumped vulture, a very rare bird is found only in the southern foothills, whereas Satyr Tragopan is found in good numbers in most eastern regions.

An Ornithologist with the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICE) in Bumthang Sherub, popularly known among forestry officials as Bird Sherub, said including the birds to the list of protected animals would create awareness among people as is the case with the black-necked-crane.

“That’ll contribute to their conservation,” he said.

Forestry officials say that the global population of these birds had dipped with loss of habitat.

In Bhutan, Bird Sherub said, the causes were mainly land conversion due to development of hydropower, farm roads, power lines and logging.

Conflict with humans, such as poaching and forest fire, was other reasons.

He said there were mitigation measures, however, such as loosening the movement of fish in the rivers as in the case of hydropower projects, where the fish movement is obstructed.

“Farm roads, although they affect the habitat of the birds providing easy access to poachers in addition to damage from land conversion, are good for monitoring such illegal activities,” he said. “The birds would now qualify for studies which were not done in the past.”

The addition of species to the list, a Cabinet press release stated, was proposed in view of the growing importance of these species both at the national and international context and the necessity to enable legal protection status for the species.

Butterfly

Amongst the butterflies include the much talked about butterfly species, the Ludlow’s Bhutan Swallowtail, named the national bird of Bhutan and the only butterfly species included in the list of protected wild animals. The Ludlow’s Bhutan Swallowtail is named after foreign botanists Frank Ludlow and George Sheriff, who in 1933 and 1934 collected five specimens in Bhutan from its only habitat in the Bumdeling wildlife sanctuary in Trashiyangtse. Tobrang and areas north of Tobrang to the international boundary, Tarphel, Pangkhar, Longkhar, Dramar and Barigang under the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary have been identified as prime habitat for the rare and endemic butterfly, a species that is restricted to this part of the region.

Source Kuensel

Paro town observes the lunar eclipse

The moon turns red as it loses its light during last Saturday’s eclipse

The little town of Paro goes wild on the night of December 10. The residents bark and howl at the moonless heavens. It is 8.45 pm, and the magnificent full moon has come under attack.

That evening, the full-faced queen of the night has risen from the eastern horizon, over the dark crown of the mighty mountains. As the night falls, Pachhu is a languorous ribbon under the first pallid light of the moon.

But it is not like any other night. Soon, a ‘ravenous monster’ begins to steal the light of the moon. And the moon hides behind the black, imperceptible shutter. Part of it turns orange and then red. By 8.35 pm, it is half devoured by the monster.

The Bhutanese believe that lunar eclipse is caused by a monster that eats the moon. The light of the earth at night is stolen by the monster.

As the red of the dissipating moon becomes smaller, people come out on the streets beating gongs and clashing cymbals, blowing conch and trumpets, and shouting war cries. They want to scare the monster off and save the moon. It could very well have been a march to a battle.

Twenty-one-year-old Ganga Maya believes that Drey Nagchung (black demon) eats the moon. In order to save the moon, one must chant Om Mani Padme Hum, she says.

Tandin Pelden, a mother, believes that the moon suffers because of human frailties. “We borrow things and do not return them. That’s when the moon suffers,” she says. She has never questioned the belief, which has been passed down to her from her mother.

Ngawang Jamtsho, a Class IV student of Khangkhu Primary School, is beating a tin container black and blue. He doesn’t know why he is shouting. But he has already lost his voice, yowling at the moonless sky. His friend Sonam Tshering has told him to do that to bring back the moon from the devil’s mouth.

“The monster is eating our moon. We must save it, or we shall never have it again,” he says, singing Ngesem Ngesem. Tired and cold, he hits a nearby electric pole for a while and retires quietly into the shadow of the gully.

The beliefs surrounding the moon-eating monster have been passed down from ancient times.

Most societies in the world have superstitions surrounding a lunar eclipse.

The Cherokee of the Appalachian, for instance, believed that a giant, scabby frog was swallowing the moon, while the Inca of South America thought the moon was scoffed by either a serpent or a mountain lion.

The Chinese were convinced that it was a spiteful dragon. The aboriginals of Australia thought that the solar cat ate the moon as she got lost and wandered onto its path.

The ancient Europeans believed that a demon would be born of the marital relations conducted during a lunar eclipse.

Closer to home, the Indians believe that a demon named Rahu, who stole the food of immortality from the gods, now lies in wait to eat either the moon or the sun. Some believe that pregnant women should not go outdoors during a lunar eclipse lest a child be born blind or with a cleft lip.

However, in Buddhism, solar and lunar eclipses are highly spiritual. Khenpo Phuntsok Tashi, the director of National Museum in Paro, says that a lunar eclipse signals the world’s attachment to material things will grow. He said it is important to meditate on the Buddhist concept of emptiness during a lunar eclipse.

Meanwhile, on the dimly-lit cobbled pavements of Paro town, the crowd becomes wilder and louder every passing minute. “Leave the moon alone! Release! Let go!” shouts a middle-aged woman hitting a sign post hard with a rotten shoe.

She remembers asking her grandpa why people had to howl like animals at night when the moon lost its light. She was five years old. He told her that people must learn to give back as much as they take away from others. If they did not, the moon suffered. “I believed him. I still do. For, why else must the full moon turn red and disappear?” she asks. The tin board that says “No Crossing” is all crumpled.

The policemen watch the crowd go wilder. They walk around nonchalantly as if acknowledging that the noise is for a worthy cause – to save the moon. But not everybody seems to think so. An intoxicated young man waddles up from the dark, obviously irritated. “Shut up!” he cries and staggers over to the town square.

A few feet away, across the street, Sonam Choden looks up to the sky, standing with her hands in jacket pockets. She is a plump little girl studying in Class VI in Taju Primary School. She knows what causes a lunar eclipse. Her Geography teacher has taught her that a lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth, and moon are aligned exactly with the earth in the middle.

She explains the phenomenon to her mother, who has come out with a stave and a pan to save the nearly-swigged moon. Her mother doesn’t even listen and continues beating the pan.

It is 10.20 pm. The crowd is becoming thinner and noise lesser. The cold is driving people indoors. The moon isn’t out still but the town is quiet. For all urgent pleas and hysteric howling, the monster devoured the moon.