¹ The abbreviations used are as follows.

CGS 'Brug-gzhung 'cham-gyi bshad-pa, an official guide to the sacred dances of Bhutan by Drag-sho Nag-'phel. Printed in Kalimpong, 1971. I have ignored the original pagination which is confusing and counted the preface as p. [1], proceeding consecutively from there.

DNg. Deb-ther sngon-po ‘The blue annals’, written between 1476 and 1478 by 'Gos Lo-tsa-ba gZhon-nu-dpal; Yang-pa-can/Kun-bde-gling edition in 16 sections. G. N. Roerich's translation of this work (2 vols., Calcutta, 1949–53) was made from the slightly differing text of the later Amdo edition of mDzod-dge dGon-pa.

LCB IHo'i chos-'byung, a history of Bhutan written by bsTan-'dzin Chos-rgyal, the tenth Head Abbot of Bhutan, between 1731 and 1759; Punakha edition, 151 folios.

PBP dPal 'brug-pa rin-po-che ngag-dbang bdud-'joms rdo-rje'i rnam-par thar-pa chos-kyi sprin chen-po'i dbyangs, the biography of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal, 1594–1651, the first ‘Dharmarāja’ of Bhutan, written by gTsang mKhan-chen ‘Jam-dbyangs dPal-ldan rGya-mtsho in the second half of the eighteenth century; Punakha edition in 4 vols.

² See p. 625, n. 60, for a discussion of this term. Due to the fact that Bhutan adopted in the seventeenth century the variant astrological system devised by the ‘Brug-pa scholar lHa-dbang Blo-gros, one of the teachers of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal, the ‘Puna Dromchö’ never coincides exactly with the sMon-Iam Chen-mo of Lhasa. A discrepancy of a few days between the Bhutanese and Tibetan calendars is therefore apparent throughout the year. For a discussion of Lha-dbang bLo-gros's important work, the bsTan-rtsis 'dod-spyin gter-'bum, and a critique of Schlagintweit's early translation of it (1897), see Vostrikov, A. I., Tibetan historical literature (Soviet Indology Series, 4), Calcutta, 1970, 104 ff. (notes).Google Scholar

³ Snellgrove, David and Richardson, Hugh, A cultural history of Tibet, London, 1968, 181.Google Scholar

⁴ Stein, R. A., Tibetan civilization, London, 1972, 212–20.Google Scholar

⁵ On the discovery of the sPa-gro-ma texts of the Bon-po see Karmay, Samten G. (ed. and tr.), The treasury of good sayings: a Tibetan history of bon, London, 1972, 146–9.Google Scholar

⁶ For a list of these temples see rGyal-rabs-rnams-kyi 'byung-tshul gsal-ba'i me-long by bSod-nams rGyal-mtshan, 1508; Lhasa ed., fols. 54b, 60a. In speaking of the Bumthang sKyer-ohu Lha-khang, however, the work has confused the two Bhutanese temples in Paro and Bumthang.

⁷ For Dus-gsum mKhyen-pa's visit to Paro see Lokesh Chandra's ed. of the mKhas-pa'i dga'-ston, pt. 11, 824Google Scholar and also DNg., Nya, fol. 33b.

⁸ An account of kLong-chen-pa's stay in Bhutan is found in his biography, Kun-mkhyen chos-kyi rgyal-po gter-chen dri-med 'od-zer-gyi rnam-par thar-pa cung-zad spros-pa ngo-mtshar skal-bzang mchog-gv dga'-ston, Lha-lung ed., fols. 22–3. kLong-chen-pa was the author of a long and fascinating verse description of the ‘hidden land’ of Bumthang. It can be found on fol. 22b f. of vol. Shrī of his collected works.

⁹ See his undated and anonymous biography Pha 'brug-sgom zhig-pa'i rnam-par thar-pa thugs-rje'i chu-rgyun, 44 folios.

¹⁰ A rare Bhutanese version of his biography by Mon-pa bDe-ba bZang-po is preserved in the temple of rTa-mchog sGang south of Paro. It is the Bla-ma thang-stong rgyal-po'i rnam-thar gsal-ba'i sgron-me, 294 folios. An account of his work in Bhutan is found on fols. 130a–43b of this manuscript.

¹¹ Stein, , op. cit., 213.Google Scholar

¹² Stein, , op. cit., 213.Google Scholar

¹³ CGS, [28].Google Scholar

¹⁴ See de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, René, Oracles and demons of Tibet: the cult and iconography of the Tibetan protective deities, The Hague, 1956, 409Google Scholar; also Stein, , op. cit., 187.Google Scholar

¹⁵ See p. 633, n. 87.

¹⁶ Nebesky-Wojkowitz, (pp. 236–7)Google Scholar, in his brief account of the local protective deities of Bhutan, based on information collected in Kalimpong, West Bengal, recounts an oral legend about Khyung-bdud (whom he spells Khyung-dung or Khyung-'dus) but has no information on his festival. For some interesting conjectures about the connexion between the cult of the dpa'-bo and bon practices, see pp. 425–8, and also his ‘Tibetan drum divination, “ngamo”’, Ethnos, XVII, 1952, 160–2.Google Scholar

¹⁷ See DNg., Nya, fol. 87b.

¹⁸ See CGS, [32–3].Google Scholar

¹⁹ See Francke, A. H., Tibetische Hochzeitslieder, Hagen and Darmstadt, 1923, 28–31Google Scholar, as noted by Stein, , op. cit., 220.Google Scholar

²⁰ See p. 629, n. 71, below.

²¹ DNg., Nya, fol. 118a.

²² // mi phyed 'brug pa // 'brug phyed sprang po // sprang phyed grub thob //

²³ Unexpected confirmation of the nature of this quarrel can be found in the contemporary account of Stephen Cacella who, together with John Cabral, was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who spent most of 1627 in Bhutan (which he calls Cambirasi) in the company of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal. The latter wished to detain them from continuing their journey to Tibet where they intended to operate under the patronage of his enemy the gTsang sDe-srid, and he even offered them a site in Paro to build a church. See Wessels, C., Early Jesuit travellers in Central Asia, 1603–1721, The Hague, 1924, 120–61, and appendixes II, III.Google Scholar

²⁴ See p. 630, n. 78, below.

²⁵ PBP, Nga, fols. 75b–8a.

²⁶ PBP, Nga, fol. 77b.

²⁷ PBP, Nga, fols. 88a, 94a.

²⁸ PBP, Nga, fols. 104b–5a.

²⁹ On the dances of these aspects of Mahākāla see CGS, [6–7].Google Scholar

³⁰ See Stein, R. A., ‘Le liṅga des danses masquées lamaïques et la théorie des âmes’, Sino-Indian Studies, V, 3–4, 1957, 200–34.Google Scholar

³¹ PBP, Nga, fol. 88b.

³² bka'-'gyur: rGyud-'bum, no. 416.

³³ CGS, [3, 5]. Also p. 632, n. 82, below.Google Scholar

³⁴ CGS, [9]Google Scholar. The role of these multiple attendant forms of Mahākāla is alluded to in LCB (fols. 44b and 45a) where reference is made to the whole ritual as the mGon-mangs sGrub-mchod Chen-mo and the mGon-po lHa-dmangs-kyi bsGrub-mChod Chen-mo.

³⁵ The ‘nine choreographic expressions’ (gar dgu'i rnam-rol or gar-gyi nyams dgu) are thought to derive from the classical dance of India and are commonly listed as follows: (1) alluring, sgeg-pa, (2) courageous, dpa'-ba, (3) ugly, mi-sdug-pa, (4) fierce, drag-shul, (5) laughing, dgod, (6) terrifying, 'jigs-su-rung, (7) compassionate, snying-rje, (8) raging, rngams, (9) peaceful, zhi-ba.

³⁶ My translation of this unusual phrase is tentative.

³⁷ PBP, Nga, fols. 118b–19a.

³⁸ LCB, fol. 62a and CGS, [13–15].Google Scholar

³⁹ This campaign is the subject of the rare eighteenth-century manuscript work dPal-ldan 'brug-par lung lha'i gdung-rgyud kyis bstan-pa'i ring-lugs Iho-mon-kha-bzhi-las nyi-ma shar-phyogs-su byung-zhing rgyas-pa'i lo-rgyus gsal-ba'i me-long by the monk Ngag-dbang.

⁴⁰ See p. 625, n. 61, below.

⁴¹ See p. 635, n. 100, below.

⁴² PBP, Nga, fol. 76a.

⁴³ Khyab-bdag rdo-rje-'chang ngag-dbang yon-tan mtha'-yas-kyi gsang-gsum mi-zad rgyan-gyi 'khor-lor mam-par rol-pa'i rtogs-pa brjod-pa skal-bzang mos-pa'i padmo rgyas-byed ye-ihes 'od-stong 'phro-ba'i nyi-ma (blockprint, margin, Ā, 136 fols.) by rJe 'Jam-dbyangs rGyal-mtehan, 1745–1803 (eighteenth Head Abbot, , regn. 1797–1803)Google Scholar. See fol. 14a–b. I am indebted to Mr. Hugh Richardson for lending me this work.

⁴⁴ btang.

⁴⁵ mtsho.

⁴⁶ Ihwam.

⁴⁷ Omitted.

⁴⁸ Omitted.

⁴⁹ Omitted.

⁵⁰ mtsho.

⁵¹ mtsho.

⁵² yin.

⁵³ mtsho.

⁵⁴ lhwam.

⁵⁵ btang.

⁵⁶ mtsho.

⁵⁷ btang.

⁵⁸ Approximately two words have been deleted here.

⁵⁹ For an account of the origins of Mahākāla and an explanation of the significance which this deity holds in Bhutan see dPal ye-shes mgon-po lcam-dral sger-gsol ngo-thog bcas kyi rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 116b–25a). On fol. 117a–b we read: ‘… in particular he (Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal) instituted the annual sgrub-chen of Arya Cakrasamvara and Mahākāla lasting 15 days and so on; as if fulfilling the prophecy of the Jina himself the teachings of Mahākāla were caused to flourish impartially in these southern lands’.

⁶⁰ None of my informants in Bhutan could explain this term lHa-sgrom Chen-po/mo (lit. ‘Great God-Box’) which seems to be used in this text as a name for the whole festival at Punakha. In the colloquial language of western Bhutan the festival is called the ‘Puna(kha) Dromchö’ and this may be a corruption of sgrom-chen or of some abbreviation of sgrub-mchog/chog chen.mo. Could the ‘Great God-Box’ allude in some way to the sacred reliquary containing the famed Rang-'byung Kar-sa-pa-ni? (See introduction.)

⁶¹ The eight villages of the Wang people from whom the Wang Tsho-chen brGyad militia is drawn (together with a few of their variant spellings and their modern pronunciation) are as follows: (1) dKar-sbis (Ka-sbi, Ka-spe), pronounced ‘Karbji’; (2) Cang (lCang), ‘Chang’; (3) rKang-wang (Ka-wang), ‘Kangwa’; (4) sTod-wang, ‘Töwang’; (5) sMad-wang, ‘Mewang’; (6) Bar-pa, ‘Bap’; (7) aBis-mig (sBe-amod), ‘Bjimé’; (8) sTod-pa, ‘Töp’. The suffixes -kha, -nang, -sa, and -'i-sa, commonly added to place-names in Bhutan to distinguish the locality from its inhabitants (root + -pa, or final ‘p’ in the colloquial language), can be applied to some of these names, viz. ‘Barpaisa’, ‘Töpaisa’, ‘Bjimenang’, ‘Karbjisa’, etc. Petech, Luciano, ‘The rulers of Bhutan c. 1660–1750’, Orient Extremus, XIX, 1972, p. 210, n. 63Google Scholar, suggests that Ka-spe is a family or clan name. In Bhutan, however, with the exception of various districts in the east, clan and family names are non-existent and instead place-names are used in front of personal names to distinguish people. Petech's Ka-spe is clearly ‘Karbjisa’ (no. (1) above), a village in the extreme north of the Thimphu valley which produced many influential figures in later Bhutanese history as a result of its long association with the 'Brug-pa school.

⁶² Gong-sa Rin-po-che is a title of the 'Brug sDe-srid, the former secular rulers of Bhutan, on whom see p. 631, n. 81, below.

⁶³ lHo kha bzhi (or lHo mon kha bzhi) is said to be the oldest name for Bhutan and continues to be used in literary works today. The term denotes the geographical extent of the country and kha may perhaps be rendered as ‘approach’ rather than ‘district’, the more usual meaning. Lists of these four kha tend to vary from one text to another but probably the most common one is: (1) Shar Kha-gling-kha (a border district in south-east Bhutan); (2) lHo Gha-ṭi-kha (Cooch Bihar in north Bengal); (3) Nub brDa-ling-kha (Kalimpong); (4) Byang sTag-rtse-kha (an unidentified place on the northern border).

⁶⁴ 'Gro-ba'i mGon-po is an epithet of gTsang-pa rGya-ras Ye-shes rDo-rje, alias g.Yung-drung-dpal (1161–1211), the founder of the 'Brug-pa school. A useful sketch of his life can be found in DNg., Nya, fols. 115b–18a.

⁶⁵ See introduction.

⁶⁶ As in the case of Mon, Kha-khra would appear to be a name used loosely by Tibetans for people living south of the Himalayan watershed but it seems to be used more particularly with regard to some of the tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh in the area to the east of Bhutan.

The peculiar reference in this sentence to fixing handles on pots should be taken as alluding metaphorically to Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal's success in bringing the material benefits of civilization to the Bhutanese. The phrase is taken verbatim from LCB, fol. 103a. The tone of these historical allusions (and some of their wording) may be traced to certain passages in LCB.

⁶⁷ bKa'-'gyur: rNying-rgyud, no. 838.

⁶⁸ lHa-dga' and kLu-dga' are said to be two champions who obtained an image of the Buddha from China for King Srong-btsan sGam-po of Tibet. It is the former whom the clan of rGya claim as their ancestor and it is presumed that it was this exploit which provided the name of the clan (rGya can mean China). On the early development of the 'Brug-pa school and its close association with this clan see Stein, R. A.'s Vie et chants de 'Brug-pa Kun-legs le Yogin, Paris, 1972, 10–12.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ Nāropa, the Indian master of Mar-pa ‘the Translator’ (1012–96), to whom the bKa'-rgyud-pa, and the 'Brug-pa as one of its sub-schools, trace their spiritual lineage.

⁷⁰ I take gdung dang na-bza'i mtshan-can to refer to gTsang-pa rGya-ras (see p. 627, n. 64, above); rGya is the name of his clan (gdung) and ras is the white cotton of his apparel (na-bza').

⁷¹ The Upper, Lower, and Middle Branches of the 'Brug-pa were founded respectively by three disciples of gTsang-pa rGya-ras Ye-shes rDo-rje, namely rGod-tshang-pa mGon-po rDo-rje (1189–1258), Lo-ras-pa dBang-phyug brTson-'grus (1187–1250) and Sangs-rgyas dBon-ras Darma Seng-ge (1177–1237), the first of the nine ‘Seng-ge’ mentioned below. Although the DNg. has a long passage (Nya, fols. 118a–33b) devoted to the evolution of these sub-schools, the Middle Branch which gained control of Bhutan is treated as representing the personal lineage of gTsang-pa rGya-ras himself (fol. 119a) and is not given a separate name as in the case of the other two sub-schools.

⁷² A complete list of these 14 hierarchs of Rwa-lung, who between them cover a period from 1177 to 1538, can be found in Stein (op. cit.; a useful chart is given between pp. 10 and 11) and a partial list in DNg., Nya, fols. 118–19. Their biographies can be found in the Punakha edition of the bKa'-rgyud gSer-'phreng whose contents have been analysed by E. Gene Smith hi his appendix III to Chandra, Lokesh's edition of The life of the saint of gTsang (Śata-piṭaka Series, LXXIX), New Delhi, 1969.Google Scholar

⁷³ See introduction.

⁷⁴ Another version of this ‘prophecy’, omitting mention of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal's name, is found in PBP, Ga, fol. 13b.

⁷⁵ Ngag-dbang Nor-bu is an alias for Padma dKar-po.

⁷⁶ Nyi-ma, Mi-pham bsTan-pa'i (1567–1619)Google Scholar, the son of the seventeenth incumbent of Kwa-lung, rGyal-po, Mi-pham Chos-kyi (1543–1606)Google Scholar, was active in Bhutan some years before the arrival of his heir, Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal. He died in Tibet and his body was secretly brought down to Bhutan and his ashes deposited in a silver mchod-rten at lCags-ri to the north of the Thimphu valley. He is known to have had at least one other son, the illegitimate bsTan-'dzin 'Brug-sgra (1607–67), who ruled Bhutan as its second sde-srid for 12 years. A short sketch of bsTan-pa'i Nyi-ma's life is found in PBP, Ga, fol. 16a–b.

⁷⁷ The sde-pa sKyid-shod-pa is the title of the ruler of the lHa-sa district during this period of the lay hegemony in Tibet of the gTsang kings. We do not know his name but one tradition has it that he first gave this daughter in marriage to the king of that time, Phun-tshogs rNam-rgyal. A daughter, A.lce (or A-zhes) Drung, was born to them but the marriage did not last and she was later given in marriage to Mi-pham bsTan-pa'i Nyi-ma.

⁷⁸ This prophecy was the basis for future justifications of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal's rule in Bhutan. It is said to have been revealed to him in the following vision (PBP, Ga, fol. 99a–b). ‘… in particular, in a dream which the lord himself experienced a cat was at first making sounds while damaging a sacrificial cake and so, knowing that it was a phantom created by the king (?), he crushed it with a concentration of wrathful visualizations and after it had disappeared an extremely large raven came up to his side. When it flew off in a southerly direction he went flying after it and arrived in a place which he did not know. “Later it turned out to be sPang-ri Zam-pa”, he said. The Haven-headed Mahākāla having thus come and conducted him along a path of clear light, gestures of offering this country of the Southern Land to him as his heavenly field were made.’ (The temple at sPang-ri Zam-pa, founded by Chos-rgyal, Ngag-dbang, 1465–1540Google Scholar, still stands today at the head of the Thimphu valley. It was one of the first places in Bhutan which Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal gained control of after his arrival in 1616.)

⁷⁹ The spyi-bla, more usually called dpon-slob, were the provincial governors of Paro, Tongsa, and Dagana. Originally monastic officials with secular responsibilities, these were quite soon succeeded by laymen who yet retained a certain monastic style in their courts. The posts continue today as royal sinecures with the exception of that of Dagana which has lapsed.

⁸⁰ The mKhan-chen, or rJe mKhan-po, as he is popularly known, is the Head Abbot of all state monks in Bhutan, both in the capital and in all the provincial monasteries located in the rdzong of each district. There were 48 of these Head Abbots to hold office between the first, Pad-dkar 'Byung-gnas (1604–72), a descendant of Pha-jo 'Brug-sgom Zhig-po, and the last one before the foundation of the present monarchy, 'Jam-dpal bShes-gnyen who was enthroned in 1907. The office continues today as the highest ecclesiastical post in the country.

⁸¹ sDe-srid dBu-mdzad (alias bsTan-'dzin 'Brug-rgyal) was born in 1591 in the line of Grub-thob gTer-khung-pa in the 'Ob-'tsho family of northern Bhutan. He received his monastic training at Rwa-lung and accompanied Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal on his journey to Bhutan. As sde-srid phyag-mdzod he was given responsibility for the secular administration of the country. He ruled for six years and died in 1656. (See LCB, fol. 93a–b.) In contrast to the complicated and troubled succession to the throne of the head of state (the incarnations or representatives of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal) there was strong continuity in the office of the sde-srid, their theoretical nominee. Fifty-six incumbents are counted between the first, sDe-srid dBu-mdzad, and the foundation of hereditary monarchy in the early twentieth century. These sde-srid are the ‘Deb Bajas’ of the British, a title formed from the common Bhutanese contraction of two syllables (sde-pa) into one (‘Deb’). The incarnations or representatives of Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal (usually known as the ZMbs-drung Rin-po-che were known to the British as the ‘Dharma Rajas’, a title which in its translated form of Chos-kyi rGyal-po is more often applied to the sde-srid by the Bhutanese themselves, as we can see in this passage.

⁸² The sa-chog (‘earth sadhana’) referred to here takes the form of a dance of the ‘Black Hat’ (zhwa-nag) performed by 21 monks inside the main monastic assembly hall in order to obtain a loan from the local spirits of the ground upon which the maṇḍala is to be constructed for the Mahākāla ritual. Apart from this one occasion, three further adaptations of this well-known dance take place during the ‘Puna Dromchö’ festival. (See CGS, [3, 5].)Google Scholar

⁸³ See introduction.

⁸⁴ My translation of this list of weapons and armour is tentative. The ‘thumb ring’ (mthe-kor, erroneous for mthe-'khor) is made of ivory and worn on the right hand. Its use is now purely ceremonial but it is thought to have been used once by archers to help draw their bow strings. It can be seen worn in the dance of the monastic guards called sGra-snyan Chos-gzhas (CGS, [23])Google Scholar when it is worn with a string of ivory beads on the other hand. Perhaps the do-cha is this latter object. In Lhasa use of the mtheb-'khor is a special privilege of the treasurers (phyag-mdzod) of noble houses. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, (p. 412)Google Scholar has mtheb-'khor or bkras-'khor meaning a silver amulet ring worn on the thumb of the right hand by certain oracle-priests. He notes, ‘This ring has nowadays a purely ornamental value, but formerly a ring with a hook was worn instead, which was used to span the sinew of a bow’ (?).

⁸⁵ The phrase phywa dang hug requires a little explanation, hug would appear to be the local pronunciation of khug (past tense of 'gug(s)-pa ‘to call, conjure up, bring forth’). g.Yang-khug is the name of a special ritual of non-Buddhist origin performed to bring prosperity ou a household or community, phywa (or phya) is a word originally derived from the Ch'iang language meaning ‘sky’ or ‘sky god’ but which later came to mean ‘fate’ or ‘portent’ and eventually ‘prosperity’. Jäschke, (Tibetan-English dictionary, 347)Google Scholar has ‘to call forth good luck and blessing, to secure it by enchantment’ for phywa dang g.yang 'gug pa; phywa dang hug must be an abbreviation of this phrase. On p. [12] of CGS we find in the same context as here phywa dang khug gi agra and phywa dang khug gi dbyangs; hence ‘sounds of good fortune and prosperity’. The phrase is pronounced ‘pshadahũk’ in the vernacular; the ya-btags in Western Bhutanese is commonly turned into a ‘sh’ or ‘zh’ sound when subjoined to the letters pa (or pha) and 60 respectively, the initial value of these consonants being retained. The actual sound of the ‘pshadahūk’ is, the same ‘ki hi hi hi hi’ referred to in n. 87, below.

⁸⁶ Even in village archery it is considered most inauspicious to lay one's bow flat on the ground even for a few seconds. Perhaps this taboo has its origins in the fact that it is easier to snatch up one's weapon in a surprise attack if it is already supported vertically. Magic, however, now plays a part in this attitude to weapons and armour as can readily be seen during the Punakha festival when spectators try to obtain blessings by having their heads touched by the chain mail helmets of the ‘pazaps’. When they were worn by the ancestors of the present ‘pazaps’ these old helmets are said to have become imbued with the powers of the guardian deities who were assisting Ngag-dbang rNam-rygal and his forces against the invasions of the gTsang sde-srid and the dGe-lugs-pa school. Among the Tu-jen (Tib. rGya-hor) of the Koko Nor area, the sword of the oracle-priest (who is known locally as the gurtum, perhaps from sku-rten-pa) is regarded as the seat of the deity who takes possession of him. (See Nebesky-Wojkowitz, , 443)Google Scholar. In this text the War God (dgra-lha) who resides in the paraphernalia of battle and also in the bodies of the champions seems to be regarded as an aspect of Mahākāla (see fols. 5–6 above). In other circumstances the dgra-lha is one of the ‘gods born together (with man)’ (lhan-cig skyes-pa'i lha) and as such he is the centre of the entire New Year festival at Poo on the western border of Tibet but it is not clear whether this celebrates the ‘Agricultural’ or the ‘King's New Year’. See Tucci, Giuseppe, Tibetan folksongs from Gyantse and western Tibet, Ascona, 1966, 61–70Google Scholar, and also Francke, A. H., Antiquities of Indian Tibet, Calcutta, 1914–1926, 1, 22.Google Scholar

⁸⁷ The ‘whinnying of horses’ (rta-dbyangs) is said to be an old battle cry of the Tibetan cavalry. While horses have never been used seriously in warfare in Bhutan for obvious reasons of geography, the same cry (‘Ki hi hi hi hi’ shouted rapidly on descending notes) is used during archery and public rituals connected with the guardian deities.

⁸⁸ The ocean of medicinal draughts' (sman-phud rgya-mttho) is a circumlocution for the beer offered in the libation ceremony of mar-chang (see introduction and CGS, [12]).Google Scholar

⁸⁹ See p. 633, n. 85.

⁹⁰ For a full account of this deity see Dam-can chos-skyong las-gshan cig-car dmar-po'i rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 135b–6a).

⁹¹ See Lha-chen khyab-'jug ra-hu-la drang-srong gza'i rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 136b–8b).

⁹² See Dam-can sgo-bdud chen-po lcags-ral-can gyi rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 144b–8b).

⁹³ The temple of bDe-chen-phug was founded by Kun-dga' Seng-ge (1314–47), seventh abbot of Rwa-lung, in a side valley at the northern end of the Thimphu valley. It is still considered to be the most important place in Bhutan devoted to the guardian deities.

⁹⁴ See bTsan-chen dgra-lha'i rgyal-po jag-pa me-len gyi rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 141b–4b). This ‘Brigand who fetched the Fire’ is an aspect of the better-known dGe-bsnyen.

⁹⁵ This deity may be the same as Las-mkhan Cig-car dMar-po (see n. 90, above).

⁹⁶ I have not been able to identify this deity and am not sure of my translation of aKyes-pa Pho-thog.

⁹⁷ It need not surprise us to find this reference to the Bon religion here. Just as the Bon text of the kLu-'bum was widely accepted by Buddhists for its efficacy in dealing with the nāga spirits, so also are its deities respected and placated for their reputed power. One must presume, however, that the ‘Bon Defenders of Zhang-zhung’ are regarded as converts to Buddhism.

⁹⁸ This may be an epithet of Pe-har, in which case see Chos-skyong rgyal-po pa'i-ha-ra'i rtogs-brjod (LCB, fols. 140a–1b).

⁹⁹ See n. 92, above.

¹⁰⁰ The Srung-'khor-pa is the monastic official whose duty is to pray for the personal safety and welfare of the ruler in Bhutan by interceding on his behalf with the guardian deities. His special responsibility of reciting this text, important as it is in the cult of these deities, to the assembled ‘pazap’ militia is therefore an extension of his more general duties. I am indebted to the present incumbent of this post for giving me permission to photograph the text of the bKa'-bkyon rdo-rje tho-lum.