Folktales from Bhutan

Stories source: Archarya, Gopilal. Bhutanese Folktales (From the East and the South) Thimphu: Pekhang Enterprise, 2004 1.               Dhon Dor Horla Courageous Samdrup meets a ghost in the middle night and soon he accompanies the ghost on his journey claiming himself also as the ghost. Samdrup alias Dhon Dor Horla helps the ghost to carry the bag which contains the stolen soul of a princess. The man then runs away and hides in a wheat field until the break of dawn when the angry ghost finally disappears. Samdrup goes to the king’s palace and cures the dying princess whom the happy king rewards him as his wife. Samdrup becomes the next heir to the throne. Values : courage, bravery, fear, ego, pretension, wisdom, quick thinking, foolishness, fame, fortune 2.               The Women who wanted to get rid of their goiter Zangmo is beautif...

And as promised and in continuation, the following is the summary of Folktales of Bhutan  (New Delhi: Learners Press Private Limited, 1999) by Rita Thomas. Please enjoy and don't forget to read the original book. Dawa Zangpo A poor widow once sends her three sons in search of fortune. She gives a gold coin to the eldest, silver to the middle, while the youngest is given three rolls of woolen cloth. Dawa Zangpo, the youngest on his way saves a cat, a dog and a monkey from being beaten, in exchange for his three rolls of cloth. Dawa Zangpo next saves a fish who helps him to become a rich man and when his magic ring given by the  Luyi Gyelpo , the king of the water world, is being stolen, the three animals, cat, dog and monkey restore it back from the greedy king. Values : destiny, compassion, greed, jealousy, and kindness The silly leopard A witty fox tricks a silly leopard. The leopard finds the fox near a river, but it claims to be a different fox. The...

Years ago, I was made to compile a list of Bhutanese folktales and annotate them all. I also had to also identify what values each stories carries. Unfortunately, I could not find all the books. As you can see, each story is summarized and after each story, I have listed values that I thought are encompassed in each of them. And for those of who may not have had gone through all the books, it is my pleasure to present to you an annotated Bhutanese folktales. However, it is my hope that you would ultimately read the books yourself. But please don't expect much from a high school student (I was back then). The first I have is a wonderful book by Ashi Kunzang Choden:  Bhutanese Tales of Yeti  published by White Lotus Co., (1997), Thailand. Please enjoy! The Greedy Herder A herder once comes across a strange creature. It is a mysterious yeti. Everyday, the creature visits the man’s window and it disappears as soon as it is given some meat. It becomes an everyday r...

Once there lived a long and a thin-necked man, a thin and long-legged man, and a thin-chested man. They were good friends, very good friends indeed. One day, they bought a fat pig’s head and decided to go for a picnic. The hungry friends waited eagerly as they cooked the meat in a digg , a pot with a thin neck. After some time, the long and thin-necked man peered into the pot to see whether the meat was ready. But as he peered down into the pot, his long and thin neck cracked and his head fell off, smack into the digg . He died in excruciating pain while his two friends, his very good friends, danced in cheer! They were happy thinking that they were going to get more meat. “Hoorah! We will have the meat,” shouted the long and thin-legged man, spinning round the room and kicking up his legs in an impromptu celebration. But as he danced in glee, his thin legs snapped. He too died in terrible pain while his friend, his very good friend, pounded his chest with joy. He now had the meat a...

In a small village, there lived a man and his wife, who gave birth to a very beautiful daughter. Immediately after the delivery, the mother died of an acute illness. The husband alone took the responsibility of looking after the girl. One day, the father met a big bembochen , a snake, while he was collecting firewood in the mountain. The snake threatened to eat him. The man did not fear the loss of his own life, but could only think of his daughter, who had no mother and soon would lack a father too. Who would care for her? Reflecting on the unhappy thought over and over again brought tears into his eyes, so that even the snake was filled with pity. “Please do not kill me, for I have to care for my daughter,” the man entreated. “She has no one else to look after her. Have mercy on me and I will do anything for you.” “In that case, I will spare you, but you must promise me one thing,” the snake replied. “Give me your daughter. I will take care of her. But if you fail to keep your ...

( This was the introduction I actually wrote for my book The Cuckoo and the Pigeon, published by Pilgrims Publications in Nepal. But it was never printed. So, I would like to post the introduction here to rescue this folktale blog ) While I was in The Haverford School in the US, we were asked to write a movie review for our Fourth Form English class. As I had never watched any movie fully, I was worried about what movie to write. In the evening, I discussed it with Mr. Bob, my sponsor, and he suggested that I write something about Bhutan. Something unique! Following his suggestion, I wrote about our unique system of story telling, drawing parallels between watching movies in the States and listening to folktales in Bhutan. I read the paper to the class the next day and we discussed it. I was fascinated and moved by the curiosity and admiration shown that day by my teacher and friends alike.  As I thought it over that night, I realized that our “unique oral tradition” is slowly ...

This is a story from my book The Cuckoo and the Pigeon published by Pilgrims Publication in Nepal. In the middle of a big forest, there once lived a happy couple, a hen and a cock. They had seven chickens. Every day the two birds searched food for their little children who were so little to find on their own. One day as usual, when they were searching for food, they found a grain of soya-bean. “You take this grain and feed our children,” suggested the cock. “I will bring in some more tonight.” The hen agreed and took it home. On the way, she became thirsty and as she kept on walking, she saw a little pond nearby. The happy hen went to drink water and as she opened her mouth, the grain, which was inside fell down…down into the deep water. She could not take it out. In extreme fear of her cruel husband, the hen continued her way home. “Did you feed our children with that grain?” the cock asked her that evening. “It fell down in the pond when I was drinking water.” “You...