Tour Guide, Thimphu, Bhutan
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Learning about Bhutan: Bhutan is a relatively unexplored and untouched destination and offbeat destination. Only a few fortunate tourists visit the stunning country Bhutan. The kingdom has amazing remarkable culture, mountainous landscape, ancient monasteries, and incredible fortresses like Dzongs, colorful religious dance festivals, outrageous archery competitions, trekking trails, stunning flora and fauna. When you are in Bhutan, you imagine yourself catapulted hundreds of years back. Bhutan has a limited number of travelers in order to preserve its culture. It is an amply modern country yet medieval with one foot still rooted in its past.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is known as the last “Shangri-La” on earth, one of the most unique countries in the world. Bhutan has been hidden from the outside world for centuries and therefore it has so many unique facts which are unknown to the outside world.
Bhutan is a country like no other. It is a journey of your lifetime, an experience that you will never forget, a vacation that you will cherish forever, and a memory that will never fade away. Welcome to the Living Museum. Explore the untouched natural beauty of the hidden Himalayan Kingdom with us. Bhutanese art is similar to Tibetan art. Both are based upon Vajrayana Buddhism and its pantheon of teachers and divine beings. In Bhutan, the traditional arts are known as zorig chusum (zo = the ability to make; rig = science or craft; chusum = thirteen). These practices have been gradually developed through the centuries, often passed down through families with long-standing relations to a particular craft.
These traditional crafts represent hundreds of years of knowledge and ability that has been passed down through generations.
The thirteen traditional arts are:
1. Dezo - Paper Making: Handmade paper made mainly from the Daphne plant and gum from a creeper root.
2. Dozo - Stonework: Stone arts used in the construction of stone pools and the outer walls of dzongs, gompas, stupas and some other buildings.
3. Garzo - Blacksmithing: The manufacture of iron goods, such as farm tools, knives, swords, and utensils.
4. Jinzo - Clay arts: The making of religious statues and ritual objects, pottery and the construction of buildings using mortar, plaster, and rammed earth.
5. Lhazo - Painting: From the images on thangkas, walls paintings, and statues to the decorations on furniture and window-frames.
6. Lugzo - Bronze casting: Production of bronze roof-crests, statues, bells, and ritual instruments, in addition to jewelry and household items using sand casting and lost-wax casting. Larger statues are made by repoussé.
7. Parzo - Wood, slate, and stone carving: In wood, slate or stone, for making such items as printing blocks for religious texts, masks, furniture, altars, and the slate images adorning many shrines and altars.
9. Shingzo - Woodworking: Employed in the construction of dzongs and gompas
11. Trözo - Silver- and gold-smithing: Working in gold, silver, and copper to make jewelry, ritual objects, and utilitarian household items.
Sports in Bhutan
Sports in Bhutan comprise both traditional Bhutanese and modern international games. Archery is the national and most popular sport in Bhutan. Competitions are held regularly in most villages. Other traditional Bhutanese sports include khuru, soksom, pundo, and digor. International sports enjoy considerable popularity in modern Bhutan. Besides archery, many people in Bhutan play basketball. Other sports include association football and futsal, an indoor variation of football. Cricket has gained popularity in Bhutan, particularly since the introduction of television channels from India.
Traditional sports
Traditional Bhutanese sports include archery first and foremost. Traditional archery has been historically prominent in Bhutanese religion, ritual, and recreation, and enjoys modern popularity and practice in Tsechus (festivals) and matches. It differs from modern international archery in rules and metrics; players shoot at comparatively small targets at great distances. Bhutan also participates in modern international archery competitions and maintains an Olympic archery team.
Khuru is an indigenous dart game, and like traditional archery, requires players to strike relatively small targets at long distances. It is played especially during festivals, along with soksom, akin to the javelin throw; and digor and pundo, akin to the shot put.
Archery is a national and most popular sport in Bhutan and is organized nationally within the Bhutan Archery Federation. Traditional Bhutanese archery differs from Olympic standards in technical details such as the placement of the targets and atmosphere. The distance to the target is about 130 metres (430 ft). The relatively small targets are cut from wood and brightly painted, usually measuring about 3 feet (91 cm) tall and 11 inches (28 cm) wide. Bullseyes are called karay. Traditionally, Bhutanese bows are made of bamboo and arrows from bamboo or reeds, fletched with feather vanes. Arrows may be painted and tipped with metal arrowheads. The quiver may be wooden, with an animal hide covering and a woven strap.
Bhutanese archery teams number at 13 players; teams take turns shooting two arrows at a time first in one direction, then in the opposite direction. The first to score 25 points wins, however, because the scoring system is complicated, winning can take a very long time. For example, a second hit by an opponent can invalidate the other player's score. In addition, the interplay of wider socializing and festivities, with archery as the nominal focus, give Bhutanese archery competitions an excruciatingly slow pace. In the past, the most traditional matches could last for as long as a month, though modern matches tend to span a number of days.
Traditional Bhutanese archery is a social event and competitions are organized between villages, towns, and amateur teams. There is usually plenty of food and drink complete with singing and dancing. Attempts to distract an opponent include standing around the target and making fun of the shooter's ability. The most notable archery competition in Bhutan is the Yangphel tournament. Other major archery competitions are held during Losar, the Bhutanese and Tibetan New Year. Increasingly, Bhutanese archery has modernized even in traditional matches. Compound bows, corporate sponsorships, copious cash and material winnings, injuries, and occasional fatalities have become established features of archery. The popularity of archery has also raised questions of Bhutan's susceptibility to dope, including by alcohol, in the sport. It has also drawn attention to the danger in the sport, especially to spectators, residents, and passersby near archery ranges. Since 2010, Bhutan has held the Lyonchen Jigmi Y Thinley Archery Tournament, encouraging the use of traditional bows and the development of gewog teams.
Khuru is a popular outdoor team sport often played during festivals and archery tournaments. When playing khuru, heavy wooden darts pointed with a 10 centimeters (3.9 in) nail are thrown at paperback-sized target 10 metres (33 ft) to 20 meters (66 ft) away.
Soksom, akin to the javelin throw, is a sport in which players throw a javelin a distance of 20 metres (66 ft).
Digor is a game resembling shot put, horseshoes. It is played with a pair of spherical flat stones that are hurled at two targets (pegs) fixed in the ground about 20 metres (66 ft) apart. It can be played one-on-one or in teams of up to seven players.
Digor is played all over Bhutan, though most often by men in rural areas.
Pundo is a traditional Bhutanese game most resembling shot put. It is played by throwing a stone weighing over a kilo as far as possible. The throwing movement is from the shoulder, with the stone held flat in the hand. It is usually played by laymen.
International sports Bhutan participates in modern international sports in three main areas. Archery, the national sport, is played internationally as well as domestically using modern equipment, and the kingdom maintains an Olympic archery team. Further, Bhutanese basketball, football and futsal teams compete at national, international, and Olympic levels. Cricket also enjoys a considerable following in Bhutan.
The Bhutan Olympic Committee was formed in 1983 and recognized by the IOC the same year. For each Summer Olympic Games since 1984, Bhutan has fielded male and female archers to compete in the kingdom's national sport. They have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games or the other events of the Summer Olympic Games; they also have never won an Olympic Medal. Bhutan sent only one athlete to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics but lost in the quarterfinals of the athletics event.