The Punakha Dromchoe is one of the oldest festivals and thousands of people from throughout the kingdom attend, including an increasing number of tourists. It is a festival dedicated to the guardain deities Pal-Yeshay Gompo and Palden Lhamo, the protective deities of Bhutan and its religion. It is held every year in the first month of the Bhutanese lunar calander (Approx Feb/March)..

The great Shabdrung Nawang Namgyel Rinpoche introduced the festival in the seventeenth century to honour the two deities for their role in protecting the country from Tibetan invasions. The Punakha festival differs from other festivals and includes re-enactments of battle scenes fought over three hundred years ago. Displays by the Pazaps, the bhutanese army, (dressed in traditional Bhutanese costumes) and the commanders (Magpoen) dominate the three-day festival. Dressed in red and black, the Pazaps represent the soldiers of Shabdrung’s army. Only the people of Wang Tshochen-gey (eight great clans of the Wang area comprised of the present-day districts of Thimphu, Wangdi,and Punakha) are entitled to perform the role of Pazap.

At present, the battle scenes are re-enacted during the annual Punakha Domchoe by 17 people forming eight groups of Pazaps led by eight commanders (Magpoen). This festival does not have as many mask dances as other festivals, but it is unique for re-enacting the final victory of the Bhutanese against the combined Tibetan and Mongol forces. According to historical accounts, in 1639 the Shabdrung tricked the Tibetan invaders into believing that the Rangjung Kharsapani (self-created image of Chenrezig, or Avoleketeshvara, which is a national treasure) had been thrown into the river. The invaders had come to take back the Rangjung Kharsapani by force after Shabdrung Nawang Namgyel brought it to Bhutan from Tibet when he fled from his ancestral seat at Ralung. Thinking that the sacred relic could not be recovered, the invading forces left and never bothered Bhutan again.

This event is re-enacted every year on the last day of the festival by His Holiness, the Je Khenpo, dressed in the garb of a black hat dancer. He throws a handful of oranges, which symbolizes throwing the Rangjung Kharsapani, into the river. Young people dive into the river to retrieve the oranges, which are believed to bring good fortune for the year.

The festival ends with the unfurling of the Punakha thongdroel, which is a relatively new silk scroll measuring 83 feet by 93 feet . This special thongdroel with Shabdrung Nawang Namgyel as the main image took fifty-one artists over two years to create and used about 6,000 metres of brocade.
The Punakha Domchoe is a good mix of the religious and the historical and this makes it very interesting.
Any Questions: E-mail or call us direct.