Bhutan, 2008 and beyond

On the 1st of November 2008, His Majesty received the sacred Dar-Na-Nga from the Holy Machhen (the 357-year-old embalmed body of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal), in the presence of the fourth Druk Gyalpo and His Holiness the Je Khenpo, yesterday morning at the Puna Dechen Phodrang Dzong in Punakha.

The Dar-Na-Nga are the five sacred sashes of silk bearing five colors (representing the five elements) blessed by the Holy Machhen each time a royal successor to the Dragon Throne is invested as the king.

Thongdrel (giant applique scroll) of the Zhabdrung at Punakha Dzong during the Sacred Dar Ceremonies at the Machen Lhakhang for His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

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On the 31st of October, 2008, His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck travelled from Thimphu to Punakha the ancient capital. Upon arrival in Punakha, His Majesty was received in a grand Chipdrel ceremonial procession. Later in the day, His Majesty hosted a lunch for the hundreds of people who had come to witness the Sacred Dar ceremony the next day. His Majesty also joined the other members of the Royal Family, and the people in a game of archery.

His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, offers butter lamps at the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang (Temple) at Dochula en route to the Sacred Dar Ceremony in Punakha.

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It is the end - and the beginning - of history. On the morning of November 1, the third day of the ninth Bhutanese month, His Majesty the King will be empowered as the Druk Gyalpo in a unique and sacred empowerment ceremony, which symbolises his transcendence of the ordinary and the temporal and the personification of divine wisdom.

His Majesty will receive the Dar Na-Nga, a special arrangement of the primary colours that signify the five elements. The ceremony will take place in the Machhen Lhakhang, and the Dar Na-Nga will be symbolically conferred by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, in the presence of the fourth Druk Gyalpo, with the empowerment prayer chanted by His Holiness the Je Khenpo.

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About 2,500 years ago a Prince walked away from his Palace, his material comforts, his Throne. He did it to help his people, through education and through spirituality. He eventually showed them, and the world, the path to enlightenment.

Less than two years ago, another King walked away from his Throne. He also did it to help his people, having paved the way for his son to take over the responsibility to guide his kingdom into the future.

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“I enjoy talking to you all not just because it is my duty but because we will be starting our lives together and ending our careers together. When we retire 20 or 30 years later, let us pass on the country proudly into younger hands. Our responsibilities, country, goals and fates are the same. We will see each other grow old, and more importantly, we will see each other become wiser, more capable, more intelligent and we will see each other serve our country. I pray that you will serve yourselves, your parents and family as well as the country capably and with dedication. I wish you all Tashi Delek.”

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It is the desire of His Majesty the King that Bhutanese citizens offer His Majesty just the tashi khadar for the Coronation, with no presents, said the Prime Minister, Lyonchhen Jigmi Thinley. The celebrations of the Coronation will be organised so that all well-wishers will be given the opportunity to offer His Majesty the khadar. 

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Her Royal Highness Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck has been presented the 2008 Mandala Award for Arts and Humanitarian Achievement by the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) in New York.

According to a press release from RMA, Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck was honoured for her charitable activities in the health sector in Bhutan. The ceremony was held on October 7.

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As excitement builds for the official coronation of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, behind the scenes, the mystical century-old process has already begun.

The ceremony on November 6 is the final, public ceremony, what is known as the outer aspect of Chi Nang-Sang Sum (strictly interpreted as Inner, Secret and Outer Coronation or more loosely as sacred and public coronation).

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In order to reach the most vulnerable people in the shortest time, the Office of the Gyalpoi Zimpon (OGZ) has been taking kidu to the people instead of people in need traveling to Thimphu to seek an audience(with His Majesty).

“The poorest of the poor will never be able to make it to Thimphu to seek kidu; these people cannot even make it to the dzongkhag offices from the villages for many reasons. And even if they make the effort to walk the distance, the main obstacle is their lack of financial resources and the knowledge of bureaucratic procedures,” said Zimpon Wogma Yeshey Lhendup.

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The coronation ceremony of His Majesty the King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be held at the Tashichhodzong on the 8th Day of the 9th Bhutanese month of the Earth Male Rat year corresponding to November 6, 2008.

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