Bhutanese History: Pre-historic Period

Introduction to Bhutanese History

• Studying Bhutan's human and natural changes, cultural connections, and ideologies is important.
• Past events offer guidance for the present and future.
• Focus is given to the period before the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century, which is viewed as the start of Bhutanese history.
• The construction of Jampa Lhakhang and Kyichu Lhakhang during the reign of Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo (c. 605-50) marked Buddhism's arrival in Bhutan.
• Historians refer to this era as the 'Early Diffusion' or 'Early History' of Bhutan.

Pre-historic Period of Bhutan

• The time before written records is known as the 'Pre-historic Period'.
• This period tells the story of early hunter-gatherers through a range of human activities.
• The pre-historic period is understood through material and oral culture.
• Material culture includes human-created artifacts and features while oral culture involves myths, narratives, folk songs, stories, and ballads.
• Studying both cultures helps in understanding and connecting to the past.
• Material culture includes physical artifacts and resources that define culture and examining material remains helps understand socio-economic conditions.
• Artifacts are grouped into ‘periods’ and ‘cultures' such as the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age, which are based majorly on the materials used to make artifacts.
• Terms like Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age) were initially used to describe periods and later used to represent cultures from prehistoric times.

Artefacts and Monoliths

• Discovery of artifacts and monoliths offers clues about Bhutan's pre-historic period.
• Ancient artifacts and monoliths, such as namchag (stone adzes) and doring (megalith), indicate Stone Age civilization.
• Bhutanese people have a tradition of collecting ancient artifacts in altar rooms and lhakhangs, and often are able to find namcha tari which are fossilised stone adzes.
• The megalith of Nabji Lhakhang in Trongsa Dzongkhag stands out with it's unique story where oral stories suggest an additional use to such megaliths.
• The pillar at Nabji Lhakhang was erected to mark the peace oath between two warring kings in the eighth century by Guru Padmasambhava and lacks any legible inscriptions.
• There are challenges in determining the reasons behind the erection and evolution of monolith functions.
• Namcha tari is regarded by the Bhutanese as a stone iron axe and believed to be a weapon of Lha(gods) and Lhamin(demi-gods), which had accidentally fallen from the sky during their battle.
• Stone adzes are treasured as yang (essence of wealth) and passed down as heirlooms after falling to earth, and are sometimes discovered by farmers.
• A stone adze was classified as a 'late Stone Age' artifact dating back to 2000-1500 BC after a study in the 1970s by Gale Sieveking.
• Similar stone tools can be found in South Asian regions - Thailand, Myanmar, Yunnan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and parts of India.
• Megaliths are found across Bhutan, including Bumthang Dzongkhag, where one is located at Kenchosum Lhakhang monastery complex, another in Sumthrang Lhakhang and another lies between Ura and Tang
• Megaliths are believed to have marked political and ritual boundaries and are considered self-arisen (Do Namkhai Kaw) or cosmic stone steps (Do Kelpai Genthey) in Dagana Dzongkhag.
• Bhutanese megaliths do not have visible inscriptions, unlike Ashoka's pillar in India.

Man-Made Features and Settlements

• Mounds, cliff and cave settlements, and architectural ruins are fascinating man-made parts of the landscape.
• In Lhuntse Dzongkhag, Umling Bangtsho contains a nine-story underground castle built by Bangtsho Gyalpo.
• Bangtsho Gyalpo built the castle to hide from internal and external threats after his exile from Tibet.
• Long, skillfully carved stone domed roofs and large stone slab beds make it unique to ancient and modern architecture.
• Northern Bhutan had precarious cliff and cave settlements and ruins of dzong, monasteries,limestone caves, and cave settlements near Lingzhi from Thimpu.
• A cliff settlement called Pagoe Sham can be found in the upper Thimpu valley, on a vertical cliff with a ledge that is 2 metres wide and 60 metres from the ground. It is easily missed by passers-by.
• Humans make artifacts and features relevant with stories, such as lithic tools, fossils, caves, rock art, and ancient ruins.
• Bhutanese landscape features tell about tool-making, boundary marking, fighting, the building of burial and ceremonial mounds, home construction and artistic expressions on rocks.

Nabji Lhakhang and Oral Culture

• Nabji Lhakhang's name comes from 'náboed' which means 'taking an oath'.
• King Sindhu Raja and King Nawoche took an oath of non-violence in front of Guru Padmasambhava back in ancient times.
• A monolith with handprints of the kings and Guru was put up where the present temple is, and is now known as nado (stone of oath).
• Oral culture passes down knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material through speech or song from one generation to another in the form of folktales, ballads, chants, prose and verses.
• Bhutanese have always been great storytellers which gives us insight into our ancestors and environments that they lived in.
• Bhutan has rich oral histories with folklores, belief narratives, songs, ballads and origin myths.
• Oral cultures are important in places like Bhutan, which has had consistent experiences without disruptions from colonisation, wars, or natural disasters, thus leading to continuity in many additions or omissions.
• Bhutanese people have a strong sense of belonging and connection to their land, thus oral stories are important for preserving cultural identity and history.
• The stories connect generations and pass down lessons, historical events and values with the story of Prince Drimed Kunden giving rise to some place names in Trongsa and reflecting cherished values like kindness and selflessness.

Prince Drimed Kunden

• Prince Drimed Kunden (Vesantra) travelled with his wife and two children across the Jowo Durshing range (also known as Ri-Nag/Black Mountains) after his exile to the wild mountains located in northern Bhutan.
• The prince gave one of his eyes as alms to a blind, old man in present day Changra causing it to be known originally as Chenrey(Clear Vision) thus showing compassion and generosity.
• The family gave away children upon reaching present day Bubja, causing it to be known earlier as Bu Drel (separated from children).
• Drimed Kunden and his wife continued their journey to Duri Hashang, a location that is near the source of the Mangde Chu river.

Historical Narratives

• A Bhutanese monk named Tonpa served as a royal preceptor in the 5th century CE in the palace of Pragjyotisa, Kamrup(present-day Assam).
• Tonpa accompanied Princess Amrtaprabha of Kamrup to Kashmir after her marriage.
• Princess Amrtaprabha then built stupa and named it Lhotoenpa which could mean Bhutan received initiation into Buddhism much earlier than Tibet.