| Description |
The festival commonly known as Prew is celebrated in the Kurtoe region under Lhuentse Dzongkhag. Originally it was called Treu-choed, or “Monkey Month Offering,” but later became popularly known as Prew. The name Treu is derived from the year of birth of Guru Rinpoche (Skt. Padmasambhava), as he was born in the year of the monkey in the eighth century. The word Choed means "offering."
The Prew festival of Kurtoe is associated with Guru Rinpoche, he visited Jasabe village via the hidden land of Baeyul Khenpajong and gave his blessings to the locals. Since then, they have been celebrating this festival out of gratitude to him for the blessings he gave them and their whole community. They also believe that Prew is a festival to honor Guru Rinpoche’s birthday. This festival is celebrated in almost all Gewog village blocks of Lhuentse Dzongkhag or district.
The community of Ney celebrates its local festival every year on the 10th day of the fourth lunar month according to the Bhutanese calendar. The festival takes place in the local Lhakhang, temple, in the center of the community, as well as in each individual house. The men often play games such as archery, while the women have a picnic.
Prew is similarly celebrated in Jasabe Chiwog at Tergang Lhakhang. On the 9th day of the fourth lunar month of the Bhutanese calendar, people gather at the Lhakhang to perform a ritual and make offerings. The next day, the 10th day of the fourth lunar month, they return to their village with Norjan chants, and spend a day singing and dancing in their village.
The festival in part indicates the arrival of the agricultural season. Villagers offer prayers and sacrifices for good health and a good harvest without pest infestations and natural disasters.
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| Social and cultural significance |
According to the community elders, red colored egg symbolizes the red scarfs of Guru Rinpoche. The Prew festival is a special occasion for practitioners and believers to remember Guru Rinpoche on his birthday and the inner values of nonviolence, compassion, and wisdom.
Coming together to observe rituals and make offerings as a family and community are the pride and joy of the village, such occasions bring peace and happiness. Everyone contributes in some form to the celebration. If the village could not make an offering it would lead to misfortune, epidemics, and unfavorable circumstances that would affect people, crops, and livestock. The community agrees that celebrating Prew is a community responsibility, as it contributes to health and prosperity and preserves community cohesion and identity.
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| Transmission method |
The ritual holds that on this day Guru Padmasambhava descends along the sun suns to visit and bless sentient beings on earth, visiting all the houses. Therefore, the men gather blooming flowers from the forest to offer to him, and the women sweep every corner of the houses. The most important events of the day are celebrated in the Lhakhang, temple, by performing rituals and offering Tshok feast offering with speacial red-colored eggs dyed from madder, rubai cordifolia, locally known as Tshuth. When the time nears, villagers select one to commission monks and the village lama to perform the ritual. Usually lay monks and Gomchen perform necessary rituals under the guidance of a lama.
The preparation for the festival begins on the 9th day of fourth lunar month. One individual from every household gathers at Lhakhang kitchen to contribute rice, vegetable, fruits, alcohol, and other necessary items. Everyone has duties to clean or prepare food for the lama and Chhops lay monks. The lams and chops start making Torma ritual cakes, after serving breakfast. The families at home collect madder plant, flowers, and fruits from forest. First, they wash the madder plant and start beating in Tshom, a wooden mortar and pestle, until it turns a rich red. At night they boil eggs wrapped with madder plant in a large pot. On that day everyone is excited and busily involved in preparations.
Early morning of 10th day of fourth lunar month, before gathering at the Lhakhang they begin with decorating their home and shrines with flower. They make water, foods and smokes offering at individual alter. They also clean and offers Tshok at Lubum, the abodes of Naga spirits. Moreover, custom dictates any visiting guests are also given red eggs. After that they gather at the Lhakhang to conduct ritual, while men gather to play archery. Archery tournaments begin with Marchang wine offering ceremony. The day at temple starts with serving tea and breakfast to Lama and Chhops and everyone present. The ritual begins with Lhabsang and sang incense offering. The ritual prayers include Tashi reykong, Tsepamey, Choe-suung ( the three Terdag, Neypo, and Pholha), and Sendhep.
Prew festival is mainly to offer Tshok and butter lamps for the benefits of all sentient beings. After a break, they collect red eggs from homes to offer in a grand Tshok food offering, and some start preparations for Tshok while other prepare for lunch. Guests and other villagers sit through the day sipping Suja butter tea, drinking Ara, watching archery, and catching up on the gossip. Older people spent a day by chanting Mani and Baza Guru mantras at the Lhakhang altar. Everyone present during the day was served with meals including those who are playing archery.
The ritual ends with the Tashi Monlam and serving dinner to lama and Chhops. During Tashi Monlam everyone gathers at alter to pray for good health, and prosperity of the community and for benefits of all sentient beings. The day ends with thanking lama and Chhops and they serve food and Ara heated with butter and egg to all the people who are gathered there.
Previously, after dinner a few traditional dances were performed in front of lama and altar and then it’s carried on outside temple with a campfire till the wee hours of the morning. Today, the traditions of dancing are less common. Everyone heads towards their home after dinner. Nevertheless, they are celebrating their unique festivals and rituals every year without any problem and it is important to protect and preserve such a unique culture.
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| Community |
Even oral tradition does not suggest precisely when and how the village was settled. Rinpoche. Once, while he was blessing the sacred places of Rinchen Bumpa, the precious jeweled vase at Kurtoe, he rested on a rock at Utse and saw a village which he named “Ney Pemachoeling.” Due to the blessing of Guru Rinpoche, the village continues to reap all the Dru Na Ghu nine cereals to this day.
The village is also blessed with an old temple, Ney Lhakhang, which Tibetan saint Lama Namkha built with the help of villagers in 1485. Another account of the temple holds that it was built by Lama Zhang. Lama Zhang had promised Terton Pema Lingpa that he would build 108 Lhakhangs, and one was in Ney. The main statue of the temple is a Buddha Dordhenma, and the architecture is unique as all the doors of all Lhakhang he built face south.
In 2017, Ney Chiwog had 325 inhabitants: 132 are men and 183 women (cite). The community speaks Kurtoep as their mother tongue. Since the start of Zhisar, rehabilitation project, a mixed language is spoken. On November 1, 2015, the village rehabilitation project in Ney was inaugurated on the occasion of the 60th birthday of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo. On behalf of His Majesty the King, His Highness the Gyaltshab, regent, attended the inauguration in Ney village. A total of 51 households from remote and distant villages in eight gewogs of Lhuentse district were renovated in Ney Chiwog sub block under the project.
Data collected by: Mr. Yeshi Gyeltshen, a graduate from Gedu College of Business Studies, Chhukha. |
