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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002053 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Social practices, rituals, festive events Address Tsirang is located in the southwestern part of Bhutan on the Wangdue-Gelephu highway. Tsirang is noted for its gentle slopes and mild climates. It is the main district where the Lhotshampas (Nepali-speaking Bhutanese) reside. The dominant language in Tsirang is Lhotshamkha, spoken by the heterogeneous Lhotshampa. The Dzongkhag consists of twelve gewogs. Semjong is one of the gewogs under the Dzongkhag which consist of five chiwogs. The settlements in Semjong gewog are mostly a Lhotshampa and few new settlements. With the development in the country, the gewog is connected with 20 kilometers of blacktop road, farm roads are paved across every chiwog and village. The people of Semjong are dependent on agricultural work and some do livestock production. The people mostly believe in spiritual well-being and practice the traditional therapy called Jhakri. There are said to have many Jhakris’ in Semjong gewog but most of them migrated to other places which they are not known. Besides personal illness or matters affecting the community, villages visit the Dhamis’ for advice in the events of natural calamities, unexpected death of persons, and domestic animals.Year of Designation 2022
| Description | Jhakri or Dhami is a local name for the person who does the traditional ritual to cure the patient. During ancient times, in the absence of medical science, people used to treat the patient through traditional therapy by performing a ritual known as Chhimta, Jhakri. The history of becoming a Jhakri is related to the story of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati. Goddess Sati took birth on earth as the daughter of King Himavat and Queen Mena. Narad Muni, (a storyteller who carries news and enlightening wisdom) came to look at the baby and declared she is destined to marry Shiva. While growing up, she would lose herself thinking about Lord Shiva. So when Parvati was of marriageable age, she went to the Himalayas to perform penance and appease Lord Shiva and marry him. Lord Shiva was impressed by her devotion and knew about her desire, and he married her. After living together for years, one day Lord Shiva was seriously ill and couldn't be cured for so long. Gradually Lord Shiva came to know that the main cause was because of Parvati. She is believed to be witchcraft (Sondray in Dzongkha and Bogshi in Lhotshamkha). Then Lord Shiva shared with his in-law. His in-law conveyed the idea that her soul/mind will become cleansed if the witchcraft gets out of her soul. The situation was unfathomable to solve, in the course of time Lord Shiva and his in-law tried with an idea to cease the witchcraft of Parvati. One day Parvati was stirring over something out of her attention. Suddenly, his in-law shouted in front of her and said PHAAT!!! Perceptibly, she was horrified by sound and her witchcraft dissipated. So it is said that the evolution of Jhakri started from that moment. So this story was shared by most of the interviewees. Moreover, it has another continuous story to be shared as per Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan, a senior citizen of Dzomling chiwog. Once there came a person called Jangali (another name for Jhakri) to meet Lord Shiva who was seriously ill for so long. So Jangali sat to the right of Lord Shiva and Parvati to the left. Jangali came with the Tiger grass (Botanical name: Thysanolaena latifolia) to treat Shiva by using the leaves. The treatment was akin to showing the magic. Jangali swallowed that leaf in his mouth and showed it from his bottom. Then Parvati was asked to swallow the tiger grass leaf. As she swallowed the leaf, it stuck halfway down her throat, and was finding it difficult to swallow completely. Then the Jangali asked her to cough out the leaf with full force. When Parvati coughed out with full force the leaf came out and along with it witched. As a result, the leaf left a mark on Parvati’s teeth. So this is a story regarding the evolution of Jhakri. To become a Jhakri is not the core profession of a person who can endure or learn it. Rather it's the prophecy given by Lord Shiva who has the virtue to treat people whenever they are sick. When a person who is destined to be a Jhakri, is born with the wisdom of Jhakri, he usually suffers from various illnesses at a young age. The symptoms include frequent stomach ache, headache, dizziness, back pain, and shivering body which cannot be controlled. In a few cases, the person destined to be a Jhakri even has hallucinations. They will not know the causes yet the illness continues for three to four years. According to Mr. Manbir Khadal, 65-year-old Jhakri said that if a person is destined to be a Jhakri, he behaves very strangely even when in the mother’s womb. He also added that Manbir’s mother had experienced extensive fetal movement and unusual shivering from the premature baby. The divination of a Jhakri will be only born to the person who stays clean, mentally pure, and physically healthy. It sometimes can be related to a person reincarnated as a great lama or Truelku in Buddhism since Jhakri will also be able to predict the past life of a person. Mr. Manbir Khadal also says that with time Jhakri is rarely born. “The current Jhakris’ are all born before 1990. Some of them already immigrated to other countries after the 1990s problem in southern Bhutan”. Locals shared the importance of having Dhami in their locality because if the patient is sick for a long duration, they get other ways of treating when hospital medicine does not cure them. So, the practice of the Jhakri ritual is still believed and endured by the people across the country as per Deo Maya, the wife of Dhami Manbir Khadal. She says that if a person is suffering from dizziness, and back pain when they are grieved by the local deities/divinity, and if the illness is caused by the evil spirits, they instantly come to visit her husband to do the ritual. Mr. Manbir Khadal had been living in his current village, that is lower Dzomling, for his entire life and his parents too. After he was recognized as a Jhakri, he treated countless patients from different parts of our country. From this we can conclude that the people balance their beliefs in both medical science and spiritual therapy. He said, “A few weeks ago, a quadriplegia (paralyzed from the waist down) girl with her family came to do the Jhakri ritual at my house. When she was coming down towards my house, her guardian was carrying her on his back. After doing the Jhakri ritual, she was alright and able to walk without support.” which means we can say that people still believe in the traditional healing therapy practice in this modern world. |
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| Social and cultural significance | As per Manbir Khadal Chhetri, there is a type of subdivision or a different specialist in Jhakri . Which they called a department. The types and different kinds of Jhakri will have their values and morals. Individual Jhakri will have their department so the following two departments are the Jhakri that are in Semjong gewog. 1. Kool department. A Kool specialist does the offering to local deities and a celestial being. They do the offering every year so that the whole village can have a prosperous life, evade natural calamities, have seasonal rain for the cultivation of rice, and have a fruitful farm product. Before Kool Dhami treat the patient, they usually locate the particular place of the spirit living and they call it Devi or Dewta- Deities of that location (basically a tree in a particular place) from that, they do the offering and necessary ritual. Another way of treating the patient is by purging the evil spirit from their mind. Mr. Manbir Khadal is under the kool department and if the person is suffering from dizziness caused by the evil spirit, they come for him to do the Jhakri ritual. 2. Jangali department A Jangali specialist can treat a person who is suffering from a disease such as epilepsy, back pain, headache, stomach ache, rabies, scabies, and asthma. If they are unsure about the diseases, they directly send the patient to the hospital to do the science therapy. Jhakris also shared that if the Jangalis soul gets into the patient's soul, they show 64 different types of symptoms. In this case, Dhami can easily treat them. Mr. Monu Dhal Bhandari is part Jangali specialist. A person who suffers from the above-mentioned diseases comes to him for treatment. He clarified that they tried to treat every patient equally but if they came across diseases such as cancer and kidney-related diseases, he directly sent them to the hospital to do science therapy. Moreover, Dhami can handily identify the medicinal plants because they already had an idea after oodles dream about going to the mountain and near the riverside. For example, if a person is bitten by a snake and comes for treatment, Jangali directly beseeches Lord Shiva, which gets the illusion about the plants and treats them. Usually, the elderly people still practice the caste differentiation in their locality but in the case of treating the patient, Dhami does not go with it and considers everyone the same. Therefore, there is no caste differentiation in a person born as a Dhami and all they need to consider is their age and experiences. Eventually, the guru of Dhami can be anyone with a different caste. |
| Transmission method | The transmission of the skills of a Jhakri is not like the hierarchy of the family; however it deals with the person’s divination given by Lord Shiva. As per Mr. Manbir Khadal, when a person is recognized as a Jhakri, he is restricted to do things according to his will. They need to deal with their Guru, who will be teaching the mantras and hymns to be the perfect Jhakri. This means that the one who is learning about Jhakri will be a student known as Chela and the one who transmits guidelines will be the teacher called Guru. They need to study, including memorizing so many mantras and numerous viva to pass. The teacher will only explore the surface level to their student whereas the depth will be learned from Lord Shiva which they repeatedly see in their dreams. He also added that another reason for teaching only half could be that when the teacher teaches everything to their student, there will be a chance of killing each other if a dispute arises between them. If the teacher is of a different language speaker, he teaches the meaning by translating but the mantras remain the same. They do countless tests and investigations of their specialist (type of Jhakri, department). Although the mantras are all in Lhotshamkha language, they tried to commit to memory until they became skilled. Dhami Manbir Khadal said that his guru was a Tamang (different caste and speaks different languages) and he had been learning all the mantras and hymns from his guru by translating. Then he also did numerous tests and viva to be the expert Jhakri. After Jhakri become the expert or skilled, they eventually become the teacher among Jhakris. Where so the young and new Jhakris would come to them as a student-chela. Dhami Manbir Khadal had taught 15 students. He said that most of his students had migrated to other countries due to the 1990s problem in southern Bhutan. Whereas Dhami Monu Dhal Bhandari had taught to only one student who is currently at Thimphu. According to Mr. Monu Dhal Bhandari, he said that Dhami or Jhakri will be born in this modern world because of the virtue of Lord Shiva. But people may or may not believe and they will certainly take the child to the hospital if the sign arouses. And the parent will only depend upon the hospital medication due to scientific knowledge. So if the child is not able to be recognized as a Dhami, he or she may suffer from many illnesses in their life. It is because, once Dhami is born, it will remain in the soul for life long until he/she is dead. |
| Community | The practice of Jhakri is not evanesced from the current situation. Even now, people with spiritual problems or body pain visit for healing or treatment when the doctors cannot heal them. One of the interviewees said that there are usually two types of diseases. One can be treated with medical science and another cannot be treated with medical science. The one that cannot be treated with medical science will have to follow the Jhakri ritual and do the necessary treatment. Since it is an indigenous tradition, people still believe in traditional therapy and come to visit Jhakri for treating the patient. People from Dagana, Samtse, Chukha, Burichu, Tsholingkhar, Sergithang, Mandrel Gang, Tsirangtoe, and other places come to Jhakri for the treatment. Mr. Manbir Khadal shared that he does not go to the patient's house to do the Jhakri but people come to his house to do the ritual and they go back. He only goes to the nearby places since he does the farm work as a living. Mr. Monu Dhal Bhandari, a 62 years old Dhami from Trashiling Maed shared that he had been treating the patients who are from the same gewog. He had been living below his current home with his parents for around 40 years and they are the indigenous citizens of Semjong gewog. Later, Monu Dhal Bhandari settled in the current home after dividing their land among siblings and because of marriage. Data collected by: Ms. Jigme Wangmo, Teacher, Semjong Primary School, Tsirang |
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/Materials related to
Photos
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PI00006795
Pawo/Jhakri (Shaman)
Jhakri or Dhami is a local name for the person who does the traditional ritual to cure the patient. During ancient times, in the absence of medical science, people used to treat the patient through traditional therapy by performing a ritual known as Chhimta, Jhakri or sometimes Jakri in Lhotshamkha (Southern Bhutanese language) in Bhutan.
Bhutan 2012 -
PI00006856
Pawo/Jhakri (Shaman)
Jhakri or Dhami is a local name for the person who does the traditional ritual to cure the patient. During ancient times, in the absence of medical science, people used to treat the patient through traditional therapy by performing a ritual known as Chhimta, Jhakri. The history of becoming a Jhakri is related to the story of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati. Goddess Sati took birth on earth as the daughter of King Himavat and Queen Mena. Narad Muni, (a storyteller who carries news and enlightening wisdom) came to look at the baby and declared she is destined to marry Shiva. While growing up, she would lose herself thinking about Lord Shiva. So when Parvati was of marriageable age, she went to the Himalayas to perform penance and appease Lord Shiva and marry him. Lord Shiva was impressed by her devotion and knew about her desire, and he married her. After living together for years, one day Lord Shiva was seriously ill and couldn't be cured for so long. Gradually Lord Shiva came to know that the main cause was because of Parvati. She is believed to be witchcraft (Sondray in Dzongkha and Bogshi in Lhotshamkha). Then Lord Shiva shared with his in-law. His in-law conveyed the idea that her soul/mind will become cleansed if the witchcraft gets out of her soul. The situation was unfathomable to solve, in the course of time Lord Shiva and his in-law tried with an idea to cease the witchcraft of Parvati. One day Parvati was stirring over something out of her attention. Suddenly, his in-law shouted in front of her and said PHAAT!!! Perceptibly, she was horrified by sound and her witchcraft dissipated. So it is said that the evolution of Jhakri started from that moment. So this story was shared by most of the interviewees. Moreover, it has another continuous story to be shared as per Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan, a senior citizen of Dzomling chiwog. Once there came a person called Jangali (another name for Jhakri) to meet Lord Shiva who was seriously ill for so long. So Jangali sat to the right of Lord Shiva and Parvati to the left. Jangali came with the Tiger grass (Botanical name: Thysanolaena latifolia) to treat Shiva by using the leaves. The treatment was akin to showing the magic. Jangali swallowed that leaf in his mouth and showed it from his bottom. Then Parvati was asked to swallow the tiger grass leaf. As she swallowed the leaf, it stuck halfway down her throat, and was finding it difficult to swallow completely. Then the Jangali asked her to cough out the leaf with full force. When Parvati coughed out with full force the leaf came out and along with it witched. As a result, the leaf left a mark on Parvati’s teeth. So this is a story regarding the evolution of Jhakri. To become a Jhakri is not the core profession of a person who can endure or learn it. Rather it's the prophecy given by Lord Shiva who has the virtue to treat people whenever they are sick. When a person who is destined to be a Jhakri, is born with the wisdom of Jhakri, he usually suffers from various illnesses at a young age. The symptoms include frequent stomach ache, headache, dizziness, back pain, and shivering body which cannot be controlled. In a few cases, the person destined to be a Jhakri even has hallucinations. They will not know the causes yet the illness continues for three to four years. According to Mr. Manbir Khadal, 65-year-old Jhakri said that if a person is destined to be a Jhakri, he behaves very strangely even when in the mother’s womb. He also added that Manbir’s mother had experienced extensive fetal movement and unusual shivering from the premature baby. The divination of a Jhakri will be only born to the person who stays clean, mentally pure, and physically healthy. It sometimes can be related to a person reincarnated as a great lama or Truelku in Buddhism since Jhakri will also be able to predict the past life of a person. Mr. Manbir Khadal also says that with time Jhakri is rarely born. “The current Jhakris’ are all born before 1990. Some of them already immigrated to other countries after the 1990s problem in southern Bhutan”. Locals shared the importance of having Dhami in their locality because if the patient is sick for a long duration, they get other ways of treating when hospital medicine does not cure them. So, the practice of the Jhakri ritual is still believed and endured by the people across the country as per Deo Maya, the wife of Dhami Manbir Khadal. She says that if a person is suffering from dizziness, and back pain when they are grieved by the local deities/divinity, and if the illness is caused by the evil spirits, they instantly come to visit her husband to do the ritual. Mr. Manbir Khadal had been living in his current village, that is lower Dzomling, for his entire life and his parents too. After he was recognized as a Jhakri, he treated countless patients from different parts of our country. From this we can conclude that the people balance their beliefs in both medical science and spiritual therapy. He said, “A few weeks ago, a quadriplegia (paralyzed from the waist down) girl with her family came to do the Jhakri ritual at my house. When she was coming down towards my house, her guardian was carrying her on his back. After doing the Jhakri ritual, she was alright and able to walk without support.” which means we can say that people still believe in the traditional healing therapy practice in this modern world.
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