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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002098 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Traditional craft skills Address Located in the easternmost part of Bhutan, Trashi Yangtse was established as a distinct district in 1992 and spans 1,437 sq. km of subtropical, temperate, and alpine forests. At an elevation of 500 m to over 5000 m, the district shares its border with Trashigang and Monggar in the south, Lhuentse in the west. It has a population of 16, 831 with 8, 397 males and 8,363 females as per the Dzongkhag census record (2021). Trashi Yangtse is also home to one of the country's most important protected areas, Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, and spiritual monuments such as Chorten Kora Stupa, Gomphu Kora, and Pema Ling. Moreover, the district is an ethnically and culturally diverse district, and the inhabitants include Yangtseps, Tshanglas, Bramis from Tawang, Khengpas from Zhemgang, and Kurtoeps from Lhuentse. Trashi Yangtse district takes deep pride in its traditionally upheld practices of several traditional arts and crafts among which much of the social, religious, political, and economic lives of the native population revolve around the traditionally prevalent practice of Woodturning. Over the last century, the people of the region (the gewogs of Bumdeling and Yangtse) have developed incredible skills in woodworking and papermaking. The items they produce, such as traditional wooden bowls (Dhapa), cups, and containers are prized throughout the country and are the major source of income for the people of Yangtse Gewog in particular. With the establishment of the Institute of Zorig Chusum (Thirteen Traditional Art and Crafts) in Trashi Yangtse in 1997, both professional and non-professional ways of producing Dapa were being practised. The Institute was established by the then National Technical Training Authority (NTTA) as the first step toward realizing the national goal of preserving and promoting thirteen traditional arts and crafts in contemporary Bhutanese society. The Institute plays an important role in the preservation and promotion of Bhutanese Dapa making culture. The institute provides training in ten different trades such as painting (Lhadri), wood carving (Patra), sculpturing (Jinzo), silver and goldsmithing (Trezo), woodturning (Shagzo), traditional mask making (Bapzo), traditional boot making (Dra-lham), tailoring (Tshemzo), embroidery (Tshemdru) and machine embroidery (Tshemdru). The art of Dapa making culture has declined over the years, but the establishment of a cooperative clustered marketing centre by Shagzo Tshogpa in Yangtse town, which was built by the Agency for Promotion of Indigenous Crafts, also known as APIC, has boosted Dhapa making culture in Trashiyangtse as the only marketing center in promoting and preserving the woodturning art of making Dhapa through market business. With its wealth of natural, historical, and cultural resources, Trashi Yangtse offers to be an exciting destination for all sorts of visitors.Year of Designation 1971
| Description | Wood turned utensils and dishes were present in Bhutan since ancient times. Communities from different parts of Bhutan have a similar type of craft as cups and plates are necessary for all household meals. However, the labour-intensive wood turned lacquer wares from Yangtse earned a considerable reputation in the kingdom. About a century-old traditional woodturning art (Shag-zo) in Yangtse is still a vibrant and popular means of family business and occupation. The present young artisans in Yangtse who are in their 20s and early 30s are the fifth-generation descendants of Lobazang from Kham in Tibet. Like other crafts of Bhutan, Shagzo demands a long process. The extracted wood knots and burls have to be dried; soaked in water; roughly shaped (first turned); roughly turned bowls are boiled; dried again; final turned bowls are smoothened with sandpapers and dried leaves of Trema politoria (locally known as Sog sogpa-shing). After colouring them yellow or red, it becomes ready for the next step – lacquering. Lacquering is another time-consuming process. Traditionally, lacquerers mostly use an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia derived primarily from toxic wax trees known as Sey Shing in Yangtse. These wooden bowls are an integral part of both the Bhutanese and Tibetan lifestyles and this explains the high demand for these products in Tibet. In the medieval period, people from Yangtse and Bumdeling traded wooden plates (not Dhapas) and bowls (cups) to Assam (India) and Go-phors (wooden bowl with lid), Lha-phor (bowl with lid used by monks), Dra-phor (bigger than other Phobs originally used by Tibetan Drapas), and Bay-phor (used by Tibetans, and has a deeper interior than Bhutanese hobs) to people of Tibet. Other than products historically exported to Assam and Tibet, Shagzopas make varieties of wood-turned products. |
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| Social and cultural significance | Dza (burl) hunters have fascinating stories to narrate about the unusual encounters while in pursuit of rare patterned burls of trees known as Dza or Dzabshi. These rare burls are believed to be a part of Norbu Samphel (wish-fulfilling jewel) which also consists of cattle and farm animals such as horses. In the past, the number of cows and horses along with crop grains dictate the status of the wealth of a family. Shagzops or Shagzo lopens (the master woodturners), as they are referred to honorifically, believe that these special wood knots are protected by the spirits and local deities of the deep forest and mountains. So, only lucky people will find them and while extracting burls they narrate instances of experiencing some preternatural manifestation of the spirits such as hearing a human child’s cry in the middle of the night or day from deep in the jungle where there are no human inhabitants. Sometimes they encounter unceasing hailstorms, blizzards, or even earthquakes. In some rare occurrences, the Dza hunters were said to be struck by misfortune such as death and unknown sickness, believed to be caused by the wrath of malevolent spirits. One such instance is shared by Pelden Dorji: once a group of Dza hunters from Yangtse went to Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh (India) and they had unnatural tales of seeing a ball of light from these wooden burls. But later the Dza hunters learned that other people had attempted to extract the special burr without success. So, they aborted the plan fearing the life-threatening consequences believed to be caused by local spirits or deities. Some knowledgeable locals also narrate interesting stories of how Bhutanese consider dzabshi a special possession of the household. Dzabshi phob is being valued as a prized inheritance even in the present modern days. According to Bhutanese folklore, when Brahma (Tsangpa) and Vaishravana (Namtösé – who is also called Guardian King of the North) descended from the heavens to reward and give to earthlings, the human race was not lucky enough to accept the present. But little, priceless shrubs such as Khenpa shing or Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) were bestowed with special burrs or knots. Cups made from such burrs are believed to have mythical power attributed with the ability to heal those who drink from it even if it poisoned. Therefore, they are sought after by souvenir shops and wealthy families because of their rarity and associated myths of attraction of wealth. Presently, over 30 such craftsmen, who has trade license, make Dhappas in Trashi Yangtse. Due to this occupation, these craftsmen are fairly affluent and some are even well established businessmen in the town. The wooden articles are normally sold to local dealers at wholesale. These wooden bowls are an integral part of Tibetan lifestyle and this explains the high demand for these products in Tibet. Dhappa manufacturing has expanded by leaps and bounds, if anything, in tandem with the surge in demand for the items, as conventional tools such as lathes have been replaced by contemporary electric motors. This one-of-a-kind craftsmanship has been passed down for five generations, and artisans of the current fifth generation are carrying on his ancestor's trade and art with renewed zeal. For instance, a 7.5-8 inch diameter wooden bowl made from a strange and finely figured wood burr known as Dzabshi might bring enough money to buy a respectable automobile for around Nu 600,000. Thus, benefiting the economic development of the place through steady income generation and employment opportunities. |
| Transmission method | The art of woodturning is predominantly a patriarchal family business or heirloom. The skills are passed or inherited from father to son. Today, this tradition is continuing where the coming-of-age sons follow their progenitor’s footsteps. However, a substantial number of women also take an active part in the long process of the Shagzo trade. Women’s association with this male-oriented occupation is crucial. They are involved in the lacquering work of wooden articles of various designs but there was one craftswoman from Yangtse who learned the craft. Usually, the skill transmission from master to apprentice or from father to son starts in their adolescence. An aspiring Shagzopa or apprentice attempts to make small bowls, and once gaining perfect hand tool coordination, he tries to make well-shaped wooden products through coaching and guidance of a master craftsman. The seasoned Shagzopas of Yangtse say they learned the craft more from observations of their master's working process than didactic teaching. This traditional transmission of skill is still prevalent in Yangtse but since the establishment of Zorig Chusum Institute in Trashi Yangtse some three decades ago, this craft is formally taught in a didactic approach. Every year a few young students from other districts enroll themselves to learn shagzo in this institute. Pema Leythro was one such student from Zhemgang and later he took the profession of an instructor of the shagzo trade. Pema has been teaching shagzo for about 20 years in the same institute. With the supply of wood burrs depleting, established Shagzopas of Yangtse in regions hire burr hunters to deep forests of Wangdue Phograng, Chukkha, Dagana, and Haa. To minimize overharvesting of burrs, the forestry division allows each Shagzopa with a trade license to use just two matured trees each year. These burr hunters can't chop down entire trees, so they use a chainsaw to delicately remove the burrs from trunk or roots. Process of Woodturning The woodturning craft or Shagzo requires a lengthy process. The final wood-turned product is processed in 8 steps. These steps are described below: Step 1: First, the burl hunters extract the wooden burrs or burls from various trees and are chopped into pieces of discs. Step 2: Then, these chopped wooden discs are roughly shaped by using a tool called Kobtsa. This process carves the exterior and interior of the disc pieces. At the end of the second process, rough-shaped discs have been carved to have space inside like a plate. Step 3: These roughly shaped wood discs are then turned on a lathe (nowadays this is done exclusively using the modern motor running lathe). This process is called Hamrhup (meaning the fast/rough turning). The distinct shape of a product is obtained by the end of this process using the tool known as a Chagchu (a sharp-tipped metal rod). Step 4: After the fourth step, these wooden bowls or cups are soaked in the water designed for a few months. Cement-constructed tanks or rubber Sintex tanks are used for this purpose. Step 5: In this process, the wooden materials are taken out from the water and air-dried in the attic of the house/barn for three months. Air drying shrinks and hardens wooden bowls as they dry out while acclimating to a low humidity place. To prevent twisting and warping of wooden articles, they are boiled in hot water in a huge aluminum pot, then dried again. Step 6: Tsangrup or fine turning is the sixth step. This process changes the wooden bowls of step three into properly shaped bowls or cups. Smaller Chagchu tools are used to obtain finely shaped articles. The sandpapers or Sogsogpa leaves are used in this same step to smoothen the exterior and interior parts and then it is coloured using dyes. Usually, either yellow or red dye is used by the craftsmen. Step 7: The next step is extracting and filling up defects on wooden burrs. These black defects are mostly found in or on wooden burrs known as bawa dapa by Dzalakha dialect speaking Shagzops. The entire process is called chonsup. The defects are fixed using fine flour-like powders mixed with adhesives such as Fevicol and Araldite. The wood powder is collected from dry woods eaten by insects such as termites, and powder postbeetles. So, this process is lengthy like most steps. Step 8: Finally, the wooden bowls are taken to be lacquered which is another labour-intensive process and requires skilled laquerers. Traditional Kang-thrab Before the advent of the modern electric motor in Bhutan and especially in Yangtse, Shagzo requires two people, a shagzop and an apprentice known as kangyokpa to operate a treadle lathe. A treadle lathe enables a craftsman to manually operate the lathe's woodturning tool. This lathe is used to shape chopped pieces of wooden burrs or knots. A thick leather belt connects the foot pedal to a lathe. The lathe spins while the apprentice, kangyokpa, press down on the treadle pedal. However, in the present day, woodturning craftsmen exclusively prefer modern lathes that are powered by electricity due to the efficiency of modern motors and much higher production capacity. |
| Community | According to Pelden Dorji, 57, a notable woodturning craftsman in Yangtse valley, the descendants of Lobazang from Kham in Tibet are the first "traceable" origin of Shagzo in Trashi Yangtse. This hereditary occupation apparently spread from Tibet. Lobzang was estimated to be born around 1900 (while the researchers of this paper estimated him to be born before 1925). Today, seven notable Shagzopas (master woodturners) of Yangtse valley are great-grandsons of Lobzang. This story was narrated to Pelden by his mother (who passed away in 2021 at the age of 89) and to whom it was told by her father Pema Norbu. Pema Norbu passed away in 1968 at Chumdo near Baney village of Yangtse gewog. According to Pelden, Pema Norbu was a skilled craftsman in carpentry, woodturning, masonry, silversmithy, wood carving, embroidery, and other arts and crafts. He was one of the master carpenters when the present Trashiyangtse Lower Secondary School was established in 1962. This piece of information was evident in the inaugural plaque of the school. He also worked on the 1936 restoration works of Trashigang Dzong during the last Trashigangpa Sey Dopola’s administration. His father was Khampa Lobzang and his parents were from Kham (ཁམས), eastern Tibet. Lobzang later moved to the present-day Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh (India) most probably through a nuptial connection. Historical accounts have records of Tibetans of Tsona under Lhokha (ལྷོ་ཁ) the present-day Cona County of the People’s Republic of China, migrating to Mon Tawang in wintertime for several months. People from Tsona and Kham regions also have historical trade relations. Lobzang’s children were all born in Tawang but some of them later came to settle in the north of Trashiyangtse (Yangtse Gewog). During Lobzang’s time, in Tsona there were 30 men artisans from 30 households who practised the craft of woodturning (shag-zo) as a means of family livelihood. It is said that if a man wanted to learn traditional woodturning craft, first he had to call all 30 artisans and gave a grand feast to them. Then after the feasting party, he has the liberty to choose any master artisan as his teacher and not the vice-versa. So, Lobzang learned shagzo from one of them in Tsona. Much later Pema Norbu, the son of Lobzang, settled in Baney village in Yangtse gewog from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. This abandoned village is located about 3 hour walk distance from the district headquarter. Gradually, the grandsons and granddaughters of Pema Norbu resettled in and vicinity of the present Yangtse town, (Choekor). One of the sons of Pema Norbu was Lham Ngedrup, who passed away in 2007, and was also a skilled craftsman in the trade of woodturning. Today his sons and nephews are famous fourth-generation Shazopas in Yangtse. So, these craftsmen are the original descendants or practitioners of this remarkable craft of Bhutan. It was also interesting to note that at present moment (as of 2022) only one son of Pema Norbu is alive (who is the younger brother of Lham Ngedrup). He is Tshering Dendup, in his late 80s, who was a small-scale Shagzopa but is now retired and lives with his daughter in Yangtse. Pema Leythro of Zorig Chusum College in Trashi Yangtse also shares a similar narrative of the origination and evolution of Shagzo in Trashi Yangtse. Data collected by: Mr. Jigme Dorji, Teacher, Trashi Yangtse Lower Secondary School, Trashi Yangtse |
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/Materials related to
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PI00006858
Shag-zo (Wood Turning)
Wood turned utensils and dishes were present in Bhutan since ancient times. Communities from different parts of Bhutan have a similar type of craft as cups and plates are necessary for all household meals. However, the labour-intensive wood turned lacquer wares from Yangtse earned a considerable reputation in the kingdom. About a century-old traditional woodturning art (Shag-zo) in Yangtse is still a vibrant and popular means of family business and occupation. The present young artisans in Yangtse who are in their 20s and early 30s are the fifth-generation descendants of Lobazang from Kham in Tibet. Like other crafts of Bhutan, Shagzo demands a long process. The extracted wood knots and burls have to be dried; soaked in water; roughly shaped (first turned); roughly turned bowls are boiled; dried again; final turned bowls are smoothened with sandpapers and dried leaves of Trema politoria (locally known as Sog sogpa-shing). After colouring them yellow or red, it becomes ready for the next step – lacquering. Lacquering is another time-consuming process. Traditionally, lacquerers mostly use an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia derived primarily from toxic wax trees known as Sey Shing in Yangtse. These wooden bowls are an integral part of both the Bhutanese and Tibetan lifestyles and this explains the high demand for these products in Tibet. In the medieval period, people from Yangtse and Bumdeling traded wooden plates (not Dhapas) and bowls (cups) to Assam (India) and Go-phors (wooden bowl with lid), Lha-phor (bowl with lid used by monks), Dra-phor (bigger than other Phobs originally used by Tibetan Drapas), and Bay-phor (used by Tibetans, and has a deeper interior than Bhutanese hobs) to people of Tibet. Other than products historically exported to Assam and Tibet, Shagzopas make varieties of wood-turned products.
Bhutan 2021 -
PI00006857
Shag-zo (Wood Turning)
Wood turned utensils and dishes were present in Bhutan since ancient times. Communities from different parts of Bhutan have a similar type of craft as cups and plates are necessary for all household meals. However, the labour-intensive wood turned lacquer wares from Yangtse earned a considerable reputation in the kingdom. About a century-old traditional woodturning art (Shag-zo) in Yangtse is still a vibrant and popular means of family business and occupation. The present young artisans in Yangtse who are in their 20s and early 30s are the fifth-generation descendants of Lobazang from Kham in Tibet. Like other crafts of Bhutan, Shagzo demands a long process. The extracted wood knots and burls have to be dried; soaked in water; roughly shaped (first turned); roughly turned bowls are boiled; dried again; final turned bowls are smoothened with sandpapers and dried leaves of Trema politoria (locally known as Sog sogpa-shing). After colouring them yellow or red, it becomes ready for the next step – lacquering. Lacquering is another time-consuming process. Traditionally, lacquerers mostly use an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia derived primarily from toxic wax trees known as Sey Shing in Yangtse. These wooden bowls are an integral part of both the Bhutanese and Tibetan lifestyles and this explains the high demand for these products in Tibet. In the medieval period, people from Yangtse and Bumdeling traded wooden plates (not Dhapas) and bowls (cups) to Assam (India) and Go-phors (wooden bowl with lid), Lha-phor (bowl with lid used by monks), Dra-phor (bigger than other Phobs originally used by Tibetan Drapas), and Bay-phor (used by Tibetans, and has a deeper interior than Bhutanese hobs) to people of Tibet. Other than products historically exported to Assam and Tibet, Shagzopas make varieties of wood-turned products.
Bhutan 2021