ALL
lhop communities
ICH Elements 5
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Death Ritual of Lhop Communities
Death is often considered as a great loss but not more than the fear incurred from the unnatural deaths; such as accidents from falling off a tree or death caused due to an encounter with wild animals as they strongly believe that death has been caused from dishonoring the deities or by evil spirits or by bad spells from somebody. They conduct very elaborate ceremonies to appease the spirit of the deceased and deities, especially the deceased with food and drinks so as to prevent misfortune to the surviving people. Lhops believe in the dual existence; that when death occurs, the soul, Se-hok, leaves the body and dwells in the emptiness for certain period and later joins the world of Sim-pu (death).
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Talang: Ox Sacrifice Ritual
Talang or the ox sacrifice ritual is one of the three main rituals performed by Lhops community; each of which includes an animal sacrifice. Tseney is an annual festival where each Lhop family sacrifices a rooster, while the Tenlha Soel ritual involves the sacrifice of a pig. Talang ritual is derived from the name of the deity of the Laskey clan that sacrifices an ox. Although Lhops are Buddhist by nature, the Lhops continue to practice many pre-Buddhist rituals which includes an animal sacrifice with no taboo attached to it for the slaughter of animals, hence everyone readily volunteers for the ritual. The ritual is conducted on any day preceding the 19th day, since, after the 20th day; it indicates the close ending of a month, which is seen as the end of the life of the month, and thereby considering it as inauspicious days. It is conducted once every nine years, since this ritual has had huge financial implication on a household. The ritual is conducted in an individual’s family home with an elder member of the family, generally a man, with support and help from other community members. This ritual does not require any monk or a pandit or any other specialist to conduct this ritual. Usually the ritual is performed by the Laskey clan household.
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Gaada: Dress of Lhop Community
One can easily identify a Lhop in a crowd by his or her unique clothing. They have a distinct clothing culture that marks the physical identity of their ethnic group community. The origin or tradition of the clothing is still unknown, but the elders of the Lhop community believe that it has been passed down from generation to generation. In the past, the Lhop wore clothing made from the fibers of the nettle plant, which grows on the foothills of mountains 500 to 1000 meters above sea level and is called Yadzin. With the planting of cotton in the Lhop community, the nettle fiber was abandoned. Nowadays, the traditional clothing of the Lhops is quickly being replaced by the national clothing Gho and Kira. The Lhops have their own traditional dress called Gaada. It is a simple, without pattern, white, coarse cotton cloth about 3 x 2 meters in size. Both men and women wear simple, without pattern, white cotton clothing. Lhop dress Gaada is a white piece of coarse cloth about 3 x 2 meters in size. Lhop men and women wear Ra-hem and Gui-hem, respectively, which are made of Pas-jin (cotton). Ra-hem Ra-hem is a simple, plain white garment that is folded over from the back, crossed over the chest, and knotted at the neck. The cloth is tied around the waist with a belt called Pa-dzin. The edges are tied together at the center fold point using a bamboo spindle called a rim. The cloth is pulled up above knee length and tied tightly. The loose cloth forms a large pouch in the front part of the body, which can hold many things. Gui-hem Women put on their clothes in the same way, but the cloth covers their body from the shoulder to mid-calf, leaving a smaller pouch on the front along the torso. In their traditional dress, they do not need carrying bags. Gui-hem was always like any other Kira worn by most Bhutanese women, except that it was made of cotton. They tie the edge of their cloth over their shoulder with a brooch made of bamboo called a lung. On important occasions, women wear jewelry. Both men and women wear Pun-gop (tego or shirt) over their shoulders. The Lhops use very few garments at home. Currently, they do not weave or knit their own clothes. Wear and tear on their clothes are crudely repaired or sewn with the help of native bamboo needles, selvages, and threads (Jin) made from plant fibers. Steel needles and mill threads from commerce are rapidly displacing selvages and Jin. Lhops no longer wear their traditional clothing regularly, but they still wear it at Lhop dances.
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Birth Ceremony of Lhop Communities
Beyond the daily harmonic life of the Lhop’s society, there lies an undisputed belief and idea on birth and death. Lhops have their own ways of interpreting the physiological and morphological processes of birth, growth, aging and death as it unfolds to them. As the child grows, she or he crosses different stages with status and roles and responsibilities in the community. They get educated in life skills and rituals of life. Their departure or separation is also honored with elaborate rituals. It is considered as a taboo for Lhops to accept a child from a female who has no approved partner in the community or outside mates from the community. Ideally, it is the cross-cousins only who can give birth to a legitimate child in the society, though marriages between different clans are now accepted. However, marrying out of the community continues to be strongly discouraged. From the moment cross-cousins partners are born in the family, their marital and issues are thereon legitimate in the community, and so is their new born child. Lhops has well and predetermined destined relationships when it comes to the copulation between male and female. Lhops believe that the copulation between male and female produces a child in which male contributes bone and female contributes flesh, but it does not mean that any male can impregnate a female, and be the father or husband of someone else. Cross cousins are referred to as Lhir-ra and Lhi-met, laterally meaning male and female seedling (Lhi- seedling, met- female, ra-male). They believe that the human body as a combination of flesh (sa) and bone (ruish).They believe that the male is like that of a seed (lhi) and rain (wai), while the female is like that of land or soil (boh) that holds the seed and rain water together to allow germination and growth, so as in the combination of bone from a male, and flesh from the female, that give rise to an individual. Cross cousins undergo an educational process of identifying their mates and their families. They slowly start to develop a mindset and behavior towards their growing age and body. Once they reach a mature age, they are encouraged to execute the marital rules and take up roles in the community. Male partners take residence in the wife’s households, and it is a matter of pride for the female to conceive and have him in her house.
Bhutan