Folktales of Bhutan

by Kunzang Choden

  Bhutan was opened to tourism in 1974. Although tourism brings in much needed currency, it is restricted. The lack of infrastructure and tourist facilities as well as Bhutan’s efforts to preserve her natural and cultural heritage are the main reasons for the restrictions. Individual travelers cannot visit the country unless officially invited by the government. All tourists must come to Bhutan through one of the government approved travel agencies. The guide book Bhutan the Himalayan Kingdom by Françoise Pommaret published by Passport Books is highly recommended for accurate and detailed information on the country.

  Part 1

  Folktales

  Note: International boundaries are derived from available sources and should not be taken as authoritative. This is to show only the geographical position of Bhutan.

  Mimi Heylay Heylay

  The owner of the rooster was rather astonished but this was an offer he could not refuse.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. Mimi Heylay Heylay was out in the hot sun digging in a field. Mimi Heylay Heylay or grandfather Heylay Heylay, as he was affectionately known to all the villagers, was a man of no outstanding physical stature but an impressive personality. His frail body was balanced delicately on his bowed legs with calves that bulged boldly. He could be seen at all the village gatherings stroking his goatee made up of a few strands of hair. This jolly old man was not given to hard work and he had lived for many years on the good will of his fellow villagers. The slow half-hearted movement of his hoe was a clear indication that he did not enjoy the tedious and backbreaking job of preparing the buckwheat field. Therefore he was visibly annoyed when he was suddenly faced with a huge tree stump which stood menacingly in the middle of the field. He stood there looking at it pensively, all the while stroking his goatee. He decided that it had to go. So he began to attack it. Little by little he dug out the roots and then began to pull and tug at it until sweat poured down his brow and his palms were blistered and aching. Just as the sun was descending behind the western mountain ranges he gave it one final tug and the whole stump came out with a terrific crash.

  In the now gaping hole where the tree root had once been, he at once saw a large flat circular turquoise which looked like a golang or a flat pan for making the famous Bumthangpa khuli. He could hardly believe his eyes. With his eyes wide open he stood there staring at it in awe for a long time. Finally he up picked this heavy turquoise piece and scrutinized it. It was truly the most beautiful thin!! he had ever seen!

  Mimi Heylay Heylay said aloud to himself, “Now that I have this turquoise, I don’t have to work any more. I’ll sell it to get rich.” With his newly acquired wealth and confidence, Mimi Heylay Heylay swaggered to the market. On the way to the market he met a man who was leading a horse on a rope.

  The man asked, “Where are you going, Mimi Heylay Heylay?”

  Mimi Heylay Heylay sang, “Don’t say Mimi Heylay Heylay; instead listen to what I have to tell you. I dug a field where I came across a tree stump, I pulled out the stump and I found a turquoise, so now I am going to sell it in the market. Would you like to exchange your horse for my turquoise?”

  The man was completely taken aback. Had this old man gone mad? The turquoise was priceless. This was an opportunity not to be missed, so he quickly agreed and the exchange was made. The man with the turquoise walked away rapidly, afraid that Mimi Heylay Heylay would change his mind. But Mimi Heylay Heylay, who was perfectly happy with the deal, continued his journey, leading the horse by the rope. He had not walked very far when he met a man with a bull who asked, “Where are you going, Mimi Heylay Heylay?”

  Mimi Heylay Heylay once again sang, “Don’t say Mimi Heylay Heylay; instead listen to what I have to tell you. I dug a field where I came across a tree stump. I pulled out the stump and I found a turquoise, which I exchanged for this horse, now would you like to exchange your bull for the horse?”

  The man gaped in total disbelief, for his old bull was a poor bargain compared with the handsome young stallion. But he quickly got over the initial shock and hastily made the exchange. After the exchange was made, Mimi Heylay Heylay led the bull by the rope which was tied around its horns and continued on his way to the market. Soon he met a man with a ram who asked him where he was going. This time Mimi Heylay Heylay sang, “Don’t say Mimi Heylay Heylay; instead listen to what I have to tell you. I dug a field where I came across a tree stump. When I pulled out the stump I found a turquoise. I have exchanged the turquoise for a horse. I exchanged the horse for a bull. Now would you like to exchange your ram for my bull? The owner of the ram was surprised but happily agreed and quickly led the bull away. Mimi Heylay Heylay walked on with the gait of a successful trader, pleased that he had been able to make such quick and smooth barters within a short time. The ram followed his new master reluctantly, bleating loudly.

  By and by he met a man with a rooster under his arm. When the owner of the rooster asked him where he was going Mimi Heylay Heylay as usual sang, “Don’t say Mimi Heylay Heylay; instead listen to what I have to tell you. I was digging a field where I came across a tree stump. When I removed the stump I found a turquoise. I exchanged the turquoise for a horse which was exchanged for a bull and the bull for a ram, now would you like to exchange your rooster for my ram?”

  The owner of the rooster was rather astonished but this was an offer he could not refuse. He gladly took the ram and gave his bird to Mimi Heylay Heylay. Mimi Heylay Heylay tucked the rooster under his arm with a flourish and walked on until he met a man who was singing to his heart’s content as he walked along. When he saw Mimi Heylay Heylay he stopped singing to ask him where he was going and once again Mimi Heylay Heylay sang, “Don’t say Mimi Heylay Heylay; instead listen to what I have to tell you. I was digging a field where I came across a tree stump. When I removed the stump I found a turquoise. I exchanged it for a horse, the horse for a bull, the bull for a ram, the ram for a rooster. Now would you like to exchange your song for the rooster? Thoroughly surprised the singer stood there quite dumbfounded. Mimi Heylay Heylay1 happily thrust the bird into the arms of the lucky singer and walked away singing to his heart’s content, “Shorn a lay laymo, ow lay pey owlay pey......ow lay pey....”

  * * *

  1 A person is often compared to Mimi Heylay Heylay when he/she makes obviously silly deals.

  * * *

  Tsongpon Dawa Zangpo

  As he looked on, the waters of the lake swished about and a circle of ripples appeared in the center of the lake as a beautiful woman came out.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a widow who lived with her three sons. Their father had been a prosperous merchant. But after his death the family had fallen on hard times. So when the sons grew up the mother wanted them to become traders, hoping that they could have at least some of their former prosperity.

  One day she called them together and said, “Your father was a very successful merchant and I am sure that you too can become like him. Go into the world and become merchants.”

  To help them start off their business she gave each of them something that she had saved over the years. Even in times of dire need she had held onto these things for her sons. She gave a gold coin to her oldest son, a silver coin to her middle son, and three rolls of woolen fabric to her youngest.

  The three sons decided to go in different directions and start their trades. So they bade farewell to their mother and each other and went their different ways. The youngest son whose name was Dawa Zangpo had not gone very far when he chanced to come across some boys tormenting a cat. They pulled and poked at it and the cat staggered and meowed pathetically. At once he was very sorry for the cat. “Aye di chi, poor thing, please stop tormenting this poor animal,” he said to the boys, but they would not pay any heed to his pleas. Finally he offered them a roll of the woolen fabric in exchange for the life of the cat. At this the boys agreed and let the cat go. He picked up the cat and stroked it gently and the cat feebly licked his hand in response.

  In the same way he sav
ed a dog with the second roll of fabric and a monkey with the third. Now he had nothing to trade with. So he traveled around aimlessly with the three animals until one day he reached the shores of a great lake. There was a group of fishermen who were wildly excited because they had caught a big fish. The fish was still alive and wriggling in the sand. Full of loud enthusiasm they were about to cut it up and divide the meat among themselves. Dawa Zangpo was overcome with compassion for the fish, so he begged them to spare its life. The fishermen were quite amused. “What will you give us if we let this fish go?” they ridiculed.

  All he had to offer were the clothes on his back and he at once readily took these off to give them. When they realized how serious he was they sheepishly took the fish and released it into the water and walked away with his clothes. The fish floated for a while then slowly steadied itself and swam away, quite unsure of itself.

  As soon as the fishermen were gone there was a strange sound from the lake. As he looked on, the waters of the lake swirled and swished about and a circle of ripples appeared in the center of the lake as a beautiful woman came out. “I have been sent to call you by the luyi gyalpo, the king of the subterranean world. He would like to reward you for saving his daughter.”

  For a while this spartan man stood on the banks of the lake speechless with wonder. Finally he fed his animals and said, “All right, now I am ready to come.”

  He closed his eyes as he was bidden to do and held onto the sleeves of the woman as she plunged back into the water. “The king will offer you everything that you could wish for but you must ask only for the ring on the finger of his right hand,” whispered the woman as they reached the turquoise gate of the luyi gyalpo’s palace. Strains of a plaintive and melancholic music from a lone flute greeted his ears as he walked carefully on the turquoise floors that shone in the pale, shimmering light that filtered in through the water.

  He soon found himself in the presence of the subterranean king. He had the upper body of a human being but his lower body was a massive snake that slithered and swayed gently. He was the lu shiwa or the peaceful lu. He smiled benignly under a halo of serpents. He had another serpent around his neck that crawled sluggishly. Dawa Zangpo was given milk and puffed buckwheat as a welcome offering.

  After three days in the underworld Dawa Zangpo begin to worry about his friends on earth and so he asked the lu, “Please let me go back to my world. I have been away from my friends for too long and they must be hungry.”

  The lu at once offered him gold, silver, and all sorts of gems but he declined all offers, saying, “If you really wish to give me something I would like to have the ring from the finger of your right hand.”

  The lu gave him the ring very reluctantly as the ring was a wishfulfilling ring, and yet this man had saved the life of his only daughter.

  Back on earth Dawa Zangpo was very happy to see that all three animals were well. After having fed them he decided to try out the ring and wished for a house on the island in the middle of an immense lake. No sooner had he made the wish then he found himself on the island in a beautiful palace surrounded by servants who waited to serve his every need.

  Now the king of the West who up to now had been the most powerful and most wealthy man in all the land at once felt threatened by somebody who seemed to possess supernatural powers. He was jealous and curious to find out how a dzong (palace) had been built overnight on the island. He asked for a volunteer to go across the lake and find out how everything had happened. Nobody would volunteer as the way was fraught with perils and it was said to be an endless journey of no return. Finally a gomchen who had mastered some tantric powers came forward. The king was of course very pleased and rewarded him generously.

  The gomchen finally reached the island but it had taken him a long time. Once on the island he pretended to be a beggar and went to beg at the gate of Dawa Zangpo’s dzong. The latter who was rather surprised but pleased to see a visitor asked him to stay on. The gomchen stayed on and soon found out the secret of the ring. Every day for three years, the gomchen trailed Dawa Zangpo, waiting for an opportunity to steal the ring but he never took it off his finger. The gomchen would have failed, had not a stroke of good fortune come to his aid. It happened while Dawa Zangpo was having his bath and the hot water swelled his fingers and he took off the ring till the swelling went down. It was at this moment that the gomchen snatched up the ring and wished to be taken across the lake to the palace of the king of the West. The wish-fulfilling ring at once granted his wish and before he could blink his eyes he was in the presence of the powerful king of the West. The king of the West was once again the most powerful person, but with the magical ring now in his possession his powers had multiplied many times. The gomchen was rewarded handsomely and made the prime minister to the king.

  The instant the ring was taken the palace vanished and Dawa Zangpo had nothing except the three animals. The cat, being the most intelligent of the three, called the other animals together and pointed out, “Now is our chance to show our gratitude to this gentle compassionate man. We must think of a way to get back the ring.” The three animals sat together and after a long discussion they agreed upon a plan. The dog being a good swimmer agreed to carry the other two and swim across the lake. Once they reached the western kingdom each animal immediately proceeded to carry out his assignment. So the dog crouched behind a bush and kept watch. The monkey went into the king’s maize field and began to destroy the entire crop, pulling down the stalks and breaking off the cobs. The gardener, seeing the ravage, immediately reported the incident to the king, who was a keen hunter. He summoned all his men together and went after the monkey. While the palace was thus unattended the cat crept into the palace, lay down near the securely locked door of the gyalpoi bangzoi or royal treasure trove and pretended to be dead. The mice in the palace were greatly excited and mystified over the death of a cat they had never seen before and they reported the matter to their king and sought counsel from him. The mouse king immediately came to look at the strange dead cat. He peered at it. The cat stayed very still. All the mice watched and held their breaths as their brave king went closer to the cat. Seeing that all his subjects were watching him he ventured even closer and actually began to poke and pull at it. The cat suddenly sprang up, caught the king and declared, “Your king is my prisoner, I will not release him until you bring me the new ring that the king of the West has recently acquired.”

  The mice scurried about in the palace looking everywhere for the ring. Soon the ring was found and brought to the cat who promptly released the mouse king. The cat then went off with the ring to join his two friends in the forest. The monkey held the ring in his hand and the three animals set out across the lake on their return journey. As they were about to reach the shore, a sudden wave splashed over them and the ring was swept out of the monkey’s hand into the lake. Just then a fish came swimming by and swallowed the ring. No sooner had it swallowed it than a waterfowl swooped down and caught the fish. The dog had seen all this and knew exactly what to do, while his two friends bemoaned their ill luck. The dog ran after the startled bird who dropped the fish from its beak and flew into the sky. The dog quickly recovered the ring from the fish and instantly took it to Dawa Zangpo, who was so overcome with joy and gratitude that he fainted.

  From then onwards the four friends lived in peace and prosperity for the rest of their lives and Dawa Zangpo decided never to take the ring off his finger at all.

  The Cuckoo and the Frog

  There was a big, fat and ugly frog who was married to a cuckoo.

  Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a big, fat ugly frog who was married to a cuckoo. The cuckoo could never fathom the frog’s feelings for her. He was always strange and often quite suspicious. She longed to find out what he actually thought about her. So one day she cheerfully said, “I want to go and visit my relatives in Tibet.” The frog nodded his big unsightly head impassively and belched out a barely comprehensible, “Go”.

  She s
aid good-bye to the frog and presently flew off in the direction of the high mountain ranges to the north of Bhutan. She fluttered in the air for a while and when she was sure the frog could no longer see her she swooped down and flew back on to a tree near the pond. Carefully hidden among the thick foliage of the tree, the cuckoo kept a close watch on the frog. It was a warm sunny day and it was not long before the frog jumped up upon a large lily pad. He stretched out his limbs in all directions and gave a loud yawn and after he had made himself comfortable he basked at his leisure in the sun. While he lay there he scornfully mumbled to himself, but loud enough for the other creatures in the pond to hear:

  Cuckoo, Cuckoo, my Cuckoo,

  She must now be climbing over the Monla karchung

  Her front must be soaked in chabsang,

  And her back must be rotting with her sweat.

  The pond soon resounded with the loud laughter and snide giggles of the other inhabitants of the pond. The frog seemed to enjoy this immensely and kept repeating the same derogatory remarks over and over again. Seeing and hearing all this the cuckoo shook her head in shame and humiliation as her eyes welled up with tears. So, this is what he thought of her! Suddenly, she flew out from her hiding place and confronted him, quivering with emotion.