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Pangkhar
is a small mystical village under Ura Geog in Bumthang. It is located in the
foot of ruins of a Khar (castle) of
Dungnakpo, and thus, the name of the village Pangkhar is derived from this historical
or cultural location. Pang means
‘village or a plain’ and Khar means
‘castle’, making up as ‘plains at the foot of castle’.
According
to the oral accounts, Dungnakpo was a powerful ruler of Ura region during the
early times of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651). It is believed that the
Dungnakpo was a son of a demigod and born with extraordinary strength and
power. The remains and legacy of such a superficial figure are seen even to
these days.
The
ruin of the Khar or the Dzong of
Dungnakpo is situated on the hill above the old Pangkhar village. The village
has stretched much, in chorus to the population growth and developmental
activities today. The Khar spread all
over the hill, in an estimated area of around an acre. With the size and
multiple sign of rooms at the ruin site, it is quite obvious that the Khar stood as one of the giant structures
of those days.
Considering
the strategic location of the Khar on
the peak of the hill, people believe that the Dungnakpo was a warrior with
enemies from all directions. The northern side of the Khar seems strategically weak to defend the enemies, but some of
his fortifications still exist. For instance, there are three levels of trench
with roughly an average depth of two meters or so, cutting deep into the neck
of the hill are still evident.
One
of Dungnakpo’s main rivals was Chokhor-Dep, who was also biologically related
with the demigod. He was indeed a nemesis of Dungnakpo. Dep was a renounced
ancient ruler of Chokhor region who built the Drapham Dzong (ruined) possibly
towards the second half of the 16th century.
Lore
has it that, once Dungnakpo went to Chokhor to challenge the Dep. At Chokhor,
he first met Dep’s mother in her kitchen, roasting wheat. “Where are you,
child?” inquired the mother. “I came here to see your son”, he replied, little
embarrassed though. After smelling some deceitful plans, mother held Dungnakpo
tight in her left arm, until she finished roasting her wheat. Then she said the
Dep is ploughing the field a little away from their residence. With some
feelings of fear in his mind, Dungnakpo sneaked a look from a distance to the
Dep who was ploughing the field. He saw Dep holding a running plough with one
hand, and plucking full-grown trees on his way with the other hand. This
exhibition of might frightened Dungnakpo much. He feared the worst, and headed
back home.
Nevertheless,
Dungnakpo was incomparable by the ordinary people like us. His remains and
legacies are still a mystery for the people. One artefact that would give
details of his strength and mightiness is the two pairs of Degor (traditional Bhutanese game played with a pair of spherical
flat stones). The huge Degor are
still seen at the eastern foot of the Khar.
The size of his Degor are almost
equal to that of standard dinning-table. It’s would weight not less than 50
Kilograms. Throwing 50 k.g. of Degor with
a single hand is something impractical for normal human being.
One
timeless legacy that the Dungnakpo remained in Pangkhar village was numerous flat
stone bridges. There are as many as six huge stone bridges over the stream
running through the middle of the village. Some stone bridges are too huge even
to correct a slight angle for ordinary people these days. Amazingly, the sources
of these flat stones are also seen near some of the bridges. The stone bridges
benefited the people of Pangkhar for several generations, and are still in use.
Lhachhu or the water of God is a water pond
in the northeast of the Khar. It is a
small pond in a total dry land without a notable source or outlet. It is
believed that, to ease the trouble of fetching water especially during the
times of war, Dungnakpo stored a box full of water in this preferred location.
The water never exhausted or dried up thereafter, and remained as a main source
of water for the people residing in the Khar.
We can still hear the sound of the wooden box if we hit the base of the pond
with a sturdy stick.
A
little towards the south of the Khar,
is a place called Gortshom. Gor means
‘stone’, and Tshom means ‘mortar’.
The name of the place was derived from a huge stone-mortar of Dungnakpo, which
is still undisturbed. It is believed that the Dungnakpo’s men and women used
this stone-mortar for pounding rice and maize collected from Kurtoe and
Zhongkhar region.
One
miraculous believe about the Dungnakpo is that, he jumped from the hillside of
Gortshom to the place called
Bangthama. If calculated straight,
the distance would measure roughly around 400 meters. There is an apparent
body-print of Dungnakpo at Bangthama. The kneeled-down position body-print on
the rock is a testimony of such believes.
Apart
from the exhibition of his power, strength and wealth, there are also some signs
to believe that the Dungnakpo is devout in nature. While building bridges in
the village with his own hands are the clear indication of his spiritual deeds,
some direct religious acts are also remembered. One incidence goes like this: When
Galwa Lha Nangpa (1164-1224) entered the Ura valley after crossing the high
Monlakarchung mountain and wide Chokhortoe and Tang valleys, Dungnakpo
personally received the lama. It is said that the lama and the Dungnakpo had a
tea together. The stone seat of Lama and
the Dungnakpo are still seen a little away in the northeast of the Khar. Every summer, some strange weeds use
to grow before the seat of the lama and the Dungnakpo. It is believed that the
weeds grew from the thrown over feeds of Dungnakpo’s riding horse.
While
there is no clear ending of the lore, some believe that the Khar was raised down by a tragic fire catastrophe.
However, looking at the stones and woods at the ruin site, there is no sign of
fire and burning. Perhaps, this site would cater as one of the best sites for
the archaeologists to learn about primitive Bhutan. With notable cultural
landscape, the site would offer a wide range of artefacts with possible
biofacts or ecofacts. Let us pray that, one day, the rubbles of this Khar will rise up to its former glory, overlooking the beautiful Pangkhar
village.
