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Drukgyel
Dzong - Fortress of the Victorious Drukpa |
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Bhutan's
Culture Dzongs |
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Bhutan Information |
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Besides
the functions of security, Lam Neten Dorji of Paro Dratshang states
that Druk Gyal Dzong used to be the summer residence of Rinpung
Rabdey. There were three days of annual prayers on the 27th 28th, and
29th of the 10th month dedicated to Tsaamdey Sum - Gyem, Lyengon, and
Lhamo; Geyne-Gyemo - Zhabdrung's guardian deities; and Nep.
The rabdey entourage would leave on the 26th and perform prayers for the
next three days. After the fire accident of 1951,
the annual prayers dedicated to the above deities earlier conducted in Druk
Gyal Dzong are performed in Rinpung Dratshang.
| The
remains of the utse stands today |
Ap
Sangay Gyeltshen, 73, was 14 years old when he joined the army on a
monthly salary of five ngultrum during the reign of the second King, His
Majesty Jigme Wangchuck, retiring during the reign of the third
King Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
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Ap
Sangay recalls, albeit with sadness, the imposing presence of a four-storeyed
mighty dzong that symbolized the power and glory of our country.
He
remembers the expansive dimensions of the shingle-roofed dzong: If someone
shot an arrow from this end (he shows the direction to the west), he could
not reach his arrow to that end (points to the east).
Ap
Sangay believes that the materials for the construction of the dzong came
from all over the places. The stones that made the walls and the towers
were specially selected so that they did not have to be chiseled. Construction
materials were passed from hand to hand, man to man. Machines hadn't come
then. People would have worked from dawn to dusk under strict supervision.
There
was a strong sense of pride and service in people who contributed to the
construction of the dzong. They believed that they were participating in
a special cause. Ap Sangay thinks that the gods themselves would have participated
and supported the construction. Otherwise, such a structure would not have
come up so easily.
Ap
Sangay remembers some of the druzops who served in the dzong. "There was Druzop
Shachu," he says. He adds Druzop Nemjop, Druzop Chhalip Chhong from
Shaba, Jangsap Tshering Phuntsho, Kawang Sanja... Then his memory skids
off the line. He conies back: Druzop Chhalip Chhong served the longest
- eighteen years. Lam Neten Dorji says that Penlop Lhap was
the first Dzongpon of Druk Gyal Dzong, supported by dzongarps and
other functionaries. "The gorah goh used to close exactly at 4 pm
and open exactly at 4 am," Ap Sangay recalls as we walk out of the fort.
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