Tandin Wangmo, 81, has never missed Punakha Domche and Tshechu. She vividly remembers her first day at Domche, 73 years ago. She was just eight years old and since then never missed any of the festivals.
When I met her at the Domche this week she had walked for almost two hours from her home in Thari village, Guma Gewog.
Although she is old and frail, she tells me that skipping the festival is not an option for her. “It’s easier to walk with the help of my walking stick. My eyes are failing me too. I can’t see properly. No body accompanies me. I usually come all by myself,” she says.
Her faith in the spiritual significance of Tshechus and Domches draws her to the festival every year. “I come every year to witness Tshechu and Domche to receive blessings. I pray for long life, good health and happiness of everyone.”
Tandin Wangmo is resolved to attend both Tshechu and Domche until the day her body fails her and restricts her movement.
“I have always attended the entire festival. I don’t even miss a single Cham. I am 81 now but that will not stop me,” she tells me.
There are many others in Punakha who attend Domche and Tshechus but it may be, perhaps, hard to find a devotee as loyal as Tandin Wangmo.
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Many attend the festivals to accumulate merit. “I come every year. Life is impermanent, thus I make it a point to attend the Domche. We don’t know for how long we will live, so I want to accumulate merit by attending Domche and pray for myself and all sentient beings,” says Tshewang Lham, another devotee.
But, for the young, Tshechus and Domches are generally about having fun. “I get to hang around with friends. But I am also aware of the religious benefits of attending such festivals,” says Thinley Choden, a student.
“It’s exciting,” says Dorji Lhamo, another student. “We make plans beforehand with friends.”
The Punakha Domche takes place in early spring every year. The three-day festival is dedicated to the country’s Guardian Deities, Mahakhala and Palden Lhamo. The highlight of Puna Dromche is the symbolic immersion of one of Bhutan’s most scared relics, Rangjung Kharsa Pani, into the Mochhu.
Punakha Domche was instituted in 1636 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel.
