Totsapas- keeping the tradition alive

Many rural villages in the country have an identified household to attend to guests, especially civil servants coming from Dzongkhags or from Thimphu. This kind of tradition is still practised in most of the remote villages. Kheng Gongdu under Monggar Dzongkhag is one of them. There they call Totsapas. Our Monggar reporter, Sonam Choden, travelled to Gongdu and filed this story.

My travel to Gongdu had been a good and memorable journey. The warm hospitality provided by the Totsapas was gratifying after long hours of walk. All the five Chiwogs in the Gewog have Totsapa each.

Aum Jordhen, has been feeding and giving shelter to all the passersby who travel to the Gewog for the last 12 years. She is the Totsapa of Bangbangla, a Chiwog under the Gewog. Totsapas are identified by the Gewog. In return for their services, they are exempted from some labour contribution.

“I also serve tea and Ara to the guests. As a Tosapa I don’t have to go for voluntary labour contribution in the village. We are exempted from all these works,” she says with a smile.

Jordhen is a single mother of two children. She does not grow rice yet in such remote place it is surprising to be served rice. We talked about her village life and how difficult it is to lead a life in a remote village. Some of the travelers spend the night. She also provides with blankets and pillows. But some continue until they reach the next destination. As a token of appreciation, some offer cash for her hospitality. She accepts, but hesitantly.

Thanks to such a tradition, we did not have to worry about our meal and night’s shelter. It is not only the civil servants that they provide food and shelter, the Totsapas also provides their free services to other passersby.

I came across two old women on my way. They had been walking for 12 hours and they were on their way to Kadam Goenpa in Monggar. They were also planning to put up their night in Bangbangla. “It’s going to be dark soon and we will halt at Bangbala. There are no other places to stay. Maybe we will be able to reach the Gyalpoizhing tomorrow.”

After another six hours of walk after lunch, we came across another Totsapa under Pam Chiwog. By the time we reached there, dusk had already set in. As we entered the house all the family members were gathered around the fire place in the kitchen. They were indifferent to our unannounced arrival. Over the roasted fresh maize we started talking as if we were a family member.

The uniqueness of the Gondue language left us dazed. However, most of them can speak Sharchop. The entire family member started speaking in Sharchop, to make the guest comfortable in the language everyone there understood. When we reached there, they had already finished cooking, enough for the family. However, Sonam Pelzom would not mind to cook for us. Her old mother helped her with the vegetables. Solar light was barely enough to see our faces.

“It is tough being a Totsapa some times. Most of the time, we spent more than what we get. Actually not many people know about us. Some give us money, which is very helpful. It is difficult for us because it is takes about two days to get our basic necessities. When we run short of grains we borrow from the neighbors and give to our guest,” says Sonam Pelzom.

Early next morning, Sonam Pelzom is up and ready to prepare our breakfast. She gets on with it for the second time as she has already fed her family who had gone to attend to their daily chores. One of her neighbors, Bumpa showed up that morning with a sack full of rice.

Bumpa said she had come to return the rice that she had borrowed last month. “Last time when my rice ran out I had borrowed from Sonam. I could not return until today. I was told she had guest and thought she might have run out of rice so I brought it today. Our village is far and we cannot go all the time to get what we need so we manage by borrowing among ourselves,” she says.

Life for Sonam Pelzom and her family to be a Totsapa is not easy. It is even more difficult when they run short of essential items.

Many had come and gone, and many would come and go, some will never be seen again. But, for Totsapas, it is just their routine and the tradition that they are keeping it alive.