Bhutan's "Spider Hat" from the Zhuba Tribe in the Land of the Snow Monster
Bhutanese Spider Hat
Photography by Daniel Miller
©iseo58.tumblr.com MYTHODEA
©Bhutan holiday trips
Drokpa(འབྲོག་པ།) tribe
"Drok" means nomadic, "Pa" refers to people
Mainly living in eastern Bhutan
In the villages of Merak "Land of Fire (མེ་རག) " and Sakteng "Land of
"Drok" means nomadic, "Pa" refers to people
Mainly living in eastern Bhutan
In the villages of Merak "Land of Fire (མེ་རག) " and Sakteng "Land of
Bamboo (སག་སྟེང་། ) " in Trashigang District（བཀྲ་ཤིས་སྒང་རྫོང་ཁག）
The village of Merak, inhabited by the Brokpa people, is located within the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan. It boasts abundant vegetation and rare wild animals, and is the homeland of Bhutan's national flower, the blue poppy (Meconopsis Grandis). It is also known as the legendary land of the Yeti.
Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, BBC News
©Anbarasan Ethirajan
Snow Monster Land
The legend of the Zhaba Tribe is closely linked to the Yeti(གཡའ་དྲེད།),
also known as Megay or Migoi（མི་རྒོད།) in their language.
Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary
Many stories about the Yeti involve Tibetan herdsmen searching for
their lost yaks in the remote mountains and coming across the Yeti.
According to the accounts, the Yeti is often described as white or light
red in color, feeds on bamboo shoots, and emits a strong garlic-like odor.
The Yeti on Bhutanese postage stamps
©Daily Bhutan
Although there are various opinions and legends about the origin of
the Yeti in the outside world, in the homeland of the Tibetan people, the
Yeti is considered their protective deity with extraordinary powers,
coexisting with the mountain gods. Therefore, it has always been respected.
The Yeti was illustrated by Phurba Chitten Sherpa from Namche.
According to oral tradition, the Zhaba people beheaded the reigning
dictator Dreba-Yabu in 1347 and then migrated to the eastern part of
Bhutan, where they have lived for generations since then.
Merak Village
According to folklore, the story takes place in Tsona, Tibet. There was a
notorious king known for his evil deeds, Dreba-yabu. His palace never
received direct sunlight because the mountain on the east side of the
palace blocked the light.
The village of Merak in the early morning
One day, the king ordered his people to destroy the mountain.
When the village's female mountain deity, Aum Jumo (ཨ་མ་ཇོ་མོ།),
heard about this, she transformed into a woman carrying a baby and
went to see the top of the mountain that was about to be destroyed.
She said, "It is easier to destroy a mountain than to behead a king."
The villagers heard her voice, and quickly planned a grand feast for the king.
They made him drink until he was drunk, and then assassinated him.
©Bhutan holiday trips
In the year 1347, Guru Jarepa, a great master, following the guidance
of the mountain deity Aum Jumo, crossed mountains and valleys to
reach the eastern region of Bhutan.
©AJHEATH
They split into three groups while fleeing. The first group settled in Sakteng.
(sak: bamboo, ten: land)
Meaning "bamboo land".
Sakteng Village ©Bhutan Acorn
The other two batches first settled in Lung Zempo for many years.
The ruins of the stone houses they left behind still exist today.
Later, they moved to Sakteng and finally relocated to Merak.
Unfortunately, due to the difficult journey, only a few of them survived
to reach Merak.
©AJHEATH
Here is a forest everywhere
They can only burn down a part of the forest
Build houses
This is the origin of the name of the place
Methra
In the language of Zongka means "burn with fire"
Gradually evolved into "Merak"
(me: fire, rak: burn)
Meaning "land of fire"
They can only burn down a part of the forest
Build houses
This is the origin of the name of the place
Methra
In the language of Zongka means "burn with fire"
Gradually evolved into "Merak"
(me: fire, rak: burn)
Meaning "land of fire"
The village stupa ©uncharted backpacker
There is a Buddhist temple called Merak Lhakhang（མེ་རག་ལྷ་ཁང་།） located above
the village.
It mainly worships the deity Aum Jumo. This is also a place where religious festivals are held, including the famous mask dance Ache Lhamo（ཨ་ཅེ་ལྷ་མོ།）
and Yak（གཡག） dance.
Merak Lhakhang Temple.
is the sacred mountain of the Zhaba people
surrounded by a holy lake
It is believed to be the site of the Lotus-Born Master
and the mountain deity Aum Jumo
The Zhaba people trek to this location once a year
and hold a two-day ceremony
to honor their spirits.
Livestock grazing as a way of living.
Drokpa people
Located at an altitude of around 3500 meters
They are also known as "highland people"
Even in the summer
Their homeland is covered with glaciers
©Andrew Studer
The Drokpa people are semi-nomadic, as the harsh climate conditions
of high altitudes are not conducive to farming. Therefore, they mainly
rely on livestock herding for their livelihood.
©AJHEATH
In the summer, they migrate with their cattle and sheep to the pasture,
and in the winter they return to live in their stone-built houses. The houses
are usually small and well-ventilated to withstand the cold weather.
©AJHEATH
Yaks are essential to the lives of the Drokpa people. They raise yaks and
sheep, and rely on dairy products as their main source of sustenance.
The most famous dairy product among them is yak cheese (Zotoe), which
is a staple on Drokpa people dining tables.
Polyandry
Due to their remote geographical location, most of the Drokpa people
are isolated from the outside world. The only way to reach their tribe is
through several days of difficult trekking. However, this isolation has
allowed the Zhuba people to preserve many unique traditions and
customs to this day.
©uncharted backpacker
Firstly, they speak a different dialect, a southern Tibetan language called
Brokpa or MiraSagteng language.
often play a leading role in the family
such as deciding on their children's marriage
managing household finances, etc.
Since husbands are usually grazing outside most of the time
Zhuoba women also frequently represent their families
in attending village affairs.
Spider hat
Another important point is that the Drokpa people have their own
traditional clothing, rather than the common Kira and Gho. Men wear
tshokan chuba, a thick red woolen coat, and on top of that, they wear
a kanjur made of cow or deer skin.
©AJHEATH
While the woman wears a shingkha,
A red and white striped dress
Adorned with amber, gold and silver accessories
On it are colorful woven
Or embroidered patterns on both sides
A red and white striped dress
Adorned with amber, gold and silver accessories
On it are colorful woven
Or embroidered patterns on both sides
©AJHEATH
Hat
Is the main clothing feature of the Drokpa people
Called tsipee cham or Shamo or
rtsidpa zhamo
(རྩིད་པའི་ཞྭ་མོ། Yak wool felt hat)
It is a hat shaped like a spider
Made of yak wool, black
Shaped like a French beret.
Is the main clothing feature of the Drokpa people
Called tsipee cham or Shamo or
rtsidpa zhamo
(རྩིད་པའི་ཞྭ་མོ། Yak wool felt hat)
It is a hat shaped like a spider
Made of yak wool, black
Shaped like a French beret.
©insidehimalayas
There are five twisted "hat tassels" around the hat, resembling spider legs,
long like braids, actually made of yak wool, each extending in
different directions downward.
These "hat beards" are very practical because they work like a faucet,
diverting rainwater away from the face, neck, and body. Therefore, wearing
this hat in the rain makes it easier to continue working without getting wet.
©AJHEATH
This type of hat is worn by both men and women
And every household woman can
Make and produce it themselves
Weaving skills of women in eastern Bhutan
are well-known
And every household woman can
Make and produce it themselves
Weaving skills of women in eastern Bhutan
are well-known
Tour guides often joke that Bhutanese men all want to marry a woman
from this region because they can weave their own clothes.
©AJHEATH
Purchasing a high-quality handmade silk wedding dress may cost around $1000, which for an average Bhutanese family, is often a huge expense.
Drokpa women
Hold an important position in the family
Their elegance and beauty lies within
Every colorful weaving
