The Layap of Bhutan: Highland Festival and Bamboo Hat Heritage
Bhutan's Layap village, the northernmost settlement in the Himalayan kingdom, also stands as the country's highest community, with more than 110 houses and a reputation as one of the most isolated places on Earth. The Layaps, an indigenous highland people of northern Bhutan, lead a semi-nomadic existence, spending most of the year on plateaus above 3,800 meters and depending chiefly on herding for their livelihood. Their culture is marked by the "Belo," a bamboo-woven cap that has come to symbolize Layap identity. Meanwhile, their religious life reflects a blending of Bon and Tibetan Buddhism.
According to legend, Ngawang Namgyal, the lama who unified Bhutan, entered the kingdom for the first time through the village of Layap. The Layaps refer to their homeland as "Be-Yul," which means "the hidden land." Prior to Buddhism's arrival in Bhutan from Tibet during the 7th century, the Layap people followed the Bon religion. In this place, Buddhism did not entirely supplant Bon; rather, Bon's animist beliefs combined with Buddhism to form a harmonious coexistence. Every year, each Layap household performs a ritual called Choku to pay homage to the guardian spirit of the home.
In Bhutan, annual 'Bongkpo' festivities in Laya mark the start of spring and include prayers for plentiful crops and livestock. Buddhist rituals are typically carried out as daily offerings on sacred dates, specifically the 10th or 15th day of the lunar calendar. Additionally, Choku is an elaborate two-to-three-day event in which the village shaman leads ceremonies, a tradition that originated prior to Buddhism's introduction to the country.
Laya hosts several grand annual festivities, including the Royal Highland Festival, which was established by Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth king of Bhutan. The event had its second edition in 2017. Members of the Bhutanese royal family and various ethnic groups from other areas assembled in Laya to exchange their varied traditional customs. During the two-day celebration, lots of local food was made, and Bhutanese men took part in wrestling, horse racing, and dancing.
Yaks are treasured as precious assets in Laya, Bhutan's remote highland village, where the Layaps follow a semi-nomadic way of life. Their farming centers on barley cultivation, while herding is central to daily existence. From yaks come milk, butter, cheese, and other everyday foods, along with yak hair and wool—essential raw materials for crafting clothing and tents. The vibrant festive atmosphere brought light and love to this village.
Photographed by Dorte Verner, yak hair weaving. For the Layaps, tents are particularly vital because rotational grazing lets their herds find richer pasture. These tents are hand-woven from black yak hair, making them strong and tightly constructed. Sunlight passes through the woven gaps, and smoke rises out with ease. Working with yak hair has been a highly regarded craft since ancient times. The Layaps consider yaks to be precious gifts, blessed with importance. Additionally, they possess a strong awareness of ecological protection.
Traditionally, the Layap people practice polyandry, where husbands are often brothers. Their ancient wisdom for surviving the extreme cold of the Himalayan highlands is a migratory practice reflecting millennia-old Layap traditions: in winter, they relocate to towns to avoid overgrazing, exchanging labor and yak by-products for warm shelter. In summer, they spend most of their time living in tents on the grasslands.
The main objective of this system is to pool the family's resources, as each husband assumes a distinct responsibility—one might care for the herds, while another handles trade with outsiders. In this way, the family land remains undivided, allowing it to be handed down more effectively to succeeding generations. "Laya is remote and has always remained independently hidden in the mountains. Marrying someone from outside the village is often looked down upon. As a small, isolated community, trust is essential," remarked Laya Gup Lhakpa Tshering.
Tshering, 29, is married to two brothers—one a carpenter, the other a herdsman—having wed the elder at age 16. Because few Layaps can afford to construct their own homes, they tend to live together, which is why the tradition of polyandry persists. "With my husbands being brothers, there is no discord between them," she explains. "Yet times are shifting, and people are growing more individualistic." Such evolving attitudes are gradually reshaping longstanding customs.
The bamboo hat, a hallmark of Layap heritage, represents an ancient cultural tradition. During an interview with Business Bhutan, Kinley Dorji, who serves as Bhutan's Minister of Information and Communications, shared the story behind Layap clothing. He recounted: "In the 8th century, when Guru Rinpoche aided Trisong Deutsen in constructing Samye Monastery, the master fashioned two statues referred to as 'Lue'." At age 52, Dorji also remarked: "Nowadays, young people tend to favor a single partner. We cannot impose our views on them.
In Laya, the traditional bamboo hat is now reserved for special occasions such as Tshechu, though Layap women once wore it daily. The hat is nearly extinct, and under the influence of modern civilization, only three weaving artisans remain in Laya. This headwear became a vital part of local dress after a female statue was brought to Laya and a male statue to Merak; the inhabitants of those places began copying the statues’ attire, making the bamboo hat an essential element of their clothing.
Chimi Dem, who learned the craft from her late father, and her husband are two of Laya's three weavers. The traditional Layap bamboo hat faces the threat of disappearing, as most young people have lost interest in mastering the skill. Chimi fears that imported headwear will soon take its place. "If the skill of weaving bamboo hats is no longer needed here, then hats made of plastic will soon enter the Laya market," she says.
With dismay, Chimi said: "People have not taken any measures to protect the traditional hat. If young people became interested in learning this skill, that would be a good thing, as it would help pass the craft on." Over the past 15 years, she has made hundreds of hats, each taking a full day to complete and selling for 600 ngultrum.
Old ways are fading: in Laya, many women now favor the kira over the traditional zum dress, which is one reason the bamboo hat is rarely seen. 'If we wear traditional clothing, we must wear the hat—it is our custom. But wearing a kira does not require a hat,' says Chimi. 'I would be happy to teach them, but so far, there are no students willing to learn.
As modern civilization increasingly makes its way into traditional societies, the threat to age-old crafts has become a worldwide concern, not just an issue facing Laya. Today, young women's preference for the kira means the custom of wearing the hat could soon fade away. In the words of Ap Pema Dorji: "Whether change is good or bad is hard to say. Sometimes, old things die out, and new things grow." Civilizational progress does not move in a straight line but follows a cycle; what has disappeared, or is on the verge of doing so, will resurface in a different guise.