Modern Bhutan is filled with music.
It comes blaring out from the city buses and taxis, emanating from radios in the shops, bursting from cell phones tucked away inside of ghos, and unabashedly sung by the college students at the tops of their lungs as they walk to class or are hanging out with friends.
There is quite a bit of Western pop and rock 'n' roll to be had, as well as Indian Bollywood fare and the occasional hit from Japan or Korea; but the most popular form of music is Bhutanese rigsar. Rigsar literally translated means "new idea" and is mostly Bhutanese re-imaginings of Bollywood and Western music translated into Dzongkha or Sarchop. It can often be mistaken for Indian pop music if you can't make out the lyrics.
However, music is an ancient Bhutanese cultural tradition that can be divided into two broad categories: religious and folk.
Religious music in Bhutan is in the Choekey language – when lyrics are present – which is Classical Tibetan and the language of the religious-class. Instruments used in Bhutanese religious music include the lingm and dungchen, which are small and very long brass trumpets respectively, along with various drums and cymbals. Religious music is featured prominently in puja rituals, chams [religious dances], and many other religious festivals and events (which are numerous here). Even to my musically-trained ear, the religious music sounds chaotic and entirely improvised. The drums may carry a slight beat, but the lingm and dungchen are not melodic instruments.
Folk music is in two categories: zhungdra and boedra. Zhungdra ["genuine sound"] is purely a Bhutanese form that has its origins from the 17th century. Boedra ["Tibet sound"] is newer and, obviously, was influenced from Tibet. Zhungdra music is slow and rhythm-free, while Boedra is faster and rhythmic. Instrumentation for Zhungdra usually includes the dranyen [Bhutanese dragon lute], Zur Lim [bamboo flute] and/or the dungkar lim [ocarina-like flute]. Boedra adds to this instrumentation items like the dulcimer, fiddle, mouth harp, various percussion such as the tabla, and perhaps an accordion or something similar. The instrumentation for Boedra is fairly open and subject to updates as other instruments have entered the culture.
By the way, I'm totally getting a Dranyen to bring home with me.
Several weeks ago, we were fortunate to be treated to a concert on campus by one of Bhutan's best folk ensembles: Aa-Yang. Jigme Drukpa is the leader of this group, and has performed Bhutanese music all over the world. The group plays a mixture of traditional zhungdra and boedra folksongs, as well as new compositions that are a fusion between the traditional and the modern.
It comes blaring out from the city buses and taxis, emanating from radios in the shops, bursting from cell phones tucked away inside of ghos, and unabashedly sung by the college students at the tops of their lungs as they walk to class or are hanging out with friends.
There is quite a bit of Western pop and rock 'n' roll to be had, as well as Indian Bollywood fare and the occasional hit from Japan or Korea; but the most popular form of music is Bhutanese rigsar. Rigsar literally translated means "new idea" and is mostly Bhutanese re-imaginings of Bollywood and Western music translated into Dzongkha or Sarchop. It can often be mistaken for Indian pop music if you can't make out the lyrics.
However, music is an ancient Bhutanese cultural tradition that can be divided into two broad categories: religious and folk.
Religious music in Bhutan is in the Choekey language – when lyrics are present – which is Classical Tibetan and the language of the religious-class. Instruments used in Bhutanese religious music include the lingm and dungchen, which are small and very long brass trumpets respectively, along with various drums and cymbals. Religious music is featured prominently in puja rituals, chams [religious dances], and many other religious festivals and events (which are numerous here). Even to my musically-trained ear, the religious music sounds chaotic and entirely improvised. The drums may carry a slight beat, but the lingm and dungchen are not melodic instruments.
Folk music is in two categories: zhungdra and boedra. Zhungdra ["genuine sound"] is purely a Bhutanese form that has its origins from the 17th century. Boedra ["Tibet sound"] is newer and, obviously, was influenced from Tibet. Zhungdra music is slow and rhythm-free, while Boedra is faster and rhythmic. Instrumentation for Zhungdra usually includes the dranyen [Bhutanese dragon lute], Zur Lim [bamboo flute] and/or the dungkar lim [ocarina-like flute]. Boedra adds to this instrumentation items like the dulcimer, fiddle, mouth harp, various percussion such as the tabla, and perhaps an accordion or something similar. The instrumentation for Boedra is fairly open and subject to updates as other instruments have entered the culture.
By the way, I'm totally getting a Dranyen to bring home with me.
Several weeks ago, we were fortunate to be treated to a concert on campus by one of Bhutan's best folk ensembles: Aa-Yang. Jigme Drukpa is the leader of this group, and has performed Bhutanese music all over the world. The group plays a mixture of traditional zhungdra and boedra folksongs, as well as new compositions that are a fusion between the traditional and the modern.
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| The Aa-Yang Ensemble |
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| Jigme Drukpa explains the music to the audience |
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| Jigme Drukpa plays his Dranyen |
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| One of the fusion elements to the ensemble: the Nepali harmonium |
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