Dechenphu Tshechu

When it happens

Dechenphu Tshechu lasts a single day, in autumn, in October or November.

Where it happens

Dechenphu Lhakhang stands at the northern end of the Thimphu valley, above and north of the city centre, in the same upper-valley area as Dechencholing. It is a temple (lhakhang), not a dzong (fortress). Its fortified central tower is the goenkhang (the protector-deity chapel).

History

Dampa, a son of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, founded the lhakhang in the 12th century. Phajo Drugom Zhigpo was the lama who established the Drukpa school of Buddhism in Bhutan.

In the 14th century Kuenga Sengye, the 7th abbot of Ralung, came to Dechenphu and built the goenkhang. According to tradition, he subdued the local protective deity and installed him as the official guardian of the Drukpa Kagyu teachings.

The lhakhang venerates Geynyen Jagpa Melen, also called Ap Genyen, a powerful protective deity of Bhutan. Dechenphu is revered as the model site for his worship. According to tradition, he sank (thim) into a rock shaped like a hill (phu) here, an origin story tied to the name of the Thimphu valley. The lhakhang is said to enshrine his abode, and a shrine there is said to hold that rock.

Historically, the lhakhang has drawn pilgrims from beyond the valley. People of Kabesa in Punakha district, for example, travelled here to seek the deity’s good fortune. A sacred boulder at nearby Dechencholing was a substitute shrine for devotees who could not reach Dechenphu Lhakhang. The boulder is now housed in a shrine of its own.

Dances and rituals

Dechenphu Tshechu centres on Geynyen Jagpa Melen, the protective deity to whom the lhakhang is dedicated. It is not built on the story of Guru Rinpoche that anchors the headline courtyard tshechus (festivals honouring him). Bhutanese devotees come to the lhakhang to seek the deity’s blessings and protection for their endeavours.