Rongtse Nye Festival

When it happens

The festival runs for two days and has no lunar rule of its own. It is held every year around the time of the annual Rongtse Nye Tshechu. The Rongtse Nye Tshechu falls on the 10th day of the 10th Bhutanese month, so this festival’s days move from year to year.

Where it happens

The festival is held on the Sangbaykha Dungkhag ground, the ground of a local administrative headquarters. It is not held at Rongtse Nye, the sacred site in Gakiling that it is named after. Rongtse Nye is believed to be a secret abode of Guru Rinpoche and Khandro Yeshey Tshogyel, and it is the venue of the separate Rongtse Nye Tshechu.

Sangbaykha Dungkhag covers Gakiling and Sangbay.

History

The Prime Minister inaugurated the first Rongtse Nye Festival. It was the first festival of its kind in Sangbaykha Dungkhag. Its stated aims were to promote tourism and traditional cuisine and to improve local businesses. It was started to develop the economic and cultural potential of Sangbaykha Dungkhag.

People in Sangbay cannot take part in the Haa Spring Festival because of the distance, and the festival gives them a much-needed market.

What happens

The festival is a place to launch local livestock and farm produce. Nublang (a traditional Bhutanese cattle breed) is genetically distinct from any other and is believed to have originated in Sangbay.

The festival also offers cultural entertainment and community bonding, and is a popular tourist attraction. It is not a festival of cham (sacred masked dances). The religious observance held around the same time belongs to the Rongtse Nye Tshechu at the sacred site.

Being there

One resident put the drive from Haa at more than two hours. Others say the northern route to Haa takes about four. Roads in Gakiling are vulnerable to landslides and floods. Five bridges there have been washed away, and Gakiling’s local leader has warned that it could be isolated again.