– Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
Situated two thousand meters above sea level in what is considered to be one of the most beautiful valleys in the country, Paro has been a significant trade route linking Tibet to the Indian subcontinent and boasts some of Bhutan’s most emblematic monasteries. Built in 1645, at the behest of Shabdrung, the dzong of Rinpung (unmistakable due to its yellow roof) enjoys a privileged view over the valley of Paro. For centuries this imposing five-storey building would serve as an effective means of deterrence to the innumerable attempts of invasion by the Tibetans, and, already in the present era, would become known worldwide for having been the setting for many scenes of the film Little Buddha by the acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci. From the eleventh to the fifteenth day of the second month of the traditional lunar calendar of Bhutan (usually in March or April of the Gregorian calendar) a great annual festival is held in the vicinity, which Bhutanese call tshechu. On that occasion some sacred images are taken in procession, a ceremony followed by a series of traditional mask dances subordinated to religious themes performed by monks of various ages.
On the top of a slightly higher elevation, a cylindrical tower called Ta Dzong, literally “watchtower,” stands out as a defense landmark of the city. It seems as if it still has not fully recovered from the damage caused by the earthquake that occurred in 2011. With wide walls and seven floors it has a very peculiar design: circular and shell-shaped. It seems its architect wished to establish there a metaphor of the union of the sun (circle) with the moon (crescent). The Bhutanese believe that this union is the epitome of fame and victory.
Built in 1649, this dzong would serve as accommodation for the Bhutanese soldiers and, later, prison for the captives their enemies and, from 1968, saw the National Museum of Paro installed there. Currently provisionally exhibited in zinc-roofed barracks, its contents fills the spaces of several galleries classified according to various themes. We see there prehistoric artifacts, manuscripts, textiles, paintings, decorative arts, bronze pieces and epigraphic, philatelic and numismatic items. One of the most mysterious and intriguing items is the so-called “mule egg”! There is no written record as to its origin and all that is known about this unusual object comes from oral history. There are many traditional weapons (bows, arrows, shields and helmets) and modern (swords), these last being offerings of foreign diplomats to the third and fourth kings of Bhutan on the occasion of their respective coronations.
Follow
