Mongar Travel Guide

Mongar Travel Guide: Mongar district, previously known as Zhongar, is one of the six districts that make up eastern Bhutan. It borders Bumthang, Lhuentse, Pemagatshel and Trashigang districts, covering an area of about 1,954 sq. kilometers with elevations ranging from 400 to 4,000 meters above the sea level. The district numbers 500 households, 16 blocks, and a population of 37,069.The landscape is spectacular with stark cliffs and gorges and dense conifer forests.The region is notably famous for its weavers and special textiles and fabrics, generally considered to be among the best in the country. While a large section of Mongar’s people are traditional Buddhists, Bon practices also feature prominently in the religious life of the region. For instance, Kharphud, a Bon ritual to appease local deities and spirits, is an annual feature for some of the region’s people. An interesting aspect of this practice is the use of sexually provocative language purportedly aimed at dispelling shame and false modesty for the duration of the ceremonies.Four ethnic groups inhabit the valleys of Mongar: Tshanglas who form the bulk of the population, Kurtoeps who have moved to the district through marriage or migration, the Chhalips who inhabit a small part of Mongar, and the Gongdueps. The dialects spoken by the people of Chali and Gongdue are very unlike those spoken anywhere else, and their languages are under threat of vanishing as their people learn and assimilate the national language Dzongkha as well as the other more widely spoken languages such as Tshang La Kha and Lhotsham Kha. Woodworking is an important skill in Mongar and the gewog of Kengkhar, in particular, is well known for the production of wooden items such as ara containers or Jandhom, wooden bowls and cups or Daapas, masks, and wood-based musical instruments such as Jalings and Dungs. Other high value crafts from the region include hand-carved silver musical instruments used in religious rituals such as Jalings and Dungs.Popular games in the district include archery, degor (similar to the sport of horseshoe throwing in the west), Keshey (Bhutanese wrestling) soksum throwing (sharpened wood spears) and Khuru (darts).