ROLONG| BHUTANESE ZOMBIES AND DOOR DESIGN

Dead walking or famously known in western stories and films as ‘Zombies,’ share a similar legendary concept of undead corporeal revenant ‘Rolong’ in Bhutan. I remember Angay Sheysam of Uma who used to narrate a lot of stories, mostly ghosts and fairy tales. I can’t remember many as succinctly as she used to narrate many years ago, but one thing mirrors clear. Her stories had values and relevance to Bhutanese culture and tradition. She passed away at the age of hundred. 

One evening, following a chilling Rolong story, she connected the moral to an architect of traditional Bhutanese houses. It was to do with the design of doors. She said, aged old Bhutanese houses had shorter height doors and higher thresholds to obstruct the Rolong from attacking the living. Elderly folks still believe Rolongs walk upright and cannot bend their heads hence every chance of thudding their heads on upper block. They cannot walk normally so every chance of tripping with higher thresholds.

In jest or sometimes to mean seriously, the folks from the other regions would say, “ngalong rolong” to those from the west. This satiric rhyme gives an indication that Rolong was either a legend or a belief prevalent in the western part of Bhutan. 

Caution: Pictures of these houses are used only to depict the tradition. They are not at all associated with Rolongs. 

Picture courtesy: A traditional house at Namseling, Thimphu.