PARSHING BHUM | BEYOND OM SA LA MANI

With modern infrastructural revolutions, Bhutan’s architectural traditions and designs including that of sacred beliefs and practices alluding to construction of houses are fading away real quickly. One such precious tradition is “Parshing Boelay Zhuni (པར་ཤིང་བོད་ལས་ཞུ་ནི) and “Parshing Boelu Tang-ni (པར་ཤིང་བོད་ལུ་གཏང་ནི)”. Parshing (wooden frame) is used for ramming mud to construct traditional houses. While traditional architects are still prevalent in the remote pockets of central and western regions of Bhutan, the sacred beliefs, oral traditions and rituals of “Parshing Boelay Zhuni and Tangni” are either completely missing, distorted or in partial practice. This is perturbing for a culturally sensitive country like Bhutan. 

For a family to construct a house, it is foremost that they consult a good astrologer. The astrologer will then oversee the identified plot if it can be borrowed from divine beings like the local deities (གནས་བདག་གཞི་བདག), evil spirits (གདོན་འབྱུང་པོ), nagas (ཀླུ) and others. Through the spiritual medium of communicating with these beings and promising compensatory offerings, the astrologer borrows the plot for the family. This practice is called “sa-lhang” or borrowing of plot. 

After the stone foundation is laid down by the dhozob, the parzob will then fit in parshing (wooden frame). A bunch of women including a lead singer will ram mud and sing along Om Sa La Mani. The verses cover a lyrical story whereby it is believed that the parshing that is being used to build the walls is not an ordinary one. These male and female frames made from planks are referred to as Pho-shing Ugyen Tshering and Mo-shing Tshering Gyem deriving from a belief that these planks are fetched from Tibet. Thus, the proceeding is referred to as “Parshing Boelay Zhuni”. 

While Tibet is a barren land and barely any vegetation, fetching wood large enough to make wooden frames could be a mythical account. Nevertheless, when the lyrics mention that it is from Shelkar Drak (ཤེལ་དཀར་བྲག) I'm assuming that it could be somewhere between Bhutan and Tibet. The lyrical story tells— a team comprising the carpenter, Drungso Karmo, and his team explores all over the place and after much struggles, they land up at Shelkar Drak. When they eventually come across the tree of their choice, “Bjamo Serlay Buthri” the resident bird protests that the tree belongs to her. She also pleads that she has her eggs ready to hatch. It is a painful encounter yet only on reading the Royal edict of the Tibetan King does Serlay Buthri agree to move out. 

At that very moment, sympathetic Drak-tsen Gyelmo (female deity of the cliff) shows up and offers the bird and her eggs a serene cave on her cliff to resettle. The tree then falls off and is made into wooden frames. For ferrying the planks, the team uses the river cascading south. Unfortunately, Lugi Tsuna Rinchen (the King of the Nagas) robs off the planks as he is also in dire need of parshing to construct his palace. Only after his construction does Drungso Karmo gets the planks back. Finally, the frames are ready for building the house of Aum Jordhen Chum (the house owner).

On completion, these frames are so precious that Aum Jordhen Chum has little right to keep. The planks have to be delivered back to nature and in particular to Shelkar Drak. This tradition of sending back is known as “Parshing Boelu Tangni”. A figurine of a beautiful lady referred to as “Parshing Bhum” is made on the day of house consecration and sends back to Tibet. The figurine is dressed in the best of attires and lots of souvenirs are sent along to thank her. Female singers and dancers lineup and a bunch of men slide up parshing Bhum to the attic. During the ceremony, a group of witty men seated in the attic and a line of female singers cum dancers on the ground exchange verses over Parshing Bhum. Some verses are crass and indecent for a purpose and not merely for entertainment.

The figurine of Parshing Bhum can be seen on the attics of traditional houses facing north. This is to indicate that she has gone back to Tibet or Shelkar Drak.

Source: Aum Pem, Gaselo. 

Photo: Self.