Af-riikka

"In Bhutan, chilli is not a spice. It is a vegetable." These were some of the wise words I was told during the flash introduction to culture, security and practical issues in Bhutan by the UN security officer during my first week. Since then, I have been asked the question "how are you coping with the food here?" in a worried tone, as not everyone is as fond of chillies in every single dish as the Bhutanese are. Selection of Bhutanese dishes at the Folk Heritage Museum restaurant. Chilli sauce ( ezay ) in the front, ema datshi (chillies and cheese) third bowl from the front. Luckily, I was a chilli lover even before coming here, so the experience has not been as extreme as it could be. An average Bhutanese household can use one large sack of chillies (2 kg or so) in one week. It is hard to think of a proper Bhutanese meal without them - and yet chillies are a recent import, perhaps only 100-200 years old. Nowadays Bhutanese staple food usually consists of r

Christmas, the most commercial religious holiday of all is approaching. One might think that the materialistic, carnevalistic celebration of religious holidays would not have reached Bhutan yet – wrong. The two tsechu s, religious festivals I have testified in Thimphu, the capital and in Bumthang, Central Bhutan have had a vast selection of attractions outside the official programme of sacred dances ( cham ): gambling, drinking, dancing girls...you know, the usual things you would associate with a Buddhist festival!    But first: what is a tsechu ? Bhutanese tsechu s are important social and religious gatherings which last 2-5 days and take place in the courtyards of dzongs (administrative and religious centres of the district) or lhakhangs (temples or monasteries) .  The main programme consists of sacred dances which have different significances, commemorating the events in the life of Guru Padmasambhava who brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8 th century and is revered