Folklife: Bhutan 01

bhutan05
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

Traversing the Mall from the capitol toward the Washington Monument, you enter the Bhutan area and the first thing you see is this replica of a traditional monastic chapel. Granted, in Bhutan the building would be hugging some precarious precipice along a steep mountain trail in the Himilayan Mountains....so there is a little need to use one's imagination. This need dissolves once you enter and experience the dual-tone humming/chants of the monk chior as they demonstrate prayer, worship and meditation. It was a line well worth standing in!

My next stop was the Bhutanese food pavillion. I snacked on an order of traditional pork dumplings called Momos. The dumplings were steamed and came with a stewed tomato side dish liberally spiced with medium hot chilies. It gave me a certain pause. You're talking Bhutan. The MOST isolated nation on the planet, and yet a dish made of Tomatoes and Chiles is considered traditional--fruits unknown to the whole of Asia, Europe or Africa until after the invasion of the America's by Europeans in the 16th century.... folklife indeed!