Within Bhutan, a small Kingdom in the Himalayas, hidden away in the deep forest and high mountains, live the Monpa, the Indigenous people considered the country’s first inhabitants. In 2014, the Monpa asked the Tribal Trust to help them preserve their culture. We responded by funding their grassroots cultural preservation initiatives every year since then. As the Monpa Lama Dophu stated, “if it wasn’t for the Tribal Trust Foundation, we would have lost our culture by now. But there is still work to do.” Learn more here.
We are happy to report the formal recognition of the Indigenous Monpa’s grassroots cultural preservation initiative. The inauguration and launching of the Research Project of Indigenous Monpa Culture and Tradition was a cause for celebration and it was so newsworthy that the BBC Bhutan covered it! This project was funded by Serving our Spirits and the Tarayana Foundation in partnership with the Tribal Trust. We are grateful for our Bhutanese partners Karma Lotey of Yangphel Travel and the Governor of Trongsa for organizing and supporting this project. We thank you, our donors, for your dedication to our shared mission in bringing honor, awareness, and support to the Indigenous people of Bhutan.
Research Project of Indigenous Monpa Culture and Tradition
Monpa Elders are prioritizing the preservation of their Indigenous language. Their goal is to translate their oral language into Dzongkha and English and create a dictionary. The endangered language will then be taught in the classroom of the local boarding school. UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 recognizes, “Languages are one of the most significant emblems of human diversity, revealing how we can perceive, relate to, and understand the world differently … they are vehicles of our cultures, collective memory, and values. Languages are an essential component of our identities.” Embedded within the Monpa language is traditional ecological knowledge referred to as TEK, which is specific knowledge used to maintain local resources necessary for survival and nature conservation. TEK is crucial for cultural resilience in times of great change. It fortifies Indigenous youth with an Indigenous perspective of their environment and an understanding of the interconnectedness of life and their sacred place in it.
ABOUT THE SYMBOL
The mountain symbolizes a combination of protection, spirituality, and continuity of belief. It represents the Monpas‘ deep connection to their ancestral practices and their reverence for local deities. (Lhachen Durshing) prior to the spread of Buddhism by Buddha.
The human pictorial elements under and around the local deity (Lhachen Durshing) represent the existence of the historical and cultural roots of the Monpas community.
The golden rosary held by an individual symbolizes the active presence of the Indigenous cultures and traditions and its original Monpas from an early era of the universe.
Symbolized by the mirror, Golden Mirror of Monpa Culture and Tradition is an initiative to promote and preserve the cultural heritage and traditions of the Monpa community.
Monpa student by Barry Shaffer
WE WISH YOU A HAPPY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY AS CELEBRATED IN THE USA ON OCTOBER 9TH!
You can make a difference in the lives of Indigenous peoples and Mother Earth by
standing alongside the movement to safeguard and uplift Indigenous communities and help them in preserving their culture.
The Tribal Trust Foundation is located in the unceded homelands of the Chumash People and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. By recognizing these communities, we attempt to honor their legacies, their lives, and descendants. To learn more about the Indigenous People’s land on which your home or work sits, visit: native-land.ca
