Khegpas

On our way home we meet a lot of people, as usual, but today I look at every person with suspicion. An old man is carrying a sack on his back. “There is a Khegpa,” I tease my friend. Deep within I do not know whether or not to believe the Khegpa rumours I have been hearing.

Rumours about Khegpas (human head hunters) have travelled throughout Bhutan it seems. My aunt recently came from Mongar. She said she heard that a small girl’s head was taken by a Khegpa there but no one had seen anything.

“It is in Mongar? I thought that happened in Orong, Samdrup Jongkhar,” said my uncle who had recently come from there. He had got calls from friends enquiring about the little girl because some heard it was in Orong.

Some people even know the exact number of heads the Khegpas need. Are they working as agents for them? Ha ha

The rumours have spread far too because my friends in India were also curious about it. Right after my friend called him mother to inform about his reach to his mother the first thing she told him was to be careful of Khegpas.

He wore a serious face when he told us about it. He said that his mom had informed him that a man was caught in his village for being a Khegpa but he had an official letter (permission) from the highest authority and nothing could be done.

I laughed hearing that but the stern look he gave me, was prove enough that he believed in it. I asked if I could contact anyone in his village but he was not ready to talk.

It is not in the villages that people have started fearing Khegpas but also here in the capital.

I heard that in some places villagers sleep with knife under their pillow. Some keep poisoned arrows and bows near their beds.

As far as I remember my mother used to tell me that a Khegpa would come along and take my head if I played till dark outside. She thought that would scare me and keeps me home but that never worked and thank God I never met a Khegpa too.

If khegpas really exist who are they? And as people say if human head is needed as sacrifice while building big projects and bridges so that they will last long where are all the rest of the body parts?

Why is it that no one has seen one till date?
I agree that a lot of the people go missing and in some case they are never found but that is not prove enough for the existence of Khegpas.
Photo kuenselonline.com

Drayangs are spreading

When I heard of 71-year-old Chojey Lhamo, visiting a drayang (bars with girl as entertainers) every day, I had many questions in my mind and really wanted to meet her.

After asking a few friends for her address, I was able to meet her.

Chojey Lhamo said that she found the drayang entertaining and spends a lot of her time there. Chojey usually lives in Babisa and when she comes to Thimphu to her granddaughter’s place, she never misses going to the drayang.

In the morning she goes to the memorial chorten and in the evening she sits in a corner of the drayang watching people perform on stage.

It has been almost one year that she has been following this routine.

However, she said that she has seen men misbehaving with the girls and that she does not like it at all. “Everything has good and a bad part and there are good and bad men,” she said.

There are people who say that the evolving drayang culture in Bhutan is not healthy for youth while there are also those who say it is entertaining.

I strongly believe that the drayang culture is soon going to become dirtier than expected. I know that the girls working there are not educated and have source of other income but they are also looking for fast money at the same time.

An aunt of mine offered a job to a girl working in the drayang as a sales girl. She said she would pay Nu 3000 but the girl refused saying she earned more than that in a drayang.

One of the high rank official said that Drayangs are a cover-up operation for prostitution but he won’t let me quote that. How am i going to make a difference then? I have written a lot about this issue but nothing has happened.

It this culture is not stopped right at the start, it won’t be long when prostitution will spread.

Whatever the circumstances may be statistics show that the draying culture is spreading to dzongkhags out of Thimphu.
The number of drayangs in Bhutan has increased. There are more that 22 drayangs in Bhutan now, majority of them being situated in Thimphu.