The highlands of Merak are silent with the lower villages of Trachegang
Brokor and Nepo Tradition of Highlanders of Merak and Sakteng with lower villages
of Trashigang
The
people of Merak and Sakteng are the Highlanders of Eastern Bhutan under
Trashigang Dzongkhag. They belong to community of nomadic herders who depend upon animals for his or her livelihood, since the time of their ancestors. they need
rich history, unique culture, costume, tradition, dress and language.
Their historical arrival to Bhutan dates back to 15th century, once they fled from the place called Tshona in Tibet after assassinating the wicked chieftain, who had ordered his people to get rid of peak through labour contribution to possess earlier sun rays to his palace. The contingent was led by Ama Jomo and Lam Jarepa amid sizable amount of individuals and animals. After taking many days of long journey, they finally reach this day Merak(meaning assail
fire) and Sakteng(meadow covered by bamboo). The older people were
exhausted of long journey and faced difficulty to cross
Nagchungla(Mountain pass) located between Merak and Sektang. Ama Jomo
sent back the older people and that they
settled in Sakteng. She then proceeded the journey with younger
people. After crossing Nagchungla mountain, she instructed them to
settle in Merak.
Among many traditions, the Brokor (journey for food grains) & Nepo(host) tradition are believed to possess started after their settlement, as they need to depend upon animals especially yaks, cattle and sheep thanks to cold climatic condition. Traditionally, each household owns the pastureland in their name and that they take animals for grazing to higher mountain during summer and lower pasture land in winter. They depend upon animals for his or her livelihood and therefore the status of persons depends on the amount of animals they possess.
The people of Eastern Bhutan (Sharchop) call people of Merak and Sektang as Brokpa and that they share a really
interesting traditional relationship over centuries passed down from
many generations. When the winter approaches, they were busy packing
things for his or her
journey to lowland villages(Chailng, Shonphu, Radhi, Phongme, Bidung,
Bartsham, Bikhar, Kanglung, Khaling & etc). Reaching destination,
they stayed with their Nepos(host). Most Brokpas have Nepos in several villages, with whom they need good trading and social relationship since from their ancestors. As a symbol
of meeting gesture, Brokpa offered butter and cheese to their host.
Then the host provided them with food, drinks and shelter, which was a symbol of strong bond.
During their stay within the
village, the Nepo helped them in exchaning their products with grains.
The products for exchange consisted prized yegpa(fermented cheese
inside leather bag), fresh cheese, butter, dried meats, wool &
incense. They exchanged these things mostly with food grains like
maize, rice, wheat, buckwheat, vegetables, etc. The exchange was done
through bater system, whereby Brokpa provided animal products in
Sang(traditional Bhutanese measurement of weight) or in kilogram. reciprocally
the lowland villagers provided grains either in Bre(traditional
measurement of grain) or Changdre of the agreed amount. After completing
the trading, the collected food grains were loaded on horses or Zo
(cross breed between cattle & yak) and that they started their return journey. The winter was busiest time for Brokpas as that they had to trade all the preserved animal products with grains and that they had to stock grains for one whole year.
With the of emergence modern of development, the tradition of Brokor and Nepo has also changed tons .
After connecting Merak and Sakteng by road, the vehicles have replaced
animals for transporting grains.Today, people rarely use livestock for transpotation. The Jalam(footpath) that was widely utilized in the past is now hardly used. Even the barter system that was widely practiced in past is now replaced by medium of exchange . The Nepo tradition which was practiced by both the communities since ancestors is not any
longer followed today. The drastic changes had undergone in Brokpa
community, where the younger generation after completing their education
are employed or migrated to urban areas for better opportunities. Some people that live back within the villages, have taken business as an alternate to the herding animals. The changes are often noticed to remote community that was once remained isolated for ages. The tradition of Brokor and Nepo is nearly in verge of disappearance and it's going to remain only as History.
Local dialect
Brokor, Nepo, Bre, Changdre, Yegpa, Jalam, Brokpa & Sang
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