Bhutan Days

April 8-9, 2005


Nearly 10,000 miles and 12 time zones separate the Chihuahuan desert of El Paso from the Himalayan mountains and the Kingdom of Bhutan.

These two worlds come together in the Bhutanese architecture of the University of Texas at El Paso campus.

This architectural connection is strengthened through appreciation of Bhutanese culture and tradition. Bhutan Days at UTEP creates that opportunity.


THE KINGDOM
Bhutan is a breathtakingly beautiful country located in the rugged landscape of the Himalayas, between the great Tibetan plateau and the plains of India.

Landlocked and bordered by China and India, Bhutan is roughly the size of Switzerland. It is home to 700,000 residents — a population about the same as El Paso’s.


ARCHITECTURE
UTEP's architectural connection to Bhutan was inspired by a 1914 issue of National Geographic that contained a photo essay about the kingdom.

The wife of the first dean of the Texas School of Mines (now UTEP) saw the article and suggested that Bhutanese-style buildings were well suited to the foothills of the Franklin Mountains.

UTEP’s buildings resemble Buddhist fortress/monasteries, called dzongs. Their distinctive architecture includes massive, sloping walls, hipped roofs and high, inset windows. Circular mosaic designs called mandalas are set into ornamental bands of brick just below the buildings’ rooflines.

Visitors from Bhutan comment that the UTEP campus reminds them of home.


HANDCRAFTED ALTAR
A masterpiece of Bhutanese craftsmanship is on display in the University Library atrium.

The elaborately carved Bhutanese altar, hand painted with birds, serpents and flowers, stands 8 feet tall and 23 feet long. It was donated to UTEP by the Asia Society after an exhibit in New York.

The altar’s deep, rich colors have special religious significance in Bhutan. Its windows, framed by fanciful carved and painted woodwork, are meant to reflect light from butter lamps left as offerings to the gods.


SYMBOLS OF LEARNING
Just above the altar in the Library atrium hangs a magnificent hand-embroidered tapestry.

Made by Buddhist monks in Bhutan’s capital of Thimphu, the 12-by-16 foot tapestry was commissioned by the university in 1987. It incorporates dragons and other powerful symbols traditionally found in Bhutanese culture.

A decade later, the university commissioned the 18-by-24 foot tapestry that now adorns the Undergraduate Learning Center’s first floor. Hand embroidered by Bhutanese monks, this tapestry features symbols of education and worldly fortune.

In Bhutan, huge tapestries like these are hung from dzongs during Buddhist festivals to confer blessings on the assembled faithful.


SPICY TRADITIONS
Traditional Bhutanese food features spicy red or green chiles. A traditional dish called emadatsi is made of green chiles prepared with a cheese sauce, much like the chile con queso so popular in the American Southwest.

Another popular dish is vegetable curry with rice. More remote villages also specialize in tsampa, a Tibetan-style dish of barley flour mixed with salt and butter tea, then kneaded into paste.


GOODWILL AND PEACE
An authentic Buddhist prayer wheel handcrafted in Bhutan is located in the gardens of the Centennial Museum.

The large cylindrical vessel is filled with handwritten prayers of goodwill. When spun in a clockwise direction, it is said to send out messages and blessings of peace.

The lawn of the museum is decorated with multi-colored prayer flags. As they flutter in the breeze, they are believed to lift prayers to the heavens.


THE ART OF MUSIC
Bhutanese music is known for the softness of its sound.

Performers use traditional musical instruments, which include the yang-chin (dulcimer) , the pi-wang (two-stringed fiddle) , the lim (flute) and the dranyen (a 7-stringed instrument shaped like the mandolin) .

While the lim is the most popular instrument among Bhutanese people, the most typical is the dranyen. The dranyen is said to have special musical powers so great that it attracts both good and evil spirits.

The Royal Academy of Performing Arts was started in 1954 to preserve and promote Bhutanese performing arts, including the popular hand crafted music instruments.


BIGGEST BOOK IN THE WORLD
Weighing 133 pounds and measuring 5-by-7 feet, Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest published book.

The 114-page tome, which was donated to UTEP, is on permanent display at the University Library. It’s listed as UTEP’s one-millionth volume.

Portraits of people are life-size, or bigger. Panoramas convey some of the staggering sweep of the Himalayans and the graceful Bhutanese architecture.


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