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As Bhutan remained under self-imposed isolation for several centuries, modern economic development made its way to this country very much later than in many other countries. Agriculture is still the main source of livelihood for a large majority of the population. More than sixty percent of the people still live in rural villages tilling their land and raising livestock. Farmers generally use traditional methods of farming and homemade tools, but increasing numbers are beginning to use modern technology appropriate to their individual farming needs.
Bhutanese farmers grow nine basic varieties of cereal grains – wheat, barley, paddy, maize, bitter buckwheat, sweet buckwheat, pulse, foxtail millet, and finger millet. These are grown at different places and times, depending upon the altitude and season. The most dominant crop is rice followed by maize and wheat. Due to the introduction of new farming technologies and growth in market opportunities, farmers are venturing into commercial crops such as oranges, apples, cardamoms and potatoes. Commercial gardening of chilly, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, and asparagus is also undertaken nowadays.
Traditionally, when farming works are due, a suitable day is sought from the village astrologer for ploughing and sowing of seeds. Days coinciding with animal signs such as Ox, Tiger, and Sheep are avoided when oxen are used in the fields. Similarly, days bearing the signs of Rat, Rooster, and Pig are avoided for sowing seeds. Nevertheless, farmers generally stick to the throejorthroechen and throechung, which are combinations of two of the five elements according to astrology.
Every farmer aspires for a good harvest in any season. Therefore, the very first step is to gather stubble and twigs, which are then burnt in the field. Thereafter, manure is collected from cowsheds and scattered in the fields. The farmlands are ploughed with the help of a pair of male animals – oxen or yaks yoked together. In the eastern region, two men are required to guide the oxen with one at the yoke and the other holding the plough. In order to encourage the animals, some farmers sing inspirational songs called Lang ke or Lang kor.
Please come, my Dongkar,
Listen, with your golden ear,
Concentrate your mind.
Please come, my Yangcha,
Even if my voice is not soft as wool,
Prove that you are as strong as iron.
Come on, my Dongkar,
The breakfast that we have eaten this morning,
It is vanishing as the sun passes the midpoint.
Come on, my Yangcha,
Without having worked ahead,
It is hard to leave the results behind.
Come; turn on, my Dongkar,
The time has come for the sun to set behind the mountains,
You have to complete one more round of work.
Come; turn on, my Yangcha,
After successful completion of one more round, The repressing yoke will be removed from your neck.
Maize is the first crop to be sowed, right after the New Year celebrations. It is followed by paddy and other crops depending upon the elevation of the land. The maize seeds are thrown directly into the hollows of the soil as the ploughing is in progress. Unlike other crops, rice involves several cycles of attention and is the most tedious of all crops for cultivation, requiring constant irrigation and frequent weeding. Seeds are sown in separate nurseries in early spring and seedlings are
transplanted during the monsoon season. Both maize and rice are harvested between September and October. While harvesting the paddy, a beautiful song seeking high production is sung as follows:
Please shower, shower with prosperity!
The white-headed mother of prosperity,
Please bring productivity and [your] first offering.
Please shower, shower with prosperity!
The yellow-headed mother of prosperity,
Please bring productivity and [your] first offering.
Please shower, shower with prosperity!
The red-headed mother of prosperity,
Please bring productivity and [your] first offering.
Please shower, shower with prosperity!
The green-headed mother of prosperity,
Please bring productivity and [your] first offering.
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