Discover one of the most remote villages at the foot of the Himalayas. Laya, and in particular Bhutan, has a reason to be grateful to the fox, as she helped Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to reach Bhutan and unify it. The year was 1616. Heavy snowfall had completely blocked the road between Bhutan and Tibet. The trail was lost. The mountains on either side seemed to close in on each other. Zhab Drung Namgyal was lost. That night, the great Lama dreamed that an animal would show him the way the next day. And so it happened. A fox howled at regular intervals. The great Lama followed the sound and the footprints, and was able to cross the mountain pass safely. The region he arrived at was Laya.
Below the village, in a small meadow, through which Zhabdrung is believed to have passed, is a chorten with the footprints of Zhabdrung and his horse.
Spread out on a hillside at 3,700 m, close to the Tibetan border, Laya is one of the highest villages in Bhutan. Here one comes face to face with the most primal in the stunning beauty of nature in its raw authenticity, manifested in the towering Masagang (7165m) towering over the village, the snow-capped mountains emitting golden hues. to the sun and the arched blue sky. over the valley It is a spectacle as fascinating as it is terrifying.
Even now, Laya is unapproachable. You can go there either by helicopter or on foot. The region is a home to Layaps and the old faithful – the hairy Yaks. Life here is not easy at all. People live in the most wonderful conditions. The daytime temperature in winter often drops to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Snow over a foot deep stays for days on end. In rainy summers, the Laya Valley is shrouded in mist and clouds. Headstrong elastic leeches harass humans and animals. Except for some wheat, corn, millet and some vegetables, nothing grows here. However, to match the demands of the environment, the layaps have developed the spirit and culture that are unique to Layan: the spirit of adventure, the spirit of optimism. Layaps are robust as they are modest.
It is strange that despite the fact that so little is grown here, Laya is called the grain basket of Gasa, one of the districts of Bhutan. Some houses are said to have stored grain dating back two decades each house and even some of the cattle stables are a barn.
Worshipers of Dra-Lha (local deity), the Layaps are a community at peace with their culture which is quite different. The practice of polyandry ensures that ownership remains within the family.
The women have long hair and wear peculiar conical bamboo hats with a bamboo spike at the top, held in place by a band of beads. Her clothing consisted of a black woolen jacket and a long Tibetan-style woolen skirt with horizontal stripes in natural or earth colors. Men have largely changed into Gho, the national dress of Bhutan. Layaps live in one- or two-story houses made of stone or wood. Yaks and horses, mainly the former, constituted the livelihood of this community, which depended to a great extent on portering and barter. In addition to being imbued with stamina and strength to carry a load, yaks provide milk and milk products, as well as hair and hair products. Master of instinct and sure-footed, the yak is the first and last companion in high-altitude snowy areas, including the treacherous Snowman Trek. Yak could be the biggest tourist attraction and income generator for the community.
The yak ride during the yak show held in October 2003 in Bhutan made a great impression on tourists. The show was organized to examine the suitability of the animal to be trained to ride. One of the jockeys from the University of Colorado said, “If riding a horse is like riding in a Toyota hilux, riding a yak is like moving around in a Land Cruiser.”
Even without the luxury of a highway, Laya already has a Basic Health Unit, a wireless communication facility, a center for renewable natural resources, and two non-formal education centers. With an essentially introspective and self-related society, Laya is a world unto herself. It was a day of monumental importance in April 1997 when the Layaps and the Royal Government created a community school.
This small, unassuming four-room structure, with stone walls and mud plastering is Laya’s window to the world. Sixty-four little boys and twenty-six little crimson-cheeked girls arrive from neighboring towns. They are taught the language of Milton and Shakespeare, the Arabic numerals and the grammar of Thumi Samboda.
These students have already set their sights on opportunities beyond the confines of Laya. Some of them want to become teachers, some dream of becoming doctors or engineers, while others want to become dzongda (district magistrate). During the wind of change, even close families find themselves torn between tradition and progress.
How the Layaps accept change or respond to the world beyond remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the school is there to stay and grow.