Dzongpen (Dzongkha: རྗོང་དཔོན་; Wylie: rjong-dpon; also spelled "Dzongpon," "Dzongpön," "Jongpen," "Jongpon," "Jongpön") is a Dzongkha term roughly translated as governor or dzong lord. Bhutanese dzongpens, prior to unification, controlled certain areas of the country, but now hold no administrative office. Rather, dzongpens are now entirely subservient to the House of Wangchuck.

Traditionally, Bhutan comprised nine provinces: Trongsa, Paro, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Daga (also Taka, Tarka, or Taga), Bumthang, Thimphu, Kurtoed (also Kurtoi, Kuru-tod), and Kurmaed (or Kurme, Kuru-mad).[1] The Provinces of Kurtoed and Kurmaed were combined into one local administration, leaving the traditional number of governors at eight. While some lords ruled from dzongs (dzongpens), others held the title of penlop (Dzongkha: དཔོན་སློབ་; Wylie: dpon-slob; also "Ponlop"), a title also translated as "governor," though penlops tended to be more powerful.

Dzongpens ruled in Byagha, Dalay, Dalingkote, Ha, Kham, Punakha (the "Punab"), Singhi, Tashichho Dzong, Thimphu (the "Thimphub"), Tuwa, and Wangdue Phodrang (the "Wangzob").[2]

Under the dual system of government, penlops and dzongpens were theoretically masters of their own realms but servants of the Druk Desi. In practice, however, they were under minimal central government control, and the Penlop of Trongsa and Penlop of Paro dominated the rest of the local lords.[3] And while all governor posts were officially appointed by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, later the Druk Desi, some offices such as the Penlop of Trongsa were de facto hereditary and appointed within certain families. Penlops and dzongpens often held other government offices such as Druk Desi, governor of other provinces, or a second or third term in the same office.[4]

History

Under Bhutan's early theocratic dual system of government, decreasingly effective central government control resulted in the de facto disintegration of the office of Shabdrung after the death of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1651. Under this system, the Shabdrung reigned over the temporal Druk Desi and religious Je Khenpo. Two successor Shabdrungs – the son (1651) and stepbrother (1680) of Ngawang Namgyal – were effectively controlled by the Druk Desi and Je Khenpo until power was further splintered through the innovation of multiple Shabdrung incarnations, reflecting speech, mind, and body. Increasingly secular regional lords (penlops and dzongpens) competed for power amid a backdrop of civil war over the Shabdrung and invasions from Tibet, and the Mongol Empire.[5] The penlops of Trongsa and Paro, and the dzongpons of Punakha, Thimphu, and Wangdue Phodrang were particularly notable figures in the competition for regional dominance.[5][6]

Ugyen Wangchuck surrounded by his councillors at Punakha, Bhutan, 1905. Front Row: son of Thimphu Jongpen, Punakha Jongpen, Thimphu Jongpen, Trongsa Penlop, Zung Donyer [dronyer], Deb Zimpon, and elder son of Thimphu Jongpen.

Within this political landscape, the Wangchuck family originated in the Bumthang region of central Bhutan.[7] The family belongs to the Nyö clan, and is descended from Pema Lingpa, a Bhutanese Nyingmapa saint. The Nyö clan emerged as a local aristocracy, supplanting many older aristocratic families of Tibetan origin that sided with Tibet during invasions of Bhutan. In doing so, the clan came to occupy the hereditary position of Penlop of Trongsa, as well as significant national and local government positions.[8]

The Penlop of Trongsa controlled central and Bhutan; the rival Penlop of Paro controlled western Bhutan; and dzongpons controlled areas surrounding their respective dzongs. Eastern dzongpens were generally under the control of the Penlop of Trongsa, who was officially endowed with the power to appoint them in 1853.[4]: 106, 251  The Penlop of Paro, unlike Trongsa, was an office appointed by the Druk Desi's central government. Because western regions controlled by the Penlop of Paro contained lucrative trade routes, it became the object of competition among aristocratic families.[8]

Punakha Dzongpens

Punakha Dzong, administrative fortress of the Punabs
Punakha Dzong

Below are the Dzongpens of Punakha, also called "Punab."

Punakha Dzongpens[9]: 154 
Number Name
1Punab Pekar Rubgye
2Punab Tenzin Drukda
3Punab Druk Pelzang
4Punab Tenpa Wangchuck
5Punab Dalub Tobgye
6Punab Dang Tashi
7Punab Damchho Rinchhen
8Punab Ngodub
9Punab Phuntsho Dorji
10Punab Thonglay
11Punab Wangchuck
12Punab Wangsha

Thimphu Dzongpens

Below are the Dzongpens of Thimphu, also called "Thimphub."

Simtokha Dzong, historical administrative center of Thimphu
Tashichho Dzong, administrative center of Thimphu
Thimphu Dzongpens[4]: 205 
Number Name
1Thimphub Awu Tshering
2Thimphub Norbu
3Thimphub Ngwang Gyeltshen
4Thimphub Tashi Dorji
5Thimphub Druk Rubgye
6Thimphub Sonam Drugyel
7Thimphub Dondub
8Thimphub Druk Phuntsho
9Thimphub Druk Tenzin
10Thimphub Chhoki Gyeltshen (Tshewang Rinchhen)[4]: 135, 251 [Thimphub 1]
11Thimphub Uma Dewa (Sherub Tharchhin)[4]: 252 [Thimphub 2]
12Thimphub Kasha
13Thimphub Karma Drugyel
14Thimphub Khasab Tobgye
15Thimphub Kawang Manghkhel
16Thimphub Lama Thewang
17Thimphub Alu Dorji
18Thimphub Kunzang Thinley
19Thimphub Pema
20Thimphub Kunzang Thinley[Thimphub 3]
Notes:
  1. ↑ Tshewang Rinchhen assassinated Druk Desi Wangchuck Gyalpo in 1851; the same year, Wangzob Chaap had Tshewang Rinchhen assassinated.
  2. ↑ Uma Dewa (Sherub Tharchhin) was assassinated by Zimpon Dachung in 1857.
  3. ↑ Second tenure. Father of First Queen Tsundue Pema Lhamo

Wangdue Dzongpens

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong
Wangdue Phodrang Dzong

Below are the Dzongpens of Wangdue Phodrang, also called "Wangzob."[2]: 132, 141  [4]: 86 

Wangdue Dzongpens[4]: 207 
Number Name
1Wangzob Chhoje Namkha Rinchhen
2Wangzob Gedun Chhophel
3Wangzob Ngwang Tshering
4Wangzob Druk Tenzin
5Wangzob Sangye Tenzin
6Wangzob Lepi Sherub
7Wangzob Sonam Lhundup
8Wangzob Sangay
9Wangzob Kunga Gyeltshen
10Wangzob Phuntsho Namgyel
11Wangzob Dalub Tobgye
12Wangzob Sigay
13Wangzob Tenzin Namgyel
14Wangzob Kawang Sangay
15Wangzob Angdu
16Wangzob Jigme Namgyel[Wangzob 1]
17Wangzob Thinley Tobgye
18Wangzob Ashang Jampa
19Wangzob Kodu
20Wangzob Domchu
Notes:
  1. ↑ Father of First King Ugyen Wangchuck

See also

References

  1. ↑ Madan, P. L. (2004). Tibet, Saga of Indian Explorers (1864–1894). Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 77. ISBN 978-81-7304-567-7. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  2. 1 2 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: White, J. Claude (1909). "Appendix I – The Laws of Bhutan". Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-One Years on the North-East Frontier, 1887–1908. New York: Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 11, 272–3, 301–10. ISBN 9780598739278. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  3. ↑ Zetland (Marquis of), Lawrence John Lumley Dundas; Ronaldsha, E.; Asian Educational Services (2000). Lands of the thunderbolt: Sikhim, Chumbi & Bhutan. Asian Educational Services. p. 204. ISBN 978-81-206-1504-5. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dorji, C. T. (1994). "Appendix III". History of Bhutan based on Buddhism. Sangay Xam, Prominent Publishers. p. 200. ISBN 978-81-86239-01-8. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  5. 1 2 Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Worden, Robert L. (September 1991). Savada, Andrea Matles (ed.). Bhutan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. Administrative Integration and Conflict with Tibet, 1651–1728.
  6. ↑ Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Worden, Robert L. (September 1991). Savada, Andrea Matles (ed.). Bhutan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. Civil Conflict, 1728–72.
  7. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (2011). So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas. Vintage Departures. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-0-307-80190-6. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  8. 1 2 Gter-ston, Padma-gliṅ-pa; Harding, Sarah (2003). Harding, Sarah (ed.). The life and Revelations of Pema Lingpa. Snow Lion Publications. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-55939-194-8. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  9. ↑ Dorji, C. T. (1995). A political & religious history of Bhutan, 1651-1906. Delhi, India: Sangay Xam; Prominent Publishers. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
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