One of the first rituals conducted when constructing a house in Bhutan is the salang choga (ས་བླང་ཆོ་ག་) or the ritual to request land. Bhutanese believe that the land is imbued with terrestrial spirits, the most important of which is Sadak Toché (ས་བདག་ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་). To maintain harmony with nature, one has to obtain the permission from the landowners—the earth spirits—in order to use the land.

First, the construction site must be evaluated. In addition to studying the landscape and the orientation of the land, small amounts of the soil from the site are taken in order to carry spiritual and geomantic analyses to check if the land is suitable for the person. If there are potential problems, rituals are carried out to avert any negative consequences.

After the site of the construction is confirmed, the salang ritual can take place on a day determined to be auspicious and appropriate for such activities. The astrologer performs the calculations using the patron’s individual horoscope to find an auspicious convergence of stars, planets and other astrological factors when s/he can request the land from the earth spirit. On the determined day, the Buddhist salang ritual starts with Taking Refuge (སྐྱབས་འགྲོ་) and Cultivation of Bodhicitta (སེམས་བསྐྱེད་) intention. This is often followed by the ritual of lhabsang (ལྷ་བསང་), or incense offering and fumigation, and trüsöl (ཁྲུས་གསོལ་), or purification through ablution. These rituals are believed to clear obstacles and invoke the blessings of the deities and spirits. Often, if there is a particularly prosperous and auspicious house nearby, some of their coals are taken to the building site and used to burn incense in a container made of precious metal. The direction in which the smoke rises is used as a sign to read the future and, if the omens are not auspicious, rituals to avert misfortunes are recommended.

However, the main part of the ritual is when one takes the land from the earth spirit. This spirit, Sadak Toché, is represented iconographically in the form of a serpent, and somewhat resembles a mermaid with a human upper torso and the lower half of a fish. It has a hood of snakes and carries a treasure vase on its right hand while the left hand covers its nose. Alternately, it can be portrayed in other forms; for example, as having a human body with a bull head that has a golden right horn and a turquoise-coloured left horn. Regardless of its representation, the spirit is believed to possess many miraculous powers.

The location of the spirit varies from site to site, and precise verification of Sadak Toché’s position on the land is important as one must know the exact spot at which to start digging. The first spadeful of earth must come from the spirit’s belly, which is considered the location of its abundance, which will then bless the occupants of the building. Digging anywhere else is considered inauspicious. The astrologer carries out a detailed calculation of the position of the earth and the time of the ritual using standard astrological formulas to find out the exact location of the earth spirit. With the help of a compass to verify the cardinal direction and a chart with the image of the earth spirit, an astrological calculation is done to pinpoint the earth spirit’s belly. A young person or a person of noble birth with the appropriate horoscope and no physical defects is then offered an ornamented digging tool to make the first mark on the belly of the earth spirit.

Once dug up, the soil is further analysed for its quality, and milk or water is poured into the spot as an offering. If the signs are not positive, rituals to improve the land’s quality and rituals to avert mishaps are recommended. For the final component of the ritual, ritual vases filled with the essences of four elements, minerals, precious metals, cereals, and other auspicious items and then buried in the centre and at the four corners of the site to inject the land with power.

The salang ritual represents the respect Bhutanese have towards the earth and their deep belief in the power of the natural environment, including its non-human denizens, and the importance of harmony between nature and human life.

Karma Phuntsho is the Director of Shejun Agency for Bhutan’s Cultural Documentation and Research, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of The History of Bhutan. The piece was initially published in Bhutan’s national newspaper Kuensel as part of a series called “Why We Do What We Do.”