Bhutan does not have a rich tradition of theatre, and most of Bhutan’s performing arts are associated with Buddhism. The Polek Molek dance is one of the very few folk dance-dramas and certainly the only one performed consistently throughout the entire country. Polek Molek means the handsome men and beautiful women. It features two couples and several clown figures, and is constituted of a great deal of lewd jokes and pranks. Though performed for entertainment it nonetheless carries a strong moral message.
It is said to have been based on the story of King Norzang, a righteous human monarch who has fallen in love with a nymph-like goddess. The story of Norzang is a popular narrative in the Himalayan world and is enacted in the Tibetan theatrical performance of Ache Lhamo as one of the eight stories performed by Tibetan Ache Lhamo theatre groups. However, the Bhutanese Polek Molek dance doesn’t bear much semblance to the Tibetan performance. This dance-drama is often the last dance to conclude the day’s public performances during a festival.
The two male figures wear ceremonial gho (བགོ་), the national dress for men in Bhutan, and ceremonial boots called tsoklham (ཚོགས་ལྷམ་) or dralham (དྲག་ལྷམ་). They each wear a mask depicting a fair handsome man. They wear scarves crisscrossed over their torsos and also a long sword hanging from their waists, held by silver belts with intricate carvings. They also wear an ornate and large silver amulet box that hangs around their neck on silk scarf. The two female characters, also played by men, wear masks of fair beautiful women. They are dressed in intricately designed kira (དཀྱི་ར་), the national dress for women, which are made from very expensive textiles. They wear silk blouses and jackets and traditional boots for women called tsanglham (གཙང་ལྷམ་). Also present are many clowns, chief of whom are an old man wearing a dark mask and woolen robe, and an old woman wearing a dark mask with red lips and a kira bearing the traditional montha (མོན་ཐགས་) pattern.
The dance’s choreography is simple, though the two men and women sing complicated songs to each other. The dance is accompanied by the sounds of a small cymbal and two long horns. After the first chapter, the two male dancers leave the ground, to indicate King Norzang’s departure for war. Before they leave, they adorn their wives with the silver caskets and rings as tokens of love. The next act is full of pranks by the clowns as they seduce the beautiful women in their husbands’ absence. The clowns carry the women off to the corners of the stage and fondle them. The old dark woman, on her part, shows human jealousy by violently beating the clowns for the undivided attention paid to the beautiful women.
When the handsome men reappear on the scene, they are upset to discover their wives’ adultery. Quite rashly, they punish the ladies by cutting off the tips of their noses with their swords. A doctor is summoned to treat the wounds, but he has to be enticed using various offers before the women are finally treated. The final scene enacts a war between the two handsome men and the clowns. An artificial barrier is erected and the two confront each other brandishing swords and sticks. Each scene, though performed solemnly by the lead characters, are filled with jokes, light-hearted pranks, and exaggerated gestures by the clowns. Thus, the dance-drama is full of jovial scenes and boisterous acts, some of which is composed extemporaneously by the witty and capable clowns. As such, it is one of the most entertaining public performances in any village festival although it contains a lot of erotic scenes which are not particularly family-friendly. The dance-drama, like other dances during a festival, is performed on the ground as those assembled both socialize with each other and comment on the performance.
Karma Phuntsho is a social thinker and worker, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of many books and articles including The History of Bhutan.