Folktales of Bhutan
Bhutan

Folktales of Bhutan

by Kunzang Choden

Spirituality & Faith Fiction Short Stories 1994

Summary

Folktales of Bhutan is a collection of 38 traditional tales and legends gathered from Bhutan’s rich oral storytelling heritage. Drawing on stories she heard as a child growing up in Bumthang, central Bhutan, Kunzang Choden preserves narratives passed down through generations, offering readers a glimpse into the country’s cultural beliefs, values, and imagination.

The collection features a diverse range of stories involving animals, spirits, ghosts, demons, legendary figures, and the unseen forces believed to inhabit the natural world. Shaped by Buddhist beliefs, ideas about karma and rebirth, and Bhutan’s close relationship with its mountainous environment, these tales reflect how communities have understood life’s mysteries and their place in the world.

Illustrated by Bhutanese artists, the book combines traditional storytelling with distinctive visual interpretations inspired by Bhutanese and Buddhist art. Beyond entertaining readers, it serves as an important record of a cultural heritage that Choden sought to preserve as Bhutan underwent social change and modernisation.

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Country
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Asia
About the author
Kunzang Choden
Kunzang Choden

Kunzang Choden is a Bhutanese author, folklorist, and cultural preservationist, widely recognised as the first Bhutanese woman to publish a novel in English. Born in 1952 in the Bumthang district of central Bhutan, she grew up surrounded by the country’s rich oral storytelling traditions. At the age of nine, she was sent to school in India, where she learned English. She later studied psychology at Indraprastha College in Delhi and sociology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the United States. Choden initially worked as a teacher and later for the United Nations Development Programme in Bhutan. From the 1990s onward, she devoted much of her writing to documenting Bhutanese folklore, traditional beliefs, and women’s experiences. Her books include Folktales of Bhutan (1994), Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti (1997), and Tales in Colour and Other Stories (2009). Her acclaimed novel The Circle of Karma (2005) explores the changing roles of women in Bhutanese society. Through fiction and folklore, Choden preserves cultural traditions while examining the tensions between tradition, modernisation, and gender expectations. She also co-founded Riyang Books, a Bhutanese publishing house established in 2012 to support local literature and writers.

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Details
Published
1994
Author
Kunzang Choden