The Accounts of Captain Samuel Turner’s Mission to Bhutan, 1783

 

Route of mission in 1783 (A map by Aris in views of medieval Bhutan: The Diary and Drawings of Samuel Davis 1783) 

After the historical visit of George Bogle in 1774, Bhutan received intermittent missions from the East India Company (EIC). Although Bogle had laid the foundation of intercourse between Bhutan and the EIC in 1774, there were no significant developments in trade and commerce. In addition, the second meeting between Bogle and the Sixth Panchen Lama of Tibet did not take place and consequently, no trade route between the EIC and Tibet was established though Bogle theoretically succeeded in opening the new trade route in 1775. Despite no significant development, Warren Hastings did not lose interest and maintained a cordial relationship with Bhutan and Desi. He dispatched Alexander Hamilton to Bhutan who already made a first visit to Bhutan with Bogle in 1774. Following the same route of the mission in 1774, Hamilton briefly visited Bhutan in 1776. In 1777, Hamilton made his third visit to congratulate the appointment of the new Desi (18^th Desi Jigme Sengye). Unlike Bogle and his successive visitors, Hamilton did not maintain a detailed journal of his visits and the accounts remained obscure.

After a hiatus of six years, in 1783, Hastings dispatched captain Samuel Turner of the Bengal army on a mission to Bhutan. The main objectives of the mission were to cede the district of Jalpish and Fallakotta[1] to Bhutan in hope of fostering the trade relationship and open trade and establishing an embassy in Tibet. At the same time, there was also news of the incarnation of the Sixth Panchen Lama Palden Yeshe (1737-1780) in Tibet. Turner was accompanied by surveyor Samuel Davis and surgeon Robert Saunder. Turner and his party departed from Calcutta in January 1783. Turner followed the same route taken by Bogle in 1774’s mission. Turner passed through Chichacotta, Buxa Duar, and entered Bhutan’s hill after receiving the permit from Desi on 22 May 1783. After days of journey, Turner and his party reached Gygoogoo[2] at the night they could hear the galloping murmurs of the Wangchhu. On the way to Murichom[3], Turner and his party were served locally brewed drink ‘ara’ from the hollow buffalo horns followed by tea and fruits. Turner described the drink as slightly acidic but it was a ‘grateful drink’. He also observed that water was conducted using an ingenious technique through hollow bamboo[4].

At Murichom, Turner observed there were twenty houses. The ground floor sheltered domestic animals; the first storey was occupied by the family and the space between the roof and the ceiling was used as a granary. Turner observes abundant cultivated land with cinnamon trees, strawberries, raspberries, as well peach trees.   

A sketch of houses at Murichom (Yale Center for British Art, as depicted in Aris, 1982)

The next day after passing through rocky paths and an iron chain bridge, they reached Chukkha Dzong. Samuel Davis had sketched the bridge they crossed. After halting a night at Chukkha Dzong, the party left the next day. On the way, Turner was stunned by the ripened strawberries roadside and could help himself dismounting from the horse and started collecting them. As the party nears the capital Trashichodzong, he observed that more lands were cultivated and the flow of Wangchhu had slowed down. On the way, Turner also noticed heaps of manure in the fields ready to be scattered but crops were thin. Witnessing the bareness of the hills and small-sized pines, Turner viewed that soils are less fertile.

A sketch of ‘iron chain bridge’ near Chukkha Dzong (Art by James Basire, after Davis 1783, as depicted in Aris, 1982)

After almost six months on the road, Turner and his party reached Trashichodzong in June 1783. Then Desi Jigme Sengye formally received Turner and his party on 3 June 1783 inside Trashichodzong. Like George Bogle in 1774, Turner described the Bhutanese traditional ways of receiving the guest at length. The party was served buttered tea and fruits of various types were presented before them. Turner then delivered the letters of Warren Hastings and the party were offered white scarves before they leave. During the meeting on the following day, Turner took presents for Desi. After letting servants out of the room, Turner and Desi had an informal talk on various subjects. Day followed when Turner also had a meeting with three chief officers of the state: Thimphu Dzongpoen, Zhung Dronyer, and the Zimpon. One fine evening, Turner and his party had dinner with Desi, however, they were allowed to prepare their dishes. It is said that Turner offered sweetmeats and wine to Desi but gracefully declined and later Turner understood that celibates are forbidden to touch alcohol. Interestingly, Turner left some wine on the ground that Desi might be tempted, whether or not Desi drank, a few days later there was a request asking for some more wine. Unlike Bogle in 1774 who noticed Trashichodzong sheltered 1000 monks and there was not even a single woman, Turner observed about fair 500 monks and surprisingly the water carriers for the Dzongs were the prettiest of the local girls. Like Bogle’s observation, Turner watched the monks’ procession to take bathe in Wangchhu.

View of part of Thimphu valley, looking North-West (Photo credit: Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, as depicted in Aris, 1982)

While waiting for a permit to enter Tibet at Trashichodzong, Turner and his friends had plenty of time to explore the valley. Every evening, Turner and his friends went for a walk and explored the unexplored world. In one place, Turner also observed papers being manufactured from the bark of trees, Probably a Daphne tree. During their months-long stay at Trashichodzong, they witnessed a civil war as Bogle in 1774. The uprising against the Desi was led by Wangdiphodrang Dzongpoen, who was a supporter of Zhidar and had been joined by a few disgruntled officers. Turner learnt that the rebel had captured Punakha Dzong and was approaching Trashichodzong. Day followed by rebels capturing a few villages in the vicinity of Trashichodzong. After some skirmishes, the Desi’s forces defeated the rebels and the rebels fled to Wangdiphodrang. The surgeon Saunder is said to have treated a few of Desi’s soldiers who were wounded in the battle. The Dzongpon of Wangdiphodrang and his retinue escaped, taking with them most of the gold ornaments. By then, Desi had also gone Wangdiphodrang and sent for Turner to join him. 

On the following day, Turner with Davis and Saunder set off to Wangdiphodrang. After eleven hours walk with great difficulty, they reached Wangdiphodrang. Despite abundant provisions, they had a poor appetite as the culinary equipment could not be caught up with them. Turner did not have a proper rest at night as his billet was both occupied by armies and infested with rats, fleas and mosquitoes. The following day, they met Desi and suggested visiting Punakha Dzong. Turner readily accepted and felt a sense of trust toward him from the Desi. Desi even offered money for their expenses and fresh butter was sent for them daily. The party set off for Punakha and the journey was pleasant through a valley. Turner described Punakha Dzong as similar to Trashichodzong but more spacious. The Dzong was sited on the point of the peninsula between Mochhu and Phochhu. To reach the courtyard of the Dzong, a wooden bridge had to be crossed.

Punakha Dzong (Photo credit: Paul Mellon Collection, as depicted in Aris 1982)

Their journey to Punakha was futile as the overzealous gatekeeper refused to let them in the Dzong but they enjoyed the sceneries of gardens and fields. Turner observed the garden had oranges, lemons, pomegranates, peaches, apples, pears, and walnut. There was also a large mango tree laden with fruits. To his dismay, there were only some bitter lettuces, a few cabbage leaves, and potatoes the size of marbles[5]. He concludes that Bhutanese are poor gardeners but impressed as farmers. He observed that women do most of the fieldwork. In a few days, Tuner returned to Trashichodzong and soon Desi too arrived from Wangdiphodrang. In a meantime, they were joined by Buxa Subbha whom Turner had a good acquittance. He brought along the electrical hand grip as a present to Desi. The reluctant volunteers were regularly called by the Desi to be electrocuted and it became a Desi’s great source of entertainment. The surgeon Saunder was taken aback by Desi’s knowledge of medicine which prompted him to explore more about the natural remedies practised in Bhutan. Turner and his friends also visited Desi’s country home, a present day, ‘Wangditse’. After climbing the hills and reaching Wangditse, Turner found Desi seated in a pavilion on the edge of a deep precipice commanding a beautiful view of the valley, river, and Dzong. Whilst at Wangditse, Turner and Desi talk on ranging topics of interest. Turner also witnessed the bullfight on one occasion and he described one of the bulls as the strongest and fiercest he had ever seen.

The Temple of Wangditse (Photo credit: Yale Centre for British Art, as depicted in Aris, 1982)

After months of waiting, a message from Panchen Lama of Tibet arrived but to Turner’s dismay, only two people were permitted to visit Tibet. To this, Turner wrote,” It is extraordinary what absurdities and prejudices I had to combat.’ After paying last respect to the Desi, complying with the condition of the Panchen Lama, Turner and Saunder set off to Tibet, and Davis was to return home from Bhutan. The duo accompanied by a few servants took the same route as Bogle’s mission in 1774. On 11 September 1783, Turner left From Paro after spending a few days preparing for the journey ahead. From Paro, Turner crossed passed Gasa and to Tibet via Phari. Turner, while crossing a bridge which passed the guard post toward the frontier saw the ‘Yak of Tartary’[6] making a low grunting noise and their back partially whitened with frost. Turner noticed that the yak resembles the English bull except the former is covered with a thick coat of all hair. Turner gave a detailed description of the yak, “The head is rather short, crowned with two smooth round horns, which, tapering from the root upwards, terminating in sharp points……the legs are very short.” Later, Turner sent two yaks (bulls) to Warren Hasting in England and one bull arrived alive. The bull is said to have fathered many calves which all died without reproducing, except for one cow, which bore a calf in connection with an Indian Bull. Later, a famous animal painter George Stubbs painted a life bull (yak) in England. It is said that the landscape of the yak was taken from a scene of the frontier in Bhutan by Samuel Davis in 1783.

A painting of the ‘Yak of Tartary’ by George Stubbs (as depicted in Aris, 1982)

After spending almost three months at the palace of the Seventh Panchen lama in Tibet, who was then eighteenth months old, Turner and Saunder returned from Tibet in December 1783. After visiting Desi in Punakha, they parted for Bengal on 30 December 1783. While their stay in Bhutan, they made extensive visits to different places and recorded detailed observations. They were impressed by the Bhutanese ways of life, culture, and craftsmanship. Turner’s major negative observation was the Bhutanese attitude towards women. Unlike Bogle who wrote that Bhutanese women are treated equally and there were no social biases, Turner wrote that women were worse treated than anywhere. Turner viewed that woman’s sole purpose in life is to relieve men of their need to do anything. He wrote, “The Bhutanese women took little interest in their appearance, rarely bathed and changed their clothes.” Whatever their observations might be, like Bogle’s journal, Turner’s diary and Davis’s magnificent drawings provide us with greater insight into the life of medieval Bhutan.

 

Bibliography

Aris, M. (1982). Views of Medieval Bhutan: The Diary and Drawings of Samuel Davis 1783. London: Serindia Publications.

Collister, P. (1987). Bhutan and the British. London: Serindia Publications.

Phuntsho. K. (2013). The history of Bhutan. India: Random House Publishers India Private Limited.

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[1] During the Anglo-Bhutan war of 1772-1773, these two districts of Cooch Bihar were ceded by the EIC in return for an annual payment of five Tangun horses. However, in reality, these two districts were merely under Bhutanese control. Cooch Bihari claims their right to two districts.

[2] During Bogle’s mission in 1774, he wrote ‘Jaigugu’ and present-day?

[3] Bogle wrote, ‘Murijong’. Probably present-day Meritsemo in Chukkha.

[4] Conducting water through hollow bamboo is still prevalent in remote parts of the country.

[5] Whether it was or not the Bogle’s potatoes which he planted along the way to Trashichodzong in 1774, potatoes had already grown in Punakha by 1783. In contrast, Davis noted that there were no potatoes in the places Bogle initially planted. Davis assumed Bhutanese might have neglected.

[6] Turner referred to as ‘Yak of Tartary’ after the itinerant tribe Tartar, called Drukpa whom he encountered on the way to the frontier.