Earlier this year, I was working in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh when I noticed something strange in many of the traditional red clay and stone houses of the Mon people in the Chug valley: the large, phallic totems hanging from their eaves.
These wooden totems, shaped like an erect penis, are called 'laktong' in the local Duhumbi dialect of the Chug valley. The locals believe that they ward off evil spirits and protect the house and its inhabitants from ill fortune. They are part of a tradition that goes back centuries — to the pre-Buddhist animist folk religions of the eastern Himalayas. However, it was the 15th-century Tibetan Buddhist lama Drukpa Kunley, also known as the 'divine madman', who made them popular as a powerful esoteric symbol among the tribes of the lower eastern Himalayas.
A controversial figure like the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, Drukpa Kunley was the enfant terrible of 15th-century Tibetan Buddhism. Stories of his wayward exploits are legendary, but he is perhaps best remembered today for his use of "the flaming thunderbolt of wisdom" — a euphemism, as good as any, for the phallus, which he considered a powerful symbol. Today, these phallic totems are found everywhere in Bhutan — carved onto doorways, hanging from rooftops, graffitied on walls, and sold as protective amulets and idols. From bright yellow to pastel pink and turquoise, often with flaming eyes and sometimes surrounded by the mighty dragon, they come in all sizes and shapes.
But why did the divine madman choose the phallus of all things as his symbol?
The worship of the phallus as a symbol of fertility, virility, and the divine masculine is not entirely unprecedented in eastern philosophical thought. From the Shiva lingam in Hinduism to phallic totems found in Tantric Buddhism and animist folk religions across the region, the phallus has been an important esoteric symbol in South Asian societies for millennia.
When Drukpa Kunley arrived in Bhutan in the 15th century, Bhutanese society was strictly controlled by a ruling clergy unwavering in their adherence to orthodox social norms. Committed to rid the people of these rigid social norms and customs, the mad mendicant chose to be a force of social disruption.
His philandering ways and outlandish acts were a carefully thought-out strategy to disrupt the status quo and shock people into questioning the establishment. He did so with his erotic poetry, his obscene humour and ribald sermons rife with sexual innuendos, double entendre, metaphors, and allusions. He'd drink wine, expose himself to conservative monks and scholars to ridicule them, and openly fornicate with women to prove that enlightenment wasn't contingent on celibacy and preconceived notions of purity. The phallus, for Drukpa Kunley, was an instrument of his assault on the commonplace; an act of active resistance against the separation of the sacred from the profane.
“I take refuge in the virile young tiger’s thunderbolt / rising proudly, indifferent to death / I take refuge in the maiden’s lotus / filling her with rolling bliss waves / releasing her from shame and inhibition.”Lama Drukpa Kinley, circa 15th century CE
In many ways, he was successful in his pursuit. But the explicitness of his acts and teachings also meant that over time, they lost the more nuanced message contained within them. Today, Drukpa Kunley is remembered for both his wisdom and the entertaining legends of his adventures and sexual escapades. His 'flaming thunderbolt of wisdom' — the sacred phallus — is sold and bought as totems to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. They are sold in the open to locals and tourists alike, and looked at with both derision and wonder. Some consider them relics of a patriarchal past, while others think of them as endearing — if slightly embarrassing — souvenirs.
But the truth is Drukpa Kunley's philosophy was rooted in the Buddhist pursuit of spiritual liberation. The ultimate goal of his eccentric behaviour was the attainment of 'moksha', or freedom — not only from familial and earthly attachments but also from the prejudiced ideas and beliefs we hold within ourselves. The flaming phallic totems not only symbolise fertility but freedom from our rigid selves — the spiritual birth of a new person, unrestricted by attachment, shame, guilt and remorse.
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