The institution of the Chhoetse Penlop—sometimes less formally known as the Trongsa Penlop—is indelibly linked to the dramatic and picturesque Trongsa Dzong and the culturally and historically rich region it straddles. The story, perhaps, should really begin in the 1540s when the Lama Dubthob Ngagi Wangchuk arrived in the green and fertile region caressed by the milk-white coils of the Mangdue River. Legends say shortly after he took up residence in the village of Yueli, overlooking the ridge which is now draped by the Trongsa Dzong, the lama was visited in one of his meditations by a sacred vision of Bhutan’s protecting deity, the Goddess Palden Lhamo.

Choetse Penlop with the Fourth Druk Gyalpo

In this vision the Dubthob saw flickering flames such as those of a butter lamp at the spot where the present day shrines of the Trongsa Dzong are housed. On a subsequent investigation, the lama discovered what is today believed to be a metaphorical lake, the Lhamoi Latsho, sacred to the goddess, and the hoof prints of what he took to be her holy steed.

His faith further strengthened by the sacred vision, the lama established a small meditation quarter on the spot. Soon a small community of meditators and practitioners joined the lama, drawing spiritual sustenance from the place indicated in the lama’s vision. When it began to resemble a village rather than a modest cluster of meditation huts, it was given the name Trongsa, or New Settlement.

The more recent history of the region and the Dzong began following the Zhabdrung’s arrival in Bhutan in the 17th century, and his subsequent decision to focus on the region for the consolidation of a newly unified Bhutan. By the time the Zhabdrung was 52 (1646), he had brought western Bhutan under a coherent and systematic form of theocratic government. The next task was the assimilation of the eastern regions, which were still largely discordant and rife with internecine struggles.

In this task, the Zhabdrung found a worthy representative in Chhogyel Minjur Tenpa, a close confidante and person of unquestionable loyalty and integrity.

The Zhabdrung’s confidence was well-placed and Chhoeje Minjur Tenpa quickly gained control of the eastern regions and established a system of governance that came to be known as Sharchog Khorlo Tsibgay, a term that can loosely be translated as the “Eastern Provinces Unified by the Wheel of Dharma”.

The eventual construction of Trongsa Dzong in 1644 sealed the east-west unification of the entire Bhutanese nation. The dramatic and beautiful fortress itself became a symbol of this unification, and was formally named Druk Minjur Chhoekhor Rabten Tse, which translates to “The Dzong Built on the Tip of a Conch in the Unchanging Land of the Dragon Where the Dharma Prevails”.

In 1647, Chhogyel Minjur Tenpa was installed as the first Trongsa Penlop, starting a long and established tradition.

The Penlops were bestowed the authority to make independent decisions on the Zhabdrung’s behalf and govern their region according to the administrative and judicial codes established by him.

In 1853 the now powerful and influential office of the Trongsa Penlop was held by Jigme Namgyal, father of Bhutan’s first king. Twenty-nine years later, in 1882, his son Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuk became the next Trongsa Penlop. With the birth of the Bhutanese monarchy in 1907, and the formal and unanimous decision by the people to elect the Gongsar as Bhutan’s first king, the office of the Trongsa Penlop assumed an even greater significance.

The hallowed tradition eventually leads to the 2004 investiture His Majesty the Fifth Dragon King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck as the 16th Chhoetse Penlop of Bhutan.

Today the investiture of the Trongsa Penlop remains a powerful and symbolic declaration of the future king’s ascension to Bhutan’s Dragon Throne.

It is a tradition that reaches back to the birth of the Bhutanese nation and, as such, forms a worthy and indispensable part of Bhutan’s rich cultural tapestry.