Nyilo

On 2 January, I was invited by my new friends from Punakha to celebrate Nyilo with their family. Nyilo marks the Bhutanese winter solstice and means “the return of the sun.” It is traditionally celebrated with family gatherings, shared meals, and archery tournaments.
The celebrations began the day before with Lolay, when village children go from house to house singing incantations wishing for a prosperous year. In return, villagers offer gifts of food or money. The children collect rice, oil, eggs, meat, vegetables, and other items, which they later use to prepare a picnic and celebrate Nyilo together. That evening, a group of neighborhood children also came to sing for us, and the host filled their bottles with oil and added rice to their containers before they moved on.
On Nyilo itself, relatives arrived from Thimphu and others from the village, and we shared lunch together. It was a potluck: each family brought one or two curries, creating a generous buffet of delicious dishes. After eating and chatting, Tsering, the host’s son, took me to the fields to show me traditional archery using a bamboo bow. Since I wasn’t used to it, we practiced at a short distance of about ten meters—far less than the traditional range of 140 meters.

Later, Kinley, the owner of the homestay, took me to watch her husband compete in the tournament. Two targets are placed 140 meters apart, one at each end of the range. After every shot, the opposing team signals whether the arrow hit the small target—about 30 centimeters wide—or missed, often teasing the shooters before retreating behind a barricade. I found this ritual both fascinating and lively. Meanwhile, women gathered along the side of the range, drinking ja oma(milk tea) and eating zao (roasted rice). Some began singing and dancing traditional dances and invited me to join. Without knowing the steps, I simply followed along as best I could.
The tournament ended around 5 p.m. as darkness fell, and the home village won—much to Kinley’s husband’s delight. Back at the house, we had dinner, and Tsering had prepared something special for me: a hot stone bath by the river. Sitting in warm river water heated by stones from the fire, listening to the river and watching the bright moon and stars, was deeply relaxing. The bath is also considered medicinal, as minerals are released from the heated stones. It was a perfect way to end a beautiful day spent with Kinley’s family.