Tje coronation last week of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck as the fifth king of Bhutan was another step in the Himalayan kingdom’s journey of change. But the new king’s message to the nation and to the world was as much about tradition as it was about change.

A deeply traditional country, Bhutan today is caught between hope and fear, aspirations and apprehensions. It acknowledges the need for change but it is also afraid of the associated “evils” that a dramatic transformation could bring to Bhutanese society.

In his address, the new king said, “My deepest concern is that as the world changes, we may lose these fundamental values on which rests our character as a nation and people. It is critical that we are able to recognise Bhutanese character irrespective of how far we look back into the past or into the future. The Bhutan we see is vastly different. Yet, the character of our people and the nature of our fundamental values have remained unchanged.”

So, six months ago, in April 2008, if the country’s first democratic election sent a signal to the world that it had embarked on a journey of change, the coronation ceremony reinforced the message that Bhutan was rooted deeply in its past traditions and customs.

“We are learning, we are opening ourselves to the world. But we do not want to rush and falter,” said a senior bureaucrat of the Bhutanese government. The 74-year-old head abbot of Ruksum Gumpha, who has witnessed three coronations starting from the third king, echoes his sentiment: “The Buddhist religious rituals were performed to perfection for this fifth king’s coronation at Tashichhodzong fort. I saw what I had seen during the third king’s coronation. The only difference this time was that we had a host of guests watching the ceremony. This never used to happen before. We are not as closed as we used to be earlier.”

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