Penlop

Bhutanese royal title

Penlop (Dzongkha: དཔོན་སློབ་; Wylie: dpon slob; also spelled Ponlop, Pönlop) is a Dzongkha term roughly translated as provincial governor. Bhutanese penlops, prior to unification, controlled certain districts of the country, but now hold no administrative office. Rather, penlops are now entirely subservient to the House of Wangchuck. Traditionally, Bhutan comprised nine provinces: Trongsa, Paro, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Daga (also Taka, Tarka, or Taga), Bumthang, Thimphu, Kurtoed (also Kurtoi, Kuru tod), and Kurmaed (or Kurme, Kuru mad). The Provinces of Kurtoed and Kurmaed were combined into one local administration, leaving the traditional number of governors at eight. While some lords were penlops, others held the title Dzongpen (Dzongkha: རྗོང་དཔོན་; Wylie: rjong dpon; also "Jongpen," "Dzongpön"), a title also translated as "governor." Other historical titles, such as "Governor of Haa," were also awarded. Under the dual system of government, penlops and dzongpens were theoretically masters of their own realms but servants of the Druk Desi. In practice, however, they were under minimal central government control, and the Penlop of Trongsa and Penlop of Paro dominated the rest of the local lords. And while all governor posts were officially appointed by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, later the Druk Desi, some offices such as the Penlop of Trongsa were de facto hereditary and appointed within certain families. Penlops and dzongpens often held other government offices such as Druk Desi, Je Khenpo, governor of other provinces, or a second or third term in the same office. The penlops of Trongsa and Paro, and the dzongpons of Punakha, Thimphu, and Wangdue Phodrang were particularly notable figures in the competition for regional dominance. Within this political landscape, the Wangchuck family originated in the Bumthang region of central Bhutan. The family belongs to the Nyö clan, and is descended from Pema Lingpa, a Bhutanese Nyingmapa saint. The Nyö clan emerged as a local aristocracy, supplanting many older aristocratic families of Tibetan origin that sided with Tibet during invasions of Bhutan. In doing so, the clan came to occupy the hereditary position of Penlop of Trongsa, as well as significant national and local government positions. The Penlop of Trongsa controlled central and eastern Bhutan; the rival Penlop of Paro controlled western Bhutan; and dzongpons controlled areas surrounding their respective dzongs. Eastern dzongpens were generally under the control of the Penlop of Trongsa, who was officially endowed with the power to appoint them in 1853. This period of intense rivalry between and within western and central Bhutan, coupled with external forces from Tibet and especially the British Empire, provided the conditions for the ascendancy of the Penlop of Trongsa. The pro Britain Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck ultimately prevailed against the pro Tibet and anti Britain Penlop of Paro after a series of civil wars and rebellions between 1882 and 1885. After his father's death in 1881, Ugyen Wangchuck entered a feud over the post of Penlop of Trongsa. In 1882, at the age of 20, he marched on Bumthang and Trongsa, winning the post of Penlop of Trongsa in addition to Paro. In 1885, Ugyen Wangchuck intervened in a conflict between the Dzongpens of Punakha and Thimphu, sacking both sides and seizing Simtokha Dzong. From this time forward, the office of Desi became purely ceremonial. The title Penlop of Trongsa – or Penlop of Chötse, another name for Trongsa – continued to be held by crown princes.

The Penlop of Daga, or "Dagab" (Dzongkha: དར་དཀརབ་; Wylie: dar dkarb), was based in Daga, a town in modern Dagana District. + Daga Penlops Nº. Name 1 Dagab Tenpa Thinley 2 Dagab Tshulthrim Jungney 3 Dagab Rigzin Lhundub 4 Dagab Rabten 5 Dagab Tenzin Wangpo 6 Dagab Tshering Dondub 7 Dagab Dorji Norbu 8 Dagab Tashi Gangpa 9 Dagab Tshewang Phuntsho 10 Dagab Samten Dorji 11 Dagab Jamo Serpo 12 Dagab Doyon Chelwa 13 Dagab Sithub 14 Dagab Tshewang Dorji