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Writer's picturePranita Vishwakarma

Phallus (penis painting): Good Luck symbol of Bhutan

Updated: Mar 18, 2021

In Bhutan, most buildings are decorated with erected penis paintings. People of Bhutan call these paintings “phallus” and they believe that an erect penis or phallus keeps them safe from evil people, spirits, and thought.



Phallus symbols origins in the Chimi Lhakhang monastery near Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan. The village monastery was built in honor of the 15th-century saint named Lama Drukpa Kunley. He was popularly known as the "Mad Saint" or “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching. He was fond of women and wine and adopted blasphemous and unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism. His sexual exploits included his hosts and promoters.



He propagated the legend of painting phalluses on walls and flying hanging phalluses from rooftops of houses to drive away evil spirits and subdue demonesses. Therefore, He also called the "fertility saint", the monastery.



The belief that such a symbol brings good luck and drives away evil spirits is so much ingrained in the psyche of the common populace in Bhutan that the symbols are routinely painted outside walls of the new houses and even painted on number plates of trucks. The carved wooden phalluses are hung outside, on the eves of the new homes, at the four corners.


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