Penis worship in Bhutan

They come in various sizes, color schemes and embellishments. Some have ribbons tied around them like jovial holiday presents. Others are coiled by daunting dragons. A few even have eyes. They typically feature hairy testicles, from the neatly trimmed to full-on Yeti-style. And, of course, all are fully erect.

Drukpa Kunley, a 16th century Buddhist Monk who lived in what is now the country of Bhutan, or as he was more commonly known, spent his entire life, after becoming a monk in his late teens, traveling the countryside dispensing his wisdom and enlightenment to as many young ladies as he could get his hands on. He promised each of them a path to Nirvana through the use of his "Flaming Thunderbolt." Kunley eventually earned such fame that women sought him out, or at least were very willing when he showed up. And in exchange for his spiritual illumination, all of the women were required to pay him in beer.

“Phallus paintings and wood carvings were ubiquitous, like red chilies, all over Bhutan. But now they are fading as Bhutan undergoes prudish self-censorship,” said Dasho Karma Ura, president of the Centre for Bhutan Studies in Thimphu, the nation’s picturesque capital.

According to Ura, penis depictions diminished in towns where the architecture took new styles as urban dwellers disassociated themselves from earthy symbols. “There was a tendency to shy away from the need to confront sexuality in its most transcendent aspiration and practice,” he said.

Western tourists — as liberal and open-minded as they believe they are — tend to be stunned by all the penis images in this conservative society where people seldom show affection in public.

According to Ura, that is because Westerners are accustomed to nudity and sexuality on the female form – flaunting nudes, torsos and breasts – whereas the Bhutanese traditionally shy away from reducing females to sex symbols.