Françoise Pommaret

Françoise Pommaret (born 1954) is a French ethno-historian and Tibetologist.

Early life and education Pommaret grew up in the Congo. She received her Master of Arts in the history of art and archeology from the Sorbonne University and completed her studies in Tibetan at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO). Her doctoral thesis on "People who come back from the netherland in the Tibetan cultural areas" received the prix Delalande-Guérineau from the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

Career She holds the position of Director of Research Emeritus at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris. Her work focuses on cultural anthropology in Bhutan and she has published extensively on different aspects of Bhutanese culture.Françoise Pommaret, spécialiste du Bhoutan

She has worked in Bhutan since 1981 and with the Bhutan Tourism Corporation between 1981 and 1986, after which she participated in educational and cultural projects in Bhutan. She has been a consultant for UNESCO as well as guest-curator for exhibitions. She lectures around the world on aspects of Bhutanese history and culture.

Pommaret works as Associate Professor and adviser to the College of Language and Culture Studies (CLCS), Royal University of Bhutan and worked as scientific advisor to the Bhutan Cultural Atlas.

Pommaret is also honorary consul of France in Bhutan and the president of the association of Amis du Bhoutan (friends of Bhutan, founded 1987).

Awards and recognitions For her contribution to cultural research in Bhutan, she is the recipient of the French award Légion d'honneur (2015) and the National Order of Merit (Bhutan), first class (Gold) in 2017.

Publications

1982: Thimphu Tshechu Festival, Dept of Tourism, Bhoutan (sous le pseudonyme de Tashi Wangmo).

1983: Paro Tshechu Festival, Dpt of Tourism, Bhoutan (sous le pseudonyme de Tashi Wangmo).

1986: Wangdiphodrang festival, Dpt of Tourism, Bhoutan. Jampey Lhakhang festival, Dpt of Tourism, Bhoutan.

1989: Carte historique du Bhoutan (en collaboration avec le Service Géographique et le Département de l'Éducation du Bhoutan). Les revenants de l'au-delà dans le monde tibétain, Éditions du CNRS, Paris. Prix Delalande-Guérineau 1990 de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

1997 Bhutan: Mountain-fortress of the Gods, C. Schicklgruber & F. Pommaret (eds.), Serindia, London.

1998 Les revenants de l'au-delà dans le monde tibétain, Editions du CNRS, Paris, (réed.). 1998 Bhutan: encuentro con los dioses en el Himalaya, Fundacio "La Caixa", Barcelona.

1980: "The construction of Ladakhi houses in the Indus Valley" in Tibetan studies in honour of Hugh Richardson, Aris and Philips, Warminster, 249–255.

1983: "Auspicious symbols and luminous colours: the art and architecture of Bhutan" in Asian Culture, Bulletin of the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO, n° 35, 30–35.

1987: "Le monastère de gTam zhing (Tamshing) au Bhoutan central" in Arts Asiatiques, tome XLII, 1987, 19-30 (en collaboration avec Y. Imaeda).

1989: "A rainbow of colours. Notes on the symbolism of colours in Bhutan", in Asian Pacific Culture, Tokyo,1989, 7-9 (en collaboration avec Mynak Rinpoche).

1990: "Note sur la situation linguistique du Bhoutan et étude préliminaire des termes de parenté" in Indo-Tibetan Studies, London, 1990, 115-127 (en collaboration avec Y. Imaeda).

1992 "Les revenants de l'au-delà ('das log ): sources littéraires et tradition vivante, une première présentation", in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the 5th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Narita 1989, Naritasan Shinshoji, 1992 vol. 2, pp. 673– 686. "Introduction to the interest and problems of Bhutanese iconography" in Buddhist Studies: Present and Future, UNESCO, Paris, 1992, 46–49.

1994 - "Les fêtes aux divinités-montagnes Phyva au Bhoutan de l'Est", in Tibetan studies: Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International association for Tibetan Studies Fagernes1992, The Institute for comparative research in human culture, Oslo, 1994, vol. 2, 660–669. - "Textiles of Bhutan: way of life and symbol of identity" in Bhutan: aspects of culture and development, M. Hutt & M. Aris (eds), Kiscadale Asia Research series n°5, Gartmore, 1994, 173–189. - " 'Entrance-keepers of a hidden country': Preliminary notes on the Monpa of south-central Bhutan", in Tibet Journal, Special issue: Powerful places and spaces in Tibetan religious culture (ed.) T. Huber, vol.19, n°3, 1994, New-Delhi, 46–62.

1994 "Bhutan and its neighbors" with Diana K. Myers in From the Land of the Thunder Dragon: Textile Arts of Bhutan, Serindia - Peabody Essex Museum, London-Salem, 1994 (Eds. D.K. Myers, M. Aris & S. Bean) 47–70.

1994 "The fabric of Life in Bhutan (with Diana K. Myers) in From the Land of the Thunder Dragon: Textile Arts of Bhutan, Serindia - Peabody Essex Museum, London-Salem, 1994 (Eds. D.K. Myers, M. Aris & S. Bean) 71-80.

1994 "Cut and Stitched : Textiles made by men" (with Diana K. Myers) in From the Land of the Thunder Dragon: Textile Arts of Bhutan, Serindia - Peabody Essex Museum, London-Salem, 1994 (Eds. D.K. Myers, M. Aris & S. Bean) 143–166.

1996 "On local and mountain deities in Bhutan", in Reflections of the Mountain: Essays on the history and social meaning of the mountain cult in Tibet and the Himalaya, A.M. Blondeau & E. Steinkellner (eds), Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, 1996, 39–56.

1997 - "Notes on the Stylistic & Historical connections between Bhutan & Southern Tibet", in Tibetan Art: Towards a definition of style (Jane Casey Singer & Philip Denwood, eds.), London, Laurence King publishing, 1997, 210–220. - "Le pilier/mégalithe de Nabji: un lieu surdéterminé du Bhoutan central" in Les Habitants du Toit du Monde : Hommage à Alexander W. Macdonald, Samten Karmay & Philippe Sagant (eds.), Société d'Ethnologie, Nanterre, 1997, 391–418. - "Ethnic Mosaic: the Peoples of Bhutan", in Bhutan: Mountain-fortress of the Gods, C. Schicklgruber & F. Pommaret (eds.), Serindia, London, 1997, 43–59. - "The Birth of a nation", in Bhutan: Mountain-fortress of the Gods, C. Schicklgruber & F. Pommaret (eds.), Serindia, London, 1997, 179–208. - "The Way to the throne", in Bhutan: Mountain-fortress of the Gods, C. Schicklgruber & F. Pommaret (eds.), Serindia, London, 1997, 209- 235.

1998 - "Maîtres des trésors" (gTer bdag) : Divinités locales et médiums au Bhoutan", in Tibetan Mountain Deities, their cults and representations, Proceedings of the 8th IATS conference Graz, A.M. Blondeau (ed.), Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, vol.6, 1998, 79–98.

- "Bhutan: una presentacion", Bhutan: encuentro con los dioses en el Himalaya, Fundacio "La Caixa", Barcelona, 1998, 17–31.

- "Un repaso historico", Bhutan: encuentro con los dioses en el Himalaya, Fundacio "La Caixa", Barcelona, 1998, 33-49

- "El Arte de Bhutan", Bhutan: encuentro con los dioses en el Himalaya, Fundacio "La Caixa", Barcelona, 1998, 67–87.

1999 - "Traditional Values, new trends", Bhutan: a fortress at the edge of time ?, Selected Papers of the Bhutan Seminar 1998, Vienna: VIDC-Austrian Development Cooperation, 1999, 13–26.

- "The Mon pa revisited: in search of Mon", in Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places in Tibetan culture, Toni Huber (ed.), Dharamsala: Tibetan Library of Works and Archives, 1999 : 52–73.

- "Notes sur le négoce entre le Bhoutan, le Bengale et l'Assam", in Journal Asiatique, 1999, 287.1, 285–303.

2000 - "Rouge est le Sang : Le Bétel au Bhoutan", Opiums: les plantes du plaisir et de la convivialité en Asie, P. Le Failler & A. Hubert (eds), l'Harmattan, Paris 2000, 25–38.

- "Ancient Trade Partners: Bhutan, Cooch Bihar and Assam (17th to 19th centuries)", in Journal of Bhutan Studies, vol. 2 n°1, Center for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu, summer 2000, 30-53 (traduction révisée et augmentée de l'article paru dans le Journal Asiatique 1999).

"Recent Bhutanese scholarship in History and Anthropology", in Journal of Bhutan Studies: Special issue on the Bhutan panel of the European South Asian Modern Studies Conference Edinburgh University 2000, Centre for Bhutan studies, Thimphu, vol.2 n° 2, Winter 2000, 139 -163.

2001 - "Bhutanese students' discovery of fieldwork: culture shock and identity", in The Pandita and the Siddha. Tibetan Studies in Honour of E. Gene Smith, R. Prats & D. Jackson (eds.), 2001, en CD rom. A paraître aussi sous forme de livre, Amnye Machen Publications, Dharamsala.

"Bhoutan : une fortresse au bord du temps ? valeurs traditionnelles et orientations nouvelles" in Ruptures ou mutations au tournant du XXIe siècle. Changements de géographie mentale ? Rita Régnier ed.), l'Harmattan Collection Eurasie n°10, Paris, 2001, 91–107.

2002 "La danse des 'Huit Catégories de Dieux et Démons' au Bhoutan", in Katia Buffetrille & H. Diemberger (eds.), Territory and Identity in Tibet and the Himalayas, Tibetan Studies in honour of Anne-Marie Blondeau, Proceedings of the 9th IATS, Leyden, Brill, Leiden 2002, 159–178.

"Weaving hidden threads: Some ethno-historical clues on the artistic affinities between Eastern Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh", The Tibet Journal, E. Lo Bue (ed.), vol.XXVII n°1&2, Spring & Summer 2002, Dharamsala, 177–196.

2003 "Etres soumis, Etres protecteurs : Padmasambhava et les Huit Catégories de Dieux et Démons au Bhoutan", in Revue d'Études Tibétaines n°2, Revue électronique de l'UMR 8047, CNRS, Paris, Avril 2003, 40–66. En ligne sur www.digitalhimalaya.com

"Historical and religious relations between Lhodrak (Southern Tibet) and Bumthang (Bhutan) from the 18th to the early 20th century: Preliminary data", in Tibet and her neighbours. Proceedings of the History of Tibet Conference St Andrews University 2001, A. McKay (ed.), Ed. Hansjörg Mayer, London, 91–106.

"Buddhist monasteries in Tibet" in P. Pichard and F. Lagirarde (eds.), The Buddhist Monastery. A cross -cultural legacy. EFEO (Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient) Paris, 2003, 283–304.

2004 "The fascinating life of Lama Changchub Tsöngru (1817-1856) according to his biography" in K. Ura & S. Kinga (eds.), The Spider and the Piglet. Proceedings of the 1st International seminar on Bhutanese Studies 2003, Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan Studies, 73–89.

"Yul and Yul lha: the territory and its deity in Bhutan", in Bulletin of Tibetology, Gangtok: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, vol 40 (1) May 2004. Vol 40 no 1, 39–67.

"Rituels non-bouddhiques de Kheng 'Bu li (Bhoutan)", Proceedings of the 8th IATS seminar Bloomington 1998, in Revue d'Études Tibétaines (RET) n°6, Octobre 2004, 60–77.

2006 "La dernière frontière himalayenne: Evangélistes et tentative de colonisation des âmes", in Religion et politique en Asie, J. Lagerwey (ed.), Les Indes Savantes, Paris, 2006, 133–156.

"Dances in Bhutan. A traditional medium of information", Journal of Bhutan Studies, vol.14 summer 2006, 26–35. Available online at www.bhutanstudies.org.bt

2007 "Estate and deities: A ritual from central Bhutan. The bskang gso of O rgyan chos gling" in J. Ardussi & F. Pommaret (eds), Bhutan. Traditions and changes. Proceedings of the XIth IATS Oxford 2003, Brill, Leiden, 2007. 135–158. Recovering identity : Students' fieldwork in Bhutan", in Ramon N. Prats (ed.), The Pandita and the Siddha, Tibetan Studies in Honour of E. Gene Smith, Amnye Machen Institute, Dharamsala, 2007, 210–217. Reprint "Dances in Bhutan. A traditional medium of information", in Media & public culture. Proceedings of the 2nd International Seminar on Bhutan studies CBS, Thimphu, 2007, 31–39.

2008 - Preface. "Holding the name high", in Revue d'Études Tibétaines — numéro 14 — Octobre 2008 TIBETAN STUDIES IN HONOR OF SAMTEN KARMAY, Part I — Historical, Cultural and Linguistic Studies Edited by Françoise Pommaret and Jean-Luc Achard, iii-v. http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/ret/index.php?selection=13