The 350 women of the Drukpa dragon order are highly skilled in martial arts, which they practise six days a week. They also help the sick, rescue animals, pick up litter and can rewire a temple. Nuns of the Drukpa order use fans – one of their eight ‘mystical’ weapons – in martial arts practice at their monastery in the hills above Kathmandu in Nepal.

Ancient and modern meet as a nun uses a tablet computer to study. Perched on the hills overlooking Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, the Druk Amitabha Mountain nunnery is home to 350 nuns belonging to an 800-year old Buddhist order.

The nuns of the Drukpa order come from Nepal, Tibet, India and Bhutan. As well as prayer and meditation, the nuns run a medical centre, keep the roads and paths outside the nunnery clean, and rescue animals, including the swans pictured here. The nuns start their day at 3am with two hours of prayer and meditation. Prayers take place inside the nunnery’s main temple but secular matters carry on beside spiritual ones. The nuns are in charge of the building’s upkeep, and here two nuns are engaged in fixing the wiring in the main temple. Every Saturday, the nuns clean the nunnery inside and out. Every Saturday, the nuns clean the nunnery inside and out. 

A nun arranges jars of herbal medicines at the clinic, which is open to villagers. Since the Covid pandemic, however, visits to the nunnery are restricted. Central to the nuns’ identity is their proficiency in martial arts. Jigme Rupa (all nuns’ names are prefixed with Jigme) uses a sword to practise her skills outside the main temple. Among the eight ‘mystical’ weapons that can be used in martial arts, Rupa says her favourite is a sword. 

The nuns perform their exercises after breakfast. All nuns at the nunnery are trained in martial arts as a form of self-defence and to build strength. The nuns started learning martial arts after a break-in at the nunnery in 2008. They sometimes offer classes to villagers, particularly women. They practise every day except Sundays. 

The early morning ritual continues as the sun rises. The name of the Drukpa order comes from the word ‘druk’, Tibetan for dragon. Novices practise martial arts in front of a statue depicting Kunkhyen Pema Karpo (1527–1592), the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa, spiritual head of the Drukpa order. Fans are employed as part of the ritual in front of the statue. The fans look harmless but can be equipped with a blade for self-defence. 

A powerful image as the nuns and the fans they wield are silhouetted against the Nepalese sky. Swords are the weapon of choice in a training session in front of the temple. These are only used by senior, more experienced nuns.

Jigme Rupa (left) and Jigme Karuna wield their swords outside the temple. The Drukpa nuns say they champion ‘gender equality, physical fitness, environmentally friendly living and respect for all living beings’.