The Bhutanese – a different kind of people
Bhutan’s people fall into three broad ethnic groups – the first, Sharchops or the eastern dwellers, the Ngalops or the westerners and the Lhotshampas or those that dwell in the southern areas. The rugged mountainous terrain and extremes of climate have moulded us into a hardy, well-built lot accustomed to hard work. But despite the strong martial spirit which has enabled us to retain our sovereignty for all these years, we are a peaceful and fun-loving people.
The size of Bhutan’s land and population isn’t so large as to allow any drastic cultural divergence. Bhutanese of all areas and groups share a deep connection to nature. The Bhutanese identity is primarily moulded by nature and only secondarily by other factors such as religion. Contrary to the extractive and exploitative attitude induced by modern materialism today, we have a wonderful symbiotic relationship with our environment. Our worldviews, cultural habits and lifestyle are all heavily influenced by our interaction with the land and nature. The most obvious examples of the influence of our immediate environment are our dress and our diet. Lhops used to wear clothes made from nettle fibres whilst the people in Bumthang wore clothes made from wool, those in the east and south from silk and cotton and those in the highlands, from yak hair.
Peoples eating habits were shaped from what their land could grow. The profusion of clean air, water, medicinal and hot springs, coupled with the other intangible benefits such as the freshness, serenity, peace and beauty which nature provides in abundance have had the most profound impact in shaping the character, worldviews and behaviour as well as in inspiring the spiritual endeavours and artistic creations of the Bhutanese lot. Over 60% of the Bhutanese are farmers, in daily contact with nature. Although only about 8% of the country is said to be arable land, almost all families in Bhutan own land. And the ones who are landless are given gifts of land by the King from the state owned areas.
For most Bhutanese, Buddhism permeates all facets of their lives, informing their worldview, lifestyle, social behaviour, economic practices and political thinking. Buddhist teachings and practices play a fundamental role in Bhutanese life and, like nature, are dominant factors which shape the Bhutanese personality. While almost all northern Bhutanese are Buddhists, most southern Bhutanese are Hindu. However some southern Bhutanese of Nepali origin also follow Buddhism and there is a growing number of Christians as well.
Despite its size, the spoken vernaculars of Bhutan can be classified into as many as nineteen languages. The linguistic diversity can be attributed to the fact that Bhutan is topographically sharply divided which resulted in its people having lived in isolation for centuries. Considering linguistic features, the Bhutanese can be divided into four major groups – the western Bhutanese who primarily speak Dzongkha, the central Bhutanese who speak languages of the Bumthangkha group, the eastern Bhutanese who speak Tshangla and the southern Bhutanese who speak Nepali. Dzongkha, also known as Nalongkha or the language of the Nalong (western) region is the national language. Dzongkha is the modern name assigned to Nalongkha and it is the only language with a written script and it is written using Tibetan alphabets. It is taught in schools and all official communication are carried out in Dzongkha. It is also the language used by national television and radio stations as well as the Bhutanese film and music industry. English is the only foreign language taught in Bhutanese schools. Besides Dzongkha, English is now the dominant medium of official correspondences and written communication.
Visitors to Bhutan have been unable to ignore or deny the strongly egalitarian nature of our society. Unlike our neighbours, we have never had a rigid class system; social and educational opportunities are seldom affected by matters like rank or birth. Since time immemorial, Bhutanese women have always enjoyed equal rights with men, including the right to vote and play active roles in the affairs of the country. While the family system is basically patriarchal, family estates are equally divided between sons and daughters. Both men and women are free to choose who they want to marry and both can initiate a divorce in case there is a falling out. Divorce is kind of common and can be settled either in a civil court or by mutual consent, in the presence of elders and honoured personalities.
We Bhutanese do whatever we do in a dignified rather than sycophantic way. Since we were never colonized, never conquered, our hospitality is served straight up, devoid of the gratuitous deference and outright ass-kissing so common in other parts of the world. Geography dictates life here. Isolation is what made us what we are. We do things that don’t make economic sense…like forsaking millions of dollars in tourist revenue or refusing to sell valuable timber. We Bhutanese, poor as we are, do not bow to the gods of efficiency and productivity. Expats who have been here for some time claim that if one stays here long enough, one loses touch with reality. You might wanna try some of that for a break from the daily grind of life in ultra-modern societies where the clock and the calendar determines your life.
Peoples eating habits were shaped from what their land could grow. The profusion of clean air, water, medicinal and hot springs, coupled with the other intangible benefits such as the freshness, serenity, peace and beauty which nature provides in abundance have had the most profound impact in shaping the character, worldviews and behaviour as well as in inspiring the spiritual endeavours and artistic creations of the Bhutanese lot. Over 60% of the Bhutanese are farmers, in daily contact with nature. Although only about 8% of the country is said to be arable land, almost all families in Bhutan own land. And the ones who are landless are given gifts of land by the King from the state owned areas.
For most Bhutanese, Buddhism permeates all facets of their lives, informing their worldview, lifestyle, social behaviour, economic practices and political thinking. Buddhist teachings and practices play a fundamental role in Bhutanese life and, like nature, are dominant factors which shape the Bhutanese personality. While almost all northern Bhutanese are Buddhists, most southern Bhutanese are Hindu. However some southern Bhutanese of Nepali origin also follow Buddhism and there is a growing number of Christians as well.
Despite its size, the spoken vernaculars of Bhutan can be classified into as many as nineteen languages. The linguistic diversity can be attributed to the fact that Bhutan is topographically sharply divided which resulted in its people having lived in isolation for centuries. Considering linguistic features, the Bhutanese can be divided into four major groups – the western Bhutanese who primarily speak Dzongkha, the central Bhutanese who speak languages of the Bumthangkha group, the eastern Bhutanese who speak Tshangla and the southern Bhutanese who speak Nepali. Dzongkha, also known as Nalongkha or the language of the Nalong (western) region is the national language. Dzongkha is the modern name assigned to Nalongkha and it is the only language with a written script and it is written using Tibetan alphabets. It is taught in schools and all official communication are carried out in Dzongkha. It is also the language used by national television and radio stations as well as the Bhutanese film and music industry. English is the only foreign language taught in Bhutanese schools. Besides Dzongkha, English is now the dominant medium of official correspondences and written communication.
Visitors to Bhutan have been unable to ignore or deny the strongly egalitarian nature of our society. Unlike our neighbours, we have never had a rigid class system; social and educational opportunities are seldom affected by matters like rank or birth. Since time immemorial, Bhutanese women have always enjoyed equal rights with men, including the right to vote and play active roles in the affairs of the country. While the family system is basically patriarchal, family estates are equally divided between sons and daughters. Both men and women are free to choose who they want to marry and both can initiate a divorce in case there is a falling out. Divorce is kind of common and can be settled either in a civil court or by mutual consent, in the presence of elders and honoured personalities.
We Bhutanese do whatever we do in a dignified rather than sycophantic way. Since we were never colonized, never conquered, our hospitality is served straight up, devoid of the gratuitous deference and outright ass-kissing so common in other parts of the world. Geography dictates life here. Isolation is what made us what we are. We do things that don’t make economic sense…like forsaking millions of dollars in tourist revenue or refusing to sell valuable timber. We Bhutanese, poor as we are, do not bow to the gods of efficiency and productivity. Expats who have been here for some time claim that if one stays here long enough, one loses touch with reality. You might wanna try some of that for a break from the daily grind of life in ultra-modern societies where the clock and the calendar determines your life.