Most Bhutanese people refer to their homeland as Druk-Yul(The Land of Thunder Dragon). The name Bhutan may be derived from the ancient Indian term “Bhotania,” which means “end of the Bhots” (Tibet).
The people of Bhutan, known as Bhutanese, are a diverse and culturally rich community in the world. Mentioned below are the main aspects of the Bhutanese people.
Bhutan People with a wide diversity of ethnic groups, starting from small tribal groups, whose ancestry goes back almost three thousand years. Most are migrant groups from Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. Bhutanese people can be generally categorized into three main ethnic groups. The Tshanglas, Ngalops and the Lhotshampas.
The Tshanglas or the Sharchops are considered the inhabitants of eastern Bhutan. According to historians, Tshanglas are the descendants of Lord Brahma and speak Tshanglakha. Weaving is a popular occupation among their women and they produce beautiful fabrics mainly silk and raw silk.
The Sharchop is Tibeto-Burman culture. They are racially Mongoloid in nature similar to northern Bhutanese. The Sharchops are an Indo-Mongoloid people who migrated from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, or possibly Burma. As per the research done by scholars, Sharchops are closely related to the Mönpa, and both are descendants of the indigenous Tibetan peoples.
The Sharchops comprise most of the population of eastern Bhutan, a country whose total population in 2010 was approximately 708,500. Sharchops still outnumber Ngalops at a 3:2 ratio, the total population of Sharchops in Bhutan is approximately 212,500.
The culture of Sharchops is clearly linked with the peoples of Tibet, Burma, and China. Their language is called Tsangla and is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The Sharchops are the largest ethnic group in Bhutan. The highest populated district in Bhutan is Trashigang.
People from the Eastern people are part of an agricultural society. They practice often use a “slash and burn” method of agriculture farming. The practice has been officially banned in Bhutan since 1969 by the Royal Government of Bhutan. Most Sharchop houses are made of stone and wood. Slowly many towns developed into modern buildings. Tibetan Buddhism exercises considerable influence in Bhutan, and Buddhist priests are often supported by the community. However, the Sharchop have also retained the popular beliefs and practices of their ethnic religion.
The Bhutan people of another tribe of Eastern Bhutan is Brokpas. They are from the eastern part of Bhutan bordering the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They are nomads and rearing yak and sheep. They are semi-nomads of the villages of Merak and Sakteng. They officially migrated to Eastern Bhutan from the southern Tibet region. They have their own unique traditions and customs.
In summer they move to the place where they can get pastures for their yaks and sheep. During winter they move to their house. The house in which they live is built with stones with small ventilation to protect them from severe cold. The Brokpas of Bhutan sell butter, cheese, and yak meat with neighboring villages for daily sustaining of life. The hat made from Yak and sheep wool is a distinctive hat known as triple cham with long twisted tufts. It protects raindrops running onto their faces.
They are people of Tibetan origin who migrated to Bhutan as early as the ninth century. They consider they are the first original inhabitants who migrated from Tibet. The term “Bhote” or Bhotiya, means “people of Bod (Tibet)”.The Ngalongs of Bhutan introduced Tibetan culture and Buddhism in Bhutan. They comprise the dominant political and cultural element in modern Bhutan. The Ngalogs are concentrated in the western and central valleys of Bhutan.
Primary agricultural crops are Bhutanese red rice, potatoes, barley, and other temperate climate crops. Ngalop people build houses out of timber, stone, clay, and brick. The Ngalop is also known for building large fortress-monasteries known as dzongs that now serve as government offices(Government & Monastic). The King and most of the high-ranking officials are Ngalongs.
The Ngalongs of Bhutan, who have settled mostly in the six regions of western Bhutan are of Tibetan origin. Mostly they are settled in Paro Valley, Haa Valley, Thimphu Valley, Punakha Valley, and Wangdi Valley, and scattered in Trongsa and Bumthang Valley. They speak Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. Agriculture is their main livelihood. They cultivate cereals such as rice, wheat, barley, and maize along with a variety of other crops. They are known for Lozeys, or ornamental speech, and for Zheys, dances that are unique to the Ngalops.
The Lhotshampas or Nepali-speaking people of Bhutan have settled in the southern foothills. They speak Lhotshamkha (Nepali). They practice Hinduism and Buddhism. They consist of different castes such as the Bhawans, Chhetris, Rai’s, Limbus, Tamangs, Gurungs, and the Lepchas. They practice agriculture activities and hold a minimum of two ministers in the cabinet.
The most populated districts they live in Bhutan are Samtse, Tsirang, and Dagana. Tsirang is the main hub for the production of agricultural products in Bhutan.
Lop or Doya are people who are a little-known tribe of southwest Bhutan. Most Bhutanese believe them to be the aboriginal inhabitants of Bhutan. The word Doya is derived from the Nepali word daya (meaning kind).
One scholar Chakravarti (1978) believe that the Lhop people were the semi-nomadic group that took care of the cattle belonging to the Haa and Paro districts. Another scholar “Aris” believes that the Lhops may be the same tribe that lives in Upper and Lower Toktokha.
The older people in the Lhop villages say that until the 1960s the entire region of Lhop was brought under the administrative jurisdiction of a certain Dung Nyerpa.
The Lhop is found in the low valleys of Dorokha under the Samtse district of Bhutan. The dress of the Lhop resembles the Lepcha community. They resemble the Bhutia in the North and the Toto in the West. They follow a blend of Tibetan Buddhism mixed with animism.
The official language of Bhutan is “Dzongkha”. It is spoken by the majority of the population. However, there are also several regional languages spoken, including Sharchopkha, Lhotshamkha, and various Tibetan dialects. English is the language taught in schools in Bhutan. Medium communication in schools and colleges is English. Visitors visiting Bhutan will not find difficulty in communicating with locals.
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