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The
silence of Hidden kingdom...............
Religion
The majority, roughly 75 percent, of Bhutan's population
practices Mahayana Buddhism which is similar to Tibetan/Lamaist
Buddhism. After Buddhism, Hinduism is the next most
popular religion. There is a broad range of Hinduism
that is practiced ranging from traditional Hinduism to a
combination of Buddhism/Hinduism where gods in both
religions are worshipped.
Wildlife
Deer and tigers are some of the wild animals found in
the rugged terrain of the northern Duars. Northern
Bhutan is home to Bhutanese yaks that live in the high
valleys of the region.
Customs
Men and women in Bhutan wear traditional clothing.
Clothing for men consists of a gho, which is a garment
that wraps around the body like a coat that reaches the
knee and is worn with a belt. The kira is the what women
wear. It is a dress that is made from a piece of cloth
(in the shape of a rectangle) that reaches the ankles.
It is secured at the shoulders with a clip, while a
woven belt holds the dress closed and in place. Both
sexes used scarves or shawls and on occasion, men will
wear earrings as well.
People
The official estimate of Bhutan's population in 1990 was
about 600,000 but other sources estimate the population
for 2000 was just under 2 million. Those living in
Bhutan of Nepali origin have been excluded from the
official census since 1990 which results in such a large
discrepancy in population numbers.
Bhutan has four major ethic groups: Bhutia, Sharchops,
Nepali, and other indigenous groups. The Bhutia, who are
descended from Tibetans, live in the central and
northern regions of Bhutan. This ethnic group basically
dominates politics in Bhutan particularly with it's
contribution of government officials and monks that come
from it.
Believed to be Bhutan's earliest settlers, the Sharchops
live in the southeastern and eastern region. They speak
both Tibeto-Burman languages as well as Hindi.
The Nepali people are the latest immigrants to Bhutan.
Living in the southwestern and south central section of
Bhutan, immigration of Nepali's has been forbidden by
the Bhutanese government since 1959. Fear of Bhutan
becoming too heavily populated with Nepalis brought
about this and the ban on living in the central
Himalayan region. Bhutan traditions and culture are to
be retained and not dilute Bhutanese distinctiveness.
There are small groups of ethnic minorities that live
all throughout Bhutan with the largest group living in
the Duars. This group is related to those groups living
in India's Assam and Bangla states.
Education
School is not compulsory, but is free in Bhutan. Up
until the 1960s there hadn't been a formal schooling
system, apart from religious ones. Unfortunately, the
children in Bhutan do not have easy access to schools,
so attendance is fairly low - with approximately 25% of
the children attending primary school and only 5%
attending secondary school in 1998. Within these
numbers, the ratio of boys attending school is much
higher than that of girls.
Bhutan has some institutions of higher learning: a
four-year college, a junior college and two technical
schools. A lot of Bhutanese students obtain grants to go
overseas to the United States, the United Kingdom,
Australia, Singapore, Japan and India to General
Information complete their studies. Upon return to
Bhutan, students are briefed on the country's currents
needs. After this, the students are then required to
work in rural areas spending about six months or so
helping the villagers improve their way of life by
building schools, running medical clinics and building
irrigation systems.
Economy
In spite of the fact tourism brings in the largest
supply of foreign exchange, the hutan government has
restricted visitors in an effort to preserve the
traditions and culture of the country. The country was
rated one of the least developed nations in the world by
the United Nations. Most Bhutanese are employed in
agriculture or related fields. Most of the agriculture
in Bhutan is cultivated simply to meet the needs of the
country. Unfortunately, as Bhutan's culture and
traditions are kept in tact, so are their farming
practices which consists of hard, physical labor.
Transportation
Air transportation is available in Bhutan with an
international airport linking Bhutan to Bangladesh,
Nepal, and Thailand. Bhutan's national carrier, Druk
Air, was founded in 1983. A road system is available but
is not extensive by any means. The roads, cut nto the
mountains and hills, are frequently blocked due to
landslides in the rainy season. A bus service is
available to travel all over Bhutan, operated by the
Bhutan Government Transport Service.
Language
Dzongkha, Bhutan's official national language, which is
based on Tibetan, also uses the Tibetan script (chhokey)
for writing. Another language derived from Tibetan is
Ngalopkha, a language spoken in western Bhutan. The
south uses Nepali as it's language, while the main
language in eastern Bhutan is Sharchopkha
(Indo-Mongoloid language). |
General info
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