Ngalop people, Bhutan
Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion in Bhutan — an estimated two-thirds to three-quarters of the population are adherents — so the Ngalop people hold a special place in their country. “Ngalop means ‘the first risen,’ and they are known as the people who brought Tibetan Buddhism to Bhutan when they migrated there in the ninth century.” The Ngalop live mainly in the northwest region of the country.
Shown are a group of Ngalop masked dancers. Symbolizing different deities, demons and animals, the masks are used when the Ngalop act out spiritual stories from their collective past. In this photo, they’re dressed for the annual Tshechu festival. “Religious gatherings such as the Tschechu festival are an important way to promote and share cultural heritage between the people from remote villages,” Nelson says. The temple complex seen on the left-hand side of the image is Paro Taktsang or “The Tiger’s Nest.” Located more than 10,000 feet above sea level, it is is one of the most sacred sites in Bhutan.
Understanding Gross National Happiness (GNH) Gross national happiness (GNH) is a term with roots in the Himalayan country of Bhutan. The kingdom’s first legal code, written at the time of unification in 1729, stated that “if the Government cannot create happiness for its people, there is no purpose for the government.” King Jigme Singye Wangchuck told the Financial Times in a 1972 interview that “gross national happiness is more important than gross national product.” It is not clear how seriously King Jigme had thought through this new metric, but Bhutanese scholars have since picked up the idea and run with it. The GNH has evolved into a somewhat scientific measure of the once-isolated kingdom’s economic and moral development.
In 1998, the government of Bhutan established the Center for Bhutan Studies and Gross National Happiness (CBSGNH) to conduct research on the topic.
The institute’s mandate was to develop a GNH index and indicators that the government could build into its public policy decisions. Bhutan could then share this framework with the outside world, with which the isolated Himalayan country was increasingly in contact. To that end, the GNH Center in Bumthang developed what it calls the four pillars of GNH. These are good governance, sustainable development, preservation and promotion of culture and environmental conservation. The 2008 constitution dictates that lawmakers must take each into account when considering new legislation. These pillars provide the foundation for the happiness which is manifest in the nine domains of GNH: psychological wellbeing, standard of living, good governance, health, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use and ecological resilience.
Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a tiny country home to pristine forests, extraordinary architecture, and rich cultural traditions. Join us as we journey from bustling Thimphu to the Phobjikha Valley, lush with greenery and wildlife, and finally through the small village of Haa. We’ll witness an annual festival and visit ancient dzongs, art studios, incense factories, and nature preserves—meeting artisans, monks, and farmers along the way. Our adventure will culminate with an ascent to the Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”—the striking cliffside Buddhist temple where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for four months.
The Drukpa are Bhutan’s indigenous population. They can be divided into four main ethnic groups: the Sharchops, Ngalops, Khengs and Lhotsampas. The Sharchop are believed to be Bhutan’s original inhabitants, living predominantly in Eastern Bhutan. Bhutan’s second tribe are the Ngalop.
The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive: the politically and culturally dominant Ngalop of western and northern Bhutan; the Sharchop of eastern Bhutan; the Lhotshampa concentrated in southern Bhutan; and Bhutanese tribal and aboriginal peoples living in villages scattered throughout Bhutan
Small aboriginal or indigenous tribal peoples live in scattered villages throughout Bhutan. Some are culturally and linguistically part of the populations of West Bengal or Assam and have embraced the Hindu system of endogamous groups ranked by hierarchy and practice wet-rice and dry-rice agriculture. They include the Brokpa, Lepcha, and Doya tribes as well as the descendants of slaves who were brought to Bhutan from similar tribal areas in India.
Bhutan also had a sizable modern Tibetan refugee population, although there are no Tibetan communities or villages in the country. The total Tibetan population stood at 10,000 in 1987. The major influx of 6,000 persons came in 1959 in the wake of the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion. The Tibetan expatriates became only partially integrated into Bhutanese society. At the time, when the King fell sick, there was a problem of who would inherit and carry on the monarchy line; son of a Tibetan queen or a Bhutanese Queen. When the conflict was occurring, the king secretly sent his Tibetan wife and her family to India.
There are two dozen languages of Bhutan, all members of the Tibeto-Burman language family except for Nepali, which is an Indo-Aryan language, and Bhutanese Sign Language.[1]Dzongkha, the national language, is the only language with a native literary tradition in Bhutan, though Lepcha and Nepali are literary languages in other countries. Dzongkha study is mandatory in schools, and the majority of the population speaks it as a second language. It is the predominant language of government and education. The Chocangaca language, a “sister language” to Dzongkha, is spoken in the Kurichu Valley of Eastern Bhutan by about 20,000 people.
The name ‘Bhutan‘ appears to have been derived from the Sanskrit phraseology ‘Bhu-Uttan’ meaning ‘High Land’; Bhutan’s environment and geography confirms the reasons for such a name. Bhutan is a small mountainous land-locked, Buddhist kingdom located in the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, squeezed between India and China. Bhutan borders the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the east, Assam and West Bengal to the south, and Sikkim to the south-west. To the north, Bhutan borders Tibet.
The People and Culture of Bhutan
Bhutan is comprised of a mosaic of different peoples who continue to live in valleys isolated from one another and the outside world by formidable mountain passes. Differing ethnic groups are also distributed according to the varying environments. It is possible to divide Bhutan’s population into three broad ethnic groups, though the distinctions blur in places.
Name of Bhutanese people is quite limited; in fact, there are only 50 names, used to set a name for each newborn child in Bhutan. Bhutanese names do not include family name; however, it is an exception in Royal lineages with the fact that the current king’s name is Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and he comes from the Wangchuck royal family. During your Bhutan tours, you might notice that the same names among the Bhutanese appear over and over.
Bhutanese Names’ Meaning
There are also some given names containing religious connotation like Tashi means good auspices or good luck, Sangay means the Buddha, Sonam means religious merit, Chime means immortality, Tshering is a long life, Ugyen is the saint Padmasambhava, Dorji is the state of indestructibility, and so on.
Below, there will be some more Bhutanese names with their meanings:
- Dawa means moon, month
- Dechen means great happiness
- Dorji means diamond
- Jamyang means gentle song in which, jam stands for gentle & soft and yang is song & voice
- Karma means action, deed, and fate
- Kunzang means all good and ever excellent
- Lhamo means goddess
- Ngawang means powerful speech in which, nga stands for speech and wang is powerful, force
- Norbu means jewel
- Passang means good, excellent
- Sonam means virtuous, good karma, fortunate
- Tashi means good fortune
- Tshering means long life in which, tshe stands for life and ring is long
Thimphu Festival is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in Bhutan. Thimphu Tshechu is an annual three-day event that is held in the courtyard of the Tashichhodzong on the 10th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. During the three day festival, the people will get to witness the 8th Century mask dance such as Guru Tshengye (Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche) and Shaw Shachi (Dance of the Stags) as well as folk songs. We have a flexible itinerary for the tour to make the best of your trip to Bhutan.
Bhutan has a rich culture, the result of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world until five decades ago. Even today the government strongly emphasizes promotion and preservation of its unique culture which is reflected through its magnificent architecture, dress, traditional ceremonies, everyday life of the Bhutanese people, and traditional beliefs. Bhutan follows Driglam Namzha to preserve its tradition and culture.
The Bhutanese are physically similar to the Tibetans, but history does not record when they crossed over the Himalayas and settled in the south-draining valleys of Bhutan. Both Tibetans and Bhutanese revere the tantric guru, Padmasambhava, the founder of Himalayan Buddhism in the 8th century. Once every year, a dzong or most important village may hold a religious festival, or Tsechu. Villagers from the surrounding district come for several days of religious observances and socializing while contributing auspicious offerings to the lama or monastery of the festival. The central activity is a fixed set of religious mask dances, or cham, held in a large courtyard.
Bhutan’s forgotten people
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BHUTAN
There are numerous ethnic groups in Bhutan, but the Ngalop people who speaks the Dzongkha language constitutes a majority of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive: the politically and culturally dominant Ngalop of western and northern Bhutan; the Sharchop of eastern Bhutan; the Lhotshampa concentrated in southern Bhutan; and Bhutanese tribal and aboriginal peoples living in villages scattered throughout Bhutan.
Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographical isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. A sparsely populated country bordered by India to the south, and China to the north, Bhutan has long maintained a policy of strict isolationism, both culturally and economically, with the goal of preserving its cultural heritage and independence. Only in the last decades of the 20th century were foreigners allowed to visit the country, and only then in limited numbers. In this way, Bhutan has successfully preserved many aspects of its culture, which dates directly back to the mid-17th century.
Modern Bhutanese culture derives from ancient culture. This culture affected the early growth of this country. Dzongkha and Sharchop, the principal Bhutanese languages, are closely related to Tibetan, and Bhutanese monks read and write the ancient variant of the Tibetan language, known as chhokey. The Bhutanese are physically similar to the Tibetans, but history does not record when they crossed over the Himalayas and settled in the south-draining valleys of Bhutan. Both Tibetans and Bhutanese revere the tantric guru, Padmasambhava, the founder of Himalayan Buddhism in the 8th century
Gross national happiness (GNH) is a term with roots in the Himalayan country of Bhutan. The kingdom’s first legal code, written at the time of unification in 1729, stated that “if the Government cannot create happiness for its people, there is no purpose for the government.” King Jigme Singye Wangchuck told the Financial Times in a 1972 interview that “gross national happiness is more important than gross national product.” It is not clear how seriously King Jigme had thought through this new metric, but Bhutanese scholars have since picked up the idea and run with it. The GNH has evolved into a somewhat scientific measure of the once-isolated kingdom’s economic and moral development.
In 1998, the government of Bhutan established the Center for Bhutan Studies and Gross National Happiness (CBSGNH) to conduct research on the topic.
The institute’s mandate was to develop a GNH index and indicators that the government could build into its public policy decisions. Bhutan could then share this framework with the outside world, with which the isolated Himalayan country was increasingly in contact. To that end, the GNH Center in Bumthang developed what it calls the four pillars of GNH. These are good governance, sustainable development, preservation and promotion of culture and environmental conservation. The 2008 constitution dictates that lawmakers must take each into account when considering new legislation. These pillars provide the foundation for the happiness which is manifest in the nine domains of GNH: psychological wellbeing, standard of living, good governance, health, community vitality, cultural diversity, time use and ecological resilience.
Main minority groups: Nepali–speakers (also known as Lhotshampas or Bhutanese-Nepalis), indigenous and migrant groups
Main languages: Dzongkha (national language)
Main religions: Buddhism (state religion), Hinduism, Christian
Four ethnic groups – Ngalong (also known as Bhote), Sharchop, Kheng, and Nepali-speakers – make up 98 per cent of the population. Ngalongs, Sharchops, and Khengs are all adherents to the Drukpa Kagyu school of Mahayana Buddhism, although each group has a distinct identity as well. Ngalongs are people of western Bhutan and of Tibetan origin; they dominate the country’s ruling and social elite.
There are two dozen languages of Bhutan, all members of the Tibeto-Burman language family except for Nepali, which is an Indo-Aryan language, and Bhutanese Sign Language. Dzongkha, the national language, is the only language with a native literary tradition in Bhutan, though Lepcha and Nepali are literary languages in other countries. Other non-Bhutanese minority languages are also spoken along Bhutan’s borders and among the primarily Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa community in South and East Bhutan.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 