Explore Bhutan
Druk Yul, the land of Thundur Dragon, Bhutan as locally known is perhaps the next Himalayan kingdom after Nepal, hidden amidst the mighty Himalayas and sandwiched between its two great neighbors, with Tibet (China) in the north and India in the south. Bhutan is as big as Switzerland but sparsely inhabited by little over 600,000 people. The kingdom is spread over 47,000 square kilometer with varied climatic conditions ranging from subtropical to the frigid reaches of almost 25,000 feet snow- capped ranges of Tibetan border. Bhutan is blessed with a wealth of floral and fauna, magnificent mountains, dense forests, crystalline air, a self-sufficient and friendly people, superb art and eye-catching architecture, without beggars or crime. In fact, Bhutan is truly a paradise.
Glimpse of Bhutan
Location: Southern Asia, between China and India
Area: 47,000 sq km
Climate: varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas
Terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna
Population: 1,951,965 (July 1999 est)
Languages: Dzonkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Capital: Thimphu
People
In Bhutan we find several ethnic groups. The Sharchops, who are believed to be the earliest ancestors used to live mostly in eastern Bhutan. Their early ancestor tribes may have originated from Burma (Myanmar) and northeast India. It is also believed that Indo-Mongoloids (usually referred to as Monpas, which means non-Tibetans) migrated into Bhutan two thousand years ago from Arunchal Pradesh, Nagaland, northern Burma, and Thailand. The Ngalops live in western Bhutan and migrated from the Tibetan plains; they are credited with being the first to bring Buddhism to the country. The other main ethnic group is the Lhotshampas, who were from Nepal originally. The Lhotshampas migrated to Bhutan toward the end of the nineteenth century.
Culture
Culture of Bhutan is among the oldest, most carefully guarded and well preserved cultures in the world. People of Bhutan have always been careful about conserving their centuries-old culture. Even in today's time, Bhutan has been able to retain its old world charm. This is one of the reasons Bhutan is loved by the tourists who want to spend their holidays in ethnic areas.
History of Bhutan
Bhutan's early history is not clear as the fire broke out in the ancient capital Punakha in 1827 and most of the records were destroyed. By the 10th century, Bhutan's political development was influenced by its religious history. Various sub-sects of Buddhism emerged which were patronized by the various Mongol warlords. After the decline of the Mongols in the 14th century, these sub-sects vied with each other for supremacy in the political and religious areas, eventually leading to the ascendancy of the Drukpa sub-sect by the 16th century.
Until the early 17th century, Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms, when the area was unified by the Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who fled religious persecution in Tibet. To defend the country against intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable dzongs (fortresses), and promulgated a code of law that helped to bring local lords under centralized control. Many such dzongs still exist and are active centers of religion and district administration. After Namgyal's death in 1651, Bhutan fell into civil war. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Tibetans attacked Bhutan in 1710, and again in 1730 with the help of the Mongols. Both assaults were successfully thwarted, and truce was signed in 1759.
In the 18th century, the Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of Cooch Behar to the south. In 1772, Cooch Behar appealed to the British East India Company which assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese, and later in attacking Bhutan itself in 1774. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next 100 years. The skirmishes eventually led to the Duar War (1864-1865), a confrontation for control of the Bengal Duars. After Bhutan lost the war, the Treaty of Sinchula was signed between British India and Bhutan. As part of the war reparations, the Duars were ceded to the United Kingdom in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. The treaty ended all hostilities between British India and Bhutan.
During the 1870s, power struggles between the rival valleys of Paro and Tongsa led to civil war in Bhutan, eventually leading to the ascendancy of Ugyen Wangchuck, the ponlop (governor) of Tongsa. From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in the period 1882-1885. In 1907, an epochal year for the country, Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary king of the country by an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, government officials, and heads of important families. The British government promptly recognized the new monarchy, and in 1910 Bhutan signed a treaty which "let" Great Britain "guide" Bhutan's foreign affairs. In reality, this did not mean much given Bhutan's historical reticence. It also did not seem to apply to Bhutan's traditional relations with Tibet. The greatest impact of this treaty seems to be the perception that it meant Bhutan was not totally sovereign.
Religious festival
The largest and most colorful festivals take place once a year at Bhutan's dzongs and monasteries, especially in honor of Guru Rimpoche. They are normally celebrated in spring and autumn. Tsechus consist of up to five days of spectacular pageantry, masked dances and religious allegorical plays that have remained unchanged for centuries. Besides being a vital living festival and an important medium of Buddhist teaching, Tsechus attract huge social gatherings. Bhutanese revel and exult together, dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry, in a welcoming ambiance where humor and devotion go hand in hand. For guests, the tsechu provides an ideal opportunity to appreciate the essence of the Bhutanese character.
Food
The Bhutanese diet is rich in meat, dairy, grain (particularly rice) and vegetables. Emadachee, made with green hot chilies and cheese stew, is considered the national dish with many interpretations to this recipe throughout the kingdom. Meat dishes, mainly pork, beef and yak, are lavishly spiced with chilies, and it is common to see bright red peppers drying on rooftops in the sun. Salted butter tea, or suja, is served on all social occasions. Though there is plenty of white rice, Bhutanese prefer a local, slightly nutty, red variety. At high altitudes, wheat is the staple. Several Tibetan-style dishes are common, including momos (dumplings), and thukpa (noodles). Pork fat is popular in the wilds because of its high-energy content. Chang, a local beer, and ara, a spirit distilled from rice, maize, wheat or barley, are also common and widely favored. Doma or betel nut is offered as a customary gesture of greeting.
