Bhutan's
traditional society has been defined as both patriarchal
and matriarchal, and the member held in highest esteem
serves as the family's head. Bhutan also has been
described as feudalistic
and characterized by the absence of strong social
stratification. In premodern times, there were three
broad classes: the monastic
community, the leadership of which was the nobility;
lay civil servants who ran the government apparatus;
and farmers, the largest class, living in self-sufficient
villages.
In the more militaristic premodern era, Bhutan also
had an underclass of prisoners of war and their descendants,
who were generally treated as serfs
or even as slaves. In modern times, society was organized
around joint family units, and a class division existed
based on occupation and, in time, social status. With
the introduction of foreign practices in recent centuries
and increasing job mobility outside the village, however,
emphasis has been placed on nuclear family units.
Social
status is based on a family's economic station. Except
among the Hindu
Nepalese in southern Bhutan, there was no caste
system. Although Bhutanese were endogamous by
tradition, modern practices and even royal decrees
encouraged ethnic integration in the late twentieth
century. Primogeniture dictated the right of inheritance
traditionally, although in some central areas the
eldest daughter was the lawful successor. In contemporary
Bhutan, however, inheritance came to be more equally
distributed among all children of a family.
Except
for the royal family and a few other noble families,
Bhutanese do not have surnames. Individuals normally
have two names, but neither is considered a family
name or a surname. Some people adopt their village
name, occasionally in abbreviated form, as part of
their name, using it before their given name. Wives
keep their own names, and children frequently have
names unconnected to either parent. Some individuals
educated abroad have taken their last name as a surname,
however. A system of titles, depending on age, degree
of familiarity, and social or official status, denotes
ranks and relationships among members of society.
The title dasho, for example, is an honorific used
by a prince of the royal house, a commoner who marries
a princess, a nephew of the Druk Gyalpo, a deputy
minister, other senior government officials, and others
in positions of authority.
Although
adherents of Buddhism,
Bhutanese are not vegetarians and occasionally eat
beef, especially in western Bhutan. Pork, poultry,
goat, yak meat and fish are consumed on a limited
scale. Rice and increasingly corn are staples. Despite
a scarcity of milk, dairy products, such as yak cheese
and yak cheese byproducts, are part of the diet of
upland people. Meat soups, rice or corn, and curries
spiced with chilies comprise daily menus; beverages
include buttered tea and beer distilled from cereals.
Wild vegetation, such as young ferns, also is harvested
for table food.
Traditional clothing still was commonly worn in the
early 1990s, and, indeed, its use was fostered by
government decree. Women wore the kira,
an ankle-length dress made of a rectangular piece
of cloth held at the shoulders with a clip and closed
with a woven belt at the waist, over a long-sleeved
blouse.
Social status was indicated by the amount of decorative
details and colors of the kira and the quality of
the cloth used. Men wore the gho,
a wraparound, coatlike, knee-length garment, with
a narrow belt. Both men and women sometimes wore elaborate
earrings, and both sexes also wore scarves or shawls,
white for commoners and carefully specified colors,
designs, and manners of folding for higher ranking
individuals. Only the Druk Gyalpo and the Je Khenpo
were allowed to wear the honorific saffron scarf.
Other officials were distinguished by the color of
the scarves they wore: orange for ministers and deputy
ministers, blue for National Assembly and Royal Advisory
Council members, and red or maroon for high religious
and civil officials, district officers, and judges
(anyone holding the title of dasho). Stripes on scarves
of the same base color denoted greater or lesser ranks.
The
traditional practice, arranged marriages based on
family and ethnic ties, has been replaced in the late
twentieth century with marriages based on mutual affection.
Marriages were usually arranged by the partners in
contemporary Bhutan, and the minimum age was sixteen
for women and twenty-one for men. The institution
of child
marriage, once relatively widespread, had largely
declined as Bhutan modernized, and there were only
remnants of the practice in the late twentieth century.
Interethnic marriages, once forbidden, were encouraged
in the late 1980s
by an incentive of a Nu10,000 government stipend to
willing couples. The stipend was discontinued in 1991,
however. Marriages of Bhutanese citizens to foreigners,
however, have been discouraged.
Bhutanese
with foreign spouses were not allowed to obtain civil
service positions and could have their government
scholarships cancelled and be required to repay portions
already received. Foreign spouses were not entitled
to citizenship by right but had to apply for naturalization.
Polyandry
was abolished and polygamy was restricted in the middle
of twentieth century, but the law in the 1990s
still allowed a man as many as three wives, providing
he had the first wife's permission. The first wife
also had the power to sue for divorce and alimony
if she did not agree. In the 1980s, divorce was common,
and new laws provided better benefits to women seeking
alimony.
Family
life, both traditionally and in the contemporary period,
was likely to provide for a fair amount of self-sufficiency.
Families, for example, often made their own clothing,
bedding, floor and seat covers, tablecloths, and decorative
items for daily and religious use. Wool was the primary
material, but domestic silk and imported cotton were
also used in weaving colorful cloth, often featuring
elaborate geometric, floral, and animal designs. Although
weaving was normally done by women of all ages using
family-owned looms, monks sometimes did embroidery
and appliqué work. In the twentieth century,
weaving was possibly as predominant a feature of daily
life as it was at the time of Bhutan's unification
in the seventeenth century.
Landholdings
varied depending on the wealth and size of individual
families, but most families had as much land as they
could farm using traditional techniques. A key element
of family life was the availability of labor. Thus,
the choice of the home of newlyweds was determined
by which parental unit had the greatest need of supplemental
labor. If both families had a sufficient supply of
labor, then a bride and groom might elect to set up
their own home.
Most
Bhutanese live on farms, in remote hamlets, amidst
sylvan settings. The fast life that is both the badge
and bane of modern living is alien to the season-paced
lifestyle of these agrarian folk.
Bhutanese
society is egalitarian in its apparel; regardless
of social stratum, everybody dresses alike. The national
dress is a distinctive one, finely woven from multicoloured,
vibrant-hued wool, cotton or silk. The male attire
is called a "gho" and the female, the "kira".
Jewellery is primarily coral, turquoise, pearls and
agate set in exquisitely crafted gold and silver.
The cuisine of the country is robust with lots of
meat, cereals and vegetables, liberally spiced with
chillies. Salted butter tea, called "suja",
which may sit strangely on occidental tongues, is
customarily and frequently served along with puffed
or pounded rice and maize. Potent rice, wheat and
barley wines are brewed locally.
Archery
is the popular and perennial national sport played
usually with bamboo bows and arrows. An integral part
of most festivities, archery matches are gala affairs
with music, dances, drinks and fun.
The
ancient and traditional forms of music and dance of
the different regions in Bhutan, usually loaded with
sacred symbolism, have been scrupulously preserved.
The gentle grace of the folk dances and the dramatic
gusto of the energetic and resplendent masked dances
are bound to leave a lasting impression on visitors.
Bhutanese housing has a distinct character
from that of other Himalayan countries. Relatively
spacious compared with those of neighboring societies,
houses took advantage of natural light and, because
of the steep terrain, were usually built in clusters
rather than in rows. Timber, stone, clay, and brick
were typical construction materials in upland Ngalop
areas. Family residences frequently had three stories,
with room for livestock on the first or ground story,
living quarters on the second story, additional living
quarters and storage on the third story, and an open
space between the third story and the roof for open-air
storage.
Large
stones were used to weigh down wooden roofs against
fierce Himalayan storms. Among Buddhism's contributions
to Bhutan were its rich architectural embellishments.
The walls of residences and public buildings, inside
and outside, were subject to colorful decoration,
as were furniture, cupboards, stairs, window frames,
doors, and fences. Wooden shutters rather than scarce
glass were used throughout the 1980s.
Buddhist
motifs and symbolic colors also were extensively used.
Sharchop houses of stone and timber were sometimes
built on hillsides. In the southern areas inhabited
by Nepalese, Assamese, and Bengalis, housing was more
likely to consist of bamboo and thatched roof houses
and mud and thatch dwellings. The construction of
housing often was a cooperative task of the community.
