Bhutan - Culture & Tradtion

“ Culture - a multidimensional term, one that encompasses both the tangible: buildings and artefacts, and the intangible: values & attitudes”

As per definition, what defines a country’s culture is based on their tangible and intangible assets. It is not built up within day, but instead shaped by a country’s unique tradition and beliefs that was created by the people. In the case of Bhutan, their culture mostly revolves around their religion (Tibetan Buddhism) and their architecture.

Tangible :

Houses

Traditionally, Bhutanese houses are made out of mud, bamboo, and wood. The doors and windows of Bhutanese houses are decorated with animal, religious, or floral designs. The houses usually consist of three stories. The cattle and other animals of the house reside on the ground floor, the second floor is for storage, and on the third floor are the living quarters, which often also have the shrine (i.e. Chosum). Hay, dry vegetables and meat are stored in the open-air between the third floor and the roof. The most important feature of Bhutanese houses is the prayer flag placed in the centre of the roof. This is a sign that the Bhutanese are very religious people and carry the Buddhism faith.

Bhutanese Dress

The traditional dress of Bhutan is one of the most unique in the world. Men wear gho, a long robe that is raised till knee, folded backwards and then tied around the waist by kera, a belt. Traditionally, the pouch formed above the waist is used for carrying bowl, money and doma (areca nut and betal leaf eaten with a dash of lime). The women wear a "kira," which is an ankle-length dress worn with a short jacket. Both men and women also wear scarves, which are an important part of the tradition of the Bhutanese people. Men wear a kabney, which is worn on all formal visits to a Dzong or to an office. The color of the kabney identifies the rank of the individual. The King wears yellow, ministers wear orange, Judges wear green and common people wear white. Women wear a rachu. This is hung over the shoulder and is hand-woven with fringe on the end. Both the kabney and the rachu are beautiful scarves that are indicative of the talent and skill of Bhutanese weavers. In order to preserve this ancient dressing tradition from being influenced by the West, the Bhutanese government has made it compulsory for all Bhutanese to wear only their national dress in public.

Food and Drink

Like Singaporeans, the people of Bhutan enjoys spicy food. Most of the Traditional Bhutanese food is spicy as it features red and green chillies. Bhutan national dish is a chilli and cheese combination called the ema datsi. Most restaurants serve both meat and vegetarian dishes, while some cater to vegetarians exclusively. Indian meals are also available in many restaurants. However, what I felt was most interesting in this aspect is that the sale of liquor is available every day except Tuesday, which is Bhutan’s dry day. This, in my opinion, again showcase the amount of emphasis Bhutan place on religion as they made Tuesday a non-alcoholic day. Similar to Singapore, the legal drinking age is 18 years old in Bhutan.

Intangible :

Religion

Religion and spirituality play a very important role in the culture of Bhutan. Everything from architecture to the arts to eating habits are influenced by their religion - The Tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism. An example of their deep worship towards religion is that before eating, the diners would have to toss some morsels of rice in the air as offering to the deities and spirits. Also, villages in Bhutan are strewn with magnificent temples and religious structures, which are present along the roads and trails. One can also see many prayer flags on the hills and high passes as well, which again signifies the importance of religion to the country. Almost every home in Bhutan has a special area called a chosum, which is a small shrine, or a special room used for prayers.

Traditional Beliefs

Bhutanese have very traditional practices when dealing with the 3 stages of life – birth, marriage and death. They adopt their own brand of attitude and beliefs when going through these 3 stages and incorporated a large amount of religious acts into them.

• Birth – When a new child is born , the outsiders, normally, do not visit the child for the first three days as the house is considered polluted by kaydrip (defilement by birth). Thus, a purification ritual (Lhabsang) is conducted in the house, after which the outsiders will then be welcomed to see the new born baby. Gifts are brought for the newborn and the mother and it ranges from rice and dairy products in the rural places to clothes and money in the urban. Furthermore, the child is not immediately named after his/her birth. It will be given by a religious person when the child is brought to the temple of the local deity (natal deity) and the name will generally be associated with the deity. Also, the culture of celebrating birthdays did not exist in the past. However, it has now become popular especially amongst the town and city dwellers.

• Marriage - Arranged marriages were popular just a few decades back. Normally, people married among the relatives. For instance, particularly in eastern Bhutan, cross-cousin marriage was a popular tradition. This is now becoming unpopular among the literate mass and most of the marriages take place based on their own choice. Wedding ceremonies are also conducted simply, whereby A small ritual is performed by either a monk or a religious leader. After the wedding, it is the culture and tradition for the wives in Eastern and Southern Bhutan to go and live in the husband’s house while in Western Bhutan, it is the opposite.

• Funeral: Death is considered the most expensive affair in Bhutan as it does not mean the end for the deceased. On the contrary, the Bhutanese believes that the deceased are merely passing on to another life. Thus many rituals are performed to help the departed soul get a better rebirth. Rituals are performed after the 7th day, 14th day, 21st day and the 49th days of the death and more elaborately on the death anniversary for three consecutive years with erection of prayer flags in the name of the deceased. The relatives and locals come with alcohol, rice, or other sundry items to attend these rituals.