Laws, gender roles/status, family & kinship, and education of Bhutan.

Blog V

Looking at the culture aspects of Bhutan, there are significant differences compare to the U.S. Due to the small size of the country, much of the legal system is occurs at a local level. Those who are accused of breaking the law have their case heard before local headmen and magistrates. Appeals can be made to an eight member High Court. A last appeal can be made to the king of Bhutan. Family law on the other hand is based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu laws. In the past, Bhutan was virtually crime free but as modernization occurred, burglary and robbery became more common.
Although women are regarded as a lower status than men, women are not disenfranchised nor discriminated against at an institutional level. Land ownership is divided equally for men and women, dowries are not practiced, and women have the same educational opportunities as men. In terms of labor, women and men both tend the fields, yet more women are nurses and teacher than men. This is an indication that the notion of gender roles still exists within the country; they provide the caregiver role. Daughters are also regarded as the ones who care for the parents in old age.
Marriages may be established by either the parents or the individuals. Many of the marriages are performed leaders. Much of the country is monogamous. It has only been in recent times that the act of polyandry (multiple husbands) has been made illegal. Polygamy remains legal still however, but it can only be established if the first wife grants her husband permission.
The brides are not obligated to move into their husband’s side of the family. The husband may move into the wife’s side of the family if his labor is needed. Additionally, newly weds can establish their own households through their own land. Divorce is legal in Bhutan, but compensation from the one seeking the divorce is required.
Education in Bhutan is not mandatory. Over fifty percent of children do not attend schools. The educational system is made of seven years of primary school and four years of secondary school. The number of children attending secondary schools drop drastically compared to those attending primary school. In 1994, the figure of children in primary school was 60,089 compared to 7,299 students in secondary schools. Bhutan only has one college. Hindu students may obtain scholarships to study in Vernares University in India.

Work cited:
Advameg Inc.
2007 Culture of Bhutan for Countries and their Culture. Electronic document,
http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bhutan.html, accessed October 15th 2007.

History of Bhutan

Blog IV

In order to understand Bhutan and its culture, one has to examine the history and the ethnic relationships that have shaped the country. Much of the early history of Bhutan remains unknown as records were destroyed from natural disasters. What is known that in the late sixteenth century, Bhutan came under rule of Tibet which established governmental system known as “Zhabdrung Rinpoche.” The system consisted of the country being headed by a spiritual leader and a civil government leader.
This from of government lasted until 1907 when a monarchy was established; the first King being Penlop Uyen Wangchuck. He is most known for his mediator role between Tibet and British India as historically Britain wished to incorporate Tibet within its empire. However, Wangchuck was able to eliminate the threat from Britain through negotiations. In 1949, Bhutan gained its independence.
Much of Bhutan’s national identity highly weaved into its religious identity; Buddhism. Buddhist ideology impacts the Bhutanese people greatly and Buddhist spiritual leaders possess a high amount of influence within the country.
The Bhutanese population consists of many diverse ethnic groups. A number of small tribal groups can trace their ancestry back over three thousands within the region. In recent decades, many immigrants from Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia have settled in the country. However problems began to arise during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when the Hindu Nepalese population conflicted with the Buddhist majority due to their differing ideals. As such, the Bhutanese government placed restrictions to reduce the influx of Nepalese immigrants into the country. But this policy resulted in protests, demonstrations, and ethnic violence on part by the Nepalese community. As things progressed however, the situation became worse, which lead to thousands of Nepalese fleeing the country. Many of them reside in refugee camps in India and Nepal.

Behaviors of Bhutanese Buddhists.

Blog III

In the past years that I have spent time with my Bhutanese friends, I have seen some of their unusual behaviors which have made me question why they would do them. For instance, one of my Bhutanese friends dropped a book which fell on her feet and she immediately reacted to it by picking it up and slightly touching it on to her head. I questioned her as to why she would do that and her response was that it was something sacred. Books represented something sacred because they are objects from which you gain knowledge and from which you learn and thus they needed to be treated with respect. Furthermore, when my friend dropped a picture of her family onto the floor, she did the same thing. The reason behind it was that respecting certain objects like family pictures or any other object that you may consider important or respectful would be treated the same way. It was really subjective as to what a Bhutanese person might consider worth placing onto their head, it was merely a sign of respect.
Another significant religious influence on my Bhutanese friends is noticeable when it comes to their treatment towards other living beings. One of my Bhutanese friends was actually my roommate my freshman year and she would refuse to let me kill bugs that would some how find its way into our room. Even after I would swat a bug she would mumble a little prayer. By Buddhist standards, all living beings are equal and have equal rights to a life. When you kill a bug, in a way you are taking a life, particularly a helpless form of life so she would say her prayers for the little one and hope that its spirit/soul is liberated and finds its way in the after life. That was another interesting theme that I noticed among the Bhutanese Buddhists. The concept of past lives and after lives is a constant connection with most of their ‘altruistic’ behaviors.

Bhutan and Buddhist tradition

Blog II

I have been carrying out conversations with my Bhutanese friends, usually in an informal setting, just casually asking them so that it would seem the least interview like where they may feel pressured to present information in a certain way. I wanted to know things from their own perspectives. To begin with I had certain questions on my mind that seemed important to address before I began looking into their personal behaviors. The questions were as follows:

Why is Buddhism the main religion practiced in Bhutan?

Bhutan is located particularly close to Tibet, a country which was originally Buddhist. Many of the religious figures you will see in Bhutanese Buddhism (Mahayana Buddhism) were/are Tibetan priests or monks who traveled into Bhutan and brought the religion with them. That is how Buddhism came into the country and it has since then been the predominant religion with over 95% of the people identifying themselves as Buddhists.

What has been the most significant influence of Buddhism on your culture?

Buddhism has influenced almost every aspect of a Bhutanese person’s life. This includes not just their culture in the sense of traditions, heritage, etc. but also by in a way of determining daily activities of an individual. The line between culture and religion in Bhutan may be very blurred. Buddhism is integrated in some form or another in all aspects of the culture.

Do you believe that Buddhism has a significant influence on your behaviors as well as on your culture, Bhutan?

While my friends say that they cannot speak for everyone, they admit to their being Buddhists influencing some of their behaviors and collectively having a bigger influence on their culture. Subconsciously, whether they practice the religion (in terms of rituals/prayers) or not, it determines how they would react and deal with certain situations in their life. One of them admits to it saying that even normal every day activities carry subliminal messages that relate to Buddhism.

Has there been a time where you asked yourself as to why you do certain behaviors which are considered rather unusual to others?

They say because it is mostly carried out subconsciously they do not really question themselves. It is only when someone points it out particularly that they find themselves validating it by mostly relating it to their religion and their culture. For them it is not unusual, just a norm but they can see why others may see it as being odd.

From my first “interview” it was clear to me that their behaviors have been influenced by both their culture and religion. It triggered a much higher curiosity to examine the reasons behind the details of their behaviors.