Cultural Diversity and Resilience

6
Cultural Diversity and Resilience*

Sangay Chophel**
6.1 Introduction
The significance of cultural diversity for humanity is now being
increasingly recognised by several international organisations. The
UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity represents the first
international instrument aimed at promoting cultural diversity.
Developing cultural resilience is also given importance, which can be
understood as the cultures capacity to maintain and develop cultural
identity, knowledge and practices, and able to overcome challenges and
difficulties from other norms and ideals.
The key importance of culture, as I perceive, includes: to instill values for
the full development of human being, to meet spiritual and emotional
needs, to temper the pace of modernisation and the negative impacts of
globalisation, to safeguard and strengthen the countrys sovereignty and
security, to develop resilience, and to promote diversity for meaningful
contribution.
Culture is a concept that cannot be easily explicated and quantified. As
such, not all variables of culture are included in this study; priority was
given to those that have a strong relation to ones sense of well-being. The
data was largely collected based on existing cultural practices, values and
norms as traditionally laid out in Bhutan. This paper attempts to assess
the strength and relevance of various aspects of culture in Bhutan
through the perceptions of respondents towards basic cultural elements
such as language; sense of identity; core values, change in values, beliefs,
norms, and customs; and participation in various cultural activities, such
The questionnaire for the survey was jointly designed by the author and Tashi
Choden, researcher at the Centre for Bhutan Studies. Some of the text from the
brief introduction she wrote on culture has been used in this paper.
** Publication Officer, The Centre for Bhutan Studies.
*
Cultural Diversity and Resilience

as festivals, sports, and songs. Also, a modest attempt has been made to
see whether Bhutanese culture as a whole is capable of maintaining and
developing itself in spite of challenges from other ideals and norms - a
feature of cultural resilience.
6.2 Survey
Two surveys were carried out. The first one was carried out from October
2006 till March 2007, which covered nine dzongkhags. During the second
survey, which was carried out in December 2007 to March 2008, some of
the questions were revised and was administered in remaining eleven
dzongkhags. Altogether, the two surveys covered 1300 respondents. This
paper analyzes language variable using the combined data from both the
surveys and rest of the variables are analysed based on the data collected
during the second survey which covered 950 respondents.
6.3 Result
6.3.1
Language
Language is a human characteristic and is needed for full participation in

any society. Understanding the mother tongue and speaking it fluently
may indicate the strength of the language, and the degree to which
people are able to retain their culture and to pass it on to subsequent
generations.
This is one of the first surveys to collect data on first language and how
people can understand and speak their mother tongue. The National
Statistical Bureau has done a survey on spoken language, presumably
referring to mother tongue, but not on language competency. Singye
Namgyel (2003) asked questions on language competency but the sample
was not representative of the whole population - questions were asked
only to educators and students.
Table 6.1 shows the diversity of language in Bhutan (n=1251). The first
linguistic survey of Bhutan identified nineteen different languages
spoken in Bhutan.1 Since the present survey did not ask the language
questions in each and every village in Bhutan, not all the languages could
Driem, George Van (2004). Bhutans endangered languages documentation
programme under the Dzongkha Development Authority: The three rare gems,
in Ura, Karma and Kinga, Sonam (eds.) The Spider and the Piglet. Thimphu: The
Centre for Bhutan Studies, p. 295.
1
149
Gross National Happiness Survey Findings

be covered. However, the languages that are shown in the table are
representative of the country as a whole since the data covers all the
twenty dzongkhags in Bhutan. The proportions of people speaking their
mother tongues are shown from the survey as well from the Population
and Housing Census of Bhutan. Data reveals that more respondents
speak Sharchop followed by Dzongkha.
Table 6.1 First language as % of total respondents
Types of language
Tshangla (Shachop)
Dzongkha
Khengkha
Nepali (Lhotshamkha)
Cho-ca-nga-ca-kha (Kurichu valley)
Bumtapkha
Dzalakha
Kurtop
Lhokpu
Monpakha
Nyenkha (Henkha or Mangdebikha)
Dakpakha
B'okha (Tibetan)
Chalikha
Adabashi
% (Survey)
37.3
24.6
9.6
8.6
7.7
4.2
2.5
1.9
1.4
1.0
0.7
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
% (PHCB)
27.3
23.1
5.5
20.9
1.9
1.9
0.7
2.9
0.4
0.8
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.3
92.8% of the respondents (n=1252) reported that they could understand

their first language very well, 6.9% reported that they could understand
quite well, 0.3% reported that they could understand only a little, and
there were none who could not understand their first language at all.
92.5% of the respondents (n=1252) could speak their first language very
well, 6.8% could speak quite well, 0.7% could speak only a little, and
there were none who could not speak their first language at all. This
indicates that the health of the first language as a whole is good.
6.3.2
Sense of identity
Identifying oneself with a cultural group or groups is essential for overall

well-being. A sense of identity is also known to correlate with social
capital. A person can choose to have multiple identities, while the
decision to accord the relative importance of one over another is entirely
up to the individual. For this, choice and critical reflection and reasoning
are needed. Without a sense of identity individuals resiliency power
may also be weakened.
150
Identity may mean different things to different people, depending on the

importance they give in relation to their own existence. Traditions of a
society can also influence ones sense of identity, as these are usually
well-rooted practices that exhibit cultural values and norms. Bhutanese
traditions is a very broad term that encompasses customs, rituals,
religious ceremonies, traditional dress, sports, music, dance, poetry, arts,
code of behaviour, among others. Therefore, one single question asking
about the importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions within
everyday life is an important indicator of how desirable and relevant
such practices are to the Bhutanese people.
When asked how important it is to maintain the Bhutanese traditions
within their everyday life, 86.3% of the respondents (n=945) reported that
is very important and 12.6% reported that it is important. It is worth
noting that 1.1% of the respondents think it is not important as there are
those who view culture and tradition as remains of the past and
therefore, not necessarily in tune with changing times. This kind of
perception tells us that for tradition to be appealing and relevant, the
values and meanings behind such practices must be better understood in
order to be appreciated by our own people. These respondents were
mostly young people falling in the age group 0-17 years, as 3.4% of them
reported that it is not important to maintain Bhutanese traditions within
their everyday life.
Table 6.2 Importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions by age group
Age category
0-17
Count
18-30
% within age
category
Count
31-45
% within age
category
Count
46-60
% within age
category
Count
How important is it to you to

maintain Bhutanese traditions within
your everyday life?
Not
Very
important
Important
important
2
12
44
Total
58
3.4%
20.7%
75.9%
100.0%
55
325
384
1.0%
14.3%
84.6%
100.0%
28
235
266
1.1%
10.5%
88.3%
100.0%
18
153
172
151
Above 60
% within age
category
Count
Total
% within age
category
Count
% within age
category
6.3.3
6.3.3.1
.6%
10.5%
89.0%
100.0%
57
63
.0%
9.5%
90.5%
100.0%
10
119
814
943
1.1%
12.6%
86.3%
100.0%
Values, beliefs, norms and customs

Values
Values indicate what is right and important in life, and influences our
behaviours. It drives the development of society, and contributes to
happiness. Traditional Bhutanese values address the individuals
relationship with nature, with others in society and individual selfdiscipline; all sentient beings need to be respected.
The survey incorporated questions that address attitudes and perceptions
of the Bhutanese people on values such as tha damtshig, which stands for
sacred commitment to others in society (Wangyel 2001), the importance
of life priorities, and the importance for children to learn qualities at
home. The survey also included questions on change in values,
justification on non-virtuous acts, and the importance of folk tales
because of the values contained in it.
6.3.3.1.1
Tha damtshig
To assess the strength of tha damtshig respondents were asked to what

extent they agree to the following statements:
1.
2.
3.
One must always love and respect parents.

Both husband and wife should maintain a faithful happy
marriage.
One must always maintain tha damtshig between poen and yog.
These questions have been adapted to the values traditionally accorded

to relationships between parent and child (pha da bhushi gi damtshig);
husband and wife (nyen da drok gi damtshig); and master and servant (peon
da yok gi damtshig, whereby the master should ensure the welfare of his
servant, and the servant should serve with dedication).
152

99.9% of the respondents (n=949) agreed that one must always love and
respect parents, 0.1% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were none
who disagreed to the statement. 99.2% of the respondents (n=949) agreed
that both husband and wife should maintain a faithful and happy
marriage, 0.8% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were none who
disagreed to the statement. 99.5% of the respondents (n=950) agreed that
one must always maintain tha damtshig between poen and yog, 0.3%
neither agreed nor disagreed, and 0.2% disagreed to the statement.
Hence, it can be said that the strength of tha damtshig is strong in Bhutan.
6.3.3.1.2
Life priorities
The importance that people assign to certain life priorities or goals can
indicate where society might be heading in terms of steering the course of
cultural and societal well-being. This is addressed by asking the
respondents to indicate the importance they assign to some selected life
priorities.
Table 6.3 Importance of life goals as % of respondents
Life goals
Family life
Responsibility
Career success
Spiritual faith
Financial security
Compassion
Friendship
Generosity
Material wealth
Reciprocity
Freedom
Pleasure
Not
important
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.1
0.4
0.6
2.1
1.6
2.3
Somewhat
important
4.8
7.9
9.4
12.0
12.1
16.8
18.8
20.2
20.1
22.5
27.7
33.6
Very
important
95.1
91.8
90.3
87.7
87.5
82.8
81.1
79.3
79.2
75.4
70.7
64.0
N
950
949
949
950
947
948
950
949
949
948
948
948
Figure 6.1 shows the importance of life priorities. Family life was rated as
the most important goal in life, but the respondents think that other
Bhutanese people do not consider family life as important as they do
when assessed by them. They consider that other Bhutanese people value
financial security as the most important goal, which is in fact a
competitive goal that does not increase ones happiness. On the other
hand pursuing goals like family life and spirituality can increase ones
happiness.
153
Figure 6.1 Life priorities as % of respondents reporting it as very important

Importance of life goals/ priorities
100
90
80
84.7
79.2
79.3
Percent
75.4
69.2 70.772.2
68.8
70 64.0
69.2
81.1
82.8
69.7
87.5
95.1
91.8
90.3
87.0
84.0
79.9
77.5
88.9 87.7
71.1
60
50
40
30
20
10
Pl
ea
su
re
Fr
ee
do
m
Re
ci
pr
M
oc
at
ity
er
ia
lw
ea
lth
G
en
er
os
ity
Fr
ie
nd
sh
ip
C
om
pa
Fi
ss
na
io
nc
n
ia
ls
ec
ur
Sp
ity
iri
tu
al
fa
C
ith
ar
ee
rs
uc
ce
Re
ss
sp
on
sib
ili
ty
Fa
m
ily
lif
e
Self reported
Assessment on other people
Table 6.4 shows that the differences are larger between self-reported and
assessment on how other people accord the importance to responsibility,
friendship, compassion, family life, spiritual faith, generosity and
reciprocity, indicating that society is not as good as we think. It indicates
that society is moving in the direction other than what we want. The
differences are smaller when it comes to priorities that are concerned
mostly with oneself, such as material wealth, pleasure, career success,
freedom, and financial security that do not benefit others much.
Table 6.4 Difference between self reported and assessment on how other people
accord the importance (reporting very important) to the following life priorities
as % of respondents
Life goals/ priorities
Responsibility
Friendship
Compassion
Family life
Spiritual faith
Generosity
154
Self
reported
91.8
81.1
82.8
95.1
87.7
79.3
Assessment
on other people
79.9
69.7
71.1
84.0
77.5
69.2
Difference
11.9
11.3
11.7
11.1
10.2
10.1

Reciprocity
Material wealth
Pleasure
Career success
Freedom
Financial security
6.3.3.1.3
75.4
79.2
64.0
90.3
70.7
87.5
68.8
84.7
69.2
87.0
72.2
88.9
6.6
5.5
5.2
3.3
1.6
1.4
Change in values
With the passage of time, values undergo changes due to various forces,
and it will be very useful to observe its pattern of changes. An increase in
values, such as tolerance, compassion and spiritual faith, which are
indicators of resilience, would enhance ones ability to overcome
adversity.
Table 6.5 Changes in values of people in general as % of respondents during the
last few years
Values
More
Spirituality
Compassion
Tolerance
Honesty
Concern about material wealth
Selfishness
64.9
58.7
45.9
35.1
81.7
43.5
Stayed the
same
24.8
30.8
36.3
38.6
17.1
37.6
Less
10.3
10.4
17.8
26.3
1.2
19
944
938
937
927
941
932
Table 6.5 shows that more than 50% of the respondents reported that
most people in Bhutan have become more spiritual and compassionate
over the last few years. 45.9% reported that they have become more
tolerant, and only 35.1% reported that they have become more honest.
81.7% reported that most people have become more concerned about
material wealth. This either indicates that people are becoming more
materialistic or wealth is needed because of the shortage in this area.
And 43.5% reported that they have become more selfish. If this is really
true the happiness of the people would be adversely affected.
6.3.3.1.4
Importance of qualities for children to learn at home
To make better human beings children should be encouraged to learn

qualities in order to meaningfully contribute to societal well-being. A set
of qualities were identified and respondents were asked to indicate how
important each of them are for children to learn at home. Respect for
parents and discipline (drig) was considered as the most important
qualities for children to learn, and there were comparatively fewer
respondents according more importance to independence.
155
Table 6.6 Importance of qualities for children to learn as % of respondents

Qualities
Independence
Tolerance for
other people (Zoepa)
Impartiality
Helping
neighbours
Obedience to
authority
Honesty
Hard work
Caring for family
members and
relatives
Respect for elders
Discipline (Drig)
Respect for parents
6.3.3.1.5
Not
important
5.2
0.8
Somewhat
important
17.5
15.3
Very
important
76.5
83.9
Dont
know
0.8
0
4.2
0.2
10
11.2
84.9
88.5
0.8
0.1
948
948
0.2
5.6
94.1
0.1
948
0.2
0.2
0.2
4
3.4
2.5
95.8
96.3
97.2
0
0.1
0.1
945
948
948
0.2
0.2
0.2
2.1
2
1.5
97.7
97.8
98.3
0
0
0
949
948
949
948
948
Justification on non-virtuous acts
Table 6.7 shows that the perception of the respondents on actions that are
not considered virtuous - killing, rape, stealing, lying, harmful thoughts,
suicide, creating disharmony in human relations, harsh and offensive
speech, gossip (frivolous speech), and sexual misconduct - essentially
drawn from Buddhist values, and on some debatable acts like divorce,
abortion and prostitution. A high percentage of the respondents reported
that these acts can never be justified. Divorce was the only issue where
comparatively fewer respondents reported that it can never be justified.
Table 6.7 Justification on non-virtuous acts as % of respondents
Non-virtuous
acts
Divorce
Gossip (frivolous
speech)
Lying
Harsh and
offensive speech
156
Can
never
be justified
68.1
80.1
82.1
86.6
Can
sometimes
be justified
30.8
18.8
Can
always
be justified
1.1
1.2
Dont
know
0
0
948
949
17.9
12.9
0
0.4
0
0
950
950

Abortion
Killing
Harmful
thoughts
Prostitution
Stealing
Sexual
misconduct
Suicide
Creating
disharmony in
human relations
Rape
6.3.3.1.6
92.4
93.2
93.3
94.0
94.4
94.4
95.4
96.7
98.6
6.7
6.3
6.4
0.2
0.4
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.1
950
950
949
5.4
5.3
5.0
0.1
0.3
0.2
0.5
0
0.4
949
950
949
3.9
3.0
0.5
0.3
0.2
0
949
949
0.9
0.1
0.3
949
Folk tales
For oral transmission of values, folk tales serve as an important vehicle.

62.5% of the respondents (n=950) reported that folktales are very
important to learn because of the values contained in it, 33.8% reported
that it is important, 1.6% reported that it is not important, and 2.1%
reported that they dont know whether it is important to learn folk tales.
There was lower percentage of urban respondents reporting that folk
tales are very important than rural respondents as shown in table 6.8.
Further, the percentage of respondents according importance to folk tales
was comparatively lower in Thimphu, which is essentially an urban area,
than other dzongkhags, as shown in figure 6.2. Only 45.5% of the
respondents from Thimphu reported that it is very important to learn
folk tales. This indicates that transmission of values through folk tales is
declining in urban areas and, particularly, in Thimphu.
Table 6.8 Importance of folk tales by area of residence
Area of residence
Rural
Count
Urban
%
within
area of
residence
Count
%
within
Importance of folk tales

Not
ImporVery
important tant
important
12
244
520
Don't
know
15
Total
1.5%
30.8%
65.7%
1.9%
100.0%
77
74
159
1.9%
48.4%
46.5%
3.1%
100.0%
791
157

area of
residence
Count
Total
%
within
area of
residence
15
321
594
20
950
1.6%
33.8%
62.5%
2.1%
100.0%
Figure 6.2 Importance of folk tales by dzongkhags

Importance of folk tales
90
81.8
80
74.6 73.8
% of respondents
70
69.0 66.7
60
50
61.0
60.7 59.0
56.6 54.2
Not Important
50.8
45.5
40
Important
Very important
Don't know
30
20
10
Pe
m
Ta
sh
aa
ig
an
g
ag
at
sh
el
G
as
W
a
an
Ts
gd
ira
ue
ng
ph
od
ra
Ta
ng
sh
Sa
iy
m
an
dr
gt
up
se
jo
ng
kh
ar
Sa
m
ts
e
D
ag
an
Zh
a
em
ga
ng
Th
im
ph
u
6.3.3.2
Attitudes and beliefs
With the passage of time, it becomes useful to track the changes in, and
the applicability of, traditional beliefs in communities. We need to
determine whether such attitudes and beliefs are valid and appropriate
for living harmoniously together in society. If not, its practice or
promotion could have some negative consequences to the society. Some
key beliefs were extracted to document the views on attitudes and beliefs,
which also highlight gender inequality.
158
Figure 6.3 Beliefs related to gender

Beliefs related to gender
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
% of respondents
80.5
74.3
62.1
55.3
26.2
12.4
7.1
An education
is more
important for
a boy than a
girl
Disagree
Agree
34.8
11.7
Neutral
9.9
15.1
10.7
On the
Women are Females tend
whole, men more suited to carry drip
make better for domestic
leaders than work than
women do
men
A high percentage of the respondents disagreed to the statements that are

general in nature, such as an education is more important for a boy than
a girl and that, on the whole, men make better leaders than women do,
but a high percentage of the respondents agreed to statements that were
related to customs, such as women are more suited for domestic work
than men and that women carry drip (drip can be roughly translated as
impurities, for example women are believed to carry drip so that they are
not allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the temples), indicating that
people give more priority to customs than gender issues.
Even females themselves reported that women carry drip more than
males as shown in figure 6.4. 76.6% of the female respondents reported
that women carry drip whereas there were 71.9% of male respondents.
Figure 6.4 Females carry drip by gender
% of respondents
Females carry drip by gender

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
71.9
76.6
Male
Agree
Female
16.2 13.9
11.8 9.4
Disagree
Neutral
Do you agree that females carry drip?
159
There were comparatively more rural respondents (75.6%) than urban

respondents (67.3%) reporting than females carry drip as shown in figure
6.5.
Figure 6.5 Females carry drip by area of residence
% of respondents
Females carry drip by area of residence

75.6
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
67.3
14.1
Agree
Rural
Urban
20.0
10.3
Disagree
12.7
Neutral
Do you agree that females carry drip?
6.3.3.3
Customs and traditions
6.3.3.3.1
Duezang
In Bhutan, duezang (roughly translated as auspicious days) are observed

to accumulate merit, to pre-empt any unknown forces that could cause
misfortune, or to recover from afflictions. There are myriad ways of
observing duezang in Bhutan. On this, a high percentage (86.8%) of the
respondents observe duezang by lighting butter lamps followed by
visiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens and by reciting prayers as shown in
figure 6.6.
Figure 6.6 Ways of observing duezang as % of respondents (n=950)
Ways of observing duezang
86.8
Lighting buttter lamps
57.4
Visiting lhakhangs/ngyes/chortens
47.1
Reciting prayer
16.7
Making offerings to gods
11.4
Refraining from doing farm work
9.5
Performing prostration
9.2
Chanting/reciting mantras
6.4
Carrying out religious ceremonies
Other ways of observing duezang
1.4
Refraining from eating/serving meat
160
Hoisting prayer flags
1.2
Refraining from killing animlas
0.9
Fasting
0.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Visiting lhakhangs (temples), carrying out religious ceremonies, and

releasing animals from slaughter are Buddhist intermediary attentiontraining techniques for practicing spirituality and stilling the mind. Such
techniques are known to bring about predictable changes in brain and
immune function, and subsequently increase the subjective well-being of
the individual.
6.3.3.3.2
Astrologers
In addition to observing duezang, people consult astrologers, which have

significance on the well-being of the individuals, from time to time on
important matters, such as for the general overview of the year for the
well-being of family members and for specific occasions and activities to
be undertaken. 78.1% of the respondents (n=950) reported that they
consult astrologers for matters related to them and their familys wellbeing as against 21.9% who reported that they do not consult astrologers.
6.3.3.3.3
Driglam Namzha
Driglam Namzha (etiquette and code of conduct) is the most commonly

practised cultural heritage in Bhutan, and known to contribute to order
and harmony in society. Its distinctiveness and uniqueness serve to form
one of the several aspects of the identity of Bhutan. So, it makes sense to
ask its importance. 93.7% of the respondents (n=950) reported that
Driglam Namzha is very important, 5.9% reported that it is important and
0.4% reported that it is not important. 61% of the respondents (n=940)
reported that Driglam Namzha is getting stronger, 23% reported that it
had stayed the same, and 16% reported that it is getting weaker during
the past 12 months.
6.3.4
6.3.4.1
Participation in cultural activities

Local festivals
A local festival is an event where social and cultural capital develops.

Also, such activities foster a certain sense of cultural identity. 89% of the
respondents (n=947) reported that they take part in the local festivals in
their community, 8.2% reported that they do not take part in the local
festivals and 2.7% reported that there is no such events in their
community.
As age increases participation in local festivals increases, and as
education level increases participation in local festivals decreases, as
161

shown in figure 6.7 and 6.8 respectively. This shows that youth and those
who have higher qualification do not give much importance to local
festivals, and implicitly Bhutanese culture in general.
Figure 6.7 Participation in local festivals by age
Participation in local festivals by age
100
% of respondents
95
93
94
94
90
85
84
80
80
75
70
0-17
18-30
31-45
46-60
Above 60
Figure 6.8 Participation in local festivals by education level

Participation in local festivals by education level
100
90
95
90
% of respondents
80
85
74
70
64
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
No formal
education
1-6
7-10
11-12
Further
education
Respondents in the highest income bracket (income more than Nu. one
lakh) took part in local festivals comparatively less than other income
levels. Once again, this shows that higher income people do not give
much importance to local festivals. It must be noted though that most of
162

the respondents who earned more than Nu. one lakh per year were
mostly from urban areas.
Figure 6.9 Participation in local festivals by income level
Participation in local festivals by income
93.9
93.1
% of respondents
95
88.3
90
85
80.9
80
75
70
Less than
15000
15001-50000 50001-100000
>100000
As shown in figure 6.10, participation in local festivals was comparatively

lower in Thimphu than other dzongkhags. The level of participation was
highest in Tashigang.
Figure 6.10 Participation in local festivals by dzongkhags
Participation in local festivals by dzongkhags
% of respondents
120
100
99.3 96.6 94.5 94.0

92.9 91.5 90.6 89.0 88.3 88.1
84.1
80
64.4
60
40
20
as
a
Pe
H
m
aa
a
Ta gat
sh sh
e
iy
an l
Zh gts
em e
ga
ng
D
ag
an
Sa a
W
m
an
t
gd
Ts s e
i
u
r
Sa
e
a
m pho ng
dr
d
up ra
j o ng
ng
k
Th har
im
ph
u
Ta
sh
i
ga
n
When asked about the importance of participating in local festivals,

85.6% of the respondents (n=933) reported that it is important, 12.9%
163

reported that it is somewhat important and 1.5% reported that it is not
important.
89.7% of the respondents (n=906) reported that local festivals is getting
vibrant, 9.7% reported that it is declining, and 0.6% reported that it has
been discontinued. The reasons for deteriorating community festivals are
shown in figure 6.11. The main reasons are less faith in such practices,
modernisation process and influence of western culture. This calls for the
need to strengthen traditions and customs to temper the influence of
western culture.
Figure 6.11 Reasons for deteriorating local festivals
Reasons for deteriorating community festivals
Less faith in such practices
Modernisation process
Influence of western culture
Out-migration
High expenditure
Busy/time constraints
Children do not maintain these practices
Poor knowledge about local festivals
Lack of cooperation in the community
Not performing according to the rule
No monks/paws to continue
Others
Practice involves killing animals
Government restrictions
Influence of scientific education
31.2
20.4
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
5.4
4.3
3.3
3.2
2.2
2.2
0
10
11.8
10.8
15.1
15
20
Percent
25
30
35
On average in a year, 56.4% of the respondents (n=932) spent between 1

to 5 days attending cultural events, such as community tshechus, festivals,
etc., 19.8% spent between 6 to 12 days, 8.6% spent between 13 to 20 days,
9.3% spent more than 20 days, and 5.8% did not spent any days attending
events.
6.3.4.2
Sports and games
The participation in both traditional as well as modern games and sports

were captured in order to draw comparison between the two. The
percentages of the respondents who played such games in the past 12
months are given in table 6.9.
164
Table 6.9 Frequency of playing games and sports in the past 12 months
Type of sports
and games
More than
once a week
Traditional
games
Modern
games
3.8%
(36)
8.1%
(77)
Once or
twice
a month
8.6%
(82)
7.2%
(68)
A few
times a
year
24.1%
(229)
10.8%
(103)
Never
Total
63.5%
(603)
73.9%
(702)
100%
(950)
100%
(950)
It is evident from the table that there are more respondents playing
modern games more than once a week than traditional games. But there
are also more respondents never playing modern games than traditional
games. Altogether it shows that the level of playing sports is low in
Bhutan.
6.3.4.3
Songs
The type of songs people listen to most indicates to some degree which
culture has major influence on their thinking and behaviour. Listening
exceedingly to foreign songs may undermine native and traditional
songs, and hence their influence on the citizens. Tradition and customs
are important for fostering national solidarity and security.
The percentage of respondents listening to various types of song is given
in table 6.10. Rigsar (modern songs), boedra (court songs) and zhungdra
(traditional songs) are the keys forms of Bhutanese songs. A higher
percentage of respondents listen to rigsar songs the most than zhungdra
and boedra indicating that the popularity of zhungdra and boedra
essentially traditional songs - are declining.
Table 6.10 Songs listened to the most as % of respondents
Type of song
Rigsar
Zhungdra
Boedra
Nepali
Hindi
English
Others
%
43.6
36.9
24.5
11.6
11.2
10.8
0.7
165

Listening to rigsar, boedra and zhungdra were further disaggregated by
dzongkhag as these are the essential forms of Bhutanese songs plus a
relatively higher percentage of the respondents listen to these songs than
other songs.
Of those who listen to zhungdra the most, respondents from Tashigang (a
rural area) listen to zhungdra more than any other dzongkhags; of those
who listen to boedra the most, respondents from Dagana (a rural area)
listen to boedra more than any other dzongkhags; and of those who listen
to rigsar the most, respondents from Samdrupjongkhar (an urban area as
the survey was conducted in Samdrupjongkhar town) listen to rigsar
more than any other dzongkhags. Further, we observe in figure 6.12 that
Thimphu respondents listen to zhungdra less than any other dzongkhags.
Zhungdra songs are laden with values and knowledge, but this does not
mean much to them, and their tendency to assimilate values and
knowledge would also be less. A similar result is shown with regard to
boedra for Thimphu respondents as shown in figure 6.13. However,
Thimphu falls in the upper limit (11.4% of the Thimphu respondents
listen most to rigsar song as shown in figure 6.14) when it comes to
listening to rigsar songs - rigsar songs contain high sounding lyrics but
without much value.
Figure 6.12 Listening to zhungdra most by dzongkhags
Listening to zhungdra most by dzongkhags
25
% of respondents
20
19.9
15.7
15
14.5
Zhungdra
10
8.5
8.0
7.7
6.6
5.4
5.1
3.7
3.1
Sa
m
166
Pe
H
aa
m
ag
a
Ta
ts
he
sh
l
iy
an
gt
se
Ts
ira
ng
G
as
a
Sa
m
Th tse
im
ph
u
Ta
sh
ig
an
g
D
a
dr
up gan
a
jo
ng
kh
W
Z
a
an
r
h
gd e m
ga
ue
n
ph
g
od
ra
ng
1.7
Figure 6.13 Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags

Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags
25
% of respondents
20
19.7
15.0
15
11.6 12.0
10
Boedra
9.0 9.4
5.6 6.4
3.9 3.4
1.7 2.1
D
ag
Sa
m Tas an
W dru hig a
an p
a
gd jon ng
ue g k
ph ha
r
Pe odr
m an
ag g
a
Zh tsh
e
e
Ta m l
sh ga
iy ng
an
gt
Ts se
ira
ng
G
Th asa
im
ph
u
H
a
Sa a
m
ts
e
Figure 6.14 Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags

Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags
15.5
13.5
11.4 10.9
9.9
7.5
Rigsar
6.5 6.0
5.6 5.6 5.3
2.4
Sa
m
dr
up
jo
ng
Ta kha
sh
r
ig
Th ang
Pe imp
m
h
ag u
at
W
sh
an
gd D el
ue a g
ph an
od a
ra
ng
Ta
sh H
iy aa
an
gt
Ts se
ira
ng
Sa
m
Zh
t
e m se
ga
ng
G
as
a
% of respondents
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
6.4 Conclusion
Some of key finding from this study include the following:
1.
2.
More than 92% of the respondents can understand and speak

their first language very well.
86.3% of the respondents reported that it is very important to
maintain Bhutanese traditions.
167

3.
Almost all of the respondents strongly agreed to the values of

thadamtshi.
4. The large difference between self-reported and assessment on
how other people accord the importance to responsibility,
friendship, compassion, family life, spiritual faith, generosity and
reciprocity indicates that society is not as good as we think.
5. 81.7% reported that most people have become more concerned
about material wealth and 43.5% reported that they have become
more selfish over the last few years.
6. Respect for parents and discipline (drig) was considered as the
most important qualities for children to learn.
7. Respondents accorded more importance to customs than on
gender issues.
8. Most of the respondents observe duezang by lighting butter lamps
and by visiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens.
9. The level of importance accorded to learn folk tales and
participation in local festivals was relatively lower in Thimphu
than other dzongkhags. The number of people listening to
zhungdra and boedra was also very low in Thimphu.
10. In general, the level of participation in sports and games is low in
Bhutan.
11. The fact that 61% of the respondents reporting that Driglam
Namzha is getting stronger in the past 12 months and 89.7%
reporting that local festivals are getting vibrant obliquely
indicates that Bhutanese culture is capable of developing in spite
of challenges from other cultures. The influence of foreign music
and songs is also not very strong as more respondents listen to
Bhutanese songs than Nepali, Hindi, English and other songs.
References
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and biobehavioural correlates, in Huppert, Felicia A., Baylis, Nick,
and Kaverne, Barry (eds) The Science of well-being. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, chapter 5.
Driem, George Van (2004). Bhutans endangered languages
documentation programme under the Dzongkha Development
Authority: The three rare gems, in Ura, Karma and Kinga, Sonam
(eds.) The Spider and the Piglet. Thimphu: The Centre for Bhutan
Studies.
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Headey, Bruce, (2006), Life goals matter to happiness: A revision of setpoint theory, Discussion Papers 629, DIW Berlin.
Namgyel, Singye (2003). The language web of Bhutan. Thimphu: Singye
Namgyel.
Office of the Census Commissioner (2005). Population and Housing Census
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Sen, Amartya (2006). Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. London:
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