Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [29]
Death
The frescoes of the Wheel of Life show that, to Bhutanese, death is part of the cycle of samsara separating loved ones and leading to rebirth. Accordingly, death is treated as a major life event. Family and friends are informed and monks, gomchen (lay or married monks) or nuns begin to recite from the Bardo Thodrel to guide the deceased through the intermediate phase.
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The largest monthly expenditures for a Bhutanese family are on food and rent.
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A tsip (astrologer) will be consulted to decide on the most auspicious date and time to hold the cremation. Until the cremation, the deceased is placed in a wooden box and covered in a white cloth and kept separate from the family. At the cremation, the corpse is placed on the pyre facing the officiating lama. The first funeral service is held on the seventh day after death, with other rituals performed on the 14th, 21st and the 49th days. The lama reminds the deceased that they are dead and during the ritual seeks to help them move on to their next and (it is hoped) fortunate rebirth, either as a human being or preferably in a buddha realm.
At the end of the 49 days the ashes of the deceased may be scattered; some are placed in a sacred image and donated to a monastery or temple. The anniversary of the death will be marked for the following three years.
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BHUTANESE SOCIETY
Bhutan was relatively isolated until the early 1950s and traditional Bhutan has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 400 years. The country has retained its traditional social structures so far and has actively sought to preserve its cultural identity in the face of modernisation and increasing external influences.
Until the 1960s there were no major urban settlements. Since then Thimphu and Phuentsholing have grown significantly and this has led to pressure on land in these areas. Elsewhere there has been an increase in land acquisition, notably in Gelephu.
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For more information on education in the Himalayas, and on supporting young students, see www.loden.org.
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As a result of the opportunities created by education and the creation of alternative employment (as civil servants, teachers, armed forces or police), Bhutan has experienced increased social mobility. The rate of rural–urban migration is increasing, particularly as young educated Bhutanese seek employment in offices and other businesses in the capital. There has been growing concern over the increasing unemployment rate among the educated school leavers.
The Living Standard Survey 2003 revealed that 34% of Bhutanese now rely on salaries as their main source of income, and 46% on agriculture. It revealed that in urban areas the average monthly household expenditure was more than Nu 11,100 and about Nu 6,250 in the countryside. For many living in urban areas this figure can represent all or most of their salary which is why many Bhutanese women now work in offices or seek to supplement their husband’s income through some form of small business enterprise.
Education
Until the introduction of Western-style education by the third king in the 1960s, the only education available in Bhutan was from the monasteries. Prior to this a few students travelled to Darjeeling to receive a secular education. The Western-style education has expanded to cover the whole country.
The educational structure provides for 11 years of basic schooling: one year of pre-primary schooling, six years of primary, two years of junior high school and two years of high school. Students undergo an examination to move from primary to junior high, and another to graduate from junior high to high school.
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The Youth Development Fund promotes a range of educational activities, including scouting and career counselling.
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The school system aims to provide basic literacy skills, and knowledge of Bhutan’s history, geography and traditions. Most villages have