Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [33]
Photography
A camera is still a curiosity in most of Bhutan, particularly in remote villages, and your camera may draw a curious crowd. Click here for advice on photographing people. Photography is not allowed inside any temples; don’t embarrass your guide by asking. If you are attending a festival, do not let your picture-taking interfere with the dancers or block the view of the spectators.
Dress
Asian standards of modesty apply. Both men and women should avoid wearing revealing clothing, including short shorts, halter-neck tops and tank tops. Nudity is completely unacceptable.
Resident expatriates in Thimphu are adamant that visitors should dress up when attending a tshechu or other festival. Bhutanese are too polite to suggest it, and would not openly criticise those who did not dress correctly, but they do appreciate the gesture. Bhutanese are flattered if foreigners wear traditional dress, and are more than happy to help you buy, and put on, a gho or kira – which is not an easy process.
If you have an appointment with a government official, correct dress is required. Policemen at the entrance to dzongs will refuse admission to anyone who is improperly dressed.
Social Occasions
If you are invited to a Bhutanese home, it’s appropriate to bring a small gift, perhaps a bottle of wine or box of sweets. Social occasions tend to start late and involve extended rounds of drinks before dinner, often with several visitors dropping by for a short time. The evening is quickly concluded once dinner is finished.
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KIRA
Women wear a long floor-length dress called a kira. This is a rectangular piece of brightly coloured cloth that wraps around the body over a Tibetan-style silk blouse called a wonju. The kira is fastened at the shoulders with elaborate silver hooks called koma and at the waist with a belt that may be of either silver or cloth. Over the top is worn a short, open, jacket-like garment called a toego. Women often wear large amounts of jewellery. The whole ensemble is beautiful and Bhutanese women are very elegant in their finery.
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Driglam Namzhag (Bhutanese Etiquette) is a manual published by the National Library of Bhutan and is a good introduction (available in English).
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The kira may be made from cotton or silk and may have a pattern on one or both sides. For everyday wear, women wear a kira made from striped cloth with a double-sided design, and on more formal occasions they wear a kira with an embellished pattern woven into it. The most expensive kira are kushutara (brocade dresses), which are made of hand-spun, hand-woven Bhutanese cotton, embroidered with various colours and designs in raw silk or cotton thread. Lhuentse is known for its kushutara designs.
The Laya women are particularly noted for their distinctive conical bamboo hats and long black wool dresses.
When visiting dzongs, women wear a cloth sash called a rachu over their shoulders or simply over their left shoulder in the same manner as men wear a kabney.
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The Centre for Bhutan Studies has an excellent website with online access to the Journal of Bhutan Studies. See www.bhutanstudies.org.bt.
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POPULATION
Western Bhutan, stretching from Haa to Wangdue Phodrang, is inhabited by the Ngalong, who are thought to be descended from Tibetan immigrants who moved to the region in the 9th century. and in the east are the Sharchop (literally, ‘the people from the east). The Sharchop are believed the first inhabitants of Bhutan, with their own distinctive language. These three groups comprise about approximately 75% of the population.
In the cold high mountains to the north lie Lingzhi, Laya, Gasa and Lunana. The inhabitants of these remote regions are descended from Tibetan immigrants. In winter, due to the remoteness and the heavy snow falls, many of the families from