CULTURE
Bhutanese
houses are built of timber and stone and have thick, pounded mud
walls to keep out the cold. Most such houses have two stories:
livestock are kept on the ground floor, while the family lives
above. Inside the house a family will usually have a shrine consisting
of a small Buddhist image in a corner. While the Bhutia family
system is basically patriarchal, family estates are divided equally
between sons and daughters. Both men and women are free to choose
whom to marry, and members of both sexes can initiate a divorce.
Ordinary Bhutia villagers may not be able to afford meat in their
daily meals and often must rely on a dish of rice, potatoes, and
chilies. Besides meat, the yak also supplies milk, from which
butter is made for use in lamps on the shrine altar.
Trade and other services,
including tourism, employ 5 percent of the workforce. While tourism
is Bhutan’s largest source of foreign exchange, the country
has restricted the number of visitors to minimize the negative
impact on Bhutan’s traditions, culture, and natural environment.
Only 1 percent of the labor force is employed in manufacturing,
construction, and mining. Processed food, cement, and wood products
are the most important manufactures.
The Nepalese are predominantly
Hindus and have caste and family ties to Nepal and India. Because
they live in the warmer climate of southern Bhutan, their houses
are made of bamboo and thatch. The Nepalese do not eat beef, and
some of them abstain from meat altogether. Instead, they eat the
rice and curry dishes common to the Hindus of Nepal and India.
Their caste system separates different social levels and influences
the choice of marriage partners and other social relationships.
The Nepalese in Bhutan lack the same loyalty to the monarchy that
is predominant among the Bhutia and Sharchops. In response, the
government has tried to integrate the Nepalese into the national
life. For example, a government order has made the Dzongkha language
compulsory for all Nepali-speaking Bhutanese.
