TheNgalop(Dzongkha:སྔ་ལོང་པ་Wylie:snga long pa;"earliest risen people" or "first converted people" according tofolk etymology)[1]are people ofTibetanorigin who migrated toBhutanas early as the ninth century. Orientalists adopted the term "Bhote" orBhotiya,meaning "people of Bod (Tibet) ", a term also applied to theTibetan people,leading to confusion, and now is rarely used in reference to the Ngalop.
 Bhotanese Ngalop in 1868 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 708,500[citation needed] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Western, Northern and parts of South-East and SouthBhutan(Thimphu,Gasa,Punakha,Wangdue Phodrang,Haa,Paro,Chukha) | |
| Languages | |
| Dzongkha | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism·Bon | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetans·Layaps·Monpa·Sharchop·OtherSino-Tibetan-speaking peoples |
The Ngalop introducedTibetan cultureandBuddhismto Bhutan and comprise the dominant political and cultural element in modern Bhutan. Furthermore, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic identity in Bhutan are not always mutually exclusive. For these reasons, Ngalops are often simply identified asBhutanese.Their language,Dzongkha,is the national language and is descended fromOld Tibetan.The Ngalop are dominant in western and northern Bhutan, includingThimphuand the Dzongkha-speaking region. The term Ngalop may subsume several related linguistic and cultural groups, such as theKheng peopleand speakers ofBumthang language.[1][2][3]
Population
editThe Ngalop are concentrated in the western and central valleys of Bhutan, whose total population in 2010 was about 708,500 (This is the total population of Bhutan, not the population of Ngalops. The population of Ngalops could be less than 250000).[4]Together the Ngalop,Sharchopsand tribal groups constituted up to 72 percent of the population in the late 1980s according to official Bhutanese statistics.[2][5]The 1981 census claimed Sharchops represented 30% of the population and Ngalops about 17%.[6]The World Factbookestimates the "Bhote" Ngalop and Sharchop populations together to total about 50 percent, or 354,200.[4]
Language
editNgalops speakDzongkha.As Ngalops are politically and culturally dominant in Bhutan, Dzongkha is the language of government and education throughout the kingdom. Other groups that identify as culturally Ngalop speak theKhengandBumthang languages.To a large extent, even theSharchopsof eastern Bhutan, who speakTshangla,have adopted Ngalop culture and may identify as Ngalop.[1][2][7]
Religion
editNgalops largely followTibetan Buddhism,particularly theDrukpa Lineageof theKagyuschool ofVajrayanathat is thestate religionof Bhutan. A significant number also follow theNyingmaschool, which was dominant in earlyBhutanese history.
Bon
editBonpractitioners are a minority, although the practices of the Ngalops, like that of most Bhutanese, are characterized by incorporated elements of the olderethnic religionthat is also referred to by the termBon.[2][8]
Lifestyle
editThe primary agricultural crops areBhutanese red rice,potatoes,barley,and other temperate climate crops. Ngalop people build houses out of timber, stone, clay, and brick. The Ngalop are also known for building large fortress-monasteries known asdzongsthat now serve as government offices. TheDruk Gyalpoand most of the government are Ngalop, and all citizens of the country are required to follow the national dress code, thedriglam namzha,which is Ngalop in origin.[2][9]
The Ngalops followmatrilineallines in the inheritance of land and livestock.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcvan Driem, George L.(1993)."Language Policy in Bhutan".London:SOAS.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 1 November 2010.Retrieved18 January2011.
- ^abcde
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Ethnic Groups.
- ^This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Introduction.
- ^abBhutan.The World Factbook.Central Intelligence Agency.
- ^This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Society.
- ^"Bhutan Backgrounder".SATP online.South Asia Terrorism Portal. 20 September 2002.Retrieved10 July2011.
- ^This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Languages.
- ^This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Religious Tradition.
- ^This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Robert L. Worden (September 1991). Andrea Matles Savada (ed.).Bhutan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Housing.
- ^"Women in Agriculture, Environment and Rural Production"(PDF).Fact Sheet Bhutan.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 May 2017.Retrieved8 September2017.