Kingdom of Bhutan

The Rajadom of Bhutan
འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ།
Druk Ghal Khab
Rajadom of the Thunder Dragon

[[]] map of Bhutan
Royal Capital	Punakha
Coordinates	latitude: 27° 40' 0" N longitude: 89° 55' 0" E
Administrative Capital	Thimpu
Coordinates	latitude: 27° 25' 31" N longitude: 89° 40' 13" E
Government	constitutional monarchy
Head of State	His Royal Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk
Head of Government	Jigme Y. Thinley
Demonym	Bhutanese
Founding	1616
Area	95,533 km² 36,885 mi²
Population	951,630
Ethnicities	Bhotia Monpa numerous indigenous tribes
Languages
Official	Dzongkha
Other	Nepali, Deori Tshangla
Religions
Official	Drukpa Buddhism 85%
Other	Shaivism 9% Animism 6%
Currency	1 Himalayan Rupee (Rs) = 20 sukaa (s) = 240 paisa (p)
ISO Codes	BU
Time zone	UTC +6:00
Telephone Code
Registration
Aviation	DRK
Amateur radio	DRK
Radio prefix	DRK
Organizations	Himalayan Confederacy
Sports
Official	archery
Other

Kingdom of Bhutan, History

The Wangchuk Kings of Bhutan

Name	Succeeds	Reign	Died	Notes
1) Ugyen Wankchuk		1907-1926	1926
2) Jigme Wangchuk	father	1926-1952	1952
3) Jigme Dorji Wangchuk	father	1952-1972	1972	began modernization
4) Jigme Singye Wangchuk	father	1972-2006		abdicated
5) Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk	father	2006-		son of third wife

Styles

• The King of Bhutan has the style of His Royal Majesty the Druk Gyalpo, Shabrung, Druk Desi, and Ponlop of Tongsa.
• The wives of the king, the Gyalmo, have the style of Her Majesty.
• The mother of the king, the Gyalyum, has the style of Her Majesty.
• A son of the king, the Gyalsay Dasho, has the style of His Royal Highness.
• A daughter of the king, the Ashi, has the style of Her Royal Highness.
• Other male members of the Royal family have the style of Dasho, Lord.
• Other female members of the Royal family have the style Ashi, Lady.

Toponymy

Variations of the Sanskrit words Bhota-ant (end of Bhot, an Indian name for Tibet) or Bhu-uttan (highlands) have been suggested by historians as origins of the name Bhutan, which came into common foreign use in the late nineteenth century and is used in Bhutan only in English-language official correspondence. The traditional name of the country since the seventeenth century has been Drukyul, country of the Drukpa, the Dragon people, or the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a reference to the country's dominant Buddhist sect.

Government

Provinces

Province dzongdey	Capital	Area	Population	Prefecture dzongkhag	Notes
Thimpu (T)	Thimpu	8,345 km² 3,222 mi²	279,000	Thimpu (Thimpu) (TT) Paro (Paro) (TP) Haa (Ha) (TH) Samtse (Samtse) (TS) Chhukha (Chhukha) (TC)	Made capital in 1961.
Wangdi Phodrang (W)	Wangdi	11,023 km² 4,256 mi²	38,000	Wangdi (Wangdi) (WW) Dagana (Daga) (WD) Tsirang (Damphu) (WT) Gasa (Gasa) (WG) Punakha (Punakha) (WP)
Tongsa (G)	Tongsa	8,499 km² 3,282 mi²	88,000	Tongsa (Tongsa) (GT) Bumthang (Jakar) (GB) Sarpang (Geylegphug) (GS) Zhemgang (Zhemgang) (GZ)
Mongar (M)	Mongar	10,949 km² 4,227 mi²	66,800	Lhuentse (Lhuntshi) (ML) Trashiyangtse (Tashi Yangtse) (MY) Mongar (Mongar) (MM) Trashigang (Tashhigang) (MT) Pemagalskel (Pemagalskel) (MP) Sandrup Jongkhur (Sandrup Jongkhur) (MS)
Kameng (K)	Bombila	13,728 km² 5,300 mi²	169,000	E. Kameng (Seppa) (KE) W. Kameng (Bombila) (KW) Tawang (Tawang) (KT)
Pemako (P)	Along	18,518 km² 7,150 mi²	130,300	W. Siang (Along) (PW) E. Siang (Pasiqhat) (PE) Upper Siang (Yingkionk) (PU)
Subansiri (S)	Daporijo	7,980 km² 3,081 mi²	153,000	Upper Subansiri (Daparijo) (SU) Lower Subansiri (Ziro) (SL)
Papum Pare (R)	Itanagar	3,462 km² 1,337 mi²	122,000	Papum Pare (Yupia) (RP)
Dibang (D)	Anini	13,029 km² 5,031 mi²	57,000	Lower Dibang (Anini) (DL) Upper Dibang (Roing) (DU)

Thus, the total area of the kingdom is 95,533 km² (39,886 mi²), slightly larger than *here's* American state of Indiana.

Geography

• Bhutan lies in the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows, an area of 121,300 square kilometres (46,800 sq. mi), extending along the north and south faces of the Himalaya Range from the Kali Gandaki Gorge in Lo eastwards through Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, and on into Bangal, and northernmost Myanmar.
• The alpine shrub and meadows lie between approximately 4,000 and 5,500 metres (13,000 and 18,000 ft) elevation. Permanent ice and snow lie above 5,500 metres (18,000 ft). The Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests lie below 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) along the southern slopes of the range, from Lo to Bhutan.

Borders

Bhutan is bordered by on the:

North: Tibet
East: Burma
South: Burma, Bengal
West: Sikkim.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is contiguous to *here's* Kingdom of Bhutan and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh (location), minus the districts of Anjaw, Lohit, Changlang, and Tirap.

Climate

• Bhutan's climate is as varied as its altitudes and is affected by monsoons. Western Bhutan is particularly affected by monsoons that bring between 60 and 90 percent of the region's rainfall. There are three broad climatic zones, subtropical in the south, temperate in the broad central regions and alpine in the north. The climate is humid and subtropical in the southern plains and foothills, temperate in the inner Himalayan valleys of the southern and central regions, and cold in the north, with year-round snow on the main Himalayan summits.
• Temperatures vary according to elevation. Temperatures in Thimphu, located at 2,200 meters above sea level in west-central Bhutan, range from approximately 15° C to 26° C during the monsoon season of June through September but drop to between about -4° C and 16° C in January. Most of the central portion of the country experiences a cool, temperate climate year-round . In the south, a hot, humid climate helps maintain a fairly even temperature range of between 15° C and 30° C year-round, although temperatures sometimes reach 40° C in the valleys during the summer.
• Annual precipitation ranges widely in various parts of the country. In the severe climate of the north, there is only about forty millimeters of annual precipitation, primarily snow. In the temperate central regions, a yearly average of around 1,000 millimeters is more common, and 7,800 millimeters per year has been registered at some locations in the humid, subtropical south, ensuring the thick tropical forest, or savanna. Thimphu experiences dry winter months (December through February) and almost no precipitation until March, when rainfall averages 20 millimeters a month and increases steadily thereafter to a high of 220 millimeters in August for a total annual rainfall of nearly 650 millimeters.
• Bhutan's generally dry spring starts in early March and lasts until mid-April. Summer weather commences in mid-April with occasional showers and continues through the premonsoon rains of late June. The summer monsoon lasts from late June through late September with heavy rains from the southwest. The monsoon weather, blocked from its northward progress by the Himalayas, brings heavy rains, high humidity, flash floods and landslides, and numerous misty, overcast days. Autumn, from late September or early October to late November, follows the rainy season. It is characterized by bright, sunny days and some early snowfalls at higher elevations. From late November until March, winter sets in, with frost throughout much of the country and snowfall common above elevations of 3,000 meters. The winter northeast monsoon brings gale-force winds down through high mountain passes, giving Bhutan its name-- Drukyul, which in the Dzongkha language means Land of the Thunder Dragon.

Culture

Religion

There is freedom of religion in the Kingdom of Bhutan, although proselytism by Western religions is not encouraged.

Buddhism

Organization

• Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion of Bhutan, and Buddhists comprise 85% of the population. The majority of Bhutan's Buddhists are adherents of the Drukpa subsect of the Kargyu school, one of the five major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Although originating in Tibetan Buddhism, the Buddhism practiced in Bhutan differs significantly in its rituals, liturgy, and monastic organization. The state religion is supported financially by the government through annual subsidies to monasteries, shrines, monks, and nuns. There is a representative on the Royal Advisory Council (Lodyo Tshogdu).
• There are about 1,000 monks (lam) who belong to the Central Monastic Body in Thimphu and Punakha. Another 4,000 belong to provincial monastic bodies. The monastic community is headed by the chief abbot, the je khenpo, who is assisted by five lopons or masters, each in charge of one aspect of the religion: tradition, liturgy, lexicography, logic and training. The lonpon have under them religious administrators and junior monastic officials in charge of art, music, and other areas. Drukpa monks need not be celibate for they also include householders, which allows them to marry, raise families, and work in secular occupations while performing liturgical functions in temples and homes. There are also 18 active congregations of nuns, with about 2,500 nuns. The nuns must remain celibate.

Monasteries

• Monasteries and convents are common in Bhutan. Both monks and nuns keep their heads shaved and wear distinguishing maroon robes. Their days are spent in study and meditation but also in the performance of rituals honoring various bodhisattvas, praying for the dead, and seeking the intercession of bodhisattvas on behalf of the ill. Some of their prayers involve chants and singing accompanied by conch shell trumpets, trumpets made from human thighbones, metal horns up to three meters long, large standing drums and cymbals, hand bells, temple bells, gongs, and wooden sticks. Some of the monks are noted for their skill at throat-singing, a specialized form of chanting in which, by amplifying the voice's upper partials, the chanter can produce multiple distinct pitches simultaneously. Such monastic music and singing, not normally heard by the general public, has been reported to have "great virility" and to be more melodious than its Tibetan monotone counterparts. Common people do practice the religion in their own ways: day to day works, in their speech, in their thought and visiting the holy places and persons on holy dates. The holy dates are the 8th, 10th, 15th, 25th, 28th, and 30th day in a month in the Bhutanese calendar).

Buildings and objects

• To bring Buddhism to the people, numerous symbols and structures are employed. Religious monuments, prayer walls, prayer flags, and sacred mantras carved in stone hillsides are prevalent. Among the religious monuments are chorten, the Bhutanese version of the Indian stupa. They range from simple rectangular "house" chorten to complex edifices with ornate steps, doors, domes, and spires. Some are decorated with the Buddha's eyes that see in all directions simultaneously. These earth, brick, or stone structures commemorate deceased kings, Buddhist saints, venerable monks, and other notables, and sometimes they serve as reliquaries. Prayer walls are made of laid or piled stone and inscribed with Tantric prayers. Prayers printed with woodblocks on cloth are made into tall, narrow, colorful prayer flags, which are then mounted on long poles and placed both at holy sites and at dangerous locations to ward off demons and to benefit the spirits of the dead. To help propagate the faith, itinerant monks travel from village to village carrying portable shrines with many small doors, which open to reveal statues and images of the Buddha, bodhisattavas, and notable lamas.

Bön

• Before the introduction of Buddhism, the Bön religion was prevalent in Bhutan as it was in Tibet. Imported from Tibet and India, perhaps in the eighth century, Bön doctrine became so strongly reinvigorated by Buddhism that by the eleventh century it reasserted itself as an independent school apart from Buddhism, now practiced mainly in the Rajadom of Ladakh. Bön is no longer practiced in modern Bhutan.

Hinduism

• About nine percent of the population are Hindus, mainly Shaivites. These people live mostly in the Terai. There is a Hindu temple in Thimphu.

Animism

• The remaining six percent of Bhutanese practice one of the animistic religions of the indigenous peoples. Most of these live in the eastern part of the rajadom.

National symbols

• National mammal: Mountain: takin (Budorcas taxicolor); Terai: Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
• National bird: raven (Corvus corax)
• National reptile: Brook's house gecko (Hemidactylus brookii)
• National fish: Himalayan trout (Barilius bendelisis)
• National flower: blue poppy (Meconopsis grandis)
• National tree: Himalayan cypress (Cupressus torulosa) (tseden)
• National cuisine: zow shungo
• National emblem: Per bend sinister yellow and maroon, a druk turquoise bendwise sinister.
  • For a crest, the raven crown.
  • For supporters, standing on a grassy compartment semy of blue poppies, on the dexter a takin and on the sinister an Indian rhinoceros proper rampant guardant, each charged on the shoulder with a Dharma wheel or.
  • All in front of a Himalayan cypress proper.
• National anthem:

Druk tsendhen

Druk tsendhen koipi gyelkhap na

Loog ye ki tenpa chongwai gyon

Pel mewang ngadhak rinpo chhe

Ku jurmey tenching chhap tsid pel

Chho sangye ten pa goong dho gyel

Bang che kyed nyima shar warr sho.

In the Thunder Dragon Kingdom

In the Thunder Dragon Kingdom, where cypresses grow,

Refuge of the glorious monastic and civil traditions,

The King of Druk, precious soverign,

His being is eternal, his reign prosperous.

The enlightenment teachings thrive and flourish.

May the people shine like the sun of peace and happiness.

• National dress:
  • for men: gho with kabney for formal occasions
  • for women: kira with tego and rachu
• National sport: archery
• National dance: chham (sacred mask dances)
• National instrument: dramyin
• National colors: yellow and maroon

Bhutanese public holidays

Date	Name	Notes
2 January	Nyinlog	Winter solstice
5 January	Buelwa phuemi nyim	Day of Offering
21 February	The King's Birthday	Father's Day - His Majesty was born in 1980
28 February 2011; 19 March 2012	Chotrul Düchen	Butter Lamp Festival
5 March 2011; 22 February 2012	Losar	New Year
2 June	Constitution Day	Date present constitution was passed in 1990
4 June	The Queen's Birthday	Mother's Day (in 2012 transferred to 5 May) - Her Majesty was born in 1990
15 June 2011; 4 June 2012	Suga Dawa Düchen	The Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment, and Parinirvana
10 July 2011; 29 June 2012	Guru Rinpoche's Birthday	Padmasambhava transmits Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan founding the Nyingma School
14 August 2011; 31 August 2012	Ullambana	Ancestor Day
23 September 2011; 22 September 2012	Thri-bab	Blessed Rainy Day
10 October 2012	Dashain	Victory of the Goddess Durga
1 November	The King's Coronation	His Majesty was crowned in 2008
17 December	Independence Day	King Ugyen's coronation in 1904