6 cultural diversity and resilience - gross national happiness€¦ · cultural diversity and...

6

Cultural Diversity and Resilience*

Sangay Chophel**

6.1 Introduction

The significance of cultural diversity for humanity is now being increasingly recognised by several international organisations. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity represents the first international instrument aimed at promoting cultural diversity. Developing cultural resilience is also given importance, which can be understood as the culture’s capacity to maintain and develop cultural identity, knowledge and practices, and able to overcome challenges and difficulties from other norms and ideals. The key importance of culture, as I perceive, includes: to instill values for the full development of human being, to meet spiritual and emotional needs, to temper the pace of modernisation and the negative impacts of globalisation, to safeguard and strengthen the country’s sovereignty and security, to develop resilience, and to promote diversity for meaningful contribution. Culture is a concept that cannot be easily explicated and quantified. As such, not all variables of culture are included in this study; priority was given to those that have a strong relation to one’s sense of well-being. The data was largely collected based on existing cultural practices, values and norms as traditionally laid out in Bhutan. This paper attempts to assess the strength and relevance of various aspects of culture in Bhutan through the perceptions of respondents towards basic cultural elements such as language; sense of identity; core values, change in values, beliefs, norms, and customs; and participation in various cultural activities, such

* The questionnaire for the survey was jointly designed by the author and Tashi Choden, researcher at the Centre for Bhutan Studies. Some of the text from the brief introduction she wrote on culture has been used in this paper. ** Publication Officer, The Centre for Bhutan Studies.

Cultural Diversity and Resilience

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as festivals, sports, and songs. Also, a modest attempt has been made to see whether Bhutanese culture as a whole is capable of maintaining and developing itself in spite of challenges from other ideals and norms - a feature of cultural resilience.

6.2 Survey

Two surveys were carried out. The first one was carried out from October 2006 till March 2007, which covered nine dzongkhags. During the second survey, which was carried out in December 2007 to March 2008, some of the questions were revised and was administered in remaining eleven dzongkhags. Altogether, the two surveys covered 1300 respondents. This paper analyzes language variable using the combined data from both the surveys and rest of the variables are analysed based on the data collected during the second survey which covered 950 respondents.

6.3 Result

6.3.1 Language

Language is a human characteristic and is needed for full participation in any society. Understanding the mother tongue and speaking it fluently may indicate the strength of the language, and the degree to which people are able to retain their culture and to pass it on to subsequent generations. This is one of the first surveys to collect data on first language and how people can understand and speak their mother tongue. The National Statistical Bureau has done a survey on spoken language, presumably referring to mother tongue, but not on language competency. Singye Namgyel (2003) asked questions on language competency but the sample was not representative of the whole population - questions were asked only to educators and students. Table 6.1 shows the diversity of language in Bhutan (n=1251). The first linguistic survey of Bhutan identified nineteen different languages spoken in Bhutan.1 Since the present survey did not ask the language questions in each and every village in Bhutan, not all the languages could

1 Driem, George Van (2004). “Bhutan’s endangered languages documentation programme under the Dzongkha Development Authority: The three rare gems,” in Ura, Karma and Kinga, Sonam (eds.) The Spider and the Piglet. Thimphu: The Centre for Bhutan Studies, p. 295.

Gross National Happiness Survey Findings

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be covered. However, the languages that are shown in the table are representative of the country as a whole since the data covers all the twenty dzongkhags in Bhutan. The proportions of people speaking their mother tongues are shown from the survey as well from the Population and Housing Census of Bhutan. Data reveals that more respondents speak Sharchop followed by Dzongkha. Table 6.1 First language as % of total respondents

Types of language % (Survey) % (PHCB)

Tshangla (Shachop) 37.3 27.3

Dzongkha 24.6 23.1

Khengkha 9.6 5.5

Nepali (Lhotshamkha) 8.6 20.9

Cho-ca-nga-ca-kha (Kurichu valley) 7.7 1.9

Bumtapkha 4.2 1.9

Dzalakha 2.5 0.7

Kurtop 1.9 2.9

Lhokpu 1.4 0.4

Monpakha 1.0

Nyenkha (Henkha or Mangdebikha) 0.7 0.8

Dakpakha 0.2 0.1

B'okha (Tibetan) 0.2 0.2

Chalikha 0.1 0.3

Adabashi 0.1 0.3

92.8% of the respondents (n=1252) reported that they could understand their first language very well, 6.9% reported that they could understand quite well, 0.3% reported that they could understand only a little, and there were none who could not understand their first language at all. 92.5% of the respondents (n=1252) could speak their first language very well, 6.8% could speak quite well, 0.7% could speak only a little, and there were none who could not speak their first language at all. This indicates that the health of the first language as a whole is good.

6.3.2 Sense of identity

Identifying oneself with a cultural group or groups is essential for overall well-being. A sense of identity is also known to correlate with social capital. A person can choose to have multiple identities, while the decision to accord the relative importance of one over another is entirely up to the individual. For this, choice and critical reflection and reasoning are needed. Without a sense of identity individuals’ resiliency power may also be weakened.


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Identity may mean different things to different people, depending on the importance they give in relation to their own existence. Traditions of a society can also influence one’s sense of identity, as these are usually well-rooted practices that exhibit cultural values and norms. ‘Bhutanese traditions’ is a very broad term that encompasses customs, rituals, religious ceremonies, traditional dress, sports, music, dance, poetry, arts, code of behaviour, among others. Therefore, one single question asking about the importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions within everyday life is an important indicator of how desirable and relevant such practices are to the Bhutanese people. When asked how important it is to maintain the Bhutanese traditions within their everyday life, 86.3% of the respondents (n=945) reported that is very important and 12.6% reported that it is important. It is worth noting that 1.1% of the respondents think it is not important as there are those who view culture and tradition as remains of the past and therefore, not necessarily in tune with changing times. This kind of perception tells us that for tradition to be appealing and relevant, the values and meanings behind such practices must be better understood in order to be appreciated by our own people. These respondents were mostly young people falling in the age group 0-17 years, as 3.4% of them reported that it is not important to maintain Bhutanese traditions within their everyday life. Table 6.2 Importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions by age group Age category How important is it to you to

maintain Bhutanese traditions within your everyday life? Total

Not important Important

Very important

0-17 Count 2 12 44 58

% within age category

3.4% 20.7% 75.9% 100.0%

18-30 Count 4 55 325 384


1.0% 14.3% 84.6% 100.0%

31-45 Count 3 28 235 266


1.1% 10.5% 88.3% 100.0%

46-60 Count 1 18 153 172


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.6% 10.5% 89.0% 100.0%

Above 60 Count 0 6 57 63


.0% 9.5% 90.5% 100.0%

Total Count 10 119 814 943


1.1% 12.6% 86.3% 100.0%

6.3.3 Values, beliefs, norms and customs

6.3.3.1 Values

Values indicate what is right and important in life, and influences our behaviours. It drives the development of society, and contributes to happiness. Traditional Bhutanese values address the individual’s relationship with nature, with others in society and individual self-discipline; all sentient beings need to be respected. The survey incorporated questions that address attitudes and perceptions of the Bhutanese people on values such as tha damtshig, which stands for

sacred commitment to others in society (Wangyel 2001), the importance of life priorities, and the importance for children to learn qualities at home. The survey also included questions on change in values, justification on non-virtuous acts, and the importance of folk tales because of the values contained in it.

6.3.3.1.1 Tha damtshig

To assess the strength of tha damtshig respondents were asked to what

extent they agree to the following statements:

1. One must always love and respect parents. 2. Both husband and wife should maintain a faithful happy

marriage. 3. One must always maintain tha damtshig between poen and yog.

These questions have been adapted to the values traditionally accorded to relationships between parent and child (pha da bhushi gi damtshig); husband and wife (nyen da drok gi damtshig); and master and servant (peon da yok gi damtshig, whereby the master should ensure the welfare of his servant, and the servant should serve with dedication).


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99.9% of the respondents (n=949) agreed that one must always love and respect parents, 0.1% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were none who disagreed to the statement. 99.2% of the respondents (n=949) agreed that both husband and wife should maintain a faithful and happy marriage, 0.8% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were none who disagreed to the statement. 99.5% of the respondents (n=950) agreed that one must always maintain tha damtshig between poen and yog, 0.3% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 0.2% disagreed to the statement. Hence, it can be said that the strength of tha damtshig is strong in Bhutan.

6.3.3.1.2 Life priorities

The importance that people assign to certain life priorities or goals can indicate where society might be heading in terms of steering the course of cultural and societal well-being. This is addressed by asking the respondents to indicate the importance they assign to some selected life priorities. Table 6.3 Importance of life goals as % of respondents

Life goals Not important

Somewhat important

Very important

N

Family life 0.1 4.8 95.1 950

Responsibility 0.3 7.9 91.8 949

Career success 0.3 9.4 90.3 949

Spiritual faith 0.3 12.0 87.7 950

Financial security 0.3 12.1 87.5 947

Compassion 0.4 16.8 82.8 948

Friendship 0.1 18.8 81.1 950

Generosity 0.4 20.2 79.3 949

Material wealth 0.6 20.1 79.2 949

Reciprocity 2.1 22.5 75.4 948

Freedom 1.6 27.7 70.7 948

Pleasure 2.3 33.6 64.0 948

Figure 6.1 shows the importance of life priorities. Family life was rated as the most important goal in life, but the respondents think that other Bhutanese people do not consider family life as important as they do when assessed by them. They consider that other Bhutanese people value financial security as the most important goal, which is in fact a competitive goal that does not increase one’s happiness. On the other hand pursuing goals like family life and spirituality can increase one’s happiness.


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Figure 6.1 Life priorities as % of respondents reporting it as very important Table 6.4 shows that the differences are larger between self-reported and assessment on how other people accord the importance to responsibility, friendship, compassion, family life, spiritual faith, generosity and reciprocity, indicating that society is not as good as we think. It indicates that society is moving in the direction other than what we want. The differences are smaller when it comes to priorities that are concerned mostly with oneself, such as material wealth, pleasure, career success, freedom, and financial security that do not benefit others much. Table 6.4 Difference between self reported and assessment on how other people accord the importance (reporting very important) to the following life priorities as % of respondents

Life goals/ priorities Self reported

Assessment on other people Difference

Responsibility 91.8 79.9 11.9

Friendship 81.1 69.7 11.3

Compassion 82.8 71.1 11.7

Family life 95.1 84.0 11.1

Spiritual faith 87.7 77.5 10.2

Generosity 79.3 69.2 10.1

Importance of life goals/ priorities

95.191.890.387.787.582.881.179.379.2

75.470.7

64.0

84.079.9

87.0

77.5

88.9

71.169.769.2

84.7

68.872.269.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pleas

ure

Freedom

Recip

roci

ty

Mate

rial w

ealth

Genero

sity

Frien

dship

Com

passi

on

Financi

al se

curit

y

Spiritu

al fa

ith

Car

eer s

ucces

s

Responsib

ility

Family

life

Perc

en

t

Self reported Assessment on other people


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Reciprocity 75.4 68.8 6.6 Material wealth 79.2 84.7 5.5 Pleasure 64.0 69.2 5.2 Career success 90.3 87.0 3.3

Freedom 70.7 72.2 1.6 Financial security 87.5 88.9 1.4

6.3.3.1.3 Change in values

With the passage of time, values undergo changes due to various forces, and it will be very useful to observe its pattern of changes. An increase in values, such as tolerance, compassion and spiritual faith, which are indicators of resilience, would enhance one’s ability to overcome adversity. Table 6.5 Changes in values of people in general as % of respondents during the last few years

Values More Stayed the same

Less N

Spirituality 64.9 24.8 10.3 944

Compassion 58.7 30.8 10.4 938

Tolerance 45.9 36.3 17.8 937

Honesty 35.1 38.6 26.3 927

Concern about material wealth 81.7 17.1 1.2 941

Selfishness 43.5 37.6 19 932

Table 6.5 shows that more than 50% of the respondents reported that most people in Bhutan have become more spiritual and compassionate over the last few years. 45.9% reported that they have become more tolerant, and only 35.1% reported that they have become more honest. 81.7% reported that most people have become more concerned about material wealth. This either indicates that people are becoming more materialistic or wealth is needed because of the shortage in this area. And 43.5% reported that they have become more selfish. If this is really true the happiness of the people would be adversely affected.

6.3.3.1.4 Importance of qualities for children to learn at home

To make better human beings children should be encouraged to learn qualities in order to meaningfully contribute to societal well-being. A set of qualities were identified and respondents were asked to indicate how important each of them are for children to learn at home. Respect for parents and discipline (drig) was considered as the most important

qualities for children to learn, and there were comparatively fewer respondents according more importance to independence.


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Table 6.6 Importance of qualities for children to learn as % of respondents

Qualities Not important

Somewhat important

Very important

Don’t know

N

Independence 5.2 17.5 76.5 0.8 948

Tolerance for other people (Zoepa)

0.8 15.3 83.9 0 948

Impartiality 4.2 10 84.9 0.8 948

Helping neighbours

0.2 11.2 88.5 0.1 948

Obedience to authority

0.2 5.6 94.1 0.1 948

Honesty 0.2 4 95.8 0 945

Hard work 0.2 3.4 96.3 0.1 948

Caring for family members and relatives

0.2 2.5 97.2 0.1 948

Respect for elders 0.2 2.1 97.7 0 949 Discipline (Drig) 0.2 2 97.8 0 948

Respect for parents 0.2 1.5 98.3 0 949

6.3.3.1.5 Justification on non-virtuous acts

Table 6.7 shows that the perception of the respondents on actions that are not considered virtuous - killing, rape, stealing, lying, harmful thoughts, suicide, creating disharmony in human relations, harsh and offensive speech, gossip (frivolous speech), and sexual misconduct - essentially drawn from Buddhist values, and on some debatable acts like divorce, abortion and prostitution. A high percentage of the respondents reported that these acts can never be justified. Divorce was the only issue where comparatively fewer respondents reported that it can never be justified. Table 6.7 Justification on non-virtuous acts as % of respondents

Non-virtuous acts

Can never be justified

Can sometimes be justified

Can always be justified

Don’t know

N

Divorce 68.1 30.8 1.1 0 948

Gossip (frivolous speech) 80.1

18.8 1.2 0 949

Lying 82.1 17.9 0 0 950

Harsh and offensive speech 86.6

12.9 0.4 0 950


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Abortion 92.4 6.7 0.2 0.6 950

Killing 93.2 6.3 0.4 0.1 950

Harmful thoughts 93.3

6.4 0.2 0.1 949

Prostitution 94.0 5.4 0.1 0.5 949

Stealing 94.4 5.3 0.3 0 950

Sexual misconduct 94.4

5.0 0.2 0.4 949

Suicide 95.4 3.9 0.5 0.2 949

Creating disharmony in human relations 96.7

3.0 0.3 0 949

Rape 98.6 0.9 0.1 0.3 949

6.3.3.1.6 Folk tales

For oral transmission of values, folk tales serve as an important vehicle. 62.5% of the respondents (n=950) reported that folktales are very important to learn because of the values contained in it, 33.8% reported that it is important, 1.6% reported that it is not important, and 2.1% reported that they don’t know whether it is important to learn folk tales. There was lower percentage of urban respondents reporting that folk tales are very important than rural respondents as shown in table 6.8. Further, the percentage of respondents according importance to folk tales was comparatively lower in Thimphu, which is essentially an urban area, than other dzongkhags, as shown in figure 6.2. Only 45.5% of the respondents from Thimphu reported that it is very important to learn folk tales. This indicates that transmission of values through folk tales is declining in urban areas and, particularly, in Thimphu. Table 6.8 Importance of folk tales by area of residence Area of residence Importance of folk tales

Total Not important

Impor- tant

Very important

Don't know

Rural Count 12 244 520 15 791

% within area of residence

1.5% 30.8% 65.7% 1.9% 100.0%

Urban Count 3 77 74 5 159

% within

1.9% 48.4% 46.5% 3.1% 100.0%


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area of residence

Total Count 15 321 594 20 950

% within area of residence

1.6% 33.8% 62.5% 2.1% 100.0%

Figure 6.2 Importance of folk tales by dzongkhags

Importance of folk tales

81.8

74.6 73.869.0 66.7

61.0 60.7 59.0 56.6 54.250.8

45.5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Haa

Tashig

ang

Pemag

atsh

el

Gas

a

Tsira

ng

Wan

gduep

hodra

ng

Tashiy

angt

se

Sam

drupjo

ngkh

ar

Sam

tse

Dag

ana

Zhe

mga

ng

Thimphu

% o

f re

sp

on

de

nts

Not Important

Important

Very important

Don't know

6.3.3.2 Attitudes and beliefs

With the passage of time, it becomes useful to track the changes in, and the applicability of, traditional beliefs in communities. We need to determine whether such attitudes and beliefs are valid and appropriate for living harmoniously together in society. If not, its practice or promotion could have some negative consequences to the society. Some key beliefs were extracted to document the views on attitudes and beliefs, which also highlight gender inequality.


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Figure 6.3 Beliefs related to gender

Beliefs related to gender

34.8

12.4

26.2

7.111.7 9.9

15.1

80.5

62.155.3

74.3

10.7

0

10

20

30

4050

60

70

80

90

An education

is more

important for

a boy than a

girl

On the

whole, men

make better

leaders than

women do

Women are

more suited

for domestic

work than

men

Females tend

to carry drip

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Disagree

Agree

Neutral

A high percentage of the respondents disagreed to the statements that are general in nature, such as an education is more important for a boy than a girl and that, on the whole, men make better leaders than women do, but a high percentage of the respondents agreed to statements that were related to customs, such as women are more suited for domestic work than men and that women carry drip (drip can be roughly translated as impurities, for example women are believed to carry drip so that they are

not allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the temples), indicating that people give more priority to customs than gender issues. Even females themselves reported that women carry drip more than

males as shown in figure 6.4. 76.6% of the female respondents reported that women carry drip whereas there were 71.9% of male respondents.

Figure 6.4 Females carry drip by gender

Females carry drip by gender

16.2 11.813.9 9.4

71.976.6

0102030405060708090

Agree Disagree Neutral

Do you agree that females carry drip?

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Male

Female


160

There were comparatively more rural respondents (75.6%) than urban respondents (67.3%) reporting than females carry drip as shown in figure

6.5. Figure 6.5 Females carry drip by area of residence

Females carry drip by area of residence

75.667.3

12.710.314.1

20.0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Agree Disagree Neutral

Do you agree that females carry drip?

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

RuralUrban

6.3.3.3 Customs and traditions

6.3.3.3.1 Duezang

In Bhutan, duezang (roughly translated as auspicious days) are observed

to accumulate merit, to pre-empt any unknown forces that could cause misfortune, or to recover from afflictions. There are myriad ways of observing duezang in Bhutan. On this, a high percentage (86.8%) of the respondents observe duezang by lighting butter lamps followed by visiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens and by reciting prayers as shown in

figure 6.6. Figure 6.6 Ways of observing duezang as % of respondents (n=950)

Ways of observing duezang

0.8

0.9

1.2

1.4

2

6.4

9.2

9.5

11.4

16.7

47.1

57.4

86.8

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Fasting

Refraining from killing animlas

Hoisting prayer flags

Refraining from eating/serving meat

Other ways of observing duezang

Carrying out religious ceremonies

Chanting/reciting mantras

Performing prostration

Refraining from doing farm work

Making offerings to gods

Reciting prayer

Visiting lhakhangs/ngyes/chortens

Lighting buttter lamps

% of respondents


161

Visiting lhakhangs (temples), carrying out religious ceremonies, and releasing animals from slaughter are Buddhist intermediary attention-training techniques for practicing spirituality and stilling the mind. Such techniques are known to bring about predictable changes in brain and immune function, and subsequently increase the subjective well-being of the individual.

6.3.3.3.2 Astrologers

In addition to observing duezang, people consult astrologers, which have significance on the well-being of the individuals, from time to time on important matters, such as for the general overview of the year for the well-being of family members and for specific occasions and activities to be undertaken. 78.1% of the respondents (n=950) reported that they consult astrologers for matters related to them and their family’s well-being as against 21.9% who reported that they do not consult astrologers.

6.3.3.3.3 Driglam Namzha

Driglam Namzha (etiquette and code of conduct) is the most commonly practised cultural heritage in Bhutan, and known to contribute to order and harmony in society. Its distinctiveness and uniqueness serve to form one of the several aspects of the identity of Bhutan. So, it makes sense to ask its importance. 93.7% of the respondents (n=950) reported that Driglam Namzha is very important, 5.9% reported that it is important and

0.4% reported that it is not important. 61% of the respondents (n=940) reported that Driglam Namzha is getting stronger, 23% reported that it

had stayed the same, and 16% reported that it is getting weaker during the past 12 months.

6.3.4 Participation in cultural activities

6.3.4.1 Local festivals

A local festival is an event where social and cultural capital develops. Also, such activities foster a certain sense of cultural identity. 89% of the respondents (n=947) reported that they take part in the local festivals in their community, 8.2% reported that they do not take part in the local festivals and 2.7% reported that there is no such events in their community. As age increases participation in local festivals increases, and as education level increases participation in local festivals decreases, as


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shown in figure 6.7 and 6.8 respectively. This shows that youth and those who have higher qualification do not give much importance to local festivals, and implicitly Bhutanese culture in general. Figure 6.7 Participation in local festivals by age

Participation in local festivals by age

80

84

9394 94

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

0-17 18-30 31-45 46-60 Above 60

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Figure 6.8 Participation in local festivals by education level

Participation in local festivals by education level

9590

85

64

74

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

No formal

education

1-6 7-10 11-12 Further

education

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Respondents in the highest income bracket (income more than Nu. one lakh) took part in local festivals comparatively less than other income levels. Once again, this shows that higher income people do not give much importance to local festivals. It must be noted though that most of


163

the respondents who earned more than Nu. one lakh per year were mostly from urban areas. Figure 6.9 Participation in local festivals by income level

Participation in local festivals by income

88.3

93.1 93.9

80.9

70

75

80

85

90

95

Less than

15000

15001-50000 50001-100000 >100000

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

As shown in figure 6.10, participation in local festivals was comparatively lower in Thimphu than other dzongkhags. The level of participation was highest in Tashigang. Figure 6.10 Participation in local festivals by dzongkhags When asked about the importance of participating in local festivals, 85.6% of the respondents (n=933) reported that it is important, 12.9%

Participation in local festivals by dzongkhags

99.3 96.6 94.5 94.0 92.9 91.5 90.6 89.0 88.3 88.1 84.1

64.4

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Tashig

ang

Gas

aH

aa

Pemag

atsh

el

Tashiy

angt

se

Zhemga

ng

Dag

ana

Sam

tse

Tsiran

g

Wan

gduep

hodra

ng

Sam

drupjo

ngkhar

Thimphu

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts


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reported that it is somewhat important and 1.5% reported that it is not important. 89.7% of the respondents (n=906) reported that local festivals is getting vibrant, 9.7% reported that it is declining, and 0.6% reported that it has been discontinued. The reasons for deteriorating community festivals are shown in figure 6.11. The main reasons are less faith in such practices, modernisation process and influence of western culture. This calls for the need to strengthen traditions and customs to temper the influence of western culture. Figure 6.11 Reasons for deteriorating local festivals

Reasons for deteriorating community festivals

2.22.2

3.23.3

4.35.4

7.57.57.57.5

10.811.8

15.120.4

31.2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Influence of scientific education

Government restrictions

Practice involves killing animals

Others

No monks/paws to continue

Not performing according to the rule

Lack of cooperation in the community

Poor knowledge about local festivals

Children do not maintain these practices

Busy/time constraints

High expenditure

Out-migration

Influence of western culture

Modernisation process

Less faith in such practices

Percent

On average in a year, 56.4% of the respondents (n=932) spent between 1 to 5 days attending cultural events, such as community tshechus, festivals,

etc., 19.8% spent between 6 to 12 days, 8.6% spent between 13 to 20 days, 9.3% spent more than 20 days, and 5.8% did not spent any days attending events.

6.3.4.2 Sports and games

The participation in both traditional as well as modern games and sports were captured in order to draw comparison between the two. The percentages of the respondents who played such games in the past 12 months are given in table 6.9.


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Table 6.9 Frequency of playing games and sports in the past 12 months

Type of sports and games

More than once a week

Once or twice a month

A few times a year

Never Total

Traditional games

3.8% (36)

8.6% (82)

24.1% (229)

63.5% (603)

100% (950)

Modern games

8.1% (77)

7.2% (68)

10.8% (103)

73.9% (702)

100% (950)

It is evident from the table that there are more respondents playing modern games more than once a week than traditional games. But there are also more respondents never playing modern games than traditional games. Altogether it shows that the level of playing sports is low in Bhutan.

6.3.4.3 Songs

The type of songs people listen to most indicates to some degree which culture has major influence on their thinking and behaviour. Listening exceedingly to foreign songs may undermine native and traditional songs, and hence their influence on the citizens. Tradition and customs are important for fostering national solidarity and security. The percentage of respondents listening to various types of song is given in table 6.10. Rigsar (modern songs), boedra (court songs) and zhungdra

(traditional songs) are the keys forms of Bhutanese songs. A higher percentage of respondents listen to rigsar songs the most than zhungdra and boedra indicating that the popularity of zhungdra and boedra –

essentially traditional songs - are declining. Table 6.10 Songs listened to the most as % of respondents

Type of song % Rigsar 43.6 Zhungdra 36.9 Boedra 24.5

Nepali 11.6

Hindi 11.2

English 10.8

Others 0.7


166

Listening to rigsar, boedra and zhungdra were further disaggregated by

dzongkhag as these are the essential forms of Bhutanese songs plus a relatively higher percentage of the respondents listen to these songs than other songs. Of those who listen to zhungdra the most, respondents from Tashigang (a rural area) listen to zhungdra more than any other dzongkhags; of those who listen to boedra the most, respondents from Dagana (a rural area) listen to boedra more than any other dzongkhags; and of those who listen to rigsar the most, respondents from Samdrupjongkhar (an urban area as the survey was conducted in Samdrupjongkhar town) listen to rigsar

more than any other dzongkhags. Further, we observe in figure 6.12 that Thimphu respondents listen to zhungdra less than any other dzongkhags. Zhungdra songs are laden with values and knowledge, but this does not

mean much to them, and their tendency to assimilate values and knowledge would also be less. A similar result is shown with regard to boedra for Thimphu respondents as shown in figure 6.13. However,

Thimphu falls in the upper limit (11.4% of the Thimphu respondents listen most to rigsar song as shown in figure 6.14) when it comes to listening to rigsar songs - rigsar songs contain high sounding lyrics but

without much value. Figure 6.12 Listening to zhungdra most by dzongkhags

Listening to zhungdra most by dzongkhags

19.9

15.714.5

8.5 8.0 7.76.6

5.4 5.13.7 3.1

1.70

5

10

15

20

25

Tashig

ang

Dag

ana

Sam

drupjo

ngkh

ar

Zhe

mga

ng

Wan

gduep

hodra

ngH

aa

Pemag

atsh

el

Tashiy

angt

se

Tsira

ngG

asa

Sam

tse

Thimphu

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Zhungdra


167

Figure 6.13 Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags

Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags

19.7

15.0

11.6 12.0

9.0 9.4

5.6 6.43.9 3.4

1.7 2.10

5

10

15

20

25

Dagan

a

Tashig

ang

Samdru

pjongkhar

Wangduep

hodrang

Pemag

atshel

Zhemgang

Tashiy

angts

e

Tsirang

Gas

a

Thimphu

Haa

Samts

e

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Boedra

Figure 6.14 Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags

Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags

15.5

13.5

11.4 10.99.9

7.56.5 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.3

2.4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Samdru

pjongkhar

Tashig

ang

Thimphu

Pemag

atshel

Dagan

a

Wangduep

hodrang

Haa

Tashiy

angts

e

Tsirang

Samts

e

Zhemgang

Gas

a

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Rigsar

6.4 Conclusion

Some of key finding from this study include the following:

1. More than 92% of the respondents can understand and speak their first language very well.

2. 86.3% of the respondents reported that it is very important to maintain Bhutanese traditions.


168

3. Almost all of the respondents strongly agreed to the values of thadamtshi.

4. The large difference between self-reported and assessment on how other people accord the importance to responsibility, friendship, compassion, family life, spiritual faith, generosity and reciprocity indicates that society is not as good as we think.

5. 81.7% reported that most people have become more concerned about material wealth and 43.5% reported that they have become more selfish over the last few years.

6. Respect for parents and discipline (drig) was considered as the

most important qualities for children to learn. 7. Respondents accorded more importance to customs than on

gender issues. 8. Most of the respondents observe duezang by lighting butter lamps

and by visiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens.

9. The level of importance accorded to learn folk tales and participation in local festivals was relatively lower in Thimphu than other dzongkhags. The number of people listening to zhungdra and boedra was also very low in Thimphu.

10. In general, the level of participation in sports and games is low in Bhutan.

11. The fact that 61% of the respondents reporting that Driglam Namzha is getting stronger in the past 12 months and 89.7% reporting that local festivals are getting vibrant obliquely indicates that Bhutanese culture is capable of developing in spite of challenges from other cultures. The influence of foreign music and songs is also not very strong as more respondents listen to Bhutanese songs than Nepali, Hindi, English and other songs.

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Driem, George Van (2004). “Bhutan’s endangered languages documentation programme under the Dzongkha Development Authority: The three rare gems,” in Ura, Karma and Kinga, Sonam (eds.) The Spider and the Piglet. Thimphu: The Centre for Bhutan

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Headey, Bruce, (2006), “Life goals matter to happiness: A revision of set-point theory”, Discussion Papers 629, DIW Berlin.

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