people, language and race in Bhutan

Bhutanese People, Language and Race


Bhutanese people are friendly and fun loving people. Bhutanese people can be broadly categorized into three groups, the Ngalongs of the central and western Bhutan, the Sarchops in the east and the Lhotshampas in the south. A few races in Bhutan are the Monpas, people of Mongolian race who inhabited the dense forests of the southern Himalayas. The other race is the Milo, who inhabited the western part.

There are also few other such races like Doyas.

Dzongkha is the national language of Bhutan. Literally “Dzongkha” means the language spoken in the Dzongs. Originally , dzongkha was spoken by the people of Western Bhutan and it was an oral language till 1971. Till the time, the written language was the Chhoekey, the language of religion.

In 1971, Bhutanese scholars formed the Dzongkha language in written. English is also widely spoken among the younger generations and the educated older generations. Several other dialects are also spoken around the country. A few of such dialects are Bumthap kha, Kheng Kha, Sarchop Kha, etc.

The unavailability of records makes it difficult to ascertain the anthropological history of people of Bhutan.