Bhutia Tribe

Bhutia Tribe

ORIGIN and DEMOGRAPHICS - The name of the tribe is derived from the word ‘Bhot’ or ‘Bod’ which means “Tibet” which reflects their origin. The people of this tribe migrated to India from Tibet and thus their culture is a blend of Buddhist and Hindu dominated south Asian cultures. The major concentration of the population of Bhutia tribe resides in Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan west Bengal and Uttarakhand.

 

LANGUAGE – Bhutia tribe is a multilingual group. They speak different dialects of the Bhutia language, the central Bhutia group usually use the dialect found in Uttarakhand and some communities like the Joharis, after migrating to other place, forget their own dialect and adopt the language of their southern neighbors. However, the majority of their population tend to know Hindi and their own language in addition to Tibetan and Pahari dialects.

CULTURE – Most of the people of this tribe indulge in terraced agriculture on the hills and mountain slopes. The major crops grown by them are potatoes, rice, corn and barley. A small chunk of population engages in animal breeding and are known for their Cattles and yaks. Since this tribe hail from Tibet their culture is a blend of Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu dominated south Asian culture.

 

 

RELIGION – The religions vary depending upon the community. The Bhutias in Bhutan follow the Tibetan form of Mahayana Buddhism. In the central Himalayas only Jads practice Buddhism, other groups practice Hinduism or a blend of Lamaistic, Buddhism, animism and Hinduism. The groups practicing Hinduism worship deities like Mahadev and Nanda devi. Gabala, the god of trade, is their most popular deity. Other than this, different clans worship different deities. The Bhutia tribe also believes in ghosts and spirits and any disease or misfortune is interpreted as a sign that they have offended their ancestors’ spirits, in response to which they perform sacrifices and rites in order to appease the deities or spirits.

 

CLOTHING – The Bhutia tribe’s dressing varies a little bit from region to region, however, many tribes resemble the Tibetan culture. Bhutiya men wear long loose-sleeved robes tied to their waists. The woman wears Kira, a woven dress with silver buckles on her shoulders.

 

EDUCATION – Like all other aspects the literacy also differs a bit from region to region. According to the 2001 census, the literacy rate among the people of this tribe in Sikkim is 67.9% and in Uttarakhand the literacy rate is 72%. The literacy rate in Bhutia tribe is undoubtedly better than other average tribes in India but the drop-out rate is high specially among those groups which have low income.

 

FOOD – The staple food of Bhutias is rice, wheat, barley and potatoes. Regardless of their religion, Bhutias are non-vegetarians and their meals consists of an intake of meat, pork and mutton. Vegetables, lentils and chutney are yet again an important part of their meals. The tribe also consumes a special type of tea called namkin tea which is made with tea, butter and salt. In addition to all this, the people of this tribe drink alcohol and it is also used as offering while worshiping local deities and spirits.