 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 | |
| Tibetan Buddhist sect ofVajrayana Buddhism · Bon | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetans · Layaps · Monpa · Sharchop · OtherSino-Tibetan-speaking peoples |
TheNgalop (Dzongkha:སྔ་ལོང་པ་Wylie:snga long pa; "earliest risen people" or "first converted people" according tofolk etymology)[1] are people ofTibetan origin who migrated toBhutan as early as the ninth century. Orientalists adopted the term "Bhote" orBhotiya, meaning literally "people ofBod (Tibet)", a term also applied to theTibetan people, leading to confusion, and now is rarely used in reference to the Ngalop.
The Ngalop introducedTibetan culture andBuddhism to 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, includingThimphu and the Dzongkha-speaking region. The term Ngalop may subsume several related linguistic and cultural groups, such as theKheng people and speakers ofBumthang language.[1][2][3]
The 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,Sharchops and 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 Factbook estimates the "Bhote" Ngalop and Sharchop populations together to total about 50 percent, or 354,200.[4]
Ngalops 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 theKheng andBumthang languages. To a large extent, even theSharchops of eastern Bhutan, who speakTshangla, have adopted Ngalop culture and may identify as Ngalop.[1][2][7]
Ngalops largely followTibetan Buddhism, particularly theDrukpa Lineage of theKagyu school ofVajrayana that is thestate religion of Bhutan. A significant number also follow theNyingma school, which was dominant in earlyBhutanese history.
Bon practitioners are a minority, although the practices of the Ngalops, like that of most Bhutanese, are characterized by incorporated elements of the olderethnic religion that is also referred to by the termBon.[2][8]
The 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 asdzongs that now serve as government offices. TheDruk Gyalpo and 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 followmatrilineal lines in the inheritance of land and livestock.[10]
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. 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. 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.