Cultural Diversity and Resilience

8/9/2019 Cultural Diversity and Resilience

1/22

6

Cultural Diversity and Resilience*

Sangay Chophel**

6.1

Introduction

The significance of cultural diversity for humanity is now beingincreasingly recognised by several international organisations. The

UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity represents the firstinternational instrument aimed at promoting cultural diversity.Developing cultural resilience is also given importance, which can beunderstood as the cultures capacity to maintain and develop culturalidentity, knowledge and practices, and able to overcome challenges anddifficulties from other norms and ideals.

The key importance of culture, as I perceive, includes: to instill values forthe full development of human being, to meet spiritual and emotionalneeds, to temper the pace of modernisation and the negative impacts ofglobalisation, to safeguard and strengthen the countrys sovereignty andsecurity, to develop resilience, and to promote diversity for meaningfulcontribution.

Culture is a concept that cannot be easily explicated and quantified. Assuch, not all variables of culture are included in this study; priority wasgiven to those that have a strong relation to ones sense of well-being. The

data was largely collected based on existing cultural practices, values andnorms as traditionally laid out in Bhutan. This paper attempts to assessthe strength and relevance of various aspects of culture in Bhutanthrough the perceptions of respondents towards basic cultural elementssuch 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 thebrief introduction she wrote on culture has been used in this paper.**Publication Officer, The Centre for Bhutan Studies.


2/22

Cultural Diversity and Resilience

149

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

6.2

Survey

Two surveys were carried out. The first one was carried out from October2006 till March 2007, which covered nine dzongkhags. During the secondsurvey, which was carried out in December 2007 to March 2008, some ofthe questions were revised and was administered in remaining elevendzongkhags. Altogether, the two surveys covered 1300 respondents. Thispaper analyzes language variable using the combined data from both thesurveys 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 inany society. Understanding the mother tongue and speaking it fluentlymay indicate the strength of the language, and the degree to whichpeople are able to retain their culture and to pass it on to subsequentgenerations.

This is one of the first surveys to collect data on first language and howpeople can understand and speak their mother tongue. The NationalStatistical Bureau has done a survey on spoken language, presumablyreferring to mother tongue, but not on language competency. SingyeNamgyel (2003) asked questions on language competency but the samplewas 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 firstlinguistic survey of Bhutan identified nineteen different languagesspoken in Bhutan.1 Since the present survey did not ask the languagequestions in each and every village in Bhutan, not all the languages could

1 Driem, George Van (2004). Bhutans 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: TheCentre for Bhutan Studies, p. 295.


3/22


4/22


151

Identity may mean different things to different people, depending on theimportance they give in relation to their own existence. Traditions of asociety can also influence ones sense of identity, as these are usuallywell-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 askingabout the importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions withineveryday life is an important indicator of how desirable and relevantsuch 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 thatis very important and 12.6% reported that it is important. It is worthnoting that 1.1% of the respondents think it is not important as there arethose who view culture and tradition as remains of the past andtherefore, not necessarily in tune with changing times. This kind ofperception tells us that for tradition to be appealing and relevant, thevalues and meanings behind such practices must be better understood inorder to be appreciated by our own people. These respondents weremostly young people falling in the age group 0-17 years, as 3.4% of themreported that it is not important to maintain Bhutanese traditions withintheir everyday life.

Table 6.2Importance of maintaining Bhutanese traditions by age groupAge category How important is it to you to

maintain Bhutanese traditions withinyour everyday life? Total

Notimportant Important

Veryimportant

0-17 Count 2 12 44 58

% within agecategory

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

% within age

category1.1% 10.5% 88.3% 100.0%

46-60 Count 1 18 153 172


5/22

Gross National Happiness Survey Findings

152


.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% within agecategory

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 ourbehaviours. It drives the development of society, and contributes to

happiness. Traditional Bhutanese values address the individualsrelationship 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 perceptionsof the Bhutanese people on values such as tha damtshig, which stands forsacred commitment to others in society (Wangyel 2001), the importanceof life priorities, and the importance for children to learn qualities athome. The survey also included questions on change in values,justification on non-virtuous acts, and the importance of folk talesbecause of the values contained in it.

6.3.3.1.1 Tha damtshig

To assess the strength of tha damtshig respondents were asked to whatextent 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 damtshigbetweenpoenand yog.

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


6/22


153

99.9% of the respondents (n=949) agreed that one must always love andrespect parents, 0.1% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were nonewho disagreed to the statement. 99.2% of the respondents (n=949) agreedthat both husband and wife should maintain a faithful and happymarriage, 0.8% neither agreed nor disagreed, and there were none who

disagreed to the statement. 99.5% of the respondents (n=950) agreed thatone 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 canindicate where society might be heading in terms of steering the course ofcultural and societal well-being. This is addressed by asking therespondents to indicate the importance they assign to some selected lifepriorities.

Table 6.3Importance of life goals as % of respondentsLife goals Not

importantSomewhatimportant

Veryimportant

N

Family life 0.1 4.8 95.1 950

Responsibility 0.3 7.9 91.8 949Career 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 asthe most important goal in life, but the respondents think that otherBhutanese people do not consider family life as important as they dowhen assessed by them. They consider that other Bhutanese people valuefinancial security as the most important goal, which is in fact acompetitive goal that does not increase ones happiness. On the otherhand pursuing goals like family life and spirituality can increase ones

happiness.


7/22


154

Figure 6.1Life priorities as % of respondents reporting it as very important

Table 6.4 shows that the differences are larger between self-reported andassessment on how other people accord the importance to responsibility,friendship, compassion, family life, spiritual faith, generosity andreciprocity, indicating that society is not as good as we think. It indicatesthat society is moving in the direction other than what we want. Thedifferences are smaller when it comes to priorities that are concernedmostly with oneself, such as material wealth, pleasure, career success,freedom, and financial security that do not benefit others much.

Table 6.4Difference between self reported and assessment on how other peopleaccord the importance (reporting very important) to the following life prioritiesas % of respondents

Life goals/ prioritiesSelfreported

Assessmenton 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 10.2Generosity 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

1020

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pleasu

re

Freed

om

Recip

rocity

Mater

ialweal

th

Gene

rosity

Frien

dship

Comp

assion

Finan

cialse

curity

Spirit

ualfa

ith

Caree

rsuc

cess

Resp

onsib

ility

Fami

lylife

Percent

Self reported Assessment on other people


8/22


155

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

Freedom 70.7 72.2 1.6

Financial security 87.5 88.9 1.46.3.3.1.3

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 invalues, such as tolerance, compassion and spiritual faith, which areindicators of resilience, would enhance ones ability to overcomeadversity.

Table 6.5Changes in values of people in general as % of respondents during thelast few years

Values More Stayed thesame

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 thatmost people in Bhutan have become more spiritual and compassionateover the last few years. 45.9% reported that they have become moretolerant, and only 35.1% reported that they have become more honest.81.7% reported that most people have become more concerned aboutmaterial wealth. This either indicates that people are becoming morematerialistic or wealth is needed because of the shortage in this area.And 43.5% reported that they have become more selfish. If this is reallytrue 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 learnqualities in order to meaningfully contribute to societal well-being. A setof qualities were identified and respondents were asked to indicate howimportant each of them are for children to learn at home. Respect for

parents and discipline (drig) was considered as the most importantqualities for children to learn, and there were comparatively fewerrespondents according more importance to independence.


9/22


156

Table 6.6Importance of qualities for children to learn as % of respondentsQualities Not

important

Somewhat

important

Very

important

Dont

know

N

Independence 5.2 17.5 76.5 0.8 948

Tolerance forother people (Zoepa)

0.8 15.3 83.9 0 948

Impartiality 4.2 10 84.9 0.8 948

Helpingneighbours

0.2 11.2 88.5 0.1 948

Obedience toauthority

0.2 5.6 94.1 0.1 948

Honesty 0.2 4 95.8 0 945Hard work 0.2 3.4 96.3 0.1 948

Caring for familymembers andrelatives

0.2 2.5 97.2 0.1 948

Respect for elders 0.2 2.1 97.7 0 949Discipline (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 arenot considered virtuous - killing, rape, stealing, lying, harmful thoughts,suicide, creating disharmony in human relations, harsh and offensivespeech, gossip (frivolous speech), and sexual misconduct - essentiallydrawn from Buddhist values, and on some debatable acts like divorce,abortion and prostitution. A high percentage of the respondents reportedthat these acts can never be justified. Divorce was the only issue wherecomparatively fewer respondents reported that it can never be justified.

Table 6.7Justification on non-virtuous acts as % of respondentsNon-virtuousacts

Canneverbe justified

Cansometimesbe justified

Canalwaysbe justified

Dontknow

N

Divorce 68.1 30.8 1.1 0 948

Gossip (frivolousspeech) 80.1

18.8 1.2 0 949

Lying 82.1 17.9 0 0 950

Harsh andoffensive speech 86.6

12.9 0.4 0 950


10/22


157

Abortion 92.4 6.7 0.2 0.6 950

Killing 93.2 6.3 0.4 0.1 950

Harmfulthoughts 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 950Sexualmisconduct 94.4

5.0 0.2 0.4 949

Suicide 95.4 3.9 0.5 0.2 949

Creatingdisharmony inhuman 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 veryimportant to learn because of the values contained in it, 33.8% reportedthat it is important, 1.6% reported that it is not important, and 2.1%reported that they dont know whether it is important to learn folk tales.

There was lower percentage of urban respondents reporting that folktales are very important than rural respondents as shown in table 6.8.

Further, the percentage of respondents according importance to folk taleswas comparatively lower in Thimphu, which is essentially an urban area,than other dzongkhags, as shown in figure 6.2. Only 45.5% of therespondents from Thimphu reported that it is very important to learnfolk tales. This indicates that transmission of values through folk tales isdeclining in urban areas and, particularly, in Thimphu.

Table 6.8Importance of folk tales by area of residenceArea of residence

Importance of folk tales TotalNotimportant

Impor-tant

Veryimportant

Don'tknow

Rural Count 12 244 520 15 791

%withinarea ofresidence

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%


11/22


158

area ofresidence

Total Count 15 321 594 20 950

%within

area ofresidence

1.6% 33.8% 62.5% 2.1% 100.0%

Figure 6.2Importance 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

Tashigan

g

Pema

gatshel

Gasa

Tsirang

Wangd

ueph

odrang

Tashiya

ngtse

Samd

rupjo

ngkhar

Samtse

Dagana

Zhemgan

g

Thimph

u

%o

frespondents 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 todetermine whether such attitudes and beliefs are valid and appropriatefor living harmoniously together in society. If not, its practice orpromotion could have some negative consequences to the society. Somekey beliefs were extracted to document the views on attitudes and beliefs,which also highlight gender inequality.


12/22


159

Figure 6.3Beliefs 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 educationis more

important for

a boy than a

girl

On thewhole, men

make better

leaders than

women do

Women aremore suited

for domestic

work than

men

Females tendto carry drip

%o

frespondents

Disagree

Agree

Neutral

A high percentage of the respondents disagreed to the statements that aregeneral in nature, such as an education is more important for a boy thana girl and that, on the whole, men make better leaders than women do,

but a high percentage of the respondents agreed to statements that wererelated to customs, such as women are more suited for domestic workthan men and that women carry drip (drip can be roughly translated asimpurities, for example women are believed to carry dripso that they arenot allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the temples), indicating thatpeople give more priority to customs than gender issues.

Even females themselves reported that women carry drip more thanmales as shown in figure 6.4. 76.6% of the female respondents reportedthat women carry dripwhereas there were 71.9% of male respondents.

Figure 6.4Females carry drip by gender

Females carry drip by gender

16.2 11.813.9 9.4

71.976.6

010203040

5060708090

Agree Disagree Neutral

Do you agree that females carry drip?

%o

fres

pondents

Male

Female


13/22


160

There were comparatively more rural respondents (75.6%) than urban

respondents (67.3%) reporting than females carry dripas shown in figure6.5.

Figure 6.5Females carry drip by area of residence

Females carrydrip by area of residence

75.667.3

12.710.314.1

20.0

0

10

20

30

4050

60

70

80

Agree Disagree Neutral

Do you agree that females carry drip?

%o

frespon

dents

RuralUrban

6.3.3.3 Customs and traditions

6.3.3.3.1

Duezang

In Bhutan, duezang(roughly translated as auspicious days) are observedto accumulate merit, to pre-empt any unknown forces that could causemisfortune, or to recover from afflictions. There are myriad ways ofobserving duezang in Bhutan. On this, a high percentage (86.8%) of therespondents observe duezang by lighting butter lamps followed byvisiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens and by reciting prayers as shown infigure 6.6.

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

Ways of observing duezang

0.8

0.9

1.2

1.4

26.4

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


14/22


161

Visiting lhakhangs (temples), carrying out religious ceremonies, andreleasing animals from slaughter are Buddhist intermediary attention-

training techniques for practicing spirituality and stilling the mind. Suchtechniques are known to bring about predictable changes in brain andimmune function, and subsequently increase the subjective well-being ofthe individual.

6.3.3.3.2 Astrologers

In addition to observing duezang, people consult astrologers, which havesignificance on the well-being of the individuals, from time to time onimportant matters, such as for the general overview of the year for thewell-being of family members and for specific occasions and activities tobe undertaken. 78.1% of the respondents (n=950) reported that theyconsult astrologers for matters related to them and their familys 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 commonlypractised cultural heritage in Bhutan, and known to contribute to orderand harmony in society. Its distinctiveness and uniqueness serve to formone of the several aspects of the identity of Bhutan. So, it makes sense toask its importance. 93.7% of the respondents (n=950) reported thatDriglam Namzha is very important, 5.9% reported that it is important and0.4% reported that it is not important. 61% of the respondents (n=940)reported that Driglam Namzha is getting stronger, 23% reported that ithad stayed the same, and 16% reported that it is getting weaker duringthe 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 therespondents (n=947) reported that they take part in the local festivals intheir community, 8.2% reported that they do not take part in the localfestivals and 2.7% reported that there is no such events in theircommunity.

As age increases participation in local festivals increases, and aseducation level increases participation in local festivals decreases, as


15/22


162

shown in figure 6.7 and 6.8 respectively. This shows that youth and thosewho have higher qualification do not give much importance to localfestivals, and implicitly Bhutanese culture in general.

Figure 6.7Participation 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

fr

espondents

Figure 6.8Participation 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

%ofrespondents

Respondents in the highest income bracket (income more than Nu. one

lakh) took part in local festivals comparatively less than other incomelevels. Once again, this shows that higher income people do not givemuch importance to local festivals. It must be noted though that most of


16/22


163

the respondents who earned more than Nu. one lakh per year weremostly from urban areas.

Figure 6.9Participation 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

%

ofrespondents

As shown in figure 6.10, participation in local festivals was comparativelylower in Thimphu than other dzongkhags. The level of participation washighest in Tashigang.

Figure 6.10Participation 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

Tash

igang

Gasa Ha

a

Pema

gatsh

el

Tash

iyang

tse

Zhem

gang

Daga

na

Samt

se

Tsira

ng

Wang

duep

hodr

ang

Samd

rupjon

gkha

r

Thim

phu

%ofrespondents


17/22


164

reported that it is somewhat important and 1.5% reported that it is notimportant.

89.7% of the respondents (n=906) reported that local festivals is gettingvibrant, 9.7% reported that it is declining, and 0.6% reported that it has

been discontinued. The reasons for deteriorating community festivals areshown in figure 6.11. The main reasons are less faith in such practices,modernisation process and influence of western culture. This calls for theneed to strengthen traditions and customs to temper the influence ofwestern culture.

Figure 6.11Reasons for deteriorating local festivals

Reasons for deteriorating community festivals

2.22.2

3.23.3

4.3

5.47.57.57.57.5

10.811.8

15.120.4

31.2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Influence of scientific educationGovernment restrictions

Practice involves killing animalsOthers

No monks/paws to continue

Not performing according to the ruleLack of cooperation in the community

Poor knowledge about local festivalsChildren do not maintain these practices

Busy/time constraints

High expenditureOut-migration

Influence of western cultureModernisation 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 attendingevents.

6.3.4.2 Sports and games

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


18/22


165

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

and games

More than

once a week

Once or

twicea month

A few

times ayear

Never Total

Traditionalgames

3.8%(36)

8.6%(82)

24.1%(229)

63.5%(603)

100%(950)

Moderngames

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 playingmodern games more than once a week than traditional games. But there

are also more respondents never playing modern games than traditionalgames. Altogether it shows that the level of playing sports is low inBhutan.

6.3.4.3

Songs

The type of songs people listen to most indicates to some degree whichculture has major influence on their thinking and behaviour. Listeningexceedingly to foreign songs may undermine native and traditionalsongs, and hence their influence on the citizens. Tradition and customsare important for fostering national solidarity and security.

The percentage of respondents listening to various types of song is givenin table 6.10. Rigsar (modern songs), boedra (court songs) and zhungdra(traditional songs) are the keys forms of Bhutanese songs. A higherpercentage of respondents listen to rigsar songs the most than zhungdraand boedra indicating that the popularity of zhungdra and boedra essentially traditional songs - are declining.

Table 6.10Songs listened to the most as % of respondentsType of song %Rigsar 43.6Zhungdra 36.9Boedra 24.5

Nepali 11.6

Hindi 11.2

English 10.8

Others 0.7


19/22


166

Listening to rigsar, boedra and zhungdra were further disaggregated bydzongkhag as these are the essential forms of Bhutanese songs plus arelatively higher percentage of the respondents listen to these songs thanother songs.

Of those who listen to zhungdra the most, respondents from Tashigang (arural area) listen to zhungdra more than any other dzongkhags; of thosewho listen to boedra the most, respondents from Dagana (a rural area)listen to boedra more than any other dzongkhags; and of those who listento rigsar the most, respondents from Samdrupjongkhar (an urban area asthe survey was conducted in Samdrupjongkhar town) listen to rigsarmorethan any other dzongkhags. Further, we observe in figure 6.12 thatThimphu respondents listen to zhungdra less than any other dzongkhags.

Zhungdrasongs are laden with values and knowledge, but this does notmean much to them, and their tendency to assimilate values andknowledge would also be less. A similar result is shown with regard toboedra for Thimphu respondents as shown in figure 6.13. However,Thimphu falls in the upper limit (11.4% of the Thimphu respondentslisten most to rigsar song as shown in figure 6.14) when it comes tolistening to rigsar songs - rigsar songs contain high sounding lyrics butwithout much value.

Figure 6.12Listening 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

Tashiga

ng

Dagan

a

Samdru

pjongkh

ar

Zhem

gang

Wangdu

epho

drang Ha

a

Pema

gatsh

el

Tashiya

ngtse

Tsiran

gGa

sa

Samtse

Thim

phu

%of

respondents

Zhungdra


20/22


167

Figure 6.13Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags

Listening to boedra most by dzongkhags

19.7

15.0

11.612.0

9.0 9.4

5.6 6.43.9 3.4

1.7 2.10

5

10

15

20

25

Dag

ana

Tashiga

ng

Samd

rupjongk

har

Wan

gduepho

drang

Pemagats

hel

Zhem

gang

Tashiya

ngtse

Tsir

ang

Gasa

Thimp

hu Haa

Sam

tse

%o

frespondents

Boedra

Figure 6.14Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags

Listening to rigsar most by dzongkhags

15.5

13.511.4 10.9

9.9

7.56.5 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.3

2.4

0

2

4

6

8

10

1214

16

18

Samdru

pjong

khar

Tash

igang

Thim

phu

Pema

gatsh

el

Dagan

a

Wangdue

phod

rang

Haa

T

ashiya

ngtse

Tsiran

gSam

tse

Zhem

gang

Gasa

%o

frespondents

Rigsar

6.4

Conclusion

Some of key finding from this study include the following:

1.

More than 92% of the respondents can understand and speaktheir first language very well.

2.

86.3% of the respondents reported that it is very important tomaintain Bhutanese traditions.


21/22


168

3.

Almost all of the respondents strongly agreed to the values ofthadamtshi.

4. The large difference between self-reported and assessment onhow 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 becomemore selfish over the last few years.

6. Respect for parents and discipline (drig) was considered as themost important qualities for children to learn.

7. Respondents accorded more importance to customs than ongender issues.

8.

Most of the respondents observe duezang by lighting butter lampsand by visiting lhakhangs/nyes/chortens.

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

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

11.

The fact that 61% of the respondents reporting that DriglamNamzha is getting stronger in the past 12 months and 89.7%reporting that local festivals are getting vibrant obliquelyindicates that Bhutanese culture is capable of developing in spiteof challenges from other cultures. The influence of foreign musicand songs is also not very strong as more respondents listen toBhutanese songs than Nepali, Hindi, English and other songs.

References

Davidson, R.J. (2005). Well-being and affective style: Neural substratesand biobehavioural correlates, in Huppert, Felicia A., Baylis, Nick,and Kaverne, Barry (eds) The Science of well-being. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, chapter 5.

Driem, George Van (2004). Bhutans endangered languagesdocumentation programme under the Dzongkha DevelopmentAuthority: The three rare gems, in Ura, Karma and Kinga, Sonam(eds.) The Spider and the Piglet. Thimphu: The Centre for Bhutan

Studies.


22/22


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

Namgyel, Singye (2003). The language web of Bhutan. Thimphu: SingyeNamgyel.

Office of the Census Commissioner (2005). Population and Housing Census

of Bhutan, 2005.Thimphu: RGOB.Sen, Amartya (2006). Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. London:

Allen Lane.UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001). Available at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diversity.Ura, Karma and Galay, Karma (eds). (2004). Gross National Happiness and

development: Proceedings of the first international seminar onoperationalising Gross National Happiness.Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan

Studies.Wangyal, Tashi (2001). Ensuring social sustainability: Can Bhutans

education system ensure intergenerational transmission of values?,Journal of Bhutan Studies, Vol 3, No.1, Summer 2001.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diversityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diversity

Cultural Diversity and Resilience

Documents

Transcript of Cultural Diversity and Resilience