Bhutan is renowned for its rich culture and heritage. Everyone who steps into Bhutan for the first time notices the beautiful mountainous landscape and then the people in their colorful national dresses, the traditional houses with green/red roof tops, the amazing majestic fortresses, beautiful paintings and sculptures, among many others.
Bhutanese women wear ankle length dress (kira) tied around by a traditional hand-woven belt (kera), accompanied by the inner (wonju) and outer (tego) jackets. Men wear a longish knee-length robe (gho) tied around by a belt too. These dresses are hand-woven fabric with traditional patterns/designs.
Architecture wise Bhutanese structures of the Dzongs (fortress), houses, the temples and chortens (stupas) have a strong religious influence. The castle like Dzongs is the finest example of the Bhutanese architecture. They are characteristically designed with traditional motifs, tapering walls, large courtyards and beautiful wall paintings of religious figures.
The traditional arts and craft that have been practiced for generations and passes down for ages is what are known as the ‘Zorig Chusum’. There are thirteen of them; painting, carving, sculpture, calligraphy, carpentry, gold, silver and black smiting, bamboo work, weaving and embroidery, pottery, masonry, paper and incense productions.
The national sport of Bhutan is Archery. It is a very popular sport, played at a distance of 100 meters from the target. Few other traditional sports are darts (‘khuru’) and quots (‘degor’). Popular international sports such as football, basketball, taekwondo, cricket, table-tennis, tennis, and volley ball are also played in Bhutan.
Traditional songs, dances and music are also part of Bhutan’s rich cultural heritage. Soft, palatable music from the traditional musical instruments are really pleasant and somehow portrays the unique Bhutanese culture. The songs and music fall under any of the three categories: ‘boedra’, ‘zhungdra’ and ‘rigsar’ (modern). According to the type of songs and music the moves of the dances are choreographed that are very slow, bit faster or fast, but consisting usually of very simple and flowing dance sequences.
Religion
The predominant religion practiced in Bhutan is Buddhism. Buddhism took firm roots when it was first introduced by Guru Padmasambhava, an Indian Tantric Master, in the 8th century. Since then Bhutan has been blessed by numerous learned Buddhist masters through different periods with which Buddhism spread all over the country and grew from strength to strength. In fact Bhutan is considered as the last stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism. Therefore Buddhism has influenced much of Bhutan’s culture and tradition; starting from the way of life, the architecture, the national flag, the national attire, monasteries, prayer flags, and much more. It permeates in nearly every facet of the Bhutanese life style. Apart from Buddhism, the second most practiced religion is Hinduism.