Lhotshampa People and Culture

The Lhotshampa (Dzongkha: lho mtshams pa, literally "people of the southern border") are an ethnic group of Nepali heritage who have inhabited the subtropical lowlands and foothills of southern Bhutan for generations. Their culture is rooted in the traditions of the Nepali-speaking Hindu and Buddhist communities of the eastern Himalayan region, while also reflecting centuries of interaction with Bhutan's Drukpa Buddhist majority and the distinctive ecological and social conditions of Bhutan's southern districts.

The Lhotshampa are not a monolithic group. They encompass multiple castes and ethnic subgroups — Bahun (Brahmin), Chhetri, Newar, Gurung, Rai, Limbu, Tamang, and others — each with distinct traditions, dialects, and cultural practices. What unites them is a shared linguistic heritage (Nepali, also called Lhotshamkha in Bhutan), a broadly common festival calendar, and the experience of occupying a cultural borderland between the Drukpa Buddhist north and the Hindu Nepali-speaking south.

This article focuses on the cultural dimensions of Lhotshampa identity — language, religion, dress, food, music, dance, and festivals — rather than the political history of the Bhutanese refugee crisis, which is treated separately. It should be understood, however, that Lhotshampa culture cannot be fully comprehended without reference to the policies of cultural suppression that targeted it from the late 1980s onward, and to the ongoing efforts of the Lhotshampa diaspora to preserve their heritage in resettlement countries around the world.

Language

The primary language of the Lhotshampa is Nepali (Devanagari: नेपाली), an Indo-Aryan language that is also the lingua franca of Nepal and the official language of the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal. In Bhutan, Nepali was historically the language of instruction in southern schools and served as the medium of administration in the southern districts. The language was recognized by the Bhutanese government and taught in schools until the late 1980s, when the policy of Driglam Namzha led to the removal of Nepali from the curriculum and the imposition of Dzongkha as the sole national language.

Within the Lhotshampa community, Nepali serves as the common tongue, but many families also speak the languages of their specific ethnic subgroups — Tamang, Gurung, Rai, Limbu, or Newari — in domestic settings. This linguistic diversity reflects the complex migration patterns that brought different Nepali-speaking communities to southern Bhutan at different times and from different points of origin.

In the diaspora — in cities such as Columbus, Pittsburgh, Houston, and Burlington — Nepali remains the primary language of community life, religious observance, and intergenerational communication, though English acquisition among younger generations is rapid. Community organizations, temples, and cultural associations operate primarily in Nepali, and Nepali-language media (newspapers, radio programmes, social media groups) serve as vital connective tissue for dispersed communities.

Religion

The Lhotshampa are religiously diverse, though the majority practice Hinduism. Hindu religious life centres on household worship (puja), temple observance, and the cycle of festivals that mark the ritual calendar. The major deities worshipped include Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, Ganesh, and Saraswati, with specific devotional emphases varying by family, caste, and regional origin. Brahmin priests (purohits) officiate at life-cycle ceremonies — birth rites (nwaran), the rice-feeding ceremony (pasni), the sacred thread ceremony (bratabandha), weddings (bibaha), and funeral rites (shraddha).

A significant minority of Lhotshampa practice Buddhism, particularly among the Tamang, Gurung, and certain Newar subgroups. Buddhist Lhotshampa maintain their own monastic traditions and ritual practices, which share common roots with but are distinct from the Drukpa Kagyu tradition of northern Bhutan. Syncretic practices — combining Hindu and Buddhist elements — are common, reflecting the broader pattern of religious fluidity in the eastern Himalayan region.

Christianity has gained adherents among some Lhotshampa communities, particularly in the diaspora, where evangelical and Pentecostal churches have been active in refugee resettlement support. This religious diversification has generated both new community institutions and internal cultural tensions.

Festivals and Celebrations

The Lhotshampa festival calendar is anchored by the great Hindu celebrations that structure the Nepali ritual year. Dashain (Vijaya Dashami), the fifteen-day autumn festival honouring the goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura, is the most important celebration. Families reunite, elders place tika (rice and vermilion paste) on the foreheads of younger relatives and bestow blessings, animal sacrifices are performed (though this practice varies by community), and feasting and visiting continue for days. In Bhutan, Dashain was celebrated openly until the late 1980s, when restrictions under Driglam Namzha curtailed public observance in some areas. In the diaspora, Dashain has become the primary occasion for community gathering and cultural affirmation.

Tihar (Deepawali), the five-day festival of lights, follows Dashain by approximately two weeks. Each day honours a different being — crows, dogs, cows, oxen, and finally brothers and sisters — reflecting the Hindu understanding of the sacred interconnection of all life. Homes are decorated with oil lamps and candles, rangoli patterns are drawn on floors and thresholds, and the Deusi-Bhailo tradition sends groups of singers door to door performing devotional songs in exchange for food, money, and blessings.

Other significant festivals include Holi (the spring festival of colours), Teej (a women's festival involving fasting and prayer for marital well-being), Maghe Sankranti (marking the winter solstice transition), and Krishna Janmashtami (celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna). Life-cycle ceremonies — weddings, naming ceremonies, coming-of-age rituals — are also major communal events marked by elaborate hospitality and ritual observance.

Dress and Appearance

Traditional Lhotshampa dress follows Nepali conventions. Men traditionally wear the daura-suruwal — a double-breasted, cross-collared tunic (daura) paired with tapered trousers (suruwal) — topped by a dhaka topi, the distinctive brimless cap woven from dhaka fabric. The topi is a powerful symbol of Nepali cultural identity: wearing it is a statement of belonging, and its suppression under Driglam Namzha was experienced as a direct attack on Lhotshampa identity.

Women traditionally wear the sari (a length of fabric draped over a blouse and petticoat) or the phariya-cholo (a wrapped garment with a fitted blouse), along with jewellery appropriate to their marital status and family means. Gold nose rings (bulaki), glass bangle sets, and necklaces of gold beads (tilhari) — the last of which is a specific marker of married status — are traditional adornments.

Under the Driglam Namzha policies implemented from 1989, Lhotshampa in Bhutan were required to adopt the Drukpa national dress — the gho for men and kira for women — in public settings, and the wearing of Nepali dress was discouraged or prohibited. This forced assimilation policy was one of the most tangible and personally felt dimensions of cultural suppression, as clothing is among the most visible markers of ethnic identity.

Cuisine

Lhotshampa cuisine reflects the subtropical ecology of southern Bhutan and the broader Nepali culinary tradition. Rice is the staple grain, supplemented by maize, millet, and wheat. The characteristic Nepali meal — dal-bhat-tarkari (lentil soup, steamed rice, and vegetable curry) — is the foundation of daily eating, accompanied by pickles (achar), fresh or fermented, that provide sharp counterpoints of sour, spicy, and umami flavour.

Distinctive preparations include gundruk (fermented and dried leafy greens, used as a sour soup base or side dish), kinema (fermented soybeans, similar to Japanese natto), sel roti (a crispy ring-shaped rice bread prepared for festivals), momos (steamed or fried dumplings, a shared Himalayan staple), and various pickles made from radish, tomato, chilli, and local fruits. Meat — particularly goat, chicken, and pork — is consumed by most communities, though Brahmin and some other caste groups follow vegetarian diets.

In the diaspora, Lhotshampa cuisine has become a powerful vehicle for cultural continuity. Community events revolve around shared meals, and the preparation and consumption of traditional foods — particularly during Dashain and Tihar — serves as a primary means of transmitting cultural knowledge and identity to children born in resettlement countries.

Music, Dance, and Oral Traditions

Lhotshampa musical traditions encompass devotional, folk, and social genres. The madal (a double-headed hand drum) is the characteristic instrument, providing the rhythmic foundation for most Lhotshampa music. Other traditional instruments include the sarangi (a small bowed string instrument), the bansuri (bamboo flute), and various percussion instruments.

Folk dances include the maruni (a group dance traditionally performed during Tihar), the chutka (a courtship dance), and various regional dances associated with specific ethnic subgroups. Devotional singing (bhajan and kirtan) is a central feature of Hindu religious observance, performed both in domestic settings and in community temples.

Oral traditions — proverbs, folk tales, riddles, and genealogical recitations — have been an important vehicle for cultural transmission, particularly in a community where formal literacy was historically limited. The preservation of these oral traditions is a priority for diaspora cultural organizations, which have undertaken recording and transcription projects to ensure that the knowledge of elderly community members is not lost.

Cultural Preservation in the Diaspora

The resettlement of over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees — predominantly Lhotshampa — to countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and several European nations has created both challenges and opportunities for cultural preservation. Community organizations in major resettlement cities have established Hindu temples, cultural associations, Nepali language schools, and youth programmes aimed at maintaining cultural knowledge and identity.

The annual cycle of festivals — above all Dashain and Tihar — serves as the primary framework for community cohesion in the diaspora. Large community celebrations draw hundreds or thousands of participants, featuring traditional food, music, dance, and religious observance. These events are especially important for younger generations, who may have been born in refugee camps or in resettlement countries and for whom cultural identity is a matter of active construction rather than immersive inheritance.

At the same time, the diaspora experience inevitably transforms the culture it seeks to preserve. English increasingly supplements or replaces Nepali among younger Lhotshampa, particularly in the United States. Dietary practices, gender norms, religious observance, and social structures are all adapting to new environments. The tension between preservation and adaptation — between fidelity to inherited traditions and creative engagement with new realities — is a defining feature of Lhotshampa cultural life in the twenty-first century.

References

1. Hutt, Michael. Unbecoming Citizens: Culture, Nationhood, and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan. Oxford University Press, 2003.
2. Rizal, Dhurba. The Unknown Refugee Crisis: Expulsion of the Ethnic Lhotsampa from Bhutan. Asian Ethnicity, 2004.
3. "Lhotshampa." Wikipedia.
4. Pattanaik, Smruti S. "Ethnic identity, conflict, and nation-building in Bhutan." Strategic Analysis, 1998.
5. Evans, Rosalind. "The perils of being a borderland people: on the Lhotshampas of Bhutan." Contemporary South Asia, 2010.

Contributed by Anonymous Contributor, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania