The Lhop or Doya people are a little-known tribe of southwest
Bhutan. The Bhutanese believe them to be the
aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
inhabitants of the country. The Lhop are found in the low valleys of
Dorokha Gewog
Dorokha Gewog, now called Dophuchen Geog, is a gewog (village block) of Samtse District, Bhutan. Dorokha Gewog is part of Dorokha Dungkhag (sub-district), which comprise Dorokha and Denchukha Gewogs.
The people here speak '' Lhotshamkha'' and a ...
and near
Phuntsholing in the
Duars.
The dress of the Lhop resembles the
Lepcha, but they bear little similarity with the
Bhutia in the North and the
Toto
Toto may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets
* Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''
* Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns''
Characters of agency
* a ...
in the west. The Doya trace their descent
matrilineally
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
, marry their
cross cousin
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
s, and embalm the deceased who are then placed in a foetal position in a circular sarcophagus above the ground. They follow a blend of
Tibetan Buddhism mixed with
animism.
See also
*
Ethnic groups in Bhutan
There are numerous ethnic groups in Bhutan, but the Ngalop people who speak the Dzongkha language constitute a majority of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive: the ...
*
Sharchop
References
External links
RAOnline Bhutan: The Lhop
Ethnic groups in Bhutan
{{Asia-ethno-group-stub