Culture Of Bhutan

Dzong architecture, monastic life, kora and the etiquette that governs how a visitor should behave.

Bhutanese culture is best understood not as a set of customs but as a lived Vajrayana practice with its own institutions, laws and calendar. Visitors who understand that much find the country easier to move through, because most of what looks like "etiquette" is religious protocol. <h2>The dzong</h2> The dzong is the unit of Bhutanese life and the unit to plan around. It is a fortress-monastery: part royal residence, part monastery, part law court, part fortified storehouse. Inside, monks, administrators, judges and the Governor of the dzongkhag share one complex, and the same building holds the national shrine and the district's administrative offices. Construction follows standard rules. Thick battered walls slope inward to prevent seismic failure. Very little timber is used in load-bearing structure, because timber is reserved for the roof and the shrines inside. A dzong has few windows on the approach side. There are almost no nails: the joinery uses fitted timber. <h2>Temple conduct</h2> This is where a visit can go wrong, so it is worth stating plainly. Enter with the right foot first, and remove shoes and hats before crossing the threshold into the shrine hall. Walk clockwis.