Kheng people

Kheng
Total population
50,000+[1]
Regions with significant populations
Central Bhutan (Zhemgang, Trongsa, Mongar, Bumthang District), Dagana District
Languages
Kheng or Bumthangkha, Dzongkha
Religion
Buddhism, Bon
Related ethnic groups
Ngalop, Sharchops

The Kheng people are found primarily in the Zhemgang, Trongsa, Bumthang, Dagana, and Mongar Districts of central Bhutan. They speak the Kheng language, a member of the extended Sino-Tibetan language family belonging to the East Bodish languages group;[2] it is mutually intelligible with the Bumthang language and Kurtöp language to the north.[3] The Kheng people are ethnolinguistically same as the Bumthang people and Kurtöp people of central Bhutan and are more closely related to Ngalop people of western Bhutan than to their neighbors in eastern Bhutan, who are primarily Sharchops and speak Tshangla language. SIL International estimates there are 50,000 Kheng speakers as of 2009.

The Kheng people are devout followers of Tibetan Buddhism, particularly of the Nyingma tradition. The cultural practices of people of central Bhutan typically mirror those of the dominant Ngalop people culture of the country. The term "Ngalop" may subsume several related linguistic and cultural groups, such as the Kheng, Kutöp, and Bumthang people.

Kheng people are known for secular and religious noble families such as numerous Dung families who had small fiefdoms until the 17th century.[4]

  1. ^ Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). "Khengkha". Ethnologue online (16 ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  2. ^ Hyslop, Gwendolyn. 2010. On the internal phylogeny of East Bodish. Paper presented at the 5th NEILS meeting, Gauhati University 12–14 February 2010.
  3. ^ van Driem, George (1994). Language policy in Bhutan. In Michael Aris and Michael Hutt (ed) Bhutan: Aspects of Culture and Development (PDF). Gartmore: Kiscadale Publications. pp. 87–106. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ Ardussi, John (2004). "he Gdung Lineages OF Central & Eastern Bhutan–A Reappraisal OF THEIR Origin, Based ON Literary Sources. In Ura, Karma & Sonam Kinga (eds) The Spider and the Piglet" (PDF). The Centre for Bhutan Studies: 60–72. Retrieved 20 June 2022.