National symbols of Bhutan
Other distinctive symbols of Bhutan and its dominant Ngalop culture include Dzongkha, the national language; the Bhutanese monarchy; and the Driglam Namzha, a seventeenth-century code on dress, etiquette, and dzong architecture.
The druk thunder dragon is heavily associated with the Bhutanese state religion and has symbolized Bhutan ("Druk-yul") in particular since the late twelfth century.
Traditional natural symbols, such as the raven and Himalayan cypress, possess not only admired characteristics, but religious meanings as well.
The flag of Bhutan is based upon the tradition of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and features Druk, the Thunder Dragon of Bhutanese mythology.
[1] The First Schedule of the Constitution of 2008 legally describes the flag: The upper yellow half that touches the base symbolizes the secular tradition.
The dragon that fully presses down the fimbriation symbolizes the name of the Kingdom, which is endowed with the spiritual and secular traditions...
The white dragon symbolizes the undefiled thoughts of the people that express their loyalty, patriotism and great sense of belonging to the Kingdom although they have different ethnic and linguistic origins.
The lotus symbolizes absence of defilements; the wish-fulfilling jewel, the sovereign power of the people; and the two dragons, the name of the Kingdom.
The original lyrics had twelve lines, but the anthem was later shortened to the present six-line version in 1964 by a secretary to the Druk Gyalpo (Bhutanese Head of State).
The driglam namzha, a seventeenth-century code on dress, etiquette, and architecture, mandates wearing Ngalop clothing, the gho and kira, in public.
The kingdom, which began in 1907 as an absolute monarchy, has endeavored on a path of modernization and democratization largely at the behest of its latest three kings.
[15] The first King of Bhutan Ugyen Wangchuck adopted as the unique symbol of his authority a crown surmounted by the head of a raven.
The flower was discovered in 1933 by British botanist George Sherriff in remote part of Sakteng in eastern Bhutan.
[15] The Bhutanese credit the raven with having guided the founder of Bhutan, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, to victory during the invasion from Ü-Tsang (Tibet) in the seventeenth century.
[15] The druk (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་; Wylie: 'brug), or "thunder dragon" of Bhutanese mythology, has been the national symbol of Bhutan since long before the establishment of government in 1907.
The Druk is heavily associated with the dominant Drukpa sect of Buddhism, the state religion under Bhutan's dual system of government.
This sect was founded in western Tibet by Drogon Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161–1211), who with his disciples witnessed nine dragons roaring out of the earth and into the skies, as flowers rained down everywhere.
[20] Other particularly Bhutanese sports of note include digor, resembling shot put, and khuru, a kind of outdoor dart game.
[21] These sports have their own tournaments and place in celebrations ranging from local tsechu festivals to Bhutanese public holidays.
