Lhop people

The Lhop or Doya people (Dzongkha: ལྷོབ་ ་ཡང་ན་ དྲོ་ཡ) are a little-known tribe of southwest Bhutan. The Bhutanese believe them to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the country. The Lhop are found in the low valleys of Dorokha Gewog 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 in the west. The Doya trace their descent matrilineally, marry their cross cousins, 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.

Lhop
(Doya) (ལྷོབ༌ ཡང་ན་ དྲོ་ཡ)

Lhop elderly women
Total population
2,500 (1993)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Southwestern Bhutan (Samtse District)
Languages
Lhokpu, Dzongkha
Religion
Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Lepcha • hazaras

See also

• Ethnic groups in Bhutan
• Sharchop