Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Mating Rites in Bhutan

Rather than get into the whole Bangkok story sitting in a public internet cafe, I thought that a brief primer on mating rites in Bhutan might be interesting.
The country itself is situated in the eastern Himalayas, between India and Tibet, just to the east of Everest. It is 100% Buddhist and is primarily interested in the Gross National Happiness Index, to measure how well the country is doing. Most of the economy is agrarian based, either farming rice, fruit in the south, yak herding, etc.
Most marriages are arranged, and somewhat informal. There is a practice called "Night Hunting" when guys go out and knock on a girls door or window. If she answers, it means she's interested in hooking up with him that night, and they repair to a shepherd's hut to spend the evening and see how things work out. Out of wedlock babies aren't frowned upon or shunned, and either a man or a woman can have multiple spouses. The king has four wives, all sisters, and they live separately from him. But a woman could have multiple men as well, as long as everyone is copacetic with the arrangement.
There is little AIDS, only 120 recognized cases, mostly brought in by travelling businessmen, and almost no prostitution, except in the border towns, because the sexual practices are so relaxed.
It's amazing how well everyone can get along when they're all on the same page.
Next week, One Night in Bangkok, when I return tyo the city.

1 comment:

EeeFah said...

Wow, that's very very interesting.

aoefe