Samtse District (Dzongkha: བསམ་རྩེ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: Bsam-rtse rdzong-khag; older spelling "Samchi") is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. It comprises two subdistricts (dungkhags): Tashicholing and Dophuchen. They are further subdivided into 15 gewogs (village blocks).[2] The Samtse district covers a total area of 1304 sq km.[2]
Historically, Samtse was sparsely populated as the mountain-dwelling Bhutanese considered the low-lying district to be prone to tropical disease.[2] During the early 20th century, the district experienced a large influx of Nepali people who were invited to the area to assist in forest-clearing. Overall, the district population has been increasing, and there have been housing shortages in Samtse as reported by Kuensel.[3]
Samtse is also home to the Lhop (Doya) people, a little-studied ethnic group of approximately 2,500 persons. The Bhutanese believe them to be the aboriginals who predated the Tibetan migration from the north. The Lhop are noted for their animistic religious beliefs, their practice of marrying cross-cousins, and their unique burial customs.
Samtse is also well known historically for being the home of the Gurung Kazi Family who governed the region in the early 1900s till the 1960s.
Languages
The dominant language in Samtse District is Lhotshampkha, spoken by the heterogeneous Lhotshampa community, though speakers of Dzongkha, the national language, inhabit the district's eastern reaches. Samtse is also home to some of the autochthonous communities of Bhutan, pre-dating the arrival of Nepali and Dzongkha speakers. Lepcha is spoken by some 2,000 people in northeastern Samtse, and Lhokpu is spoken by some 2,500 people along the border with Chukha District.[4]
Economy and education
Samtse has an abundance of natural deposits of talc, dolomite and other resources which are exported on a regular basis.[2] It also houses a number of industrial and manufacturing units. Cardamom, ginger, areca nut, and oranges[2] are the predominant cash crops, although most farmers practice subsistence farming. Out of the many gewogs of Bhutan, Bara gewog has the largest cardamom growing areas. In 2010 the production is very high. 2010 prices were very high compared to past years.
Samtse is the site of one of the two campuses of the National Institute of Education, now known as Samtse College of Education, a college for teachers part of the Royal University of Bhutan system. This training Institute offers B.Ed (for secondary as well as primary), PgDE courses, and M.Ed in Science and Counselling.
Geography
With an area of approximately 1500 sq. kilometers, Samtse District is a little more than twice the size of Singapore. It shares an international border with the Indian states of Sikkim to the west and West Bengal to the south, and internal borders with Haa and Chukha Districts.
Administrative divisions
Samtse District is divided into fifteen village blocks (or gewogs):[5]
Unlike most other districts, Samtse, along with Chukha, contain no protected areas of Bhutan. Although much of southern Bhutan contained protected areas in the 1960s, park-level environmental protection became untenable.[6][7]
^"Chiwogs in Samtse" (PDF). Election Commission, Government of Bhutan. 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
^. Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation online. Bhutan Trust Fund. Archived from the original on 2011-07-02. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
^. Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation online. Bhutan Trust Fund. Archived from the original on 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
December 27, 2022
samtse, district, coordinates, dzongkha, བསམ, ཁག, wylie, bsam, rtse, rdzong, khag, older, spelling, samchi, dzongkhags, districts, comprising, bhutan, comprises, subdistricts, dungkhags, tashicholing, dophuchen, they, further, subdivided, into, gewogs, village. Coordinates 27 0 N 89 5 E 27 000 N 89 083 E 27 000 89 083 Samtse District Dzongkha བསམ ར ར ང ཁག Wylie Bsam rtse rdzong khag older spelling Samchi is one of the 20 dzongkhags districts comprising Bhutan It comprises two subdistricts dungkhags Tashicholing and Dophuchen They are further subdivided into 15 gewogs village blocks 2 The Samtse district covers a total area of 1304 sq km 2 Samtse district བསམ ར ར ང ཁགDistrictMap of Samtse district in BhutanCountryBhutanHeadquartersSamtseArea Total1 305 km2 504 sq mi Population 2017 Total62 590 Density48 km2 120 sq mi Time zoneUTC 6 BTT HDI 2019 0 620 1 medium 9thWebsitewww wbr samtse wbr gov wbr bt Contents 1 History and culture 2 Languages 3 Economy and education 4 Geography 5 Administrative divisions 6 See also 7 ReferencesHistory and culture EditHistorically Samtse was sparsely populated as the mountain dwelling Bhutanese considered the low lying district to be prone to tropical disease 2 During the early 20th century the district experienced a large influx of Nepali people who were invited to the area to assist in forest clearing Overall the district population has been increasing and there have been housing shortages in Samtse as reported by Kuensel 3 Samtse is also home to the Lhop Doya people a little studied ethnic group of approximately 2 500 persons The Bhutanese believe them to be the aboriginals who predated the Tibetan migration from the north The Lhop are noted for their animistic religious beliefs their practice of marrying cross cousins and their unique burial customs Samtse is also well known historically for being the home of the Gurung Kazi Family who governed the region in the early 1900s till the 1960s Languages EditThe dominant language in Samtse District is Lhotshampkha spoken by the heterogeneous Lhotshampa community though speakers of Dzongkha the national language inhabit the district s eastern reaches Samtse is also home to some of the autochthonous communities of Bhutan pre dating the arrival of Nepali and Dzongkha speakers Lepcha is spoken by some 2 000 people in northeastern Samtse and Lhokpu is spoken by some 2 500 people along the border with Chukha District 4 Economy and education EditSamtse has an abundance of natural deposits of talc dolomite and other resources which are exported on a regular basis 2 It also houses a number of industrial and manufacturing units Cardamom ginger areca nut and oranges 2 are the predominant cash crops although most farmers practice subsistence farming Out of the many gewogs of Bhutan Bara gewog has the largest cardamom growing areas In 2010 the production is very high 2010 prices were very high compared to past years Samtse is the site of one of the two campuses of the National Institute of Education now known as Samtse College of Education a college for teachers part of the Royal University of Bhutan system This training Institute offers B Ed for secondary as well as primary PgDE courses and M Ed in Science and Counselling Geography EditWith an area of approximately 1500 sq kilometers Samtse District is a little more than twice the size of Singapore It shares an international border with the Indian states of Sikkim to the west and West Bengal to the south and internal borders with Haa and Chukha Districts Administrative divisions EditSamtse District is divided into fifteen village blocks or gewogs 5 Dungtoe Gewog Dophoogchen Gewog Duenchukha Gewog Namgaychhoeling Gewog Norbugang Gewog Norgaygang Gewog Pemaling Gewog Phuentshogpelri Gewog Samtse Gewog Sangngagchhoeling Gewog Tading Gewog Tashicholing Gewog Tendu Gewog Ugentse Gewog Yoeseltse Gewog Unlike most other districts Samtse along with Chukha contain no protected areas of Bhutan Although much of southern Bhutan contained protected areas in the 1960s park level environmental protection became untenable 6 7 See also EditDistricts of Bhutan Paro ProvinceReferences Edit Sub national HDI Area Database Global Data Lab hdi globaldatalab org Retrieved 2018 09 13 a b c d e Facts about Bhutan The land of the Thunder Dragon Absolute Bhutan Books p 374 Dorji Tashi 2005 06 23 Housing crunch in Samtse Kuensel online Retrieved 2011 04 26 van Driem George L 1993 Language Policy in Bhutan PDF London SOAS Retrieved 2011 01 18 Chiwogs in Samtse PDF Election Commission Government of Bhutan 2011 Retrieved 2011 07 28 Parks of Bhutan Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation online Bhutan Trust Fund Archived from the original on 2011 07 02 Retrieved 2011 03 26 The Organisation Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation online Bhutan Trust Fund Archived from the original on 2010 03 29 Retrieved 2011 03 26 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Samtse District amp oldid 1092842238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
