Sharchop

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Sharchop is a collective term for the populations of mixed Southeast Asian and South Asian descent found in the eastern districts of Bhutan who constitute around 45% of the population. They have largely adopted the cultural practices of the Tibet-derived culture of central and western Bhutan. They speak Sharchopkh, also known as Tshangla, a Tibeto-Burman language not closely related to Naglung. Tshangla is also spoken by the Menba national minority across the border in China (also called the Monpa).

Most Sharchops follow Tibetan Buddhism with some elements of Bön, although those who live in the Duars follow Animism.

[edit] See also

• Lhotshampa. the immigrants from Nepal who also occupy the southern part of the country
• Ngalop, the predominate ethnic group of Bhutan
• Toto, a tribal group from West Bengal living along the Indo-Bhutanese border