Changpa

Last updated
Changpa
Changpa nomad girl with baby animal in Ladakh, 2013 (cropped).jpg
Total population
India: 2,661 (2011) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China  : Flag of India.svg  India  : Ladakh
Languages
Changthang language
Religion
Mainly Buddhism (89%) [1]
Related ethnic groups
Baltis, Ladakhis, Purigpa, and other Tibetan People

Changpa nomad Changpa Nomad of Ladakh.jpg
Changpa nomad
Changpa shepherd girl Changpa nomad girl.jpg
Changpa shepherd girl
Changpa nomadic family, Tibet Changpas nomadic people - Changtang - Tibet.jpg
Changpa nomadic family, Tibet

The Changpa, or Champa, are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh, India. A smaller number resides in the western regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region and were partially relocated for the establishment of the Changtang Nature Reserve. By 1989, there were half a million nomads living in the Changtang area. [2]

Contents

Changpa of the Tibet Autonomous Region

The homeland of the Changpa is a high altitude plateau known as the Changtang, which forms a portion of western and northern Tibet extending to southeastern Ladakh, and Changpa means "northerners" in Tibetan. [3] Unlike many other nomadic groups in Tibet, the Changpa are not under pressure from settled farmers as the vast majority of land they inhabit is too inhospitable for farming. [4]

Most of the Tibetan Changtang is now protected by means of nature reserves consisting of the Chang Tang Nature Reserve, the second-largest nature reserve in the world, and four new adjoining smaller reserves totalling 496,000 km2 (191,507 sq. miles) of connected Nature Reserves, which represents an area almost as large as Spain and bigger than 197 countries. Since the reserves were established, there has been a welcome increase in the number of endangered species. The protected areas stretch across parts of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang and Qinghai in China. [2]

The Changpa of Ladakh are high-altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats. Among the Ladakh Changpa, those who are still nomadic are known as Phalpa and they take their herds from the Hanley Valley to the village of Lato. Hanley is home to six isolated settlements, where the sedentary Changpa, the Fangpa, reside. Despite their different lifestyles, both these groups intermarry. The Changpa speak Changskhat, a dialect of Tibetan, and practice Tibetan Buddhism. [5]

Only a small part of Changthang crosses the border into Ladakh, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is, however, on a historically important route for travelers journeying from Ladakh to Lhasa, and now has many different characteristics due to being part of India. Historically, the Changpa of Ladakh would migrate with their herds into Tibet, but with the Chinese takeover of Tibet, this route has been closed. [3]

As of 2001, the Changpa are classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of affirmative action. [6]

Changpa and their goats

For many Changpa, rearing of animals and consuming and selling their produce (milk and its products, hair and meat) is their only means of livelihood. [7]

The Changpa rear the highly pedigreed and prized Changra goats (Capra hircus) that yield the rare Pashmina (Cashmere) fibre. The Changra goats are not raised for their meat but for their fibre (pashm). The pashmina fibre (Pashm in Persian) is the finest fibre of all goat hair. [7]

Documentary

A documentary, Riding Solo to the Top of the World , was directed by Gaurav Jani. Another documentary, The Nomadic Night, depicting the life of the Changpa, was directed by Marianne Chaud. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladakh</span> Region administered by India

Ladakh is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India and China since 1959. Ladakh is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, both the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south. The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh, but has been under Chinese control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leh</span> City in Indian-administered Ladakh, Kashmir region

Leh is a city in Indian Union Territory of Ladakh Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the capital of Ladakh since medieval age. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh. The seat of the kingdom, Leh Palace, the former residence of the royal family of Ladakh, was built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace in Tibet. Since they were both constructed in a similar style and at roughly the same time, the Potala Palace in Tibet and Leh Palace, the royal residence, are frequently contrasted. Leh is at an altitude of 3,524 m (11,562 ft), and is connected via National Highway 1 to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via the Leh-Manali Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pashmina (material)</span> Fine subset of cashmere wool

Pashmina refers to, depending on the source, the cashmere wool of the Changthangi cashmere goat, fine Kashmiri cashmere wool, or any cashmere wool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan antelope</span> Species of mammal

The Tibetan antelope or chiru is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in the high altitude plains, hill plateau and montane valley. Fewer than 150,000 mature individuals are left in the wild, but the population is currently thought to be increasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cashmere goat</span> Any breed of goat that produces cashmere wool

A cashmere goat is a type of goat that produces cashmere wool, the goat's fine, soft, downy, winter undercoat, in commercial quality and quantity. This undercoat grows as the days get shorter and is associated with an outer coat of coarse hair, which is present all the year and is called guard hair. Most common goat breeds, including dairy goats, grow this two-coated fleece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakharwal dog</span> Dogbreed in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Bakharwal dog is a livestock guardian dog found in northern India. It is an ancient working Indian dog breed found in Ladakh and across the Pir Panjal Range of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Ladakh</span>

Ladakh has a long history with evidence of human settlement from as back as 9000 b.c. It has been a crossroad of high Asia for thousands of years and has seen many cultures, empires and technologies born in its neighbours. As a result of these developments Ladakh has imported many traditions and culture from its neighbours and combining them all gave rise to a unique tradition and culture of its own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladakh Range</span> Mountain range in India and Pakistan

The Ladakh Range is a mountain range in central Ladakh in India with its northern tip extending into Baltistan in Pakistan. It lies between the Indus and Shyok river valleys, stretching to 230 miles (370 km). Leh, the capital city of Ladakh, is on the foot of Ladakh Range in the Indus river valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangdum</span> Village in Ladakh, India

Rangdum is a village located in the Suru Valley in the union territory of Ladakh in Northern India. On one side are the colourful hills while on the other side are rocky mountains and glaciers, notably Drang-drung.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tingmosgang</span> Place in Ladakh, India

Tingmosgang is a fortress in Temisgam village, on the bank of the Indus River in Ladakh, in northwestern India. It is 92 km west of Leh, near Khalatse, and north of the present main road. The town has a palace and the monastery over a hillock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changtang</span> North-West Tibet geographic highland

The Changtang is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and giant lakes. From eastern Ladakh, the Changtang stretches approximately 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) east into Tibet as far as modern Qinghai. The Changtang is home to the Changpa, a nomadic Tibetan people. The two largest settlements within the Tibetan Changtang are Rutog Town the seat of Rutog County and Domar Township the seat of Shuanghu County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tso Moriri</span> Lake in Ladakh, India

Tso Moriri or Lake Moriri or "Mountain Lake", is a lake in the Changthang Plateau in Leh district of the union territory of Ladakh in India. It is located approximately 219 km from Leh City, capital of Ladakh. The lake and surrounding area are protected as the Tso Moriri Wetland Conservation Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changthangi</span> Goat breed of Ladakh, India

The Changthangi or Changpa is a breed of cashmere goat native to the high plateaus of Ladakh in northern India. It is closely associated with the nomadic Changpa people of the Changthang plateau. It may also be known as the Ladakh Pashmina or Kashmiri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korzok Monastery</span>

Korzok, དཀོར་མཛོད་ is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Drukpa Lineage. It is located in the Korzok village, on the northwestern bank of Tso Moriri, a lake in Leh District of Ladakh, a union territory of India. The gompa (monastery), at 4,560 metres (14,960 ft), houses a Shakyamuni Buddha and other statues. It is home to about seventy monks.

The Dogra–Tibetan war or Sino-Sikh war was fought from May 1841 to August 1842, between the forces of the Dogra Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu, under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire, and those of Tibet, under the protectorate of the Qing dynasty. Gulab Singh's commander was the able general Zorawar Singh Kahluria, who, after the conquest of Ladakh, attempted to extend its boundaries in order to control the trade routes into Ladakh. Zorawar Singh's campaign, suffering from the effects of inclement weather, suffered a defeat at Taklakot (Purang) and Singh was killed. The Tibetans then advanced on Ladakh. Gulab Singh sent reinforcements under the command of his nephew Jawahir Singh. A subsequent battle near Chushul in 1842 led to a Tibetan defeat. A treaty was signed in 1842 maintaining the status quo ante bellum.

Chang Tang National Nature Reserve lies in the northern Tibetan Plateau. It is the third-largest land nature reserve in the world, after the Northeast Greenland National Park and Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, with an area of over 334,000 km2 (129,000 sq mi), making it bigger than 183 countries. Administratively, it lies in Xainza County and Biru County of the Nagqu Prefecture. With the more recently established adjoining reserves listed below there is now a total of 496,000 km2 of connected Nature Reserves, which represents an area almost as large as Spain and bigger than 197 other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tso Kar</span> Ramsar wetland in India

The Tso Kar or Tsho kar is a fluctuating salt lake known for its size and depth situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern part of Ladakh in India. It is also recognised as India's 42nd Ramsar site.

The Charding Nullah, traditionally known as the Lhari stream and called Demchok River by China, is a small river that originates near the Charding La pass that is also on the border between the two countries and flows northeast to join the Indus River near a peak called "Demchok Karpo" or "Lhari Karpo". There are villages on both sides of the mouth of the river called by the same name "Demchok", which is presumed to have been a single village originally, and has gotten split into two due to geopolitcal reasons. The river serves as the de facto border between China and India in the southern part of the Demchok sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skakjung</span>

Skakjung or Kokzhung is 45–kilometer long pasture land in Indus River valley in Southern Ladakh. It is traditionally used by nomads of nearby villages such as Chushul and Nyoma as well as Rupshu. The Skakung pasture land can be used year-round because it rarely snows in the Indus Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turfani pashm</span> A type of wool from goats

Turfani pashm or Kuchari Pashm or Turfani wool is a type of shawl wool obtained from Tibetan goats. It was imported to India from Yarkant and Changtang. The wool was considered valuable for certain shawls.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community". Census of India Website. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Goldstein, Melvyn & Beal, Cynthia (1991). Nomads of Western Tibet. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press. p. 60. ISBN   0-520-07211-1.
  3. 1 2 Rizvi, Janet (1999). Trans-Himalayan Caravans. Oxford University Press. p. 301. ISBN   0-19-564855-2.
  4. "Changtang Plateau". Tibet Travel and Tours - Tibet Vista. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. Rizvi, B.R (2003). "Champa". In K.N Pandita; S.D.S Charak & B.R Rizvi (eds.). People of India Jammu and Kashmir. People of India. Vol. XXV. New Delhi: Manohar. pp. 182–184. ISBN   8173041180.
  6. "List of Scheduled Tribes". Census of India: Government of India. 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 atlasofhumanity.com. "Changpa People of Ladakh, India". Atlas Of Humanity. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  8. Jani, Gaurav (1 November 2006), Riding Solo to the Top of the World (Documentary), Dirt Track Productions, retrieved 6 March 2022