The Bhotiya, also called Rongpa (in Uttarakhand ), are located in the trans-Himalayan region of India. Rongpa communities are some of the oldest and native of the upper belt of the Himalayas, close to the border of Tibet in Garhwal. It was once believed that the Rongpa community had been wiped out.
Anthropological evidence suggests that the word "Rongpa" translates to "valley people". [1] An alternative translation proposes that 'Rong' refers to a rigid valley, while 'pa' refers to the commuters.[ clarification needed ] While the Rongpa [2] have their own distinct history, tradition, and customs, they are similar to the Garhwali people.
According to the late Hayat Singh Pal, a recognized influence in Rongpa culture, the people of these valleys are Suryavansi, Chandravansi, Rajputs and Thakars, as described in ancient texts. Marchha, Tolchha, and Jadhs are the three sub-groups of the bhotiya (Rongpa )community in Uttarakhand. The Marchha inhabit the Niti and Mana valleys the Tolcha the Niti valley and before 1962 war, Jadhs resided in the Nelong and Jadung valleys in the Uttarkashi district of Garhwal.
The Jadh sub-group, in particular, are among the warrior clans(Kshatriya), as they were the ruler of the Gartang Garh, [3] [4] one of the 52 garh (forts) of the Garhwal Kingdom. Jadhs now reside in the Bagori, Ganeshpur and Veerpur villages of Uttarkashi. These villages have a diverse population consisting of upper caste Jadhs, Fias (alleged lower caste), Kolis (weavers of Himachal), Khampas (natives of Tibet), Nepalis, and Garhwali's. Dialect of Jadhs is almost similar to the dialect spoken in villages of Kinnaur district(like kanam, Nesang, Pooh,etc.) of Himachal Pradesh probably due to geographical proximity and cultural ties that still continues. The written and official language of this community is Hindi. All the sub-groups of Rongpas speaks a completely different dialect.[ clarification needed ]
The Rongpa community practices strict Hinduism. Hindu Gods and Goddesses are worshipped by the community, in hopes of gaining protection for their families and villages. However, the people of this community mainly worship Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Pandavas, apart from their Isht devs and devis.
Rongpas historically preferred to marry within their own community, though recently inter-community marriage has become common.
The traditional dress worn by the people of Bhotia is made with layers of wool, designed to provide warmth during the cold winters. Women traditionally wear a woolen skirt, shirt, waistcoat, or overcoat. They usually adorn their necks, ears, and noses with beads and rings of gold or silver. The men typically wear trousers over which they layer a loose gown tied to the waist with a cloth, called a patta. They may also don a woollen cap.
Garhwal is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the northwest by Himachal Pradesh state. It includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi. The people of Garhwal are known as Garhwali and speak the Garhwali language. The administrative center for Garhwal division is the town of Pauri. The Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. As the administrative head of the division, the Commissioner is overall incharge of the 7 districts in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, and is aided in his duties by an additional commissioner and the district magistrates. Sushil Kumar is the divisional commissioner of the Garhwal Division since December 2021.
Bhotiya or Bhot is an Indian and Nepali exonym lumping together various ethnic groups speaking Tibetic languages, as well as some groups speaking other Tibeto-Burman languages living in the Transhimalayan region that divides India from Tibet. The word Bhotiya comes from the classical Tibetan name for Tibet, བོད, bod. The Bhotiya speak numerous languages including Ladakhi. The Indian recognition of such language is Bhoti / Bhotia having Tibetan scripts and it lies in the Parliament of India to become one of the official languages through Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in northern India. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The winter capital and largest city of the state is Dehradun, which is also a railhead. On 5 March 2020, Bhararisain, a town in the Gairsain Tehsil of the Chamoli district, was declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand. The High Court of the state is located in Nainital, but is to be moved to Haldwani in future.
Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest. The administrative headquarters of Chamoli district is in Gopeshwar.
'Kinnauri' is the most widely used language in Kinnaur. The languages have seen different nomenclatures in written literature. Kinnauri was mentioned as 'Kunawaree', 'Kanauri', 'Kanawari' and 'Kunawari'. It is the language of upper caste in lower Kinnaur. It is also spoken in Moorang tehsil and, Ropa and Giabong villages in upper Kinnaur. It is a Sino-Tibetan dialect cluster centered on the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618, 931, a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is surrounded by Rudraprayag District in the east, Dehradun District in the west, Uttarkashi District in the north, and Pauri Garhwal District in the south. Tehri Garhwal is a part of the Himalayas.
Uttarkashi District is a district of Garhwal division of the Uttarakhand state in northern India, and has its headquarters at Uttarkashi city. It has six Tehsils namely Barkot, Dunda, Bhatwadi, Chinyalisaur, Purola and Mori.
Garhwal District is a former district in Kumaon of British India of the United Provinces, and had an area of 5,629 sq mi (14,580 km2). It later became a part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, today it is part of the Indian state Uttarakhand.
The Dhauliganga is a turbulent Himalayan river which rises in the border regions of India and China and flows south into the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. It joins the Alaknanda, the major source stream of the Ganges river.
Harsil is a village, tourist hill station and army area located on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, on the way to Gangotri, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Uttarkashi district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Pattani, also known as Manchad, is an endangered Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The Garhwali people are an Indian ethnolinguistic group native to the Garhwal, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, who speak Garhwali, an Indo-Aryan language.
Bhotiyas are people of presumed Tibetan heritage that live along the Indo-Tibetan border in the upper reaches of the Great Himalayas, at elevations ranging from 6,500 feet (2,000 m) to 13,000 feet (4,000 m). In Uttarakhand, they inhabit seven river valleys, three in the Garhwal division and four in the Kumaon division. They follow Hinduism with Buddhism and traditionally speak West Himalayish languages related to the old Zhangzhung language. Their main traditional occupation used to be Indo-Tibetan trade, with limited amounts of agriculture and pastoralism. The Ido-Tibetan trade came to a halt following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, and was resumed only in the early 1990s under state-regulated mechanisms. Their major livelihood at present is the collection of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himalayas. Many have also migrated out of their traditional habitats to towns at lower elevations. The traditional transhumance and pastoralism have also drastically reduced.
Mana is a village in the district of Chamoli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, located at an altitude of 3,200 meters {10,500 feet}. It is located on the northern terminus of National Highway 7, Mana is the first village before the Mana Pass and is 26 kilometres from the border of India and Tibet. The village is at a distance of about 3 km from the Hindu Pilgrimage Badrinath and the two places are culturally connected with each other.
Rongpo or Rangpo is a West Himalayish language spoken in Uttarakhand, India.
The Jad people are a semi nomadic tribe living in great Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states of India. They are primarily settled in the bordering region of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Tibet. They mainly practiced sheep rearing and were shrewd traders trading with the Tibet. They were also recognised as the rulers of the Gartang Garh. The famous tourist destination Gartang Gali is also found near their village. They were entrusted by the King of Garhwal, with the important strategic task of securing the borders of Garhwal Kingdom from the Bushahr kingdom of Himachal and the Tibetan Empire. The language they speak is critically endangered almost endemic to India. Although, the language share some similarity to the kinnauri and spiti language which also Is of Tibeto-Burman family.
Thalisain is a town and tehsil of Pauri Garhwal district in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. At an elevation of 1690 metres from sea level, it is situated on a gentle slope above the right bank of Nayaar (East) river. It is in the southwestern foothills of Dudhatoli Range and at a distance of 83 kilometers from Pauri town and 95 kilometers from Gairsain, the future capital of Uttarakhand.
Sang (Jadhang) is a small hilly village in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India, and claimed by Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, China. A tributary of the Jadh Ganga, itself an important tributary of the Bhagirathi River, flows through this place.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Uttarakhand:
Niti Valley is a remote valley located in the northernmost region of Uttarakhand, India at a height of 3, 600 m. It is close to the Chinese border and Niti is the last village in the valley before the border with south Tibet. The Niti Pass was an ancient trade route between India and Tibet, and it was sealed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Since then, the border has remained sealed.