Bhotiyas are people of presumed Tibetan heritage that live along the Indo-Tibetan border in the upper reaches of the

Great Himalaya The Great Himalayas or Greater Himalayas or Himadri is the highest mountain range of the Himalayan Range.Hussain, MajidGeography of India/ref> The world's highest peak, Mount Everest, as well as other "near−highest" peaks, such as Kangchenjunga, ...

s, at elevations ranging from to . In

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, they inhabit seven river valleys, three in the

Garhwal division Garhwal (IPA: /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) 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 ...

(Jadh, Mana and Niti) and four in the

Kumaon division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounde ...

(Johar, Darma, Byans and Chaudans). Their main traditional occupation used to be Indo-Tibetan trade, with limited amounts of agriculture and

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands ( pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anim ...

. The customary Indo-Tibetan trade drastically stopped following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, and was resumed in the early 1990s under state-regulated mechanisms. These days, medicinal and aromatic plant collection is a major livelihood among this group, alongside by out-migration for education and jobs. Transhumance and pastoralism have drastically reduced in prevalence among this group too. They follow

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and traditionally speak West Himalayish languages.

Etymology

The name, Bhotiya (also spelt "Bhotia"), derives from the word Bod (བོད་), which is the

Classical Tibetan Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 12th century until the modern day, it particularly refers to the language of early canonical texts translated from o ...

name for Tibet. It was the term used by the British to refer to the borderland people, due to a presumed resemblance to the Tibetans. The Government of India continues to use the term. Bhotiyas themselves self-describe themselves as ''Rung''. Possible etymologies of the term include the Byangko word for mountain and the Tibetan term for valley (''Rang-skad'' = valley language). The Kumaonis refer to them as ''Shauka'' which means 'money' or 'rich'.

Ethnic groups

The Bhotiyas of Uttarakhand are scattered over the seven main river valleys in the three border districts of Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi. The seven major Bhotiya groups in Uttarakhand are the Johari, Darmiya, Chaudansi, Byansi, Marchha (Mana Valley), Tolchha (Niti Valley) and Jadh.

Rangkas

The isolated Rangkas (''Rang, Rung'') tribe has a population of 600 and is found in the outskirts of the Mahakali valley. According to

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensi ...

, the Rangkas are ethnically related or are of the Johar tribe.

Byansis

The religion practised by the Byansis leans towards

Bön ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

Animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...

, with influences from

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

and

Jadh

The Jad people are Bhotiyas who lived in Nelang and Jadung valley, some were relocated to the Bhagorathi valley area after the 1960s Indo-China political conflict. The religion practiced by jadhs is

Rongpa The rongpas were the major bhotiya subgroup they lives at the indo tibetan border of chamoli and rudraprayag the religion practiced by rongpas are Hinduism their Ishta Devta is

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

and Kedarnath.

Social status

, the Uttarakhandi Bhotiyas were classified as a

Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

under the Indian government's reservation program of positive discrimination.

Population

As per the 2011 Census, there were a total of 39,106 Bhotia in Uttarakhand with ST status. Of them, 37,873 were Hindu and 10,100 were Buddhist. The most popular languages among the Bhotia are Kumauni (13,150 speakers), Garhwali (5,765), Hindi (5,809), Bhotia (7,592), Halam (5,300) and Rongpa (481). There were a total of 510 births in 2010, corresponding to a birth rate of 13.04 per 1,000.

References

External links

Rongpas of niti-mana ghati
{{Uttarakhand Ethnic groups in India Social groups of Uttarakhand Scheduled Tribes of Uttarakhand