The khas people, also known as Indo Khas Aryan, are an ethnic group of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, India. They are found in Lahaul tehsil,

Lahaul and Spiti district The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...

, predominantly in the

Bhaga Bhaga (), is the Vedic god of wealth, as well as a term for "lord, patron" and "wealth, prosperity". He is an Āditya, a group of societal deities who are the sons of Aditi. Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a shar ...

and Chandra valleys, but also to a lesser extent in Pattani valley, Miyar Valley, in the upper reaches of Pangi, Himachal Pradesh and

Paddar Paddar, also spelled Padar (), is a Sub-District and remote valley in the Kishtwar district of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India. It falls in the Jammu division, Jammu division. It consists of ...

valley,

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. Their religion is predominantly

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

with

animistic Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...

and

shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

practices.

Caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

wise, they are identified as

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

, Thakur or Kshetri although caste rules are not as rigid as in the plains. Historically, 3-4 prominent families of the area were accorded the titles of

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star Films * Rana (2012 film), an Indian Kannada-language action drama * Rana, a 1998 Telugu-language action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy * R ...

, Wazir or Thakur by the kings of Chamba,

Kullu Kullu () is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport ...

Ladakh 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 Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

for the purpose of general administration and revenue collection. They have a mix of martial traditions alongside shamanistic and lamaistic beliefs. Certain families/clans used to be significant

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s/ jagirdars. There is a significant cultural and ethnic mixing due to the region passing under the hegemony of rulers of Ladakh, Kullu and Chamba over the last many centuries. The language spoken differs from valley to valley with some dialects being very close to Kumaoni, while others are mixed with Chambyali and Dari. They are progressive, enterprising, honest and were involved in the centuries old India-Tibet-Nepal trading routes. Organized into family groups/clans with clan names ending in the suffix "-pa" (eg - Barpa, Karpa, Tholakpa, Cherjipa, Gerumshingpa, Khingopa) similar to the "-ta" suffix (eg- Khimta, Zinta, Brakta, Bragta, etc.)found in the family/clan names of the Simla area. They use a native tree, ''

Corylus jacquemontii ''Corylus jacquemontii'' (Jacquemont's hazelnut or Indian tree hazel) is a species of hazel, found in Asia, within the Himalayas and from Afghanistan through to W. Nepal. It is a small tree or shrub, with grey bark, ovate or obovate (teardrop-sh ...

'' as fuel source (house fires),

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

(for livestock) and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

but the trees also yield edible nuts. They can be used with parched rice.

Art and craft in Himachal

The art and craft of any region is a reflection of its environment, people and traditions. This statement is apt for Negi and Bodh tribes of Himachal Pradesh, which borrows elements from its scenic surroundings to create “pahari” jewellery, breathing a sense of rigour and sturdiness. While some communities have unique traditions, some ornaments are common to all. These include neck ornaments like hansli or small pendants called toke and the most cherished necklaces called coin necklaces.

References

Bibliography

* * Scheduled Tribes of Himachal Pradesh Buddhist communities of India {{india-ethno-stub

Art and craft in Himachal

See also

References

Bibliography