The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...
in northeastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependent on animals like sheep, cow, yak, goats and horses. The Monpa have a very close affinity with the
Sharchops
The Sharchops ( dz, ཤར་ཕྱོགས་པ, ; "Easterner") are the populations of mixed Tibetan, Southeast Asian and South Asian descent that mostly live in the eastern districts of Bhutan.
Ethnicity
The Sharchops are an Indo-Mongoloid pe ...
of
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...
. Their languages are
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people sp ...
written with the
Tibetan alphabet
The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system (''abugida'') of Indic origin used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. It has also been used for some non-Tibetic language ...
.
Name
Tibetan Buddhists texts present "Monyul" (literally, "low land") as the territory immediately to the south of Tibet below the Himalayan crest line. Its borders were imprecise, but roughly stretched from eastern Nepal to the Tawang area. "Monpa" were the people of Mon and they were distinguished from "Lopa" (also spelt "Lhopa"), who were the wild and intractable tribes of the
Assam Himalaya
Assam Himalaya is a traditional designation for the portion of the Himalaya range between the eastern border of Bhutan, on the west, and the Great Bend of the Tsangpo River, on the east. The highest peak of this range is Namcha Barwa. Other hi ...
n region. In practice, Monpa were people amenable to the proselytising efforts of the Buddhist monks, whereas Lopa wer those inimical to them.
In course of time, the various people of the historical "Monyul" came to be called by other names, such as
Lepcha for the tribes of Sikkim and
Drukpa for the people of Bhutan, but the people of Tawang continued to own the name "Monpa".
Distribution
Most Monpas live in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n state of
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...
, with a population of around 60,000, centered in the districts of
Tawang
Tawang is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The town was once the capital of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang ...
and
West Kameng
West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the distr ...
. About 20,000 live in the
Tawang district
Tawang district (Pron:/tɑ:ˈwæŋ or təˈwæŋ/) is the smallest of the 26 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern India. With a population of 49,977, it is the eighth least populous district in the country (out ...
, where they constitute about 97% of the district's population, and almost all of the remainder can be found in
West Kameng district
West Kameng (pronounced ) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the distric ...
, where they form about 77% of the district's population. A small number live in
East Kameng district
East Kameng district is one of districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern, India. It shares an international border with China in the north and district borders with West Kameng district to the west, Pakke-Kessang district to the sou ...
.
Around 9,000 Monpas live in Tibet,
[ in ]Cona County
Tsona County () or
Cona County () is a county in Shannan prefecture in southern part of Tibet region of China. The county lies immediately to the north of the McMahon Line agreed as the mutual border between British India and Tibet in 1914. Chi ...
, Pêlung
This is an alphabetical list of all populated places, including cities, towns and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China.
A
*Alamdo
*Alhar
* Arza
*Asog
B
* Baga
*Bagar
* Baidi
*Baima
* Baimai
*Baixoi
*Bamda
*Banag
*Ba ...
in Bayi District
Bayi or Chagyib District ( or ), formerly Nyingchi County, is a District of Nyingchi in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Bayi Town, the administrative capital of Nyingchi, is located within the district.
Geography
Bayi is located in the ...
, and Mêdog County
Mêdog, or Metok, or Motuo County (; ), also known as Pemako ( meaning "Lotus Array", ), is a county as well as a traditional region of the prefecture-level city of Nyingchi in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
. These places have a low altitude, especially Mêdog County, which has a tropical climate unlike the rest of Tibet.
The Monpa are sub-divided into six sub-groups because of variations in their language. They are namely:
* Tawang Monpa
The Takpa or Dakpa language (), ''Dakpakha'', known in India as Tawang Monpa, also known as Brami in Bhutan, is an East Bodish language spoken in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, and in northern Trashigang District in eastern Bhutan, m ...
* Dirang Monpa
* Lish Monpa
* Bhut Monpa
* Kalaktang Monpa
Tshangla is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodish branch closely related to the Tibetic languages. Tshangla is primarily spoken in Eastern Bhutan and acts as a lingua franca in the region; it is also spoken in the adjoining Tawang tract in the ...
* Panchen Monpa
The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he ...
History
A state of ''Lhomon'' or ''Monyul'' is believed to have existed from 500 B.C to 600 A.D. centered in the present day Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...
. In the 11th century, the Northern Monpas in Tawang came under the influence of the Tibetan Buddhism of the Nyingma
Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
and Kagyu
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
denominations. At this time the Monpa adopted the Tibetan alphabet
The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system (''abugida'') of Indic origin used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. It has also been used for some non-Tibetic language ...
for their language. Drukpa missionaries came to the region in the 13th century, and missionaries of the Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2 ...
school came in the 17th century. The Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2 ...
school is the sect to which most Monpas belong today. The Monpa were never regarded as Tibetan, even though they adopted the Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...
language and script. They were regarded as an "inferior race" to whom the civilising influence of Buddhism had to be brought from Tibet.
Around the 14th century, Monyul came under increasing Tibetan political and cultural influence, which was apparent in the years when Tsangyang Gyatso, an ethnic Monpa, became the 6th Dalai Lama
Tsangyang Gyatso (; born 1 March 1683, died after 1706) was the 6th Dalai Lama. He was an unconventional Dalai Lama that preferred the lifestyle of a crazy wisdom yogi to that of an ordained monk. His regent was killed before he was kidnapped ...
. However, Monyul, also known as the Tawang Tract, remained a remote area and sparsely populated until the middle of the 20th century.
Monyul remained an autonomous entity, with local monks based in Tawang holding great political power within the kingdom, and direct rule over the area from Lhasa was established only in the 17th century. From this time until the early 20th century, Monyul was ruled by authorities in Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
. One of the first British-Indian travellers into Monyul, Nain Singh Rawat
Nain Singh (21 October 18301 February 1882), also known as Nain Singh Rawat, was one of the first Indian explorers (dubbed "pundits") employed by the British to explore the Himalayas and Central Asia. He came from the Johar Valley in Kumaon. ...
, who visited the area from 1875 to 1876, noted that the Monpa were a conservative people who shunned contact with the outside world and made efforts to monopolise trade with Tibet. In 1914, as part of the negotiations for the Simla Convention
The Simla Convention, officially the Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet,
Tibe ...
, Britain and Tibet negotiated their mutual border roughly along the crest of the Himalayas, which came to be called the McMahon Line
The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention.
The line delimited the res ...
. The line divided the land in which the Monpas inhabited, and became a source of contention in subsequent years because of ambiguities in the specific location of the McMahon Line.
Languages
The languages spoken by the Monpa people are often referred to as the "Monpa languages". This is not a genealogical term, and several quite different languages are subsumed under it. "Monpa languages" include Kho-Bwa
The Kho-Bwa languages, also known as Bugunish and Kamengic, are a small family of languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India. The name ''Kho-Bwa'' was originally proposed by George van Driem (2001). It is based on the reconstructed ...
, East Bodish
The East Bodish languages are a small group of non-Tibetic Bodish languages spoken in eastern Bhutan and adjacent areas of Tibet and India. They include:
* Dakpa (Tawang Monpa)
* Dzala
* Nyen, including Mangde and Phobjib
* Chali
* Bumthang
* ...
, and Tshangla
Tshangla is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodish branch closely related to the Tibetic languages. Tshangla is primarily spoken in Eastern Bhutan and acts as a lingua franca in the region; it is also spoken in the adjoining Tawang tract in the ...
languages. According to Blench (2014), five groups may be distinguished:
* The Sherdukpen
The Sherdukpen are an ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Their population of 9,663 is centered in West Kameng district in the villages of Rupa, Jigaon, Thongri, Shergaon, to the south of Bomdila. All of these are at elevations be ...
, Lish
Lish ( fa, ليش, also Romanized as Līsh) is a village in Tutaki Rural District, in the Central District of Siahkal County, Gilan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a cou ...
, and Sartang languages show no obvious relationship to other languages of the region and they comprise a small language isolate cluster. These three languages are related to Bugun
The Buguns (formerly Khowa) are one of the earliest recognized schedule tribe of India, majority of them, inhabiting the Singchung Sub-Division of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. Their total population is approximately 3000. The notab ...
, and form a "Kho-Bwa
The Kho-Bwa languages, also known as Bugunish and Kamengic, are a small family of languages spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India. The name ''Kho-Bwa'' was originally proposed by George van Driem (2001). It is based on the reconstructed ...
" group together with it.
* The Tawang language
The Takpa or Dakpa language (), ''Dakpakha'', known in India as Tawang Monpa, also known as Brami in Bhutan, is an East Bodish language spoken in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, and in northern Trashigang District in eastern Bhutan, m ...
is an East Bodish language, and is a variety of Dakpa.
* The languages of the Zemithang
Zemithang or Zimithang, also called Pangchen, is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous circle in the Tawang district of Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is on the bank of the Nyamjang Chu river, which originates in Tibet and enter ...
, Mago and Thingbu
Thingbu is a settlement in Tawang district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Location
It is located on the proposed Mago-Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line, alignment map ...
villages are additional East Bodish
The East Bodish languages are a small group of non-Tibetic Bodish languages spoken in eastern Bhutan and adjacent areas of Tibet and India. They include:
* Dakpa (Tawang Monpa)
* Dzala
* Nyen, including Mangde and Phobjib
* Chali
* Bumthang
* ...
varieties that are not mutually intelligible with Tawang.
* The Tshangla language
Tshangla is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodish branch closely related to the Tibetic languages. Tshangla is primarily spoken in Eastern Bhutan and acts as a lingua franca in the region; it is also spoken in the adjoining Tawang tract in the ...
within Bodish
Bodish, named for the Tibetan ethnonym ''Bod'', is a proposed grouping consisting of the Tibetic languages and associated Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Tibet, North India, Nepal, Bhutan, and North Pakistan.
It has not been demonstrated ...
comprises closely related dialects spoken in the villages of Nyukmadung and Lubrang and the Brokpa language
The Brokpa language (Brokpa kay) ( dz , དྲོག་པ་ཁ།, དྲོགཔ་ཁ།, ''Dr˚okpakha'', ''Dr˚opkha''), also called the Merak-Sakteng language after its speakers' home regions, is a Southern Tibetic language spoken by abo ...
spoken by nomads. Other languages include Dirang
Dirang is a village in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. West Kameng is the name of the district that contains village Dirang.
Dirang is one of the 60 constituencies of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh
The Arunachal Prades ...
(also known as "Central Monpa"), Murshing and Kalaktang (also known as "Southern Monpa").
Culture
The Monpa are known for wood carving, thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scen ...
painting, carpet making and weaving. They manufacture paper from the pulp of the local sukso tree. A printing press can be found in the Tawang Monastery
Tawang Monastery, located in Tawang city of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India. It is situated in the valley of the Tawang Chu, near the small town of the same name in the northwestern ...
, where many religious texts are printed on local paper and wooden blocks, usually meant for literate Monpa Lamas. They are also known for their wooden bowls and bamboo weaving.
All animals except men and tigers are allowed to be hunted. According to tradition, only one individual is allowed to hunt the tiger on an auspicious day, upon the initiation period of the shamans, which can be likened to a trial of passage. After the tiger is killed, the jawbone, along with all its teeth, is used as a magic weapon. It is believed that its power will enable tigers to evoke the power of the guiding spirit of the ancestral tiger, who will accompany and protect the boy along his way.
Religion
The Monpa are generally adherents of the Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2 ...
sect of 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 maj ...
, which they adopted in the 17th century as a result of the influence of the Bhutanese-educated Merag Lama. The testimony to this impact was the central role of the Tawang Monastery
Tawang Monastery, located in Tawang city of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India. It is situated in the valley of the Tawang Chu, near the small town of the same name in the northwestern ...
in the daily lives of the Monpa folk. Nevertheless, both Bon
''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 ...
and elements of the pre-Buddhist faith (often also called "Bon") remain strong among the Monpas, particularly in regions nearer to the Assamese plains.[
]
Festivals
Principal Monpa festivals include the Choskar harvest festival, Losar
Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various d ...
, and Torgya
Torgya, also known as Tawang-Torgya, is an annual festival that is exclusively held in Tawang Monastery, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is held according to the Buddhist calendar days of 28th to 30th of ''Dawachukchipa'', which corresponds to 10 to ...
. During Losar, people generally offer prayers at the Tawang Monastery to pray for the coming of the Tibetan New Year. Pantomime dances are the principal feature of the Ajilamu festival.
Buddhist lamas read religious scriptures in the gompa
A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universi ...
s for a few days during Choskar. Thereafter, the villagers walk around the cultivated fields with sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...
s on their back. The significance of this festival is to pray for better cultivation and the prosperity of the villagers, and protect the grains from insects and wild animals.
Society
The traditional society of the Monpa was administered by a council of six ministers locally known as ''Trukdri''. The members of this council are known as ''Kenpo'', literally the “Abbot”. The Lamas also hold honored positions, two monks known as ''Nyetsangs'', and two other ''Dzongpen
Dzongpen ( Dzongkha: རྗོང་དཔོན་; Wylie: ''rjong-dpon''; also spelled "Dzongpon," "Dzongpön," "Jongpen," "Jongpon," "Jongpön") is a Dzongkha term roughly translated as governor or dzong lord. Bhutanese dzongpens, prior to un ...
''.
The man is the head of the family and he is the one who makes all decisions. In his absence, his wife takes over all responsibilities. When a child is born, they have no strict preference for a boy or a girl.
Lifestyle and dress
The traditional dress of the Monpa is based on the Tibetan chuba
A chuba is a long sheepskin coat made of thick Tibetan wool worn by many of the nomadic peoples of high altitude in the cold mountains of Tibet.
The traditional sherpa clothing is distinctive to solu-khumba, the basic garment of the sherpas; t ...
. Both men and women wear headwear made of yak hair, with long tassels. The women tend to wear a warm jacket and a sleeveless chemise that reaches down to the calves, tying the chemise round the waist with a long and narrow piece of cloth. Ornaments are made of silver, corals and turquoise. Sometimes a person wears a cap with a single peacock feather in a felt hats.
Due to the cold climate of the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
, the Monpa, like most of the other ethnic groups in the region, construct their houses of stone and wood with plank floors, often accompanied with beautifully carved doors and window frames. The roof is made with bamboo matting, keeping their house warm during the winter season. Sitting platforms and hearths in the living rooms are also found in their houses.
The extreme climatic conditions have an influence on the Monpas food habits and sedentary lifestyle. They intake substantial amount of cheese, salt, and meat with alcohol to cope with extreme cold. The butter tea and locally made distilled liquor from maize, millet, barley, buckwheat or rice, etc. known as Chang, Baang-Chang, Sin-Chang, Ara or Arak are popular drinks among Monpas. However, the gradual influx of tourists from other parts of India and with the influence of the western culture among educated younger generation there is a radical changes in the youth's diet habits. The commercially processed store-bought foods and fast foods like chips, burgers and samosa, and drinks like cappuccino coffees, and commercial alcohols, are widely prevalent today.
Economy
The Monpa practice shifting and permanent types of cultivation. Cattle, yaks, cows, pigs, sheep and fowl are kept as domestic animals.
To prevent soil erosion from planting crops on hilly slopes, the Monpa have terraced many slopes. Cash crops such as paddy, maize, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, peppers, pumpkin and beans are planted.
Notable Monpas
* Ngawang Tashi Bapu
Geshe Ngawang Tashi Bapu a.k.a. Lama Tashi (born 22 February 1968 in Thembang village of West Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh, India) is former Principal Chant Master of Drepung Loseling Monastery, one of the largest monasteries of the Dalai Lama. I ...
, popularly known as "Lama Tashi", Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nominee in the Traditional World Music category, 2006.
* Tsangyang Gyatso
Tsangyang Gyatso (; born 1 March 1683, died after 1706) was the 6th Dalai Lama. He was an unconventional Dalai Lama that preferred the lifestyle of a crazy wisdom yogi to that of an ordained monk. His regent was killed before he was kidnapped ...
, 6th Dalai Lama
* Dorjee Khandu
Dorjee Khandu (19 March 1955 – 30 April 2011) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He was re elected in 2009 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.
Personal life
;Early life
Dorjee Khandu was ...
, former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Arunachal Pradesh is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority ...
* Pema Khandu
Pema Khandu (born 21 August 1979) is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He is son of former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu. Since assuming office of chief minister in July 2016, he and his gov ...
, son of Dorjee Khandu
Dorjee Khandu (19 March 1955 – 30 April 2011) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He was re elected in 2009 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.
Personal life
;Early life
Dorjee Khandu was ...
and the current Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Arunachal Pradesh is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority ...
See also
* Tshangla
Tshangla is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Bodish branch closely related to the Tibetic languages. Tshangla is primarily spoken in Eastern Bhutan and acts as a lingua franca in the region; it is also spoken in the adjoining Tawang tract in the ...
* Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
* South Tibet
South Tibet is a claimed area by China with the literal translation of the Chinese term '' (), which may refer to different geographic areas:
* The southern part of Tibet, covering the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley between S ...
* Limbu
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
**
**
**
External links
The Moinba ethnic minority (from the Chinese government website)
North East Zone Cultural Centre
Ethnologue profile
Asia Harvest ethnic profile
{{authority control
Ethnic groups officially recognized by China
Ethnic groups in Bhutan
Ethnic groups in Tibet
Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh
Former kingdoms