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Nomadic pastoralism of Changthang, Ladakh, at a crossroads: changing socioeconomic characteristics, livelihood and livestock composition

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Abstract

Nomadic pastoralism has been the mainstay of the economy of the Changthang region of Ladakh, nestling in the lofty Indian Trans-Himalaya. Pastoralist nomads are composed of three distinct groups located at Rupsho, Kharnak and Korzok, who rear a variety of livestock such as sheep, goats, horses, yaks. Transformations have always occurred, but over the last few years, the pace of change has accelerated. In this paper, I briefly present information on nomadic pastoralism in Changthang and also examine socioeconomic and cultural changes that have been occurring over recent decades. There is a general trend towards livelihood diversification, changes in socioeconomic characteristics, livestock holdings and composition of herds. The rise in demand and value of pashmina wool has resulted in an increase of Pashmina goats with a decline in the number of sheep. Shift can be seen in pastoral production systems from a mobile lifestyle to sedentary existence. There has been greater nuclearisation of households with subsequent problems of inadequate family labour for herding.

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Map 1
Fig. 1

Source- Clicked by author

Fig. 2

Source-Clicked by author

Map 2

Source-field survey

Map 3

Source: field survey

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Rupsho pa and Kharnak pa are the two nomadic communities of Changthang.

  2. Goba (Tib. 'go ba) in local language refers to the head of the village, who plays a vital role in the decision-making of nomads.

  3. Pashmina, also called cashmere, is thin, soft and finer wool of Changra goat.

  4. La (Tib. Lha) in Ladakhi means mountain pass.

  5. gompa( Tib. dgon-pa) is a Ladakhi term for Monastery or religious place which is there in almost all the Buddhist villages of Ladakh. Most of the gompas are situated at the highest point of the village.

  6. King Senge Namgyal of the Namgyal dynasty ruled Ladakh in the sixteenth century and built the historic Leh Palace.

  7. Rebo (Tib. Re bo) term used for tent of Changthang’s nomads. These tents used to be black in color and were woven of yak hair.

  8. Khang-chen (Tib. Khang chen) is the main house/tent in Ladakh, which is the traditional taxpaying house. In the absence of son in family, husband is brought into the household (Magpa: the male moves in with the wife’s family) for the eldest daughter.

  9. Khang-chung (Tib. Khang chung) is the small house/tent in Ladakh, which is the subsidiary house.

  10. Stargyuk: (Tib. ta gyuk) is a local term for horse race.

  11. Nyerpa (Tib. gnyer pa) are those main (khang-chen) household, which play an important role during occasion of stargyuk event. One male member from Nyerpa family has to take part in horse race. Horse race is followed by dance (which is locally known as jabro (Tib. zhabs bro) and feast.

  12. Rilbang (Tib. ril mang) is a local term for dung of goats and sheep.

  13. Rikpa (Tib. rig pa) is a term use in Changthang for the manure of goats and sheep.

  14. Burtse (Tib. bur tse): Artemisia sp., local term for bush, which is one of the main sources of fuel for cooking and heating.

  15. Khullu (Tib. Khu lu) local term for yak (Bos grunniens) wool.

  16. Losar: (Tib. Lo gsar) is the Ladakhi new year. It is celebrated to mark the beginning of the new year of the Buddhist community chasing away of the old year, with its bad or inauspicious elements.

  17. Ponka nugu is the name of one of the pasturelands.

  18. Rarzi: (Tib. Rar zi) is a local term for herder.

  19. 1 kanal is equal to 605 square yard or 505 square meter approximately.

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Acknowledgements

The material presented in this paper was collected with financial assistance from the University Grants Commission’s (UGC), New Delhi, in the form of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). I am deeply grateful to my supervisors, Professor Harjit Singh and Dr Sanjeev Sharma, Center for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi for their valuable guidance, constant support and encouragement at all stages of my work. I would also like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments which helped me improve this paper. I am also thankful to my friend Norbu Tundup for his help in preparing maps. Finally, the remarkable support and contribution of the people of Changthang, especially Rupsho, is praiseworthy.

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  1. Centre for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, 110067, India

    Padma Dolker

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This work is a part of my MPhil Dissertation which I submitted to the Center for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi in 2017, under the supervision of Prof. Harjit Singh. I conducted the field survey in Samad Rokchen, Changthang, Ladakh between the months of August and December 2016. I went again to the field area and conducted a survey in the autumn months of 2018. In the beginning, I took the consent of the village head and other members who were representing this community, to undertake this survey. Since I belong to the Ladakh region, I also explained in detail my study in our native language and took consent from each respondent before household surveys and individual interviews. Consent was also obtained before photography. My being from the same Ladakh region made the communication and trust easier for collecting the relevant information. I received a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in 2015 from the University Grant Commission (UGC), Government of India, during my MPhil, which included undertaking this study.

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Dolker, P. Nomadic pastoralism of Changthang, Ladakh, at a crossroads: changing socioeconomic characteristics, livelihood and livestock composition. SN Soc Sci 2, 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00302-7

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