Social Change, Religion and Medicine among Brokpas of Ladakh Change religion.pdfSOCIAL CHANGE,...

INTRODUCTION

Culture and medicine primarily focus on thedialectical relationship between cultural systemsand the organisation, institutional practices,power and thoughts of medical knowledge.Societies everywhere develop set of cognitionfor defining disease: system of healing andcuring. The medical patterns occupy a placewithin the total configuration of society. Variedsocial institutions and practices have arisenacross time and space simply because affliction

and sickness, pain and suffering, morbidity andmortality are a ubiquitous part of the humanconditions. The relationship between culture andmedicine expands beyond a strictly dyadicrelationship and include numerous sets of social,political, economic, philosophic, religious andethical issues. The present study focuses onrelationship between religion and medicine incontext of social change among Brokpa, adistinctive cultural ethnic community nestled incentral Ladakh on an offbeat track. A differentlanguage, customs and racial characteristics and

© Kamla-Raj 2008 Ethno-Med., 2(2): 77-102 (2008)

Social Change, Religion and Medicine among Brokpas of Ladakh

Veena Bhasin

Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India

KEYWORDS Human conditions; medical knowledge; disease; healing and curing; ethical issues

ABSTRACT The present study focuses on relationship between religion and medicine in context of social changeamong Brokpa, a distinctive cultural ethnic community nestled in central Ladakh on an offbeat track. The Brokpasof Dah-Bema are the one of the last remnants of an ancient and unique culture known generally under the ‘Dards’.For Brok-pa ethnicity is the only form of defining status. The socio-religious belief system of Brokpa has itsbasis in the concept of pollution. In the Brokpa villages, strangers were and are not welcome. Brokpa practice twocontradictory religions side by side- traditional ‘Minaro’ religion (spirit worship) as well as Lamaism. Theirreligious beliefs and rituals were originally in essence demonolatry, ancestor worship and nature worship. With thepassage of time, these religious beliefs have absorbed Buddhist ritual and practices as well. Brokpa’s rites ofexorcism are the use of prayers, fumigations (burning of juniper) and animal sacrifice. Brokpa place greatemphasis on coercive rites of exorcising and destroying demons. Brokpa worship nature-mountains, flowers, waterspirits, earth spirit and ibex horns a natural out come of their ecological conditions. According to Brokpa traditions,shepherds who come down from pasture grounds are permeating with purity. Traditions prohibit women fromcoming close to the Juniper shrine (Chillgi Deuha) at Dah-Drouk (pasture ground). One can best comprehend theBrokpa medicine largely in terms of cultural belief and definition in their environmental setting. The Brokpavillage under study juxtaposed between two cultural, social and religious systems. Cultural values and context playa greater role in conceptual frameworks to understand health and illness perceptions. In Brokpa culture, the causeand effect of illness for all time rests on religious beliefs. Four systems of treatment are available to them: herbal;ritual care; biomedicine and amchi medicine beside home remedies. Brokpa admit personal use of herbs, spiritualcure and preventive measures. They integrate herbs, especially Chilligi (Juniper) into religious belief pattern andspiritual cleaning. The Juniper (Chillgi) tree holds a special significance for Brokpa, as it cleans the atmosphere ofevil spirits. Brokpa make use of juniper in their religious ceremonies as anti-pollutant. In Dah, local discourse oncauses on sickness is changing along with changing environmental and social conditions. The diseases not relatedto local environment are not treatable by local methods. Dah provides a striking example of a culture and society,which subjected to strong outside influences. The pressure of these outside influences has caused increase in theirceremonies of traditional folk religion as it provide a coping mechanism for Brokpa to deal with rapid changes thathave occurred during recent decades. In Dah, the medical power, in the past transformed in to social power becauseof the Lha-bab’s monopoly on therapeutic care and the people’s dependency on them. Local accounts of healthand sickness among Brokpa suggest that the explanations of ill health are undergoing subtle redefinition as theydraw comparisons between past and present conditions. It is interesting to note that Brokpa of Dah, while remainedwithin the traditional framework through dependency on each other, and through fear of supernaturals, yet in Dah,pragmatism proves stronger than belief, at least in the matter of health care. For health care, they mostly dependon biomedicine along with their precautionary rituals and taboos. However, in the past lha-bab were moreimportant than amchi, because they specialised in centric modes of healing. The social relations of healingembedded in the local setting. The priestly officials- Lha-bdag, brongopa and lha-bab play an important rolein being a means and channel to express and deal with social suffering involved in the Brokpa’s loss of fear ofloosing identity, ethnic discrimination and recent changes. Ritual taboos, complex of pollution purity andorganised system of ritual prescription regulates the life within the village as well as between and within eachhousehold.

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religious practices of the Dards are still presentin the population groups’ of Dah-Hanu andChiktan-Garkun in Ladakh.

The planned development sponsored bygovernment of India is changing society rapidly.Social change refers to processes of alternativesin social values, beliefs, legal system and socialinstitutions. This change also affects people ineveryday life, their thinking, acting and reactingto change. The medical system is one of thesocial structures that are changing by modernlife. Health care is one of the priorities of theIndian government to create and sustain humandevelopment. The actual process oftransformation and interaction is culture and areaspecific. H. R. Rivers who long back affirmed that‘the practice of medicine is a social process’ (1924/1999: 55) pointed the importance of medicalsystems and its practitioners. River’s, Clement’s(1932) and Ackernecht’s (1946) medicalanthropological studies were restricted to onlytraditional or comparatively simple societiesbecause of conceptual limitations. Their modelswere essentially ‘static’. Paul’s (1955) systemmodel approach made possible to study themedical systems of modern or complex societiesas it is a dynamic model. It made possible to studynature and consequences of change. Turner(1968) dealt with the social function of healingrituals and Foucault (1973) depicted medicalpractitioners as agents of social control.

Frankenberg(1980,!981) and Camaroff (1981,!982) have pointed out that outside factorsinfluence local pattern of resort, arguing that thearrival of modernity usually leads to demise oftraditional medical practices, to the benefits ofcosmopolitan medicine. Kendall’s study (2001)in Korea described how modernity challenges‘superstitious’ healing practices and define themas ancient relics utilised by ‘backward’ culturalgroups. However, Kendall argues that despitethe power differential, these healing practicescontinue to thrive. Evans (2004) reported thatthe Government of Vietnam has bannedshamanistic rituals, yet local gods and shamanshave strong following despite officialdisapproval. One of the largest and most widespread of the belief systems is Dao Man, themother Goddess religion, wherein Len Dorgpractices spirit possession rituals, where spiritmediums channel various god and goddessesconnected to the cult. Common people go tospirit mediums for a divination and a ritual for

healing and pragmatic purposes. Harris (2001)study of Iban of Sarawak explores the significanceof shamanism in the politics of healing, on thecusp between western anthropological imagi-nation and the traditional. The social relations inIban longhouse communities in Sarawak arecentral to the satisfactory enactment of healingwork. Medical knowledge becomes the sight ofthat difference and the incorporation ofindigenous medical knowledge becomes part ofcultural identity. Dean (1978) believes that illnessbeliefs are sensitive indicators of social changein a society. Following her study in Ugandansociety, she came to conclusion that illness canbe regarded as social phenomenon as a way toget at people’s religious and cosmological ideaswithout inquiring about them directly.

“Tradition and modernity are widely used aspolar opposite in linear theory of social change”(Gusfeld, 1967). Traditional societies are neitherstatic, nor inconsistent or structurallyhomogenous. The relation between traditionaland modern does not necessarily involve dis-placement, conflict and exclusiveness. Moder-nity does not necessarily weaken tradition. “Bothtradition and modernity form the basis ofideologies and movements in which the polaropposites are converted into aspirations, buttraditional forms may supply support for, as wellas against change” (Gusfeld, 1967).

Some important questions have emergedabout the impact of global political and economicstructures and processes on health and disease.It expand the content within which medicalanthropology operates and brings it closer tothe perspective of public health practice byexplicitly seeking to contribute to the creation ofglobal health systems that serve the people (Bear,Singer and Susser, 1997:33). Critical medicalanthropological studies focuses on health caresystems and how they function at multiple levels,including- the individual level of patientexperience; the micro level of physician-patentrelationship; the intermediate level of localhealth care systems, particular hospitals andclinics; and the macro social level of globalpolitical-economic systems.

Kleinman’s (1981) differentiation of disease,health and sickness is a tool to approach thedisease/health concepts of experts (biomedics,traditional healers) and patients as well as theirsocial context. Kleinman’s ExplanatoryModel(EMs) play an important part in exploring

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the many healing systems used in India and inclarifying the reasons why patients claim certaintypes of healing. Klienman (1997) furtherintroduced the cultural interpretative model toprovide a means of balancing the externalised,objective view of disease with the subjectiveexperience of illness.

Lock and Scheper-Hughes (1990) developedthe context of sufferer experience as an importantdimension to the study of health. Theydeveloped a metaphorical framework of the ‘threebodies’ to facilitate the understanding of multiplelayers of health and illness- the individual body;the social body; and the body politic. Sickness,in this framework, is implicit as a “form ofcommunicator” among all three levels, a kind ofindividual-level expression of social truths andsocial contradiction.

The health-sickness process is a tangibleveracity for all people all over the world. Anystudy of social change, of outside influences onlocal social and medical structures must firstexamine the local ethnographic context, beforetaking the next- crucial steps of examining largerstructural factors. Health and illness cannot bestudied in isolation from the socio-culturalcontext they take place in (Klienman, 1980) andeven the medical role of the practitioner hasstrong social implications.

Healers across the world might work ondifferent premise and follow diverse practiceshowever, the main goal is to cure sickness andmaintain good health. As traditional practitionersare not a homogenous body, they performdifferent social roles. They act as shamans,oracles, faith healers, herbalists, bonesetters,traditional birth attendants, and institutionalisedor non-institutionalised practitioners of classicalmedical traditions like Ayurveda, Homeopathy,Unani, Siddha and Tibetan Medicine. Traditionalhealers like shamans, oracles and faith healersare being considered as cultural psychothera-pists by Klienman and Sung (1979), Finkler (1980),Csordas and Klienman, (1990), Eigner (2001). Allcultures have shared ideas about sickness, healthand health maintenance. These beliefs helppeople make sense of the world around them.Both lay people and health professionals tendto combine their society’s health belief systemswith knowledge gained through first handexperience.

The traditional healer is an expert in curingdiseases with out having basic knowledge of

disease causation and treatment. However, heshares the knowledge of disease, which ispertinent to that particular culture. Heunderstands the concepts of illness and knowsall about causation and origin of disease as restof the members of the society comprehend. Theconcept of “person” was at the core of thetraditional Cosmo vision. This united theperceptions and functions of the physical bodywith the concept of subjective entities thatencouraged it, gave it strength, vigor andresistance. Under colonialism, our culturesuffered conceptual losses due to the clash ofdifferent visions of the cosmos. With the adventof modernisation, new techniques and naturalresources from other parts of the world broughtand incorporated according to necessities. As aresource for health care, traditional medicine stillbenefits ethnic groups and rural, urban andpopular cultures in our country. As an alternativepractice to official medicine, it retains itseffectiveness and social legitimacy for largenumber of people.

Traditional healers are an integral part of theculture and communities in which they carry outtheir work. Since for majority of the world’spopulation, the traditional/folk healers are for oneor another reason, the only available provider oftherapeutic care. Often functioning biomedicalfacilities are not available in remote areas or if atall present, people do not utilise their services.Various healers in medical-‘culture’ claim andpresent different translations of culture. The useand practice of this knowledge is a responsibilitythat implies socially recognised and legitimisedpower. The traditional healer had a specific namein each culture, had the authority and respect ofhis community for his commitment to maintainthe well-being of everybody. In addition togeneral health problems, they also treat problemsnot considered as sickness by biomedicaldoctors- the culture-bound syndromes. Thetraditional healer, as defined by the W.H.O (1976),is a person who is recognised by the communityin which he lives as competent to provide healthcare by using vegetable, animal and mineralsubstances and certain other methods based onthe social, cultural and religious background, aswell as on the knowledge, attributes and beliefsthat are prevalent in the community, regardingphysical, mental and social well-being and thecausation of disease and disability. Some of thetraditional practitioners are located on the lowest

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hierarchical ranks in their communities, playingonly a marginal social role beyond their medicalpractice (Indian Traditional Birth Attendant),while others have considerable status like thepractitioners of the classical medical systems. Inmany other communities, the traditional healersplay an important role. In many societies, thetraditional practitioners are complementary tobiomedical care to treat health problems of bothphysical and non-physical type (Bhasin, 1997,1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008).

This study deals with Brokpa Dards of Dah,part of Ladakh in India under the administrationof Jammu and Kashmir state. It concerns withmedicine, as a social institution and its relationwith contemporary social and religious life ofBrokpa and Brokpas’ relationship with otherLadakhis, Indian national society, transnationalpolitical, economic and health agendas as wellas individual and institutional relations to medicalpractitioners of indigenous, traditional andbiomedicine.

Few anthropological studies in the area havegiven an interesting account of Brokpa, describ-ing them as casteless unlike other Dard communi-ties (Drew 1875). Dr. Francke conducted themost exhaustive study among Brokpa in 1907.He has studied all the 18 hym-ns of these people,which they sing during their traditional festivalsdescribing their origin, their ancestors and culturaltraits. Heber and Heber (1926) published theirexperiences of 12 years spent in the Ladakh,with a description of its people; culture andreligion, of the constraints of the climate, its faunaand flora have described some interesting factsabout Brokpa. Dr. Michel Peissel (1984) undertookresearch in these areas about the origin of theBrokpa or the ‘Minaro’ as he prefers to callthem. Dr. Peissel work has been criticised forthe selective treatment of the sources from whichhe got information. “Some of his observationsmade without quoting any authority are start-ling”, {cited from Book Review by Janet Rizviand G.M Kakpori in India Inter-national CentreQuarterly 1984). E. Joldan (1985) has describedthe Harvest Festival of Buddhist Dards ofLadakh. Rohit Vohra (1988) has investigatedtheir preBrokpa traditions. Many married theMinaro women and accepted the Minarotraditions. The Bononah festival is one suchtradition. The present inhabitants claim that theybelong to the same stock and that the Minaroin ancient times had migrated from Gilgit as is

evident from the songs. Kloos (2004) study ofBuddhist Dards of Hanu analysed the social roleof amchi, the local Tibetan healer from severalprospective. He examined the roles, social status,and power of the healers incorporating both localhistory and present status of the amchi medicineand its protagonists. He has shown how the newinfluences of market economy and changingsocial norms have created existential crises forlocal healers, resulting in a reduction of theirpractices and a corresponding decline in theirsocial status. Despite Hanu being the only non-Tibetan region where amchi, medicine is practicedin a traditional way, and regardless of its excep-tional history and culture, the author has notdiscussed the folk medicine of the area.

The present paper is based on informationgathered from the field area in the year 1991inhabited by Brokpa Dards. Data from secondarysources regarding development and socialchange in the area during last decades were alsolooked into.

AREA AND PEOPLE

Some 130 kilometers north-east of Kargil, thereare villages of Dah, Hano (Hano Goma and HanoYogma), Darchik and Garkon, situated on thenorthern bank of Indus on the road to Baltistan,inhabited by Dards (Fig. 1). Their neighboursknow the inhabitants of these villages, as Brokpa.The word Brok means to Tibetan a highpastureland and Brokpa must mean a ‘High-lander’(Drew, 1875, pp. 433). They are about 1920 in all(Census of India, 1981). Brokpa have theirvillages at the narrow valleys along the IndusRiver, surround-ed by snow-capped moun-tains. The Brokpas inhabiting these villages areBuddhists. The Muslim Dard groups inhabit fewvillages in Ladakh (Dras village) and in north ofKashmir in Gurials and Tilel. The Muslim Dardsfrom Marol in Baltistan to the Buddhist Dards inLadakh formed a contiguous line along the Indus.In the 17th century the border between Ladakhand Baltis-tan at Gur-Gur-Do, separated theDards. The Buddhist Brokpa Dard villages inthe last few years have had an arbitraryjurisdictional division once again as subject ofLeh District and Kargil Tehsil. AdministrativelyDah and Hano are in Leh District and Darchik andGarkon are in Kargil Tehsil resulting in Buddhistinfluence in the earlier and Muslim influence inthe latter. Buddhist Brokpas of Dah speak

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Brokskad, an offshoot of Dardic linguistic group.Villages of Dah-Bema, Hano Yogma etc. were underthe Kardari or collectorate of the Skurbuchan.

The Brokpa were once a fierce people whoresisted the authority and the culture of the Tibetankings of Ladakh. Brokpa chieftain named Apo ThoShali chose death by immurement rather than submitto tribute labour (begar). A Ladakhi King prohibitedthe Brokpa of Hanu to speak their own language;in return, he granted them the distinction of beingofficially ‘Ladakhi’ instead of ‘looked down upon’Brokpa. Due to this Brokpa of Hanu, not only losttheir mythic lore, but also eventually startedpracticing amchi medicine. Because of this, theyare the only non-Tibetan ethnic group practicingTibetan amchi medicine. Brokpa speak Brok-skadat home or with neighbours, Ladakhi with peoplefrom other villages, Urdu with army men andoutsiders, broken English with tourists, humlatest tunes from Hindi films, read Urdu andsay their prayers in Bodhi and Shina.

The origin of Brokpas is lost in antiquity.Phenotypically, they have Mediterranean featuresand fair skins, many of them have blond hair andblue eyes. They have preserved in their languageand social customs many archaic traits of theirAryan ancestors through endogamy and oraltradition. According to Vohra (1989 a) the Dardsliving now in Dah-Hanu have probably migrated1000 to 800 years ago, and the legend of threebrothers-Galo, Melo and Dulo relate to that time(see, Vohra for details). At that time there alreadylived some people called Minaro (Vohra, 1984b:14)in the area, who were Dards too, though from anolder migration. In the course of their migration,the first migrants settled at Sanid, which forms theeastern most helmet of Dah (Francke, 1905: 98-99).

The Brokpa of Dah, residing in a homogenouscultural area of Ladakh, surrounded by otherethnic groups on all sides Ladakhis, Purigpa andBaltis have preserved some Dardic specialties likepattern of dress, headdress, dispute solving mecha-nism and some ancient religious ceremonies.Their social organisation and religious systemsshow a continuity of traditional beliefs engrossedwith Tibetan Buddhist ideas. However, differingin certain traits, Brokpa has adopted specificsocial institutions of traditional Buddhist struc-ture. These social institutions have ascertainedthe success of Ladakhi way of life. (Bhasin,1992). For Brokpa ethnicity is the only form ofdefining status. The socioreligious belief sys-tem of Brokpa has its basis in the concept of

pollution. In the Brokpa villages, strangers wereand are not welcome. Brokpa purity /pollution beliefpostulate that the primary effects of pollution areon the individual, although ultimately if the pollu-tion is prevalent and widespread, the communityas a whole may suffer. The effects are usuallymental or emotional, rather than physical.

The Buddhist Dards have adopted specificsocial institutions of traditional Buddhist socialstructure. The foremost of these are the lawsconcerning land tenure and marriage practices.These laws are to preserve intact, through thegenerations, a man’s house and his fields. Familiesusually utilise their own labour for working onland, and villages have an intricate and extremedemocratic system of sharing water from mountainchannels, co-operation among families for heavyand labourious agricultural tasks, for birth, marri-age and death ceremonies. There is hardly anygender specific division of labour and relationsbetween sexes are most balanced.

Construction of road, improvement in themeans of transportation and opening up ofLadakh for tourists has contributed to the exposureof these people to outsiders. The new economicopportunities intimidate traditional social andenvironmental balance. Four wars, the closureof border, the considerable presence of Indian Armyand slow commercialisation of agriculture haveplayed an important role in the socio-economic lifeof the people.

Dah-Bema

Dah village stretches along a narrow extre-mely green ledge above the otherwise barrengorge of the Indus River. The climate of the areais comparatively warmer than the other parts ofLadakh. Sun shines brightly during summer; asa result, the snowmelt flows towards the villageand irrigates their fields. According to the legendof Gelo, Milo and Dulo, Dulo’s son Gyalsingyeborn in a nirda pasture established his settlementhere by shooting an arrow (dah). He found it at aspring - Dhaphangsa , the source of water of thevillage. He dug an irrigation channel and plantedapricot trees. Even now, there is a hole at theplace and Brokpa of Dah offer chilligi andwomen do not go near it. The Indian army isbuilding a road to Nirda because of bordertrouble between India and Pakistan. Nearby thereis a small pasture on other side of Indus-Baldeznallah. The village is not visible from the road

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that snakes along the slope below it. There is noshop or tea stall near it but few locals runguesthouses in their homes where outsiders stay.Dah is a pleasant green village. It has densevegetation with variety of herbs, shrubs and treesviz. shukpa, stagpa, umbu, seva, skyrepa,spenme, kangtakari, askuta, garma, yuled,kumout. The foliage is thick and light filtersthrough the lattice of the grapevine and trees. Astream runs in background. Dah is situated onthe right bank of Indus, below Hano Yogma (Fig.l). Hano-Goma or Yogma, are two villages on theHanu stream. Dah, latitude 34°37’ longitude76°33’ is at an elevation of about 3,000 meters.Four hundreds and thirteen persons at adistance of 163 kilometers from Leh inhabit Dahwith a total area of 171.59 hectares (accordingto village papers). The houses are scattered,surrounded by agricultural lands. The areaabounds with apricots, walnuts, willows andpoplars. Traveling up the Dah stream there areseveral summer habitations, which they occupy fora short while or longer according to the height atwhich they lie. While descending the first to comeup to are Dunder, then Cilgiadi, then Cumavcings,which has cultivated fields. Higher up is Yaldodhathat is the largest summer settlement and Brokpafrom Dah and Garkun inhabit it. The villagecommunally owns livestock grazing grounds atup the Dah stream higher up at Nirda or Uno Grung.Here shepherd have their huts.

Brokpas

Presently, the Brokpa of this area are peaceful;there is none of the natural dash or love of war.However, in the past they fought behind suitabledefenses. Centuries of desultory warfare made themadepts at the art of fortification. The fort of Dah islocated at the edge of a cliff, defended on twosides by Dah-stream and the Indus River andthe third side by the village and the terracedfields. The Brokpa constructed the village fromthe defense point of view. Traditionally, Dahvillage was segregated into habitations in the fortat three levels: - Dhan-Stot, the upper-most; Dhon-skil, the middle level; and Dhon-Jug, thelowest level. These habitations were organisedin accordance with their pattern of living-thepriests; the cultivators; and the artisans, they hadprescribed rights and duties in relation to thefunctioning of the village. They participated infestivals by first gathering as a unit and then

proceeding to the place where the celebrationtook place. The residential pattern in the fort atDah consisted of rooms arranged in two threestories, with a common passage of entry andexist as if under one roof. The Buddhist gompastands in the fort premises.

The settlement pattern of the old Dah villageis similar, but a little more spacious. There aresmall alleys between 2 to 4 feet wide betweenthe houses. At places, the houses have jointedroofs. The village situated on a slope abovethe fields, a high mountain wall backs it, and builtin it. They use alleys as irrigation channels.

The hamlets, which are an extension of Dahvillage, are more sparsely populated. At someplaces, houses are side by side, at other placesindividual houses are in the middle of the fields.Every house has a small garden in whichonions, tomatoes, turnips, large radishes, peasand some potatoes are grown. The kitchen isthe only functional room in a traditional or modemhouse. In some houses kitchen is on the groundfloor or in others on the first floor dependingupon the space and the economic condition ofthe family. The hearth serves as decoration piecein the kitchen performing its normal function ofproviding fire for cooking as well as heatingthe room. There is no bathroom in Brokpahouses, as they prefer not to take bath. TheBrokpa houses like all Ladakhi houses have aseparate lavatory (Chaksa). They use Chaklut(night soil) mixed with Pursh (goat dung) as manurefor enriching the soil.

The ways of communication have muchimproved due to the presence of Indian army andthe construction of the road up to Chopodok in2000. There is a daily bus service between Hanu,and Bema, Fridays a direct bus from Leh to Hanuwhich returns on Saturday, and Sundays a directbus from Hanu to Khaltse and back.

Five sections or mohallas namely- Sanid, Bema(Plunder, Bema means river sand, sand is inabundance here.) Lastieance, Baldez and Dahhave 73 houses. In 1991, there were 413 Brok-pa (189 males and 224 females) inhabiting thefive Mohallas of Dah with an average family sizeof 5.9 individuals. At present, Dah is inhabited by542 person, out of which 287 are males and rest of225 are females, with sex ratio of 889 (Source:Census of India, 2001). The inhabitants of thesehamlets possess their ancestral homes in the oldDah village. They also have houses in the highervalley pastures at Dah-Drouk where they graze

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their animals and cultivate their summer crops.There are five Nallah of snowmelt and a river,which serves as water source. Water is broughtto homes in container and cans etc. The net-works of canals carry-off water from these nallahto fields irrigating eighty-three hectares of the totalarea. The region stretching along the Dah streamto its source is a large area. This area was supposedto be summer pasture nirda of the Minaro in ancienttime. The nirda pasture is a beautiful place. Thereis large juniper tree, festooned with prayer flagswhich Brokpa worship as a shrine called ChilligiDeuha (juniper shrine). At a higher altitude there isa place called Mal-Mal Khatu where Minaro usedto dance. Just below, it on right side descends theYangdring stream. The Brokpa cast over thepasture the daily ration of rock salt for the flocks.

Drew (1875) described Brok-pa as castelesssociety unlike other Dard communities. Howeverthey have three castes like division-priests,cultivators and artisans. The artisans’ castesinclude-Garra (blacksmiths), and Shinkan(carpenters). Anybody can be a musician or playmusical instruments. Musicians here enjoy respect,because they do not belong to Mon class as inother parts of Ladakh. They do not constitutea separate class in society as Mons or Bedas inLadakh or Doms in Gilgit. Brokpa play Dang-Dang(Brass Drum). In Dah-Bema, out of 73 households,five households are of Garras and five house-holds of Shinkan. Marriages are not permissiblebetween cultivators and Garras because of low-status of blacksmiths. Buddhists associate iron andsteel with material used for making weapons fortaking life. This has led to the relegation of themetalworkers to the lowest of the quasicastes. Thelow-status of the blacksmiths continues to persisthere. In case of intercaste marriage, there is lot ofprotest; however, there are no social sanctionsto prevent it. The lower caste may take wivesfrom the higher, but not vice-versa (except incase of priests). Consequently, married daught-ers in intercaste marriage cannot enter their parentalhouse. After three generations of marriages withthe higher caste, the progeny can have normalsocial relations with the parental house.

The family is the effective unit of day-to-daylife in the Brokpa village, owning its own propertyand handling its own economic affairs. Beyondthis, the wider social organisation of the villageincorporates families in various ways, into relativelystable relationships with their fellow villagers.Each person in the village stands at the centre of a

particular network of formal, personal relationshipwith certain other men. Some of these relations areestablished by birth (patrilateral and matrilateral kin),some by marriage-his own and those of sistersand daughters and some deliberately. A man looksto these people for friendship, sympathy, advice,affection and help.

Representation within the village communityis through the hereditary Pha-spun groupings.Phaspun membership is lifetime, which ends at thetime of death. The Pha-spun is not essentiallyan exogamous group and inter-Pha-spun- marri-ages do take place. The members of each Phaspunreciprocate help during birth, marriage and deathceremonies. At the birth (skethk) of a child,one-month period of pollution is observed.During this period of pollution (Bhambak), theentry of the villagers is taboo in the household.However, after seven to ten days, Pha-spunmembers pay visit, though they refrain from eatingor drinking in the house where birth has occurred.During this time, the Pha-spun members help incarrying out the daily duties of the effectedhousehold, which they themselves cannot performbecause of fear of pollution. Cooked food asopposed to raw foodstuff is the primary mediumby which pollution is transmitted, that is whysocially imposed zen-ches which does notpermit non-pha-spun members to eat or drinkin a house defiled by a blood of child birth(bang-thip) or a corpse(ro-thip). Likewise, thehumans, who if contaminated also contaminatetheir house gods. As patrons of same pha-spun,they are exempt from the godly retribution but atthe same time can assist in meal preparation undercertain circumstances. They set a temporarykitchen outside the defiled house where purefood and drink can be prepared.

During the marriage celebrations after the familymembers and the Mother’s brother, the pha-spunmembers play the most prominent role. After themarriage ceremonies, a pha-spun carries all thebride’s belongings and dowry to her new home.

When death occurs in the family, the Pha-spunmembers arrange for the last rites. Only the Pha-spun members can carry the dead body forcremation, which the family members are not towitness.

Pha-spun provides individual with socialidentity of key significance in their society. Inthe village Dah and its four hamlets-Lastience,Bema, Baldez and Sanid there are male repre-sentatives of the nine different Pha-spun.

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Brokpa, households belong to hierarchicallineages- Ruscen and Rusmet and Ruscen havinga higher status. The members of Ruscen lineagesdo not marry in the Rusmet lineages. The Pha-spun groupings of the village have Ruscen as wellas Rusmet households as its members. Ruscenconsider them as “pure” and do not except Kilta(basket) and rope from Ruscen household for fearof pollution.

The literacy rate is low in the area, but withgovernment efforts, educational institutions havestarted working. There is one middle school; in1991, there were two primary schools, atpresent there are three primary schools andone industrial training centre in Bema. The middleschool in Bema has two teachers. For furtherstudies, the nearest school is in Hanu. The mostencouraging change in the Brokpa way of lifeis the new enthusiasm for education among theyoung. At first when the school was, openedBrokpa vehemently resisted for fear that theirchildren would learn only English and forget theirown language and culture. Indian governmentstarted bilingual, subsidised schools withBrokpa teachers.

Apart from these amenities, there is a dancingplace Cangra shaded by two big walnut trees inthe village for social gatherings. Being one ofthe main centres, people from Sanid, Bema(Plunder) Lastieance, and Baldez come to Dahfor important social functions and for Bononahin autumn, held after every two years. At theend of the village, there is one gompa and ruinsof old fort and houses.

Brokpas do not bury their dead, but crematethem. Their cremation ground—Roshaksha, is at thebank of the Indus at particular spot at a lower altitudethan the village premises. They call Lama toperform funeral rites. After the cremation, theygive the cap of the dead man to the Lama

There is no electricity in the area. Even theP.W.D. (Public Works Department) rest househas no water or electricity connection. A MedicalAid Centre (MAC) was located at Bema for thewhole area (1991). It had no full time doctor,only a compounder and auxiliary male nurse. AnAmchi (Doctor with knowledge of Tibetan medicalsystem) visited the area in 10-15 days. The peopledepended more on Lamas and local quacks, oron exorcists. Shaman (Lhama/lhapa) healersclaim to be able to affect mirac-ulous cures.However, with the time things seem to havechanged. There is one Child Welfare Society

in Dah. There are Health Sub-Centres in all thethree main villages of Hanu, as well as in ChopoDok(army) and there are five practicing amchi in HanuYogma and Hanu Gongma. There is no amchi inHanu Thang, but a Muslim practitioner (ackoon).There is a lhamo (a female oracle) in Hanu-Yogmaand two ritual healers-onpo, one each in HanuGongma and Hanu Yogma. As with the improvementin the means of transportation, it has become easyfor Brokpa of Dah- Bema to avail the diverse meansof health care

Land use—Dah Bema

Total Area of the Village = 171.59 hectaresIrrigated by source PC = 82.96 hectaresUnirrigated = 8.90 hectaresCultivable waste includingGauchar and groves= 3.24 hectaresArea not available = 76.49 hectaresfor cultivation

Source: Census of India, 1981

The mainstay of the economy of the Brok-pais agriculture, supplemented by animal husbandry.They produce two crops in a year and growbarley, wheat, buckwheat, mustard, maize,razma, masoor, urad, and karje. They growvegetables like carrot, cauliflower, cabbage,tomatoes, onion, potato, turnip and radishes.Brokpa grow apricot, raisin, black and greengrapes, walnut, apples and cherries. Brokpa rearmostly sheep, goats, Dzos, Bulls and horses.The Brokpas do not rear cattle because of reli-gious taboo. Poultry farming is also taboo. Thesoil of the area is alluvial, ranging from sand toclay, and is suitable for cultivation of wheat,barley, grim, peas and Lucerne (Alfa-Alfa) inirrigated areas. In the high pastures, many wildplants grow. The palatable of these are Ashpit(fodder with yellow flower), Pashu, Khumkhumand Khakhas. Brokpa use Chillgi as firewood,as these people do not use cow dung or Dzo dungfor fuel because of religious taboo. There aremany kinds of flowers- soklo, skalzang pomsyu,chobo, guchegas, gyas etc. Three types of orna-mental flowers- Skalzang, Tung-Tung kaliman andred Sholdo an all weather plant of berry species7grow on the mini terraced fields. Brokpa womenuse these flowers in their headdress. Thealkekengi (a wild strawberry) brings wealthand protection against demons; the othershave a mere decorative purpose.

A network of irrigation ditches, irrigates villageagricultural lands. Water regulated by a


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hereditary La-bdag (official) responsible forirrigation. Strict laws and rules regulate thebuilding, maintenance and use of the village’scommunal irrigation ditches. No body crossesthese ditches, lest the water-spirits should beannoyed. If water gods (Klu, naga) and the earth-spirits (sa-bdag) get annoyed, the formerwould keep back the water on the mountainsand the latter, at the command of the Earthmother, would keep the earth-door closed so thatthe earth would with-hold her procreative power.People prepare a lustor, an offering of pellets ofbread-yeast, and throw it into the stream andspring in order to purify himself and placate thewater spirits. Ritually unclean person Ba-nagspa(through contact with a mother during childbirth orjust by present in the house during confinement)and Ro-nagpa (is one who has become uncleanthrough contact with a corpse), make the Lha(gods) and the Lu (water-gods, snake spirits)angry and the angry spirits will make waterdry-up and crops will wither in the fields.

The Brokpa villages had remained indepen-dent and self-sufficient until quite late in the historyof the region. Till now, these show the conspicuousabsence of an over arching political order regula-ting their village life. There is one selected headman(Go-ba), who works for three years. His dutiesinclude collection of revenue, arrangement offestivals and registering birth and death statistics.There is one Domspun (village chowkidar) toround up stray animals and restore it to theowner in order to prevent crop damage. However,these posts are of fixed duration, but the term maybe extended or terminated.

Apart from these individual appointments,there are certain families in the village with the here-ditary occupational status. The families ofthese officials (Lha-bdags) have a sort of religi-ous sanction to conduct the first ritual opera-tion on behalf of the villagers.

There is no traditionally institutionaliseddecision-making unit. There are no well-definedpillars to uphold the decision-making unit. AmongBrokpas, there are broad differences of wealth orstatus (Ruscen and Rusmet lineage), which hassocial as well as economic implications, howeverit neither guarantee political power nor give themauthority to make decisions. The influence ofreligious leaders is rather restricted. The wholesystem is highly inefficient and leaves many openends. They settle on the disputes in the village byan oath. Ecological conditions in the area do not

permit for the prolonged fights as the villagecommunity is small, and people need each other.

In 1980, Buddhist Association constituted bythe three to four elected or nominated membersfrom each village was established. The members ofBuddhist Association are arbitrators to settledisputes of land, water, wood etc. The membersare mostly village elders or otherwise influentialpersons. However, a Panchayat consisting of oneor more villages, with a locally elected sarpanchat its head, is also working in Dah, including Hanuand Achinathang. It has also a representation inthe Ladakh Hill Development Council in Leh, thusextending the political organisation of the area.

Food Habits

The traditional Brokpa diet based on locallygrown foods such as barley and hardy wheatprepared most often as tsampa/sattu (roastedflour). It takes in different ways. Other importantfoods include potatoes, radishes, turnips, and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea made of black tea, butterand salt. Dairy and poultry sources are out of menubecause of religious taboos. Brok-pa takes threemeals a day; Chin-nana (Breakfast); Beh(Lunch) and Ganzang (Dinner). Brokpa vary withrespect to the amount of meat (mainly mutton) thatthey eat. Household’s economic position decidesthe consumption of meat. It is only during festivalsand rituals all have greater access to mutton.

No religious ceremony or festival would becomplete without the serving of Chaang. Specialholy fields called Newne are set apart for thegrowing of barley to make Chaang for religiousfestivals. Chaang is home brewed from barley andmillet, partially seasoned by the addition of saltand pepper.

In a study of body morphology and lungfunctions in Dards of Ladakh (Bhasin andSingh, 1992), the values of height, weight ratiosfor Dard Bodhs when compared with populationgroups staying in the neighbourhood show higherheight-weight-ratio (HWR) than Bodhs ofChangthang, but lesser than Bodhs, Baltis andTibetans of Ladakh, Gujjars and Dogras of Kashmirand Jammu. It is a known fact that height-weightof the body is affected by the nutrition. For bodymass index (BMI), again Dard Bodhs show highervalue than Bodhs of Changthang and Baltis ofLadakh but lower than other population groups ofLadakh (Bhasin and Singh, 1992).

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Religious Beliefs and Rituals of Brokpas

Religion is responsible for many differencesand norms affecting the fundamental values andbehavioural patterns in life including healthbehaviour. Brokpa practice two contradictoryreligions side by side- traditional ‘Minaro’ reli-gion (spirit worship) as well as Lamaism. Despitethe fact that Brokpa are Buddhist, the traditionof spirit worship and nature worship persists.Their religious beliefs and rituals were originallyin essence demonolatry, ancestor worship andnature worship. With the passage of time, thesereligious beliefs have absorbed Buddhist ritualand practices as well. Brokpas’ Minaro religionis a communal religion wherein all Brokpa haveto participate in cults of household, pha-spun(clan), village and community. It is a part of theirobligation as a Brokpa towards their protectivedeities and spirits of the area. The link with thecommunity becomes very strong in cases wherethe ethnic –religious identity itself happen to beat the risk of being put out, hence ensues thestrong solidarity as seen among Brokpa Dards,factually surrounded by other dominant religi-ous customs. The religious differences strengthsthe boundaries between Brokpa Dards and theneighbouring Ladakhi majority population. The‘official’ religion of Brokpa is the Tibetan form ofBuddhism. Wherever, Buddhism has gone, itsGods have overshadowed indigenous shama-nistic and polytheistic beliefs and practices.Under Buddhist supremacy, ancient local deitieseither become ancient history, or else reduced tothe ranks of the mountain spirits. Only in thesemost secluded valleys, the old gods are remem-bered and alters are adorned with sacrificialofferings of juniper branch and goat’s blood.Although nominally converted, Brokpa accep-tance of Buddhism was superficial. All Buddhismhas been able to accomplish is to provide prayerritual for birth, marriage and death ceremonies.At present, there is one lama in Dah village andprior to him, there was one more. They have notabandoned their ‘pagan’ traditions. They conti-nued to worship mountain spirits, and celebrateBononah festival. The mountain spirits appearto be the epithet of natural forces, exhibiting thelife giving and life threatening attributes of themountains. These spirits enviously guard theirdomain against human encroachment. That iswhy Brokpa traditionally regarded the uplandpastures and the mountains beyond as sacred

places, the sanctified domain of the spirits.Brokpa regard cattle and fowls unclean and sodo their supernaturals. However, spirits favourgoats, because these animals resemble ibex(Capra ibex), the “livestock of mountain spirits”.Therefore, shepherds with their goats can go upto upland pastures. The connection betweengoats and the supernaturals is the basis for bothquasi-religious beliefs among the Brokparegarding the sacredness of goats and for theindispensable role, they play in the initiation andoracular performance.

The main function of Brokpa religion is tohelp people to cope with the problem of sufferingand provide means for getting relief from thedistress. The popular religion of Brokpa isdemonolatry. According to Brokpa good spiritsand the evil spirits, people the world. Trees,rivers, rocks and other natural objects are thehomes of these spirits. However, Brokpa propi-tiate only the spirits and not the actual objects.That which in not explained pragmatically is theactions of supernatural and the people’s viabilityto cope with such acts forms the basis of religioussystem. Brokpa rituals primarily serve to insurethat a person will have a long and healthy lifeand suffer few misfortunes. Brokpa performcuring and purification rites. The supernaturalshave a malevolent nature and wreck vengeanceon transgressors, striking them with dreadedaltitude sickness, crushing them with tumblingboulders or else sweeping them away with roar-ing avalanches and lethal pulsating mudflows.They are also capable of harming people inthe villages by stealing their children, injuringtheir livestock, and blighting their crops.However, the supernaturals also bring goodfortune, health, and prosperity to those whoknow how to honour them and avoid offendingthem. . The shepherds who do not take care oftheir flocks, neglect their duties or allow them todamage the fragile pastures invoke the wrath ofthe mountain spirits. To propitiate these mountainspirits and so ensure their own security, theancestor of Brokpa erected alters, sacrificed goats,and burned sacred juniper branches in theirhonour. Like every major religious and culturaltradition world wide, the Brokpa religion has‘espoused the idea of spirit possession and theneed for some sort of exorcism’ (Lewis, 1995).Brokpa’s rites of exorcism are the use of prayers,fumigations (burning of juniper) and animalsacrifice.


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The introduction of Tibetan Buddhism toDah area was with the arrival of three monksfrom Spiti to Hanu in 1779. They convertedBrokpa and majority became Buddhistoutwardly at least. Dainelli (1925) during hisvisit to Dah in 1913-14, while sketching the DahGompa, enquired about the faith of the localinhabitants and they did not report themselves asBuddhists. Until now, they have been able tomaintain their seclusion and closed system byendogamous marriages, from either within thevillage or from the neighbouring Buddhist Dardvillages. Outsiders are not welcome in the villagepremises as Brokpa are petrified of pollution.Brokpa has kept back their physical isolation until1974. Since than, the growth of tourism, armystations, opportunities for waged labour,expanding cash economy, as well as the spreadof education, lowland Indian tastes in dress andmusic, have been major forces impinging ontraditional Brokpa society.

Presently, Brokpa worship large numbersof deities and main deities have shrinesdedicated to them. Brokpa worship thesedeities during the yearly festive cycle. Someof these have specific functions assigned tothem while others are vague and must beregularly appeased with bloody sacrifices.Brokpa believe that all living beings are caught upin cycle of birth, death and rebirth. According totheir belief, there are often interactions betweenthe different worlds or realm and different form oflife. Waiting to be reborn, deities may increase theirmerits by improving the quality of life for otherliving beings. Helpful well-intentioned spiritsreferred as “lha”, while ill intentioned, harmful spiritsreferred to as “dei”. Deities and demons occupydifferent realm-Lha-yul, Ma-yul and Klu-yul.Often deities and demons have overlappingfunctions and hence are not distinguished.Brokpa distinguish between semi-gods andsemi-demons and place them hierarchically.Reverence of few deities is local only. Brokpain need do not pray to a Buddhist deity, but tothe spirits of the land as they believe that spirits,witches and ghosts act as both mischief makersand deliverers of disasters. They worship thespirits of land and water for good health, amplerains, excellent harvest and prosperity.

Sringmo Lha-mo is the main deity andworshipped in all Buddhist Dards villages. Allvillages have a shrine (deuha) dedicated to her.She accepts animal sacrifice. However, the cow

is taboo to her. The shrine of Sringmo Lhamo is ashallow cave high up on rocky ridge The BuddhistDards have preserved the names of two pha-lhadeities and each of them has a lha-tho. There isone Lha-tho (shrine) of deity Lha-mo on SanidLung-pa (stream) which belongs to the Pha-spunTakure. Other Brok-pa Dards Pha-spun have noseparate Lha-thos for their groupings. Theirworship is not restricted to a pha-spun but theentire village visits these shrines. Only twogeneration back, some Brokpa from Dah settledon a plateau, which previously served as pastureand developed in to Lastieance hamlet. Thishamlet receives the first rays of sun and Brokpahere worship Usha lha -mo. However, BrokpaDards built Lha-tho on high rocky grounds andon roof tops for protection against diseases andill luck and for the fertility and prosperity of thehousehold. Along with these Lha-thos, Brokpakeep Chillgi (Juniper) leaves and goat horns.They keep these at high places for fear of pollution.Brokpa Dards are not iconolater and they worshipdeity in its existence in a mountain crevice (a cavelike opening). Brokpa Lha-tho are two to four feethigh pile of stones erected in worship of the Lha.On all celebrations, they offer food and prayers.Brokpa place great emphasis on coercive rites ofexorcising and destroying demons. The executionof religion is in the hands of trained specialists. Afamily supplies hereditary priest.

Underlying the entire socio-religious complexof beliefs are the concept of pollution, impurity,purity and sacred. Brokpa worship nature-mountains, flowers, water spirits, earth spirit andibex horns a natural out come of their ecologicalcon-ditions. The concept of ‘pure-impure’ playsan important role in the life of Brokpa The stateof purity/impurity is always occurring within thehousehold, between the households, between thekin’s and between the villagers and outsiders.

When a person or place is impure or polluted(Chitu), purification is symbolically cleansingoneself or place with the smoke of smolderingChillgi (Juniper). On all these occasions thehouse is smoked with Chillgi and utensilswashed in water boiled with Chillgi branchesand leaves. Through all the yearly festivalsrelated to agriculture and pastoral activities,purificatory rites are undertaken before starlingany rituals. During Losar (New Year) a processionof villagers, carrying burning Juniper torchescleanses the atmos-phere, thus chasing away theimpurity of the past year

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Among Brokpa, the purity is an attribute ofthe environment, all the regions above the settle-ment i.e. the mountains, the pasture ground,lakes, glaciers, and streams taking their originfrom these regions are pure. There are certaintrees, flowers and animals, which inhabit higherregions, are symbols of purity. According toBrokpa traditions, shepherds who come downfrom pasture grounds are permeating with purity.The sweet smelling flowers from the pasturegrounds are similarly associated with purity. Thuswhosoever goes to mountain and glaciersacquire some of its attributes.

Purity and impurity are inherent in sexes;Females are relatively less pure than males, untilold age when they become sexually neutral.Traditions prohibit women from coming close tothe Juniper shrine (Chillgi Deuha) at Dah-Drouk(pas-ture ground).

Brokpas practice three types of ritual: (a)the rituals, which are associated with rites-de-passage i.e. birth, marriage, aging and death; (b)the yearly festivals associated with economicactivities- agriculture and rearing of livestock(these take place at the beginning or the success-ful completion of their agricultural activities andthe pastoral cycle); and (c) the traditionalBononah festival, which is celebrated once inthree year. Brokpa keep these rituals alivethrough oral traditions and live performance.Brokpa worship different deities during theBononah festival.

These festivals are social events with religi-ous overtones. The whole village takes part inthese festivals. The events attached withindividual’s life may or may not bring the entirevillage, as these are social events. Tradition-ally, kins from neighbouring villages came toparticipate in the Bononah festival. Afterwards,the Dards of Ganok converted to Islam andstopped celebrating the festival.

In the ancient times, they celebrated theBononah festival at the pasture grounds ofNirda and the Minaro King sat on a stonethrone called phons katu near the Junipershrine. It was all a male domain and womancould not even come near it.

The central religious duty of looking afterthe ceremonial life of Brokpa is by threepriestly officials- Lha-bdag, brongopa and ha/bab lhapa/lhama. They are the treasure houseof folk knowledge and keepers of traditions,fortunetellers, soothsayers, who were able to predict

the weather, the singers of heroic epics, historicalsongs and myths and shamanic hymns and prayers.

Lha-bdag

The lha-bdag (caretaker of the gods) belongsto Rus-cen lineage and has the hereditaryfunction of servicing the village deity. The lha-bdag who performs during Bononah, Losar andGunla festivals comes from a Gangeldepa houseof Rus-cen lineage. He sacrifices animals at theshrine (deuha) on behalf of the villagers Heattains elevated status during this time becauseof the ritual restrictions and taboos he observes.There are three Lha-bdags, one responsible forthe irrigation work, one for cultivation and onefor servicing the village deity. All the three Lha-bdag belong to different Pha-spun from Rus-cenlineages. They do not form a caste by themselves.There are two additional households within thesame Pha-spun, assigned the role of second andthe third substituting Lha-bdag’s. The need forsecond and third substitute arises during theperiod of pollution. For instance in case of birthand death, the prohibition period is long and Lha-bdag cannot perform his duties, during thatperiod second or third can take over. Certainethnic groups living in Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistanhave partially preserved their traditional structurelike Dah.

Brongopa

The brongopa recites hymns during thefestivals. The post of brongopa is not here-ditary. Young boys learn these from the elders.Fixed numbers of boys receive training forsinging and playing musical instruments. Aslha-bdag and lha-pa have to wear, a whitewoolen cap given to them by village gopaduring the Bononah festivities, so do thebrongopa and those boys who play the musicalinstruments. They sleep at the village cangra(lhaspa), where festivities take place.

Lha-bab/Lhama/ lhapa (Shaman)

There is one Lha-bab (Tib. lhama /lhapa) inDah who communicates with the supernatural,and performs the role of Shaman. The Lha-bab isdifferent from Lha-bdag who worships thevillage deity. They act as mediums to facilitate thespirits’ incarnations. Lha-bab like Lhama/Lhapa


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of Ladakh are trained, blessed and initiated, and itis only good deities, the helpful lha that are able togain to control over them. They are healers of thecommunity. Serlha Gyapo helps in times of illnessthrough the lna-bab. All Buddhist Dards worshipthis deity.

However, these three priestly officials- La-bdag, brongopa and lhapa/lhama have diffe-rent functions to perform according to theirvocation, but they all have to observe ritualprescriptions during the Bononan festival. AsBuddhist Dards have three priestly officials-lhabdag, brongopa and lhapa/lhama, Kafir societyalso has three priestly officials namely uta, debilalaand pshur. Like Brokpa, among Kalash too the priestbelongs to a specific clan. He also leads the spiraldance during festival.

Brokpa Traditions

Brokpas have some distinct traditions,which separate them from other Ladakhis. Thesepeople consider Chillgi (Juniper) sacred. Brokpahold cow in abhorrence. They do not drink cow’smilk, nor do they eat or make butter from neither itnor do they burn cow-dung-the most commonused fuel in Ladakh. Cows and fowls are offensiveto their gods. For ploughing also, they use bullor Dzo (a hybrid between cow and yak). Onlyfor crossing yak with cow, they put up with acow in the village or near it, but they have aslittle as possible to do with them. If a cow dies,they call people from Achinathang to take thecarcass. There is heaps of Dzo dung in thevillages, but people would not use it for manure orfor fuel. They use goat’s milk in the households.For a Brokpa, the goat is nor or wealth.Generally, a household has at least 15-30 goatsand sheep, but few households have more than100 sheep and goats.

Yato-Grun Feast: Brokpa has a uniquetradition of celebrating Yato-Gung or feast of merit.Yato-Grun is particularly important for men andwomen who have completed cycles of six Loskor(one Loskar= 12 years). This type of meritmaking leads to acquired higher status, andconsequently a higher grade of purity.

Brok-pa celebrate girls first Loskor, bythrowing a large feast to the whole village. Thefirst cycle for the girl is of importance as theywould be entering puberty. A girl’s pubertysignifies potentiality for childbearing.Everybody is wel-come for Chaang and meals

Brokpa believes that with age a spiritualmaturity is achieved. The importance attachedto age signifies their belief in ancestor worship.Brokpa cremates their dead outside the village atlower altitude, considered to be impure; butworship their ancestors within the village or atPha-spun Munal at higher altitude.

Bononah Festival

Once in three years the Brokpa of Dah cele-brates their Dard festival with their deities ofBononah Pantheon. For centuries, the Bonanah,the community annual festival had altered betweenDah, Hanu and Ganoke. Brokpa of Hanu hasabandoned the song festivals of Bononah becausethat attracted outsiders and Brrokpa of Ganoke haveconverted to Islam.

Brokpa of Dah celebrates Bononah in Octoberbefore the harvesting and threshing of secondcrop. It is time when livestock, shepherds, andthe households, which cultivate their crops athigher altitude, also join. They bring flowers ofvarious colours with strong sweet smell from theglacial heights (for its purity) to decorate theircaps and Chillgi wood for making torches.

It lasts for five days. It starts four or five daysbefore the harvest. During these five days, theysing Dard songs, which relates to their belief inthe primordial days when gods and human livedtogether. The Brokpa believes that their ancestorsdanced with the Lhas (gods), who migrated withthem from Gilgit to Dah-Drouk (mountain pasture).The Lhas were fond of dancing and because ofthis, Brokpa’s hunting and agricultural activitiessuffered. This harmonious relationship betweenLhas and Brokpa ended with by the intrigue of anold woman. This also resulted in the creation ofheaven and earth. The deities who livedtogether with the humans in harmony departed.During these five days, the priest (Lha-bdag)prays in isolation in order to invite their deitiesto come and participate in the festivities with thehumans. They play Lharna, the music for thegods and burn incense to appease the gods.Outsiders are not welcome in the villagepremises, for the fear of pollution.

The Brokpa are keeping Bononah festivaltraditions alive by celebrating every three years;in the yearly festive cycle, the rituals are not onlylearned but are live performances to the deities,who are to be pleased, periodically to avert thesupernatural wrath. They perform rites to produce

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a harmonious relationship between man andthe supernatural. This also serves as socialoccasions where large numbers of people cometogether for conversation, drinking and generalgaiety.

The festival starts by bringing the Lha to thedancing square down the village. A teenager boyplays the role of the Lha. Lha-bdag managesthe festival because he knows all the hymnals tosing during the festival. They sacrifice two smallgoats in the morning near the Lha-rock, and bringtheir carcasses to the square. These are cut intosmall lumps for distribution. The Lha-bdag,village headman (Mokhdam or Goba) and otherelders starts dancing and climb the rock to bringdown the lha. The Lha dressed in white woollengown and conical cap leads the procession carryingPhoks (the incense pot). The musician plays theLharna while others dance. They keep Phok in thesquare of the village and the Lha disappears. ThenLha-bdag and Brongopa sing the hymalsdescribing the migration of their ancestors fromGilgit, under the leadership of the Gil-Singe (Lionof Gilgit). The festival lasts for five days. No bodydrinks on the first day of the festival. However, itis permissible on other days of festival but noton the dancing place. The final day of the festivalcoincides with the death anniversary of theirancestral leader Gil-Singe. In respect of theirancestral leader, they take off their caps and keepsilence for a few minutes.

On fifth day, harvest begins. Few strands of cropsare harvested and fastened lo the main pillar of thehouse as an offering lo the house-God. (Sa-bdag),and few are offered at the village Lha-tho.

Household Worship: In all Brokpa houses,the hearth is central to the life at home. Oneend of the hearth facing the wall and in betweenthe two is Sa-bdag. It consists of three uprightstones, of which, one at the back of the hearthis the largest, about two feet in length. It isrepresentative of the house god and the bindingforce for the family members living in thehousehold. The founding father carried it downfrom the mountains. On this stone, they place anofferings for the Lhamo (Goddess) from everydish cooked there, before eating it. Prior to everymeal, they offer a prayer by sprinkling threetimes, with first three fingers in the directionof Sa-bdag. Brokpa also offer first fruits of harvestto lhamo. Out-siders cannot touch it or comenear it. The touch of an outsider may pollute itthus affecting the success and fertility of the

household. A girl once married cannot touch the-Sa-bdag of her natal family for fear of pollution.She cannot enter the animal shed once she ismarried, for fear of fertility of the herd.

Pha-spun Worship: Each Pha-spun has acommon ‘Munal’ where they perform ancestralworship. Munal is a crevice in the rock wherethe descendants of the same Pha-spun depositthe bones or ashes of their members. They offerburning Chillgi (Juniper) leaves and specialdishes on Mamani festival (that Brokpacelebrate in the memory of their ancestors, on19th of December) as well on several celebrations.Each Pha-spun partakes in feasting separately.This Pha-spun worship of ancestors representsthe family authority and reverence extended intothe supernatural realm.

Village Worship: Lah has its shrine onparticular high mountains located in the crevicein the rocks. Lhatho (Brok-skad: Deuha) areconstructed for protection against diseasesand ill luck or for the fertility and prosperity ofthe household. Lha-tho are two to four feet highpiles of stones erected in worship of Lha and onall festival occasions food and prayers are offered.Brokpa keep these on high rocky ground and onhouse rooftops where there is no danger ofpollution. Along these Lha-tho’s, they alsokeep Chillgi leaves and goat horns. Lha-bdagtakes care of village ceremonial life. The Lha-bdagregularly offers sacrifices to the respective deitiesduring festivals

Festivals linked to Agriculture and Livestock:Cultivation and livestock rearing are the basiceconomic activities of the Buddhist Dards. Agri-cultural and pastoral activities are interwovenwith many religious ceremonies. There is a Lha-bdag in the village who announces the day forbeginning of the agricultural activities. He plays animportant role in the village agricultural activitiesby observing the journey of the sun across themountains. Jettmar (1975) reports that cons-truction of irrigation canal is celebrated as areligious act. Deity Gang-si-lhamo is asso-ciated with irrigation and building of watercanals. The shrine of deity is in Dah andGarkon. This deity protects the glaciers fromwhere the water comes. The Lha-bdag respon-sible for the irrigation, offers salty grain andprayers on behalf of the villagers to the deity Gang-si-Lha-mo, before the construction of a new canaland the repair works on old ones. Then he opensthe water canal and first waters the field. After this


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ritual operation, the villagers begin their irrigationwork. He supervises irrigation system, dividingthe water equally among the fields. Cultivationseason starts with the celebration of ‘Sontas heldapproximately 20 days prior to the Bhi festival.First crop sown towards the end of the Februaryand the beginning of March. During Sontas, Sattu(Tib: Tsampa, roasted barley flour) marks are puton the door of the houses and on the faces ofchildren. Following day, Lha-bdag for cultivationploughs the fields symbolically. He ploughs the firstthree furrows in the field (Bhi) and then sows thefirst grain. This followed by cutting the hair on thebull’s neck and then the yoke put on the neck towhich plough attached.

In June, Gunla - the festival of sheep and goatsis celebrated. Lha-bdag sacrifices a kid goat toappease the deity and offers prayers to Zang-Mande for the fertility of livestock. The shrine ofthe deity Zang Mande is between Dah and Garkon.This festival lasts for three days. The meat ofthe kid goat is cooked in the Ghee (Clarifiedbutter), contributed by all the villagers. Lha-bdagtakes the major share and distributes the leftoveramong villagers. Livestock moves to higher valleypasture for summer months. The movement oflivestock is necessi-tated both by the lack of edibleplants at this altitude and secondly the crop isready for harvesting. The livestock enter thevillage after the harvest.

The harvesting begins between end of Juneand beginning of July. The Noh (Tib: Shrubla)festi-val is celebrated at this harvest, festival ofsheep and goats which lasts for five days. First,they tie few corns of the barley or wheat crop onthe main pillar of the house and on the Sa-bdag.Soon after, they sow second crop of Cha(Buckwheat).

After harvesting and drying the crops, in themid-August, they celebrate festival of Khudaskhal.After which the grain is threshed with the help offour or five bulls, which circulate round the Khal (aciralar place, plastered with earth), filled up with thecrop followed by a feast, given in rotation by fewhouseholds.

In the first week of December, they celebratethe New Year festival ‘Losar’. During the lazywinter months, it is a time of great activity forseven days. Even they celebrate Losar as theirancestors in Gilgit used to do. On the eve of theLosar, they light torches made of pieces of Chillgitied round a stick and throw at a particular placein the village. Brokpa makes sheep and goats of

dough for this occasion and decorates theirkitchen walls with crescent and other designs.They make Sattu marks on the door along witha polo stick made out of dough. The complex ofsymbols and rituals allow that certain symbolsare used although the meaning of what theysymbolise has long been forgotten. For theordinary villagers it is tradition that counts withor without detailed explanation. The ibexes andJuniper branch please the family god or thevillage God. Besides these, Brokpas carry foodand drink to the pha-spun Munal and offer food totheir ancestors. They lit oil lamps in the house aswell as the Munal and sacrifice animals ifpossible.

Contributory feasts accompany all Brokpafestivals. Celebration of Bononah, Gunla, andNoh (Shrubla) is a grand feast for villagers andfor their gods and spirits.

DISEASE, HEALING AND CURING

Disease Perception

Every culture has its particular explanationfor ill health. Religion is responsible for manydifferences and norms affecting the fundamentalvalues and behavioural pattern in life includinghealth behaviour. Every religion has threeaspects: values, symbols and practices. In caseof healing rituals, the rituals heal somaticsymptoms .The distinction between natural andsupernatural exists in all cultures. According toLohmann (2003), a super naturalistic world-viewor cosmology is at the heart of virtually allreligions. For him the supernatural is a conceptthat exits everywhere, even if each society ex-presses it differently. Supernaturalism attributesvolition to things that do not have it. On theother hand, for Lampe (2003), “supernaturalism”is a problematic and inappropriate term like theterm “primitive”.

In the western world, people usually do notmake a distinction between illness and disease.Disease is an objectively measurable categorysuggesting the condition of the body. Bydefinition, perceptions of illness are highlyculture related while disease usually is not.Largely, research in medical anthropology, makeuse of a pragmatic orientation, but a powerfulalternative position also prevails, focusing onnegotiation of meaning as key to understandingsocial life. One can understand the healing ritual

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by combining “Performative” approaches fromthe anthropology of religion with the “Critical-Interpretive” approach of Medical Anthropology(Sax, 2002)

Indigenous Disease Theory and Causes ofSickness among Brokpa

Brokpa’s understanding of disease causation,its dynamics and its treatments are elements oftheir culture. Ideas and practices relating to illnessare for the most part inseparable from the domainof the religious beliefs and practices. Good andbad spirits, witches, sorcerer, forest divinities,spirits of deceased and angry gods andgoddesses, breach of taboo and evil eye, distributeillness and misfortunes to community. Brokpa ofDah explains, diagnose and treat psychologicaldistress in terms of sorcery and displeasure fromspirits or due to other social causes. For theBrokpa, spirits of envy, hatred and quarrellingcause illness. The spirits of enmity and jealousycause illness through evil thoughts. In Dah, certainspirits identify with abnormal health conditions,specific diseases, madness, epidemics and the like.Some aspects of many diseases are associatedwith the influ-ence or intrusion of a spirit. However,some of them do comprehend the natural causesof few diseases like malaria, fevers, cough andcold and gastric disorders.

Disease Incidence

The culturo-ecological conditions in the areaare responsible for the prevalence of gas-troenteritis and acute respiratory infectionsamong children and infectious diseases andnutritional diseases among the adult population.Smoke pollution in traditional kitchens with poorventilation to avoid heat loss is injurious tohealth. They suffer host of diseases, includingrheumatism, intestinal worms, cataracts, goiter,trachoma, pneumonia, dysentery and skindiseases.

Health Care System

As illness explanations often radically differfrom culture to culture, so are the ways and meansfor curing illness. Medicine in Ladakh, of whichDah-Bema is part, consists of lay and non-literate,as well as institutional and literate medical practices.The health care system of Brokpa comprised a

use of herbs and plants, ritual cures, treatmentby lhapa, amchi medicine and allopathicmedicine.

The Brokpa’ belief regarding illness andhealing was eclectic, often an article of faith, andat the same time pragmatic. Apart from the HealthCentre, there was no other allopathic, Ayurvedicor Homeopathic clinic. The Primary Health Sub-Centre is working in a rented room in a privatehouse. It has stock of few common medicineslike antibiotics, cough syrups, vitamins andpainkillers. It has a staff of two trained persons,a nurse and a pharmacist. The next betterbiomedical facilities are the army hospital inAchinathang, the civil hospital in Khaltse andSNM hospital in Leh.

Traditional or local medicine remains animportant source of medical care in the develop-ing countries even though the governmenthealth care programs (Jaspan, 1969; Kleinman,1980) do not officially recognise it. In traditionalmedical systems worldwide, afflictions that besetbody and mind explained in both naturalistic andsuper naturalistic terms. When a wound doesnot heal, when a sickness does not respond totreatment, and when the normally expected andpredictable does not happen, other explanationsbeyond the organic are sought (Hughes, 1978).

There were no organised herbal treatmentclinics or healers in Dah. However, every house-hold knows how to treat simple problems withthe plants available in their backyards or spicesfrom their kitchens. Herbs can be prepared in avariety of forms depending on their purpose.Such techniques include juice squeezed fromherbs; mashing herbs into a paste; decoction orextracting the active ingredients by boiling downthe herb in water; hot infusion like hot tea-herbsteeped in hot water.

Brokpa treatments include soups preparedfrom local ingredients and various topicalapplications for wounds. The soup of turnip,qeech (local medicinal plant) and wild cherryadministered to sick person. Coriander(Coriander sativum) leaves are ground andboiled in water to make a tonic for abdominalcramps, diarrhea and flatulence. They soak mint(Menthe) leaves in water and make herbal tea oradd to soup. They ground saunf (Fennel seed)and use it for dysentery, as a digestive stimulant,and for excessive thirst. They also use groundand boiled Kala zeera (Black Caraway) as adigestive and in flatulence, to increase appetite


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and to cure hiccough. They use Wild Thyme incase of inflammation, fever, and headache andstomach pain. They take juniper berries asremedy for urinary tract infection. They treat aperson who suffers from pain in the back, chestor ribs by putting warm ashes in piece of clothand putting at location of pain. For healingwounds, they apply bitter apricot kernel paste.Tsampa a ‘hot’ food, in addition, of being usedas a food, it is used during childbirth also. It iscommon belief that application of butter andtsampa mixture on the naval area speed up theprocess of delivery. Brokpa put a paste of cookedbarley flour and ghee upon the naval of newbornto hasten healing by protecting it from moistureand dirt. The application of tsampa in birthpractices, as first feed to newborn babies and itsimportance in health care practices governed bytraditional beliefs. Women take roasted apricotkernels and apricot juices. Normally, Brokpa ofDah, do not purchase food from outside, as hereare no shops in and around the village. Brokpagrow their staple food, vegetables and fruits.Women suffer from infectious diseases and uselocal health resources to get relief. All thesefactors affect women health and infant mortality.

Tibetan Medicine in Dah

Tibetan medicine is a derivative of the Indianand Chinese medical systems. An Amchi ispractitioner of traditional Tibetan medicine. Everymajor village and hamlet in Ladakh has been havingan amchi of its own. The services of amchi havealways been significant for the people of Ladakh.Before 1960, amchi and lhapa/lhamo (the spiritmediums) used to be the health providers and evenafter the introduction of biomedicine with all thegovernment support, it has not been able to replacethe two. Although amchi, like their westerncounterparts, specialise in the treatment of thephysical illnesses, the etiology of illness and actualtreatment of diseases are entirely different.

At the time of research, there was only oneamchi in Bema. The amchi medicine came to Bemavia Hanu. In the 1970s the director of healthdepartment in Leh announced on the Leh radiostation for the recruitment of the government amchion fixed salary. Tashi Bulu, a resident of HanuGongma whose grandfather had already worked asamchi in Hanu, applied for the post and wasselected. Health director appointed him as Govern-ment amchi on salary of Rs. 300 per month and Rs

1500 worth of medicinal raw material per year. Hetreats sick from the villages of Hanu, Dah-Bemaand Achinathang free of charge. Amchi medicinereached Brok-land after two amchi families decidedto reside in Hanu Yogma. Before the arrival andsubsequent settlements of these amchi in HanuYogma, an amchi was visiting this area occasionallysince late 19th century. The tour included the villagesof Ganoke, Dah, Bema, Hanu, Turtuk and sometimesvillages in Baltistan. The amchi, who visited thisarea, had five sons and one of them came to thisarea, took a wife from neighbouring village-Achinathang and eventually settled here. In courseof time, the Brokpas also started learning the amchimedicine. At present there are five practicing amchiin Hanu, four in Hanu Gongma, (two of them are ongovernment pay roll) and one in Hanu Yogma.

Tibetan medicine is independent of religion butborrows from its elements to serve its medical andsocial, collective and individual interests. Themedicine is never an isolatable speculation; it isthe medicine of socio-historical, political andcultural context. Tibetan medicine is scientific innature; however, the political use of religion byhealer’s association is an assertion of identity in aregion marked by inter-religious tensions

Shamanic Healing and Divination

Besides Buddhist amchi, an indigenous folkreligion with many shamanic features still prevailshere. There were traditional shamanic healers Lha-bab who embodied spirits or deities during trancestates. The ritual and social functions of Lha-babwas of curing and divination. According to Landy(1974) the traditional healer role stands at theinterstices religion, magic and social system andgain its power from this position. Dumen and LieNakrn are the deities with whom the lha-babentered into communion and in this state of trance;he had the power to heal diseases and utter oracles.Earlier reports support this fact that the lha-babamong Buddhist Dards could utter oracles. WhenShaw visited this area in 1876, ‘lhapa’(Tibetan wordfor spirit medium) had ceased to perform since 12-15 years earlier, after Buddhism was introduced(Shaw, 1876:6).However, after the introduction ofBuddhism in this area, the office of the Lha-babchanged in to lhama/lhapa like other parts ofLadakh.

While Eliade’s (1964) description ofshamanism stresses ecstasy and the shaman’sability to go into trance and travel to the realm of

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sacred powers, among Brokpa shaman in contrastof ecstatic trance, rather than going to spirits,the spirit comes to them. The lhama/lhapaneither chooses their status as healers nordesires it. Usually, a person starts with ashamanic vocation, which usually goes alongwith mental disturbance, an acute life crisis, andgeneral emotional distress. In the initial stages,the concerned person tries to reject the shamanicvocation. The crisis reaches its peak in a trance,which enables the appearance of a spiritual beingand thereby only then sanctions the person’scapability to be an oracle healer. The individualthus chosen must serve the community as healerof both people and animals. Although posse-ssion and shamanic vocation occur involuntarilyand both lha (divine forces) and bad spirits maypossess the person as both are always presentin the body and can become active. He/sheapproaches a high-ranking lama for assistance.The high-ranking lama or rimpoche approves thepossession by one or many lhas and separatesthem from other spirits who possess the body ofthe lhama/lhapa. Subsequent teachings andinitiations (lha-pog) takes place in consecutivestages by an elderly lhama/lhapa (ge-rgen). Inthis way, indigenous folk religion subjugatedunder the rules and premises of Buddhism. He orshe must be trained first i.e. learn consciouslyhow to go to into trance, a training whichinvolves great effort and self-denial, bothphysical and financial. They experience greatstress during this period. The burden connectedwith the office of oracle and healer does notdelight all, instead they see it as the fate decreedby the spirits and the gods. Even the practicinglhama/lhapa are under great strain, feel soseverely beaten up after a healing session thatthey can barely perform their daily duties at homeand in the fields after a trance. Most lhama/lhapadoes not want their children to follow theprofession.

Yet in the Ladakhian context, not to acceptthis calling means life-long confrontation withthe opposing powers of good and evil for theperson. They also have the option to performtum, a ritual to stop the deity from entering thebody. This is how an individual threatened withlife or death can enter a change state of con-sciousness with non-specific symptoms ofillness, through a structured transformation reachstate of best health and finally practice as oracleand healer. (Schenk, 2001). Some times, it is not

feasible to refuse the demands of willful spiritswho calls some people to assume their position;once they initiated; they draw their powers fromthem and trained under the guidance of a learnedlama. All lhama/lhapa know the names of theparticular deities who possess them, becausethey introduced themselves to their patients andtheir teachers by their names. Smanla Gaypo isthe god of medicine. Meditation is an importantpart of healing power. Each lhama/lhapa staysin meditation for specified time each year. Atpresent, there is no practicing lhapa/lhama inDah. The last living lhapa is old and cannotperform. No new lhapa initiated. The newgeneration is not interested in the professionbecause of the hardships incurred in.

DISCUSSION

Health status of people of Ladakh, of whichDah is geographically, politically, historically andculturally a part, is related to its habitat, humansettlements and amenities available there. Theabsence of detailed health statistics such asmortality, morbidity, infant mortality rates andprevalence of different diseases hinders assess-ment of the health status of the Borkpa of Dah. Thebenefits of modern curative and preventivemedicine are not reaching these people satisfactori-ly. There is one Medical Aid Centre with a skeletalstaff and one amchi working in the area. TheBrokpa of Dah-Bema are the one of the lastremnants of an ancient and unique culture knowngenerally under the ‘Dards’ whose influence atone point spanned from northeastern Afgha-nistan to Central Tibet and whose fame is evenrecorded by the ancient Greek and Romanwriters. One can best comprehend the Brokpamedicine largely in terms of cultural belief anddefinition in their environmental setting. Thoughprevailing customs and belief pattern are govern-ing their life, yet one cannot overlook the recentchanges and current issues. Culture as a wholehelps in shaping society’s medical elements andthere is a functional interrelationship amongstthe parts of medical pattern. Health and diseaseare both cultural and biological; we confineourselves to cultural parameters.

Social change refers to processes of alter-natives in social values, beliefs, legal systemsand social institutions. This change also affectspeople in everyday life, their thinking and react-ing to the change and other people in society.


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The Brokpa village under study juxtaposed bet-ween two cultural, social and religious systems.Until recently a traditional society, the Brokpasare gradually coming out of their shell. However,unlike most other tribes, which have increasinglyadapted to and adopted modern culture, techno-logy and education, the Brokpa still by and largezealously cling to their traditional mores. However,this does not mean that these people have not feltthe thrust of the Indian administration at all. Changesare slowly coming to this area. The area is experienc-ing full penetration of Indian infrastructure.Government built roads, health posts, schools, andcontrolling arms of Indian democracy madethemselves omnipotent through these institutionsand police stations, army check posts, banks andpostal services scattered throughout the region.

Cultural values and context play a greater rolein conceptual frameworks to understand healthand illness perceptions. In Dah, local discourseon causes on sickness is changing along withchanging environmental and social conditions.There are new health risks and shifting socialvulnerabilities as the region becomes involved indevelopment programmes. The Brokpa are awareof the various aspects of the rapidly changingreality and factors that might make people ill ratherthan specific diseases. Local accounts of healthand sickness among Brokpa suggest that theexplanations of ill health are undergoing subtleredefinition as they draw comparisons betweenpast and present conditions. These processes areassociated with new diseases and dependencieson outside help. This area like rest of Ladakh hasbeen in a process of change. The three warsbetween India and Pakistan and subsequentdevelopment of the area, road construction andother factors of social change are not risk freeprocesses. There is general concern about roadbringing more outsiders at their doorstep- andtheir diseases to the area. However, it will alsorelieve Brokpa from the burden of having to carrythe seriously ill out of Dah to a nearby healthcentre or hospital in town.

Outside influences in Dah, have affected theBrokpa culture. Ladakhi culture and society, ofwhich Dah-Bema is part has been subjected tostrong outside influences and has been affectedby stationing of armed forces and Indian admi-nistration; Muslim rule from Jammu and Kashmir;development programmes and breakup of tradi-tional laws of marriage and inheritance; and largescale tourism.

The Brokpa form a distinctive cultural ethniccommunity having preserved in their language andsocial customs many archaic traits of theirAryan ancestors through endogamy and oraltradition. However, differing in certain religioustraditions, Brokpas have adopted specific socialinstitutions of traditional Buddhist social struc-ture. The nature of assimilation, among BrokpaDards in Ladakh is that they did not abandontheir traditions of the country of their origin norirrationally emulate Buddhist culture. It is generalassumption that inequalities between ethnicgroups will disappear once migrants adoptcustoms, practices and beliefs of the ‘hostsociety’. According to Mason, this is “oversimplistic culturalist explanations” (Mason, 2000,p. 93) on which assimilationists base their ideasupon and assume that a norm exist to whichnewly arrived minorities are likely to conform,and furthermore, they rarely take full account ofthe material differences that may account forhealth variation between ethnic groups (Nazroo,1998). Brokpa predict day-to-day life on theassumption that social identity and socialrelations are timeless and ineradicable; he himselfis loyal to his home village to the point of fiercechauvinism and is ready to believe anythingabout men in other villages.

In Brokpa culture, the cause and effect ofillness for all time rests on religious beliefs.Spiritual therapy, which also has had a deeppresence in the Dard history, is indicator of therelationships of illness, beliefs and social change.Recent social changes are affecting the socialstructure and consequently health and sicknessoutlook. Young generations, are less sensitivetowards spiritual therapy. Medicine is one ofthose cultural aspects that have fostered arealistic presence within a society. In spite ofbiomedicine, there is hidden presence andinfluence within the health care system. In mostparts of India, multiple therapy systems and adiversity of health behaviour patterns coexistand this place is no exception. The status, growthand evaluation of co-existing therapy systems isinfluenced by cultural ideology, ecology, politicalpatronage, changing social institutions,disenchantment with and romanticisation ofvalues represented by therapy systems (or theirsupporters). In Dah, various kinds of medicalpractices co-exist within shared social andcultural spaces. There is uneven co-existence ofthe biomedical system based on western medical

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training and traditional healing traditions in Dah.These medical systems are complementary,alternative and unconventional. Among Brokpaof Dah, the health care includes self-care, consul-tation with traditional healers and /or primaryhealth care. Four systems of treatment areavailable to them: herbal; ritual care; biomedicineand amchi medicine beside home remedies. TheState government has introduced biomedicineand amchi medicine (herbal and mineral traditionof Tibetan Medicine). The psychosomatic treat-ment in Brokpa aetiology includes appeasementof evil spirits and forces by sacrifice of animals,by offerings of grains and liquor, use of charmsand amulets depicting sacred symbols. They usemagical spells to divert the undesirable effectsof evil spirits. Brokpa make dough figures anddrawings of various kinds during differentoccasions having various symbolic meanings toward off spirits who bring illness and misfortune.Some are for fertility of their animals, others forthe prosperity of the household. The pluralisticmedical situation of doctors and deities in tribalareas provide flexibility and fulfills differentneeds of the community. The folk systems areopen as manifested by eclecticism of both theclients and practitioners, who adopt and adaptfrom an array of co-existing medical traditions.This openness of folk systems, as Press (1978)point out, manifested by the acceptance of inputsfrom other/alternative health systems, and inputsfrom institutional sectors such as religion andfamily.

Brokpa admit personal use of herbs, spiritualcure and preventive measures. They integrateherbs, especially Chilligi (Juniper) into religiousbelief pattern and spiritual cleaning. Brokpa havea strong faith in Juniper (Chillgi); and considerit, as benediction because their ancestors alsoused it. It is also a symbol of longevity, strengthand fertility. The Juniper (Chillgi) tree holds aspecial significance for Brokpa, as it cleans theatmosphere of evil spirits. Brokpa make use ofjuniper in their religious ceremonies as anti-pollutant. They do so (fumigate with smolderingjuniper) on coming back from any excursion outsidethe village. The women never use water for washingtheir faces having a belief that their Barkat (graceor charm) will go away with the washing, insteaduse Chillgi leaves. They use it for psychologicalproblems, or against evil eye. This attitude ofkeeping the original charm or evil eye away haswider ramifications at the house and village level.

In order to maintain the purity of their householdand that of village Brokpa take certain precau-tionary measures. This helps to preserve thefertility and prosperity thus keeping pollutinginfluences from affecting the house or village.They do not allow any outsider to their houses.The outsider sits near the door. When they servetea or food to an outsider, they do not take hiscup or plate to hearth to fill but they bring foodin vessel and serve. They do not allow any bodyto cross over the chimney on the rooftop, as itwould cause pollution to the hearth and thehouse god. The Lha-bab (shaman) eats Chillgileaves and inhales its smoke before performingany ritual or exorcism or going into trance.Brokpa religiously collect white blossoms ofjuniper tree and keep at their home.

The importance of Juniper (Chillgi) in Brok-pa life is for its economic value too. In the barrenwilderness of Ladakh where nothing grows wild,Chillgi grows in abundance in and around Dah.Juniper trees furnish them food, fuel and woodfor shelter. Brokpa of Dah also sells bundles ofChillgi branches at Leh during Losar (New Year),where it does not grow as such. The concept of‘pure-impure’ plays an important role in the life ofBrokpa. The state of purity/impurity is alwaysoccurring within the household, between thehouseholds, between the kin’s and between thevillagers and outsiders. Change has not alwaysbeen welcome in the area; there is a belief thatchange brings illness and diseases. The diseasesnot related to local environment are not treatableby local methods.

When a person or place is impure or polluted(Chitu), purification is symbolically cleansingoneself or place with the smoke of smolderingChillgi (Juniper). On all these occasions thehouse is smoked with Chillgi and utensils washedin water boiled with Chillgi branches and leaves.

In traditional Brokpa religious ideology,broadly speaking, the shepherd was one of theseveral types of intermediary between theimpure/domestic and pure/alpine spatialrealms. Here the primary division of space isbetween the domestic, ‘civilised’ realm, center-ed on the village, and the savage, exteriorrealm. The latter has number of spaces,especially all higher regions above the settle-ment like mountains, pasture grounds, lakes,glaciers and the streams originating from theseare pure. There are certain flowers, trees andanimals inhabiting these areas and even colo-


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urs are symbols of purity. They consider upperzone especially pure, by comparison with thevillage and other lowland spaces. Brokpa donot allow women, bovines and the dead- theprimary sources of pollution to this upper zone.Men, rather than women, and caprids ratherthan bovines, function as intermediaries bet-ween the domestic and alpine realms. Theexclusion of women from the mountainpastures was noted among the Kalash (Parkes,1987). A similar prohibition observed amongthe Adyghe and Kabardian peoples of theNorthwest Caucasus in pre-Soviet times(Topuria, 1970). The mediating role of sheepand goats is facilitated, no doubt, by thesimple fact that that these animals are moremobile on mountainous terrain than largerlivestock, and can be led to high-altitude pas-tures. The blood of sacrificed goat has specialpurifying powers (Parkes, 1987). The femaledeities and demons who watch over the herdsare very beautiful with radiant white skin. Aman must be certain that he and everyone inhis household are pure before he goes tomountains. The most serious occasions ofimpurity are death, adultery, and women’sblood flow (i.e. menstruation and childbirth).The slightest violation, even if unintentional,of a taboo can have fatal consequences. “Thisis a sexual relation with a usual roles and varia-tions inverted: the goddess is pure, unlike ahuman female, and she makes the decision toinitiate, and terminate the love affair” (Tuiteand Kevin, 1997)

Purity and impurity are inherent in sexes;Females are relatively less pure than males, untilold age when they become sexually neutral.Traditions prohibit women from coming close tothe Juniper shrine (Chillgi Deuha) at Dah-Drouk(pas-ture ground). The female body appears asa unique vessel of suffering and impurity inBuddhist medical and ritual practices. Inparticular, it considers how medical practices andfolk rituals differ in their approach to female body.Both Tibetan medicine and Buddhism draw onsimilar discourse of causality and suffering,including an andocentric approach to the femalebody. While the central text of Tibetan medicinelike the Rgyud Bzhi rarely differentiate femalebody and its ailments from complex source ofindividual and social suffering. The discourseconstructs the female body as a privileged siteof suffering in which being female is both a

calamity and punishment for the past deeds. Thiscultural discourse identifies the female body asboth dangerous as well as in danger. As such,the female body offers a powerful model of dangerand impurity in Buddhist discourse. The beliefabout pollution also means that women arediscriminated during mensturation as well aschildbirth. The beliefs about pollution also meanthat those women cannot deliver in the mainhouse near is warm, since the hearth spiritsresides there. Brokpa dietary patterns especiallyexclusion of cow and poultry products and theburden of women’s work have been responsiblefor the women and child health. Pregnant womentake simple food, fermented wheat, tsampa, anddifferent sorts of soups. At the time of childbirth,her mother gives tsampa cooked in water, saltand ghee, on the day of delivery. Relatives andfriends also present restorative or curative foods.It is to abet the new mother’s recovery, but alsoas a symbol of vitality and good fortune

Like other regions of Buddhist culture area,there are traditional shamanic healers amongBrokpa, addressed as lha-bab. They look themas divine persons who embody spirits deitiesduring trance states. In other parts of Ladakhthere are two types of shamans; one who servegompa (monastery) and the others are villageshamans who practice healing sessions forvillagers. The gompa shamans work for thewelfare of the whole community and performduring festivals. The complexity of shamanismin Dah- is in part a reflection of geographical,linguistic and ethnological complexity of theregion. There is no resident lama in Dah as theBuddhist Dards have three priestly officials-lhabdag, brongopa and lhapalhama who lookafter the ritual life of Brokpa. The - lhabdag,brongopa and lha-bab and the Lama do notcontradict each other but co-exist as religiousspecialists. The Lamas offer prayers to theBuddhist gods and goddesses and propitiate theprotective deities of the land while lha-bdagappease local spirits and offer sacrifice for thebetterment of community. Lama also looks afterthe performance of rituals at time of birth, marriageand death.

In case of preference for medical care,Brokpas of Dah have conflicting views. Someprefer to go to Sub-Centre while others prefertraditional medicine. Brokpas of Dah are theonly traditional Dards who have been able topreserve their traditional practices. Brokpas of

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Hanu are the only non-Tibetan people who arepracticing amchi medicine. Kloos (2004) studyreveal that 58% of his informants went foramchi medicine giving reliability and efficacyof amchi medicine as the reason, while 26%went for biomedicine and 16% decided on thenature of sickness. However, he states of thesame informant, only 48% used amchi medicineas a first resort, while 36% said they used sub-centre first, and again 16% decided accordingto their sickness. On evaluating, the patient’sregister books of the sub-centre and one amchias well as statements made by other amchiKloos recorded ‘further strong shift in favourof sub-centre (Kloos, 2004: 116). The Brokpaof Dah, in case of sickness of longer duration,besides following the traditional rituals ofpurification and home remedies prefer to go tohealth centre. It is during sickness that thebody is most vulnerable, the fundamentalconceptions of the social order and themeanings of the traditions brought intoquestions as noted by Camaroff (1984) andTurner (1968). It is during sickness that themeanings of traditions confront alternativesof the present. Sickness episodes thus emergeas illustrations not only of the changing socialworld in which patients live, but also of thehistory, which helped to shape that world. Untilthere was no biomedical center in the area, thelhama/lhapa and amchi were providingmedical care and treating the sick. Along with,the Brokpa of Dah were performing rituals totheir deities and pursuing astrologicalpredictions. The role of lhama/lhapa andamchi closely linked both to the theory ofmedico religious Tibetan literature as well astraditional socio-economic conditions. Withthe availability of biomedical facilities in thearea and comparatively easy access to thedoctors, the dependency of Brokpa of Dah ontraditional sources of medicine has decreased.Pordie (2002) reports that due to change in theeconomic, environmental and socio-culturalsituation, the social and medical powers ofamchi challenged resulting in change in theirsocial role. Among Brokpa of Dah, the amchimedicine never took roots. Brokpas of Dah wereand are more involved in their rituals andpurification rites than the rest of Dards in thearea. However, with increase in the levels ofeducation, and other avenues of earning money,the young have become rich in comparison to

their parent resulting in change in their thinkingas well. Brokpa women ultimately perceive healthand illness as domain of god. However, this doesnot imply that women do not identify factors intheir environment that cause illness, for examplediarrhea. They understand that certain elementsin the environment such as dirt, animals, people,water and food are responsible for the onset ofdisease. Some people get sick because they havebad or weak digestive system. They alsounderstand that children suffer from diarrheabecause of change in season, teething andweaning. However, all know about reasons ofdiarrhea, but on more probing, all women saidthat supernatural or malevolent forces such asnazar or evil eye, demons, evil spirits were causesof sickness.

There is co existence of deities and doctorsin the area with multi layered beliefs and practicesin medicine. However, these two systems havebeen subject to social, economic and politicalchange. A biomedical disease centered modelunderpins health care provision in the NationalHealth System but the Brokpa, hold differentdiscourses and understanding of health. Westernconstruction of medicine is body and self,physiological and psychological; while theBrokpa, look for holistic approach, wherein everypart of body integrated and connected. Low useof Brokpa of mental health services related tocultural specificities of explanation of illness i.e.different ways of conceiving health and sickness.Brokpa’s explanatory model of mental health isdifferent from biomedicine with a reluctance toview minor psychological symptoms in term ofillness.

The problem regarding health servicesutilisation in India is that established indigenousforms of health care are readily available andcompete with modern health care. There aredifferent components of the decision to seekmedical help and condition that affect the choiceof a specific health care system. Studies haveshown that though the presence of medicalpluralism is a significant factor, which delays theuse of biomedicine, but there are other reasonsas well. However, in Dah, Brokpa have opted forbiomedicine instead of traditional amchi medicinewhile retaining their traditional outlook

Dah provides a striking example of a cultureand society, which subjected to strong outsideinfluences. The pressure of these outsideinfluences has caused increase in their


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ceremonies of traditional folk religion as it providea coping mechanism for Brokpa to deal with rapidchanges that have occurred during recentdecades. In Dah, the medical power, in the pasttransformed in to social power because of theLha-bab’s monopoly on therapeutic care and thepeople’s dependency on them. Brokpa connectsthe power to heal with the super personalcharacter and a communion with the spiritualpower. Religious differences and differentialunderstandings and knowledge effect decision-making in health arena. They believe that theimmoral behaviours sanctioned by immediate actof retribution by supernatural entities. The taskof lha-bab is to appeal to supernatural entitiesin order to revoke their wrath. The task oflhabdag is to remind individuals of potentialmoral consequences of their behaviours. TheBrokpa religion provides a more effective meansof controlling demons and deities throughlhabdag than lha-bab did. That is why; the lha-bab healing rituals have become less. It is in totalcontrast to what reported from other parts ofLadakh. According to Kressing (2003), the‘proliferation of shamanism’ offers one of anumber of possible coping strategies. There arecases of spirit possession among other Dard groupsas well. Once mediums with different names, werecommon among Dardic speakers of neighbouringShinkari (the area of the former Gilgit Agency), butby the 1800s were to be found only in Gilgit, Hunzaand Nagar (Biddulph, 1880, 98). Elsewhere Islamicreligious practitioners (c.f. Lorimer, 1929: 511) hadsuperseded them. The mediums of Hunza calledbitan. The source of bitan’s power lies in his abilityto communicate with the pari (spirit). Like lha-bab,the bitan among Hunzakut are able to communicatepersonally with supernaturals, traditionally reveredas oracles and holy men who exercised theirsupernatural power for the good of the community(Sidky, 1994). Before the introduction of Buddhismin the area, the lha-bab did not have to go forrigorous training. However, indigenous folk religionsubjugated under the rules and premises ofBuddhism. The medium who received the callingmust be trained first i.e. learn consciously how togo to into trance, a training which involves greateffort and self-denial, both physical and financial.They experience great stress during this period. Allof these discouraged new initiations.

It is interesting to note that Brokpa of Dah,while remained within the traditional frameworkthrough dependency on each other, and through

fear of supernaturals, yet in Dah, pragmatismproves stronger than belief, at least in the matterof health care. The biomedicine prevails overritual care. The ritual healing as practiced by lha-bab is ambivalent process, often looked downby the Buddhist monastic authorities despite theirintimate involvement in it. By comparison, amchiare valued and seen as unequivocally part of theBuddhist tradition. For last three decades, theBrokpas of Dah have no practicing lha-bab norany body initiated. Likewise, they have only oneamchi as even the amchi medicine has not setup foundation in Dah. No body from Dah hastried to learn amchi medicine as a profession.For health care, they mostly depend onbiomedicine along with their precautionary ritualsand taboos. However, in the past lha-bab weremore important than amchi, because theyspecialised in centric modes of healing. The socialrelations of healing embedded in the localsetting. The priestly officials- Lha-bdag,brongopa and lha-bab play an important role inbeing a means and channel to express and dealwith social suffering involved in the Brokpa’sloss of fear of loosing identity, ethnicdiscrimination and recent changes. Ritual taboos,complex of pollution purity and organised systemof ritual prescription regulates the life within thevillage as well as between and within eachhousehold.

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