This is a unique feature of the Loba, but one that is slowly diminishing. Sterling Publishers. The Dhongbas are units of production of the local social-ecosystem that are entitled to use local resources within the context of the institutions agreed rules, norms, and values. Tribhuvan University, Nepal. The forms of performance are solo, duet and chorus. However, recent social-environmental dynamics such as climate change, migration, and modernization are reducing the relevancies of traditional norms and practices. The Loba practice this system wherever they go and whenever they need to share something. Populations are scaled to the current year. The payment of the chheba becomes higher if someone lets the animal to the crop-field during the night, which can reach as high as NPR 50,000 to 100,000, which is quite a high amount of money. Whichever direction you turned, there was nothing but cobalt blue skies. The Upper Mustang is one of the few areas affected highly by such political change. The dialects of the Loba people in different areas are By the afternoon, newspapers in Latin America and Spain teemed with tributes. The legend of the ancestors of the Loba Electricity, telephone and internet facilities are extended to this remote location. Furthermore, external financial dependency is recognized as a sign of threats to the collapse of Gomba in Lo-manthang. Nowadays, weak and poor people from anywhere in Nepal can send their children to Gomba in Lo-manthang. Kilolo, chiefs, headed local village government. In old days, Lhoba people were divided into two classes - 'maide' and 'nieba'. These forces contributed to bringing notable changes in livelihoods and food security, household management, community monastery management, dress pattern and food behavior of Loba community (Pandey 2017). Dangbang, the second was Dangjian, and the third was Dangjian. It must have been 40Celsius. However, the house structures found at Mustang could pose a question as to whether the society has been derived from feudalism. They work in the royal fields and look after the royal herd on a turn basis. Aani Gomba was found in Thinger, Tsarang, and Lo-manthang in the past. Agricultural adaptation to climate change in the trans-Himalaya: a study of Loba community of Lo-manthang, Upper Mustang. In the past, such labor contributions by people to the Kings farm used to be obligatory and free. Cultural, religious and archaeological heritage of Lo-manthang and their restoration. The issue of identity is complex, multifaceted, and overlapped. At some point it seemed as if we had lost our way. 2005. The region shows evidence of agriculture prior to 1100 CE and involved the raising of such crops as red sorghum, millet, yams, bananas, beans, sugar-cane, and groundnuts. Culturally embedded knowledge in irrigation: Peoples ways of thriving in a Himalayan village. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.951018. These local institutions are cooperating well, successfully regulating, managing, and protecting agricultural, forest, and pasture lands, and maintaining the monuments in Lo-manthang for centuries. In rare instances a representative photo may be used. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. Upper Mustang is not connected by road or air and can only be accessed on foot or on mules over a rutted dust track. Rappaport, Roy. As the crow flies, that would have been the shortest route, except that we were not crows and the route entailed going up and down one mountain after another until we reached Jomsom. To support the palace, some households were categorized as the nagjin to work inside the palace: cleaning rooms, carrying loads, processing and cooking foods, and grinding or preparing tsampa were their main tasks. The traditionally built structures and the common colors seen in the houses perhaps reflect the Loba culture. There is no native However, Loba people have been adapting to new and heavier conditions by hiring paid laborers supplied from outside. Most of the time, the eldest brother remains at home. The Lobas live in Upper Mustang, which is remotely located, highly dynamic, full of environmental diversity, and consists of specific niches to the people (Khattri 2021). We stopped in Tsarang, the summer capital of the King of Mustang where his dzong (fort) houses an armoury. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The politico-institutional changes in the Upper Mustang have been remarkable in the last seven decades. This issue has been a subject of public discussion, but not yet decided, said Indra Dhara Bista, the local elite and then member of parliament of the Gandaki Province, Nepal. The legend of the ancestors of the Loba The totem worship of the tribes and clans The dominant sect is Ngorpa, a sub-sect of Syakyapa. They are privileged to participate in rituals and community festivals and have influential roles in community decision-making. He arranged a four-wheel-drive vehicle for us to cover the rest of the journey to Lo Manthang. The trade routes of the Luba extended all the way from eastern Africa to the distant shores of India. Nowadays, another challenge emerged that many people are willing to pay money instead of playing the role of chhime. The Loba dress very much like the Tibetan tribes living in the Himalayan region. pp. Unfortunately, not much is known about the history and origin of Lhoba people. ), Anthropology and Sociology of Nepal: Cultures, Societies, Ecology and Development (pp. 936). The Ani Gompa, the Tsarang monastery, is a colourful structure painted extravagantly in ochre and red and visible from miles away. We plunged our feet into the cool waters of the Kali Gandaki before returning to our hotel, which faced the Nilgiri (well, all the hotels in Jomsom do). This town, with a resident population of around 15,000, has a single high street that runs its entire length, a few hotels and the odd shop or two, all watched over by the magnificent Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri peaks. Map Design: Joshua Project, Joshua Project data is drawn from many sources and of varying accuracy depending on source and editorial decisions. Sherpa, Pasang. It will not be long before roads open up this region and allow it to be swallowed up by mainstream life. Sociological and Anthropological Society of Nepal (SASON). Chhetri, Ram Bahadur. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-010-0174-9. In Loba society, a person may have as many as three names. A preliminary report on kinship terminologies of the Bodish section of Sino-Tibetan speaking peoples. Ask the Holy Spirit to cause the Loba to become dissatisfied with their traditional religions, and to make them hungry for the Bread of Life. They widely spread in the areas of Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema. Education and rituals are integral parts of livelihood systems, particularly as the primary function of Buddhist education is to develop an attitude of having belief and values for the individual, nature, and a system of balance, harmony, and co-existence. Social-ecological vulnerability to climate change in the Nepali Himalaya. The following are illustrative examples of culture: Norms Assumption Belief Behavior Languages Festivals The common people are obliged to follow the rules fixed by the ghenba. The Reme ghyapkin is a system of sharing and managing resources, costs of community work, and benefits of community utilities on a rotational basis. I like to eat a kind of Nayudongla along the valley southward, and arrived at the place of Delen Bang. In these caves, relics from a Bon past were found alongside Buddhist artefacts. in the Loyu area in southeastern Tibet and adjacent counties such as Chayu, These tasks used to be performed in the form of reme ghapkin, the turn system, particularly while working for the Gomba and the palace (Table 2). The ghiughar chhumbe/mhigyaba grow long hair, are marriageable, wear white clothes, and stay in white-colored houses. The data and information were collected under the PhD research project (Khattri 2021) of the first author. Google Scholar. They take specific roles and responsibilities of irrigation management and other issues of community spheres. This research involves human participants, human data, and human issues. 3 and described in the following section. Archaeological investigation of the region shows that the Loba people have settled in the region and cultivated crops for around 3000years (Knorzer 2000). In a couple of hours, we crossed Ekla Bhati village with a single dwelling and a fancy Roc Cafe, which advertised espresso and apricot crumble, but was locked. Dove, 121. Starting from a very young age, and young boys start to join adults in hunting. The national first-class protected birds include the Tragopan, which is mainly distributed in the forest area of H. Lo-manthang and Lo Ghekar Damodar Kunda are two rural municipalities where thirty-nine village settlements are located (District Development Committee, Mustang, 2068 BS: 2012AD). The society practices monogamy and polygamy. Theory of culture change: The methodology of multilinear evolution. They produce single seasonal crops of few varieties (wheat, naked barley, mustard, potatoes, buckwheat, vegetables). The popular way of cooking is putting the game in fire and covering by ashes to prepare for eating. Both the men and women grow their hair long and often wear it braided. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. 1993. It is multi-sectoral practice (Fig. Terms and Conditions, The prospect of bouncing about again in a bus bound for Jomsom for 12 to 15 hours stared us in the face. So here we were going round and round the mountain trails of dust and sand, often losing sight of the Manang range and the Nilgiri, which were our markers. They have become less dependent on the parental property as they have diversified their livelihood system, including but not limited to labor migration and engagement in trade and commerce, including in the tourism industry. The ever-increasing cash income has a greater impact on the economy of households and communities of Loba. Hari Bahadur KC, then Head Teacher at Dibya Joyti High School Chhoser in Upper Mustang, an eyewitness of the Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in 1984, described the situation in which a Lama led a ritual and walked in front of a ritual procession holding a golden Buddha idol, sprinkling the holy water, and chanting sacred mantaras for the peace and security of the people, plants, and livestock during the disastrous GLOF. The King and ghemba formulate or design rules and govern the community affairs, whereas Lama or gomba educate people about peace and harmony and ensure justice in society following the norms and values of Tibetan Buddhism. 2004. The fixation of the high amount of fine indicates the value of crops and the sensitiveness of crops for food security. It is surrounded on three sides by Chinese-occupied Tibet. Occasionally, a daring four-wheel-drive vehicle might brave the odds to drive to Lo Manthang, the capital. Even today, hunting dogs play a significant part in Lhoba life and it is common for a family to own dozens of dogs which are taken into homes as family. However, their everyday clothes and hairstyles have changed with the course of modernization. Among the four major sects (Nyingmapa, Sakyapa, Kagyupa, and Gyalugpa) of Tibetan Buddhism, no Gyalugpa monastery was founded in the Lo kingdom. Upper Mustang is a trans-Himalayan desert (cold) area with an annual average precipitation of less than 20cm. The Mustangi King initiated the dialogue as some traders were violating the customary monopoly of the salt trade (Uprety 1980). How the Himba came to be The first settlements of the Himba people can be traced back to the early 16th century when they crossed the Angolan border and chose Kaokoland (nowadays called Kunene region) as their new homeland. Samasume includes those households formed by children who are usually grown up in maternal homes and are illegitimate for the ancestral property. 2016. When Bang took Lhoba societies are patriarchal and in the feudal past, women had no rights and had inherited nothing from their husbands and fathers. Their primary language is Loke. When singing, Many young Lamas are giving up their monastic life and starting married family life and the number is growing every year in Lo-manthang. 1980. We are thankful to Mr. Kanchan Mani Dixit for editing the language of this paper. Yellow school buses were plying on this single street, presumably bringing children from surrounding villages. We know that the Southern regions of Tibet were once occupied by India but in 7th century, Tibet succeeded unifying tribes and started to real this region as well as the rest of the Tibet. Samar, at 3,700 m, is a verdant village of just seven households. Until 1992, this area was closed to the outside world. The non-violence value of Buddhism are transferred to the people via rituals, performances, and direct teaching. We also crossed a lone chorten, evocative of the isolation of this wind-swept high-altitude plateau, and a stunning Mani wall. Norway: University of Oslo. volume7, Articlenumber:4 (2023) These studies have been carried out from historical, religious and economic perspectives. Dinesh was a bit fuzzy about how long the trek to the next camp was. In Upper Mustang polyandry is practiced by Loba communities. Kagbeni is also where your permit to trek to Mustang is checked. They hold sizeable agricultural land from their lord. On-the-ground reality may vary from what is presented here. Goldstein, Melvyn C. 1971. The process of offering water, flowers, incense, light, fruits, words, and greeting God, ordinary people, animals, and plants have defined ways and manners that should be followed to ensure peace, harmony, and prosperity in the community. The former King of Mustang, Jigme Dorje Palba Bista, died in 2016 in Kathmandu, and his son runs a hotel in Lo. told reporters that due to the dispersed living and inconvenient transportation What we know for sure is that from the conquest of Tibet to 1950s, Lhoba people were frequently bullied and oppressed by the Tibetans. 20,000 as a fine for those households unable to take responsibility of chhime. On our early morning walk through this street, we spotted Dhaulagiri Boarding School and an attached hostel where girls were getting ready for school. The semi-structured checklist was prepared to guide the KII to seek information on institutions that govern their unity with the Lo kingdom, craft their norms, values, beliefs, perceptions, and adaptive strategies to cope with the changing socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions. the Loba people. For Loba ru-shya, marriage relation is perfectly desired, similar to many Himalayan indigenous ethnic communities (Godlstein 1971; Levine 1981; Vinding 1979), including Magar, Gurung, Thakali. A displayed zero can mean true zero, a very small rounded number or sometimes unknown. They harvest their crops first and common people harvest crops later. "The people there still live very much as A similar traditional customary institution holding the administration function and engaging in socio-economic, political, and religious activities is also found in Manang district of Nepal (Sherpa 2015). characteristics that distinguish the Loba nationality from other nationalities. The path to Kagbeni is along the riverbed, mostly dry, with an occasional crystal stream meandering over the grey pebbles. The annual turn is followed in traditional leadership (ghenba, midhi, and chhime). the folk singer usually touches the scene in the traditional tune, has the A picture from their classroom Living in one of the most mountainous region and being one of the most isolated human group in the world also do not help. Kagbeni is the jumping-off point for the Upper Mustang trek and Muktinath. However, existing literature grossly ignored the value of indigenous institutions as the adaptation mechanism to socio-cultural, techno-economic, politico-institutional, and geo-environmental dynamics. These five colors symbolize wind, sky, earth, water, and fire, respectively. In the past, Loba had a practice of bhogmo which means a half-share of the production to be given to Gomba as the rent for cultivating the land. This study has contributed significantly to the advancement of the Ostroms (1990, 1993) eight design principles and made it ten, in the case of local institutions of the Loba community of Upper Mustang. One wondered whether Greek and Roman architecture might not have been inspired by these cliffs and columns. Jabyang Sonam practises one of the oldest strains of Tibetan Buddhism. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 27 (1): 6474. Local people remembered the past and said that a knombo, the basket was torn-off, as they worked at the royal field and palace each year. Since the opening of the place for outsiders, cave settlement has been the point of attraction to tourists. Lama/monks work to improve the spiritual life and general health of the Loba community. https://doi.org/10.1086/soutjanth.27.1.3629185. The Lhoba engage in barter trade with the Tibetans, trading goods like animal hides, musk, bear paws, dye (locally knowns as tamen or botanically known as Rubia cordifolia) and captured game for farm tools, salt, wool, clothing, grain and tea from Tibetan traders. They have historical contributions to promote the Nepali economy and sovereignty of the country. This paper is the output of Ph.D. thesis of first author. Lo-manthang Rural Municipality (LRM), the local government provides grants to the ghenba system to maintain irrigation canals. The individual students are also sponsored, mostly by foreign donors. Nepali, Gopal Singh. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 6(0). In agricultural land, black crops and white crops are cultivated annually and are the alternative crops. animals and sacrificed ghosts or asked wizards to recite sutras, and used witchcraft feeling and sends out, exports for the song. Their main god is tiger which is the most dangerous animal in the region. likes roast meat, dried meat, milk dregs and buckwheat cakes, especially The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript. Cambridge University Press India. These options have changed dramatically in the last few decades with the influence of Nepali state and globalization as a whole. University of Michigan Press. In the land of the Loba On the treacherous high-altitude trail to Lo Manthang, the walled city that is the capital of Upper Mustang province in Nepal and whose denizens are true custodians of a. The Mustangi King Gyam Parabal led the Nepal Government delegates in 1895, during the dialogue on the border dispute, with Chinas Tibet, related to the salt and grain trade in Mustang. For a town with a population of just 800, Lo seemed to be bustling with activity. https://doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v6i0.8480. Stratification, polyandry, and family structure in Central Tibet. They inhabit the Mustang and Dolpa districts in the northern part of the region (Dhawalagiri Zone), close to the Nepal-China border. The Loba livelihood includes agriculture, livestock management, trade/seasonal, tourism, and labor migration. Pandey, Rishikesh. to restrain ghosts. The findings of this paper were presented by the first author at the Central University, Jharkhand, Ranchi, India on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (14-16th Nov. 2022). The life for Lhoba people are harsh due to the region they live and most Lhoba people are considered poor in the region. The Lhoba fortune-telling practice is quite unique as they read patterns (colour, shape and blood vessels) in a freshly harvested liver. 1). Only a tiny 19-seater aircraft flies from Pokhara to Jomsom daily, and even this shuts down when the weather in Jomsom turns moody and misty, which is often. The Loba celebrate four major religious festivals: Gine, Gensu, Gelung, and Nayuene. The skull of the consumed animal is held in front of the houses to symbolize diligence and wealth. They are part of the South Asian Buddhist people cluster within the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. The living customs of the Loba people are deeply influenced by the Tibetans, and their daily diet and food preparation methods are basically the same as those in the Tibetan agricultural areas. The chortens (temple) were crowded with garlands of rocks inscribed in Tibetan. The ABC trail was cool most of the way, thickly forested, with jaw-dropping scenerygurgling streams, flower-carpeted valleys, rhododendron slopes and bamboo busheswhereas the trek from Jomsom to Lo Manthang must be one of the most barren stretches on the planet, with nary a blade of grass, no tree offering shade, no grass to tickle your feet, just sand everywhere, two-feet deep in places, trying to swallow your boots. Village municipality developmental works are mostly done by these in-migrant workers since the members of the Loba community are not much interested in such labor works. They speak the following languages: Luba-Katanga, Luba-Kasai, Luba-Maniema, and Swahili. The household (dhaonba) is the smallest unit of production of any given local social-ecological system (Pandey & Bardsley 2015), and follows the rules, norms and values prescribed by the other three institutions that sustain their livelihood. J. Barnes and M.R. Agrawal (2008) emphasized understanding such institutions from their roles in shaping adaptation and improving the capacities of the most vulnerable social groups in any social and environmental upheavals. It is inhabited by the Loba and the Khampa. Education and trade also take turns seasonally. The Loba follow horizontal social stratification by their occupation, educational level, property holding/access, fluency in languages, gender, and lifestyles. 1 global company with the best workplace culture. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (A publication of Universiti Putra Malaysia UPM) 24 (2): 737756. In Lo-manthang, a drought-prone region, cultivation without irrigation is impossible. 2006. Since ancient Dhungel, Ramesh. 2002. Anthropologists have focused their studies on cultural ecology and ethnoecology. Other household types, such as phorang (of a singled man) and morang (of a singled woman), are also observable in the place. Khattri, Man Bahadur. Many of the young Loba people are waiting expectantly and anxiously for the road's completion, but many older residents are hesitant about what it will mean for their culture and identity. Our travel agent, Suman, who is in his forties and an avid trekker of yesteryear, sits in distant Kathmandu. Man Bahadur Khattri. After all, all that remains unconnected is just a stretch of 50-odd kilometres between the Tibetan border and Jomsom. : 2000 AD BLo(Mustang) Ko Saskritik Sampada (In Nepali Cultural Heritage of Mustang). For example, the feudal lords build three-story houses; but the common people and those in the lower castes are only allowed to build single-story houses without walled in compounds. it is a festival after another. Mustang is a windy, arid, high altitude desert. Ghenchen household is a split from the dhongba, often recognized as parents household. The country changed its political status from a unitary Kingdom to a federal democratic republic recently, although major political changes were observed in 1991 and 2006. Presnetly, most of Lhoba people are living in Nanyi Valley of Milin County, Nyingchi, Damu town of Motuo County, Yu town of Longzi County, Shannan and other two around places. Grocery shop in Lo Manthang (2018) by Angelo ChiacchioEphemera documentary Newly paved routes. 2021. Every additional day of stay costs $50 a day. There are more than 100 ethnic/indigenous groups in Nepal, which constitute about 35% of the country's total population as of 2011 (Central Bureau of Statistics [CBS] 2012). Rich agricultural land was only available in pockets and in-between these were large uninhabited areas used for hunting. Pandey, Rishikesh. Although the formal monarchy of the region was abolished in 2008 from Nepal, Loba communities still follow the monarchy institution informally and the King has not lost the respect of the Loba people. Road networks have linked them to the market, which supplies required materials at a lower price and through easier ways than producing those consumables locally. The maximum temperature in June and July reaches up to 23 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature in January goes down to -20 degrees Celsius. Reporting directly to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global, Culture & Engagement), the Chief of Staff, Global, Culture and Engagement is a key member of the Portfolio's leadership team and will manage the portfolio to ensure the timely and efficient execution of a range of international programs; provide strategic oversight to and ensure support for the Committees, Advisory Groups and Working . California Privacy Statement, of the Loba Nationality has been carried on from generation to generation until statement and The Buddhist Loba people there still farm with wooden plows and spend hours spinning prayer wheels, chanting mantras, and consulting Buddhist astrologers on every aspect of life. The men also wear swords and carry bows and arrows. The result is that Gomba was compelled to modify their existing rules to make people more obliged to support Gomba, particularly the operation of agricultural activities in the land plots owned by Gomba. Namgyal, with whom we were staying, had a lovely cottage overlooking the grand Manang range and the Tilicho peak. Altogether, there were 18 households, they worked on a rotational basis. New voices are raised against these age-old rules. Pandey, Rishikesh. society, and a way of existence of the folk life of the Loba people. Lama Phuntchok said: Chhode Gomba owns big plots of agricultural land, which were to be cultivated by those people who do not produce enough food for their families from their land. In the polyandrous family, male members follow the reme gyapkin system to maintain a harmonious relationship among the brothers in the household. We are thankful to Assistant Professor Dr. Rajanikant Pandey for his all endeavors for the invitation and cordial hospitality support during the seminar. PLoS ONE 7 (5): e36741. AboutPressCopyrightContact. There are several studies on Upper Mustang, particularly on Lo-manthang. Others also focused on various components of institutions to facilitate adaptation to climate and environmental dynamics: on natural resource management highlighting socio-economic, political, and religious governance, mainly in the forest, pasture (Chhetri 1999; Gurung 1996; Frer-Haimendorf 1975) and irrigation (Chhetri 2008; Uprety 2005); Nepali (1965) studied guthi, a local institution, of Newari people in Kathmandu, Nepal, which has multiple functions in the community. They build their homes out of stone, making the roofs out of thinly chiseled stone squares. The singing music of Daxian opera belongs. various color patterns. And there were hundreds waiting to get there.
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