Bhotiya
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 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Boti, Sherpa, Tibetan and other Tibeto-Burman languages,[1] also Nepali and Hindi | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bhutia, Tibetan, Uttarakhand Bhotiya, Ngalop |
Bhotiya or Bot (Nepali and Hindi, भोटिया, Bhotiyā or Bhotia, Bhot, Bhutiya, Bhutia) are groups of ethno-linguistically Tibetan people living in the trans-Himalayan region that divides India from Tibet, and were originally a hill tribe. Their name, Bhotiya, derives from the word Bod (Bodyul), which is the Classical Tibetan name for Tibet. The ancient language of Bhotiya people is Boti (Bhoti).
The Bhotiya people are closely related to the Sikkimese Bhutia, the main ethno-linguistic group of Northern Sikkim that speaks the Sikkimese (Bhutia) language. They are also closely related to the Uttarakhand Bhotiya, several groups in the upper Himalayan valleys of the Kumaon and Garhwal of Uttarakhand Himalayas. These include the Shaukas of Kumaon and Tolchhas and Marchhas of Garhwal. The Bhotiyas are also related to the Ngalop, the main ethno-linguistic group of Bhutan speaking Dzongkha, as well as several dispersed groups in Nepal and adjacent areas of India including Tibetans proper, Sherpa, and many others.
Ancient language of the Bhotiya people
The ancient language of the Bhotiya people is Bhoti, also called Ladkahi. The Bhoti language is generally written in Tibetan script, which Tibetan scholar Thonmi Sambhota invented in the 7th century.[3] Bhoti language is spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and parts of Pakistan and West Bengal. Bhoti is not included as an official language in India, but recently the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, passed a resolution for its inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution without any opposition, on 27 February 2011. [citation needed]
Population
The Bhotiyas live in much of the northern and eastern regions of Nepal, where they and other Tibetan people are region's autochthonous inhabitants.[4]
The Bhotiya people are also spread over the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. They have Mongoloid Feature and those living in Uttarakhand are generally referred to as Uttarakhand Bhotiya, Bhutia and Bhotiya are all same meaning of different terminology as bhot, more commonly Bhutia means the related people of Sikkim. In Uttar Pradesh, Bhotiyas are found in the Bahraich, Gonda, Lakhimpur, Lucknow, Barabanki, Kanpur,and Kheri districts. The Bhotiyas are divided into six sub-groups, the Bhot, Bhotiya, Bhutia, Tibbati (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) Bhut, Gyakar Khampa (From Khimling and Bhidang of Uttarakhand), Bhutola.
In Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh Bhotiyas have Scheduled Tribe status, unlike other states of India. In Uttarakhand, Bhotiyas are Scheduled Tribe under {Schedule caste order 1950, the constitutional Scheduled tribe (Uttar Pradesh)1967 SC/ST}. As Uttarakhand was part of Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian constitution recognizes them as Bhotiya, It is believed that Bhotiya people are "Raghuvanshi Rajput. As they prefer to be called as Thakurs or Rajvanshi. It's said that Bhotiyas emigrated into north Oudh in the period of Nawab Asaf-Ud-Dowlah (1775–1797).[5]
Religion
Almost all the Bhotiyas employ Brahmins or Lamas as priests. Most of the Bhotiyas practice a combination of Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism. In fact, the word Bhotiya has been derived from the word Bhot meaning Buddha in Tibetan. The Hindu Bhotiyas employ a Brahmin priests to perform all birth, marriage and death ceremonies. The dead are cremated and the ashes immersed in a river – preferably the Ganges River which is considered holy. Both birth and death pollution for specific periods is observed. Ancestor worship is prevalent. Their chief object of worship is Devi, to whom goats are sacrificed. Young pigs are also used occasionally for this purpsose. The worshipers make the sacrifice and consume the meat themselves. They observe the usual festivals. On the Barsiti at the fifteenth of Jeth, women worship a banyan tree by walking round it and tying a thread round the trunk. This they do to increase the life of their husbands. Women fast on third day of Bhadon. At the Godiya on the fifth of Kattik, they worship the Nag Devta, and girls other to Devi and Mahadeva. They consume the goats, sheep, hare, water bird, and fish. They will not eat monkey, cow, owl, crocodile, lizard, rat, or other vermin. Liquors are forbidden, Bhang and Ganja are used occacionally for festive celebration. The Buddhist Bhotiyas employ the services of a Lama for all their rites and celebrations. Buddhist Bhotiyas believe that right thinking, ritual sacrifices, and self-denial will enable the soul to reach Nirvana (a state of eternal bliss) at death. The cycle can only be broken by achieving nirvana, and only those who follow the Buddhist principles of the “middle way” and the “noble eight-fold path” can achieve that state. The Bhotiya are Lamaistic Buddhists who follow the teachings of the Dalai Lama. In Uttarakhand, the Bhotiyas have a mix of beliefs including superstition, amulets for good luck, curses, ghosts and witchcraft. They daily live in fear of their gods and constantly strive to appease them with religious chants, rituals, and sacrifices. The Buddhist Bhotiyas celebrate Losar, a festival when people offer incense to appease the local spirits and deities. This festival takes place during the flowering of the apricot trees in autumn.[6] Most Bhotiya marriages are celebrated with Hindu weddings, when the bride palanquin arrives at the house of her husband, Gods are worshipped and then she is admitted into the house. Some rice, silver or gold is put in the hands of bridegroom, which he passes on to the bride. She places them in winnowing fan, and makes them over a present to the wife of the barber. This ceremony known as "Karj Bharna." A man may have three wives and no more. The first wife is the head wife, and she received by inheritance a share one tenth excess of that given to the other wives.
The Bhotiyas have distinctive funerary traditions. Those who die of cholera, of snakebites, and young children are buried; others are cremated. There is no fixed burial-ground, and no ceremonies are performed at the time of burial. Richer people keep the ashes for lowal to some several stream, while others bury them. After the mation a stalk of kusha (grass) is fixed in the ground near a tank of water and sesamum is poured upon it for ten days so as to continued it into a refuge for the spirit until the rides are completed.
Gotra
Bhotiya people belong to the Kashyap Gotra, Unlike other Thakur communities, the Bhotiyas did not practice child marriage. English Lieutenant Arthur recognized them as a Raghuvanshi Thakurs
Lifestyle
The Bhotiya people of Uttarakhand used to stay at the borders of India and Tibet which was former UP (United Province) during British Raj, which was not a country but a border land. These people are the border staying people whose main occupation was nomadic pastoralism and apart from this some used to trade Wool and Salt, etc. between Tibet and India. Today, some of them have settled as farmers and a few others are involved in selling or trading stones, gems and herbs in and around Uttarkhand.[4]
In Uttarakhand, the Bhotiya community mainly lives in districts - Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi. They possess a fair knowledge on the use of medicinal plants.[7] They make two type of beverages such as Jan (local beer), and Daru (alcoholic drink) and also prepare fermented food locally called as Sez. The traditional catalyzing agent used in the preparation of fermented foods and beverages is called Balam in Kumaon and Balma in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.[8]
The woolen cottage industry is still one of the main occupations of Bhotiya community, which is based on personnel interactions and keen observations of their environment. They collect plant biomass for making natural dye, which they use for wool dyeing.[9] The dependency of Bhotiyas of Uttarakhand on natural resources has been intensively studied by C. P. Kala for over several years.
Education
The education standards of Bhotiya people are very low in rural as well as urban areas in comparison to other population of people in those areas. Most Bhotiyas do not believe in studying, as they prefer family business or plan to work in agriculture.[citation needed] It would be wrong to say that standards are low but with no institution of learning and life very hard, there was no scope of learning among majority but Bhotiya from chamoli district had good respect for literate among them and especially those with mastery of Sanskrit. They called that man a Shastri. They have good flair for language and good command in Tibetan, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Nepali and Hindi. They have good knowledge of medicinal plants. They depend on plant and animal for intake and have rich culinary heritage, beside woolen craft for daily sartorial needs.
Notes
- ^ Includes Bhote (19,261) and Bote (7,969).
References
- ^ Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). "Sikkimese". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16 ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help), identifying several language communities as "Bhotiya" and similarly - ^ Singh, R. S. N. (2010). The Unmaking of Nepal. Lancer. pp. 145–146. ISBN 1-935501-28-3.
- ^ Gohain, Swargajyoti (2012). "Mobilising language, imagining region:Use of Bhoti in West Arunachal Pradesh". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 46 (3): 337–363. doi:10.1177/006996671204600304. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Shrestha, Nanda R. (2002). Nepal and Bangladesh: a global studies handbook. Global Studies Handbooks. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-285-1.
- ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Vol. 3. Office of the superintendent of government printing. pp. 134, 255–257.
- ^ http://peoplegroupsindia.com/profiles/bhotia?pid=539
- ^ Kala, C.P. (2007). "Local preferences of ethnobotanical species in the Indian Himalaya: Implications for environmental conservation". Current Science. 93 (12): 1828–1834.
- ^ Kala, C.P. (2012). Biodiversity, Communities and Climate Change. New Delhi: TERI Publications. p. 358.
- ^ Kala, C.P. (2002). "Indigenous knowledge of Bhotiya tribal community on wool dyeing and its present status in the Garhwal Himalaya, India". Current Science. 83 (7): 814–817.