Ritayan Mukherjee

Sharmila Joshi

Editor

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Pema Rinchen says &#39;tashi delek’  (blessings
and good luck, in Tibetan) and walks off towards the horizon in Hanle valley of
eastern Ladakh, close to the border with China. With her is a huge herd of Pashmina
(or cashmere) goats, all of them returning to their hamlet after a full day of
grazing.  

Pema, the second child of
Karma Rinchen,
a community leader, lives in Hanle along with around 280 Changpa families. The Changpa are pastoral nomads who rear yak
and sheep. During the long winters from November to May, they are mostly
sedentary. In the summer, they move to higher altitude grazing grounds. I
visited them some time ago at the Nalang grazing ground in Hanle valley. The valley is in the Changthang Plateau at an altitude of over 14,000 feet. The plateau stretches east into Tibet over several hundred kilometres – it’s part of the larger Tibetan Plateau.

Changpa women
manage all kinds of tasks during the grazing season, including pitching tents,
carrying firewood, herding, milking goats and so on. And they still manage time
for their children and cooking. 

The Tibetan
Plateau is home to various nomadic pastoral communities; among them the Changpa
in the western Himalayas (See <a id="2516" linktype="page">The Changpas who make cashmere)</a> and the Brokpa
in the eastern ranges of the mountains (See <a id="3031" linktype="page">Brokpa: ‘The jungle is our mother&#39;</a>). These communities are divided by cliffs
and valleys, but connected by cultural, ethnic and spiritual bonds.

On another visit, I travelled to the forested slopes of the eastern
Himalayas to meet the Brokpa
nomads, who belong to
the Monpa tribe. They mostly live in West Kemang and Tawang districts of Arunachal
Pradesh. They too spend the summer in highland pastures. With the onset of winter, they descend with their
yak herds to permanent hamlets such as Lagam, in West Kameng district.  

I walked for eight
hours to reach that tiny settlement.  On the
way, I met 70-year-old Yama
Tsering. She said, “I am old, and I cannot walk [uphill] that much. So I take care of housework, like
making chhurpi [yak milk cheese] and supervising my grandchildren. If required, I go up in
the summertime.” 

Last year, in
the month of May, I went back to Arunachal, to Chander, another high altitude
settlement at 11,152 feet. This time I stayed in the house of Leki Suzuk, mother
of two and owner of around 30 yaks. Brokpa women perform similar tasks as women
in the Changpa community. They are visible in all aspects of community life,
making independent decisions about their herds or children. I recall how all
Brokpa women came together to build a gompha, a small Buddhist
shrine, in Chander. 

Sometime
later, I travelled from the cold mountains to the dry heat of Kachchh in Gujarat,
to meet another nomadic pastoral community, the Fakirani Jats (See <a id="2657" linktype="page">The endless search for grazing grounds</a>). They rear Kachchhi and Kharai camels. Their
migration pattern is more complex and depends on the kind of camel and the
availability of water. It took many visits to gain their confidence. Over time,
among others, I met Jat
Haseena. She and her husband Jat Ayub take care of a herd of 80 camels,
migrating throughout the year within Bhachau taluka. The
community is conservative, and women don’t speak much to outsiders. But their
presence is everywhere. I met the dynamic Nasibibai Shermamad Jat in Dhrangavandh hamlet of
Lakhpat taluka.
She speaks Hindi well, and said, &quot;Our grazing ground has shrunk already.
We are on the verge of giving up our traditional life. We are looking for
support… I hope our voice will be heard.&quot;

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Women who climb mountains, cross deserts

പർവതങ്ങൾ കയറുകയും മരുഭൂമികൾ താണ്ടുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന സ്ത്രീകൾ

کوہ و صحرا پار کرنے والی خانہ بدوش عورتیں

পাহাড় ডিঙোনো, মরু পেরোনো মেয়ের দল

மலைகளில் ஏறி பாலைவனங்களில் நடந்து கடக்கும் பெண்கள்

ପାହାଡ଼ ଚଢୁଥିବା, ମରୁଭୂମି ଅତିକ୍ରମ କରୁଥିବା ମହିଳା

स्त्रियाः पर्वत लांघणाऱ्या, वाळवंट पार करणाऱ्या

Kachchh

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Women who climb mountains, cross deserts

On March 8, International Women’s Day, a PARI photo essay on the remarkable women of three nomadic pastoralist communities – the Changpa of Ladakh, the Brokpa of Arunachal, and the Fakrani Jats in Kachchh

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