Monpas
Diorama of the Monpa people at the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (78,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Arunachal Pradesh, India: 25,000 Bhutan: 3,000 |
|
| Languages | |
| East Bodish, Tshangla, Tibetan, Limbu | |
| Religion | |
| Mainly Tibetan Buddhist, Bön | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetan, Sherdukpen, Sharchops, Memba, Limbu |
Arunachal Pradesh, India:
50,000
The Monpa or Mönpa (Tibetan: མོན་པ་, Wylie: mon pa; Hindi: मोनपा, Chinese: 门巴族) are a major people of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. Currently they are also one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China.
The origin of monpa people is not clearly defined. As other tribes of North East India, Monpa people is believed to have migrated to Tawang. Monpa people are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India, viz., they were totally depended on animals like sheep, cow, yak, goats and horses and had no permanent settlement or attachment to a particular place. This is the theory which claim that monpa people might have migrated through the Western Himalaya and travelling via Sikkim route, might have settled in the Tawang area. This also claims that of monpa people having connections to the Bhutias of the State of Sikkim.
Most Monpas live in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of 50,000, centered in Tawang and West Kameng districts. Around 25,000 Monpas can be found in Cona County in the Tibet Autonomous Region. They can also be found in "Pelung Township in Nyingchi County, and Medog County. These places have a low altitude, especially Medog County, which has rare tropical scenery in contrast to the landscape elsewhere in Tibet." Of the 45,000 Monpas who live in Arunachal Pradesh, about 20,000 of them live in Tawang district, where they constitute about 97% of the district's population, and almost all of the remainder can be found in West Kameng district, where they form about 77% of the district's population. A small number of them may be found in bordering areas of East Kameng district and Bhutan (2,500).
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