Appearance
and look of ladakh People
The traveler from India will look in vain for similarities between the land
and people he has left and those he encounters in Ladakh. The faces and physique
of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear, are more akin to those of Tibet
and Central Asia than of India. The original population may have been Dards,
an Indo-Aryan race from down the Indus. But immigration from Tibet, perhaps
a millennium or so ago, largely overwhelmed the culture of the Dards and obliterated
their racial characteristics. In eastern and central Ladakh, today's population
seems to be mostly of Tibetan origin. Further west, in and around Kargil, there
is much in the people's appearance that suggests a mixed origin. The exception
to this generalization are the Afghans, a community of Muslims in Leh, the descendants
of marriages between local women and Kashmiri or Central Asian merchants.
Work culture
The demeanor of the people is affected by their religion, especially among
the women. Among the Buddhists, as also the Muslims of the Leh area, women
not only work in the house and field, but also do business and interact freely
with men other that their own relations. In Kargil and its adjoining regions
on the other hand, it is only in the last few years that women are emerging
from semi-seclusion and taking jobs other than traditional ones like farming
and house -keeping. The natural joie-de-vivre of the Ladakhis is given free
rein by the ancient traditions of the region. Monastic and other religious
festivals, many of which fall in winter, provide the excuse for convivial
gatherings. Summer pastimes all over the region are archery and polo. Among
the Buddhists, these often develop into open-air parties accompanied by dance
and song, at which Chang, the local brew made from fermented barley, flows
freely.
Composite Heritage
Of the secular culture, the most important element is the rich oral literature
of songs and poems for every occasion, as well as local versions of the Kesar
Saga, the Tibetan national epic. Buddhists and Muslims. In fact, the most
highly developed versions of the Kesar Saga and some of the most exuberant
and lyrical songs are said to be found in Shakar-Chigtan, an area of the western
Kargil district exclusively inhabited by Muslims, unfortunately not freely
open to tourists yet. Ceremonial and public events are accompanied by the
characteristic music of surna and daman (oboe and drum), originally introduced
into Ladakh from Muslim Baltistan, but now played only by Buddhist musicians
known as Mons
