Starting
off from the glaciers and glacial lakes are numerous streams and rivers that
wind down terrain Himalayas through the foothills into Indian plains, Amo chhu
is one of the five glacial fed major river systems of Bhutan lying to the
south-west of the country. The river swiftly flows down from Chumbi valley
through Haa and Samtse into the Brahmaputra touching the lives and living
beings, forming a unique ecosystem throughout its course.
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| map of bhtan showing river system and lhop land |
Between
the deeply interlocked landscapes just before the river drains into adjacent
Indian plain is the mysteriously misty land of Lhops (lhop literally means southerners
a term mainly used by Tibetans in her reference of Bhutan as lho Mon/Lho yul and people as Lhop: considered to be the early
inhabitants). Living in the catchment area, I came to understand that lhops have lived, inhabited and evolved
as an important element of Amo Chhu ecosystem. Their songs, verses and
folktales give us glimpses of their past, myths and mythology. These people
resided in the area and depended mostly on fish, wild fruits, wild vegetables
and wild animals. They are mostly non-vegetarian and depended on wilds for
almost everything and nature in turn provided their needs favorably, that could
be one reason that kept them so close to their culture and traditions and helped
preserved it through the time.
They
believe that once the whole region around Amo Chu valley was their home
stretching far and wide. It’s said that the lhops
apparently lived as far as the Bara-Tendu to the west bordering Indian state of
Sikkim but probably a deadly epidemic or a war in the neighborhood reduced the
population to the present size. Presently there are some 180 households
inhabiting six villages namely Sanglung, Satakha, lothu, Kuchu, taba, and
Ramtoe. There are so many hypothetical stories and reasoning on drastic decline
in population and burial of lhop tribe
in the folds of mountain on sloppy banks of Torsa River.
Namgay
Tashi, a good friend of mine who formerly worked with the election commission
of Bhutan has toured and learnt a lot about lhop
and their culture during voter education program back in 2007. He told me that
he could identify a Lhop individual
out of millions anywhere in the world during our usual bed time conversation
back in Samtse College of education, I took it a big joke back then and the
subject did not interest me much, now that I am amongst them and noticing
alikeness in every lhops fascinate
me, it took me to different sources to build up a concrete basis to uncover the
reasons behind such biological alikeness and genetic connections.
One
side of the story says a devastating war occurred between the lhops dwelling to the north of foothills and residents of plains (Indian) on the other side of the
foothills, it’s said a group of them went into hideaway place and the war
almost destroyed the whole of the tribe. The group that went out hiding came
out and inhabited the present area during the post war era, so they say the
population grew out of this small group and therefore genetically related.
Other story says once the entire lhop
population was believed to have disappeared due to deadly epidemic. Only a pair
of cousins had survived, a boy and a girl. In course of time they grew into
adults. There were no one around and knew nothing of reproduction. One day they
saw two grasshoppers stuck together (mating) and in next few days saw many
young grasshoppers hopping around. The boy and the girl realized that if they
did what the grasshoppers did they would have younger ones and would no longer
be lonely. They did what they thought should be done and so came the revival of
their tribe with reproduction. While other source unfolds a similar story of
devastating war that destroyed the tribe but believed to be amongst themselves
and not with their counter parts on the other end of the foothills.
you can clearly see the similarity in each of them, starting from face cut to height and build up...
It’s
very hard to conclude with any of these theories as they lack authentic and
chronological presentation. No written documents of the time had been found and
nothing is known of the existence of writings or paintings till date but their
oral traditions and belief notes that writing culture existed long before
outbreak of war/epidemic. They belief the cave beneath the waterfall on the
other side of the river houses all their ancient documents and belongings and
is said to be the palace of their king. It’s also assumed that no lhops are ever allowed to cross that
place as it’s believed to be an ancestral demarcation and thus nothing is retrieved
to date.
Lastly
as I think deeper and learn more about Lhops,
my appreciations for them grows by the days. These people are really
conservative and put their culture above anything else, they are shy, simple
and modest with lots of dedications to our King, Country and People, and one
best quality they were brought up with is not being in sphere of consumerism,
they are one hardworking people relying greatly on what they produce…
Note: This
is just a glimpse of their lives uncovered through limited sources, so your
kind suggestions and add up will be of great help…
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