Dard Aryan tribe

Dard Aryan tribe

Subject: Art and Culture

Context: At second edition of “Enchanting Ladakh”, the annual art and craft fair organised by the Union territory’s Department of Industries and Commerce at Dilli Haat saw participation of Dard Aryan tribe.

Concept:

• They are a Buddhist group living 200 km from Leh are the villages of Dha, Hanu, Garkone and Darchik (villages together called “Aryan valley”) on both sides of the Indus River.
• The word ‘Dard’ is derived from a Sanskrit word, ‘Daradas’, which means people who live on hillsides.
• They are culturally and linguistically different from other tribes in region.
• There is one view that they are “Aryans of Ladakh” or the “Brokpas” who might have descended from soldiers in Alexander’s army who had come to the region over 2,000 years ago.
• They rear goat and sheep for milk and meat, and their festivals are based on the solar calendar. Their tradition go back 5,000 years. They worship trees, rivers and mountains.
• They wear heavy fur costumes, flower bouquets adorning their heads.
• The community prohibits marriage with outsiders to keep the gene pool intact.
• They are dependent on agriculture.
• The apricots grown here are considered among the best in the world and there are 12 varieties of grapes in the region and valley is famous for grape-wine.
• Modernisation, migration and religious conversion (many in last decade embraced Islam or Buddhism) are threat to the community (only around 4000 remaining).
• Some of the areas of the Aryan valley are out of bounds for outsiders, since it borders Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.