We just kept on walking in the hope that we would stumble into a village. As a result, members of the system are less burdened financially. Who are the Luba? To cope with this sort of crisis, the ghenba System enforced a new rule that every household must play the role of chhime and ghenba on their turn. Springer Nature. Kham Sang is responsible and honest with more than six years of guide experience in Tibet.She has strong interpersonal skills and can communicate effectively with tourists. Ancestors of the Loba Nationality" declared by Milin County of Tibet "Gongbu Festival" is the most famous. This hotel supports to employ some Loba youth and contributes to the economic development of the region. j. anthropol. 1993. They produce single seasonal crops of few varieties (wheat, naked barley, mustard, potatoes, buckwheat, vegetables). He This legacy is an important form of ancient primitive religious beliefs The Ghara is a collective term used for occupational groups at the lowest position in the social hierarchy and the politically and economically weakest sub-group of the region. The Loba tribespeople living in the village of Dhe in Nepal are increasingly abandoning their homes as climate change transforms the landscape. Gongbu Festival, organs, enterprises and institutions in Linzhi District have Unique cultures that exist around the world | Crave Bits 2021. The Loba produces only a single crop in a year, and the tenure of the village head, hence, also becomes one agriculture cycle. California Privacy Statement, Loba society and a way of existence of the folk life of the Loba people. to restrain ghosts. The change from obligatory labor to paid labor has been witnessed as the titular kingship ended, the last King died; and the family of the present King lives mostly in Kathmandu. Such isolation held out the possibility that Upper Mustang might be home to some unsullied original Tibetan culture. These rules include a 48 hour fast and a vow of total silence. The local customary laws are obliged to send a second child to the Gomba, but when there is only one child, it is not compulsory and customary law is also eroding with the introduction of formal laws such as fundamental human rights. Manage cookies/Do not sell my data we use in the preference centre. Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal, Associate Professor of Geography and Environment at Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal, You can also search for this author in protection project, which will be more conducive to the protection of the folk The Lama plays a major role in reinforcing local rules, while the Ghenba is an agent who mediates the Lo King and people in materializing rules and operationalizing institutional mechanisms. Kings role has been positive in opening tourism in Upper Mustang since 1992 and the family has also been involved in the tourism sector. Kathmandu: Center for Nepal and Asian Studies, T.U., Nepal. The pressure on monks at Gomba from local people has decreased. Today, most Lhoba people celebrate The New Year Festival but their celebration date and style is different than typical Tibetan. The Lobas speak the Tibeto Burman language and follow different sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The artwork of the Luba Kingdom was also appreciated by Europeans, and was traded too. It is a stark landscape, where nature has wrought some stunning mud sculptures in vivid colours. Central Asian arts - Himalayan cultures of Nepal and Tibet Most Lhoba people are animist but a significant portion of the population believes in Tibetan Buddhism (although they still mix animist traditions with this relatively new religion). Dhongba households are ancestral property holders, which is transferred from generation to generation, mainly to the eldest son. John Murry. Village municipality developmental works are mostly done by these in-migrant workers since the members of the Loba community are not much interested in such labor works. They were isolated for years and are completely unevangelized. Ostrom, Elinor. Historical studies documented that the Lo Kingdom was incorporated into modern Nepal in 1789, maintaining a distinct cultural identity. Changes in institutional role in the changing socio-economic, and environmental context. This paper is the output of Ph.D. thesis of first author. - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians. Among the two midhis, one is appointed by the King, and another one is appointed by the village head. Both men and women do not wear shoe ware. They inhabit the Mustang and Dolpa districts in the northern part of the region (Dhawalagiri Zone), close to the Nepal-China border. Himalayan traders: life in highland Nepal. political, historical, natural common sense, family and marriage in reality, The path to Kagbeni is along the riverbed, mostly dry, with an occasional crystal stream meandering over the grey pebbles. 2004. the Loba people. They fish the Congo River and its main tributaries intensively. The Loba are primarily farmers, shepherds, or merchants. Pandey, Rishikesh. production, planting maize, upland rice and other miscellaneous grains. To receive the land, they fulfilled extensive obligations such as free labor of men and animals and contribution to the palace, both in cash and kind. A Surreal End for an Unforgettable Queen: Pedro Lemebel, 1952-2015 Abadani's three The main function of this system is to prevent conflict and violence among the main competitors/stakeholders in resource and service use. Ellen, Roy F., Peter Parkes, and Alan Bicker. At some point, the river must have been wide and flowing; now all that remains is a splayed creek on a bed of rocks and pebbles. Known as Donggeng Gurumu (meaning something like congratulate the safety of the current year and look forward to a bumper harvest in the coming year), the festival witnesses Lhoba people butchering cattle and pigs to be given as presents to the maternal relatives. Although feudalism is more or less extinct in most of Nepal, it is alive and well in Mustang. Despite the infrastructural development in the region, Loba has migrated to other places for better opportunities as their traditional livelihood system could not support coping with peoples desires since they are searching for freedom of choice. Other airlines that used to fly to Jomsom diverted their services to the Everest sector owing to increased traffic there. From the time, Mustang became the vassal state of Nepal and the King of the Mustang had the titular privilege of enjoying the title of raja (the King) by receiving state grants and customary rights from the Kingdom of Nepal (Dhungel 2002). where he settled for a period of time. The Loba people informally still recognized the former prince as the King. The Newars: An ethno-sociological study of a Himalayan community. The roofs are extremely uniform and smooth, and on each corner a small square is constructed so that prayer flags may be hung there. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Most houses are built close together and have no windows, only holes in the walls to protect against the high speed winds that race up the mountains. Their hierarchy is not based on untouchability and lacks a higher level of exclusion, even in private spheres. The view of this town from the bend was impressive. Dhongbas work for the King during crop cultivation and harvesting time. various color patterns. Armed with a torch, we toured the gloomy interiors to catch a glimpse of the vivid and vibrant colours, smudged by seepage in places and peeling off here and there. Another issue is that some people have given up crop cultivation, but started fodder and tree farming, demanding a lot of irrigation during high water demand. This sort of household support management overcomes severe famine and extreme poverty caused by disasters. Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. sons migrated southward in three ways and entered the Loyu area. Caizhao Village now has a small village with Lhoba features, a folk customs museum. The study was conducted under the PhD in Anthropology project of the first author at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Young Lobas are attracted to the modern knowledge system and go to high-earning countries, which is a big challenge to maintain the indigenous knowledge system and the cultural identity of the Loba. Cookies policy. Their primary language is Loke. The technology used to build irrigation canals is gravity flow supported by walls of stones, wood, and soil. The mean maximum temperature in Nepal increased by 0.060C per year between 1977 and 2000 (Shrestha & Aryal 2011; Shrestha, Gautam, & Bawa 2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-023-00084-1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-023-00084-1. Luochuan Yigu, a traditional dance in Luochuan County, Shaanxi Province, is one of the national intangible cultural heritage.. Tie-dyeing, known as Zha Val, Ge Val, Jia Val and Dye Val in ancient times, is a traditional and unique dyeing process of Chinese folk. Weaving process more complicated, in keeping the national characteristics on the basis of the dress nice. Field observation was one of the principal methods of collecting primary information, followed by Key Informant Interviews (KII). Before making travel plans based on data presented here, please confirm with other sources to the extent possible. of the Loba people, the dates of the annual festivals vary from place to place, The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. language, and a few people speak Tibetan. Some Lobas use caves as houses and monasteries. Their main god is tiger which is the most dangerous animal in the region. We had to clamber on hands and feet to reach Tsaile but decided to move on after lunch to the next camp, in Samar. The Lo King, ghenba, Lama, and dhongba had a close relationship and interdependency in Lo-manthang until now. The Phalwas are the most dominant and economically powerful and place themselves in the middle of the social position. Amchi Ghyatso Bista estimates that only one-tenth of cultivated land is under cultivation now. The size of the piece of lungta needs to be proportionately equal. The Kuthak and ghenba support the monarch in political affairs and ruling the Loba community of Upper Mustang. Map Design: Joshua Project, Joshua Project data is drawn from many sources and of varying accuracy depending on source and editorial decisions. For them, climate change is connected to several things that include but are not limited to the nexus of nature, culture, science, politics, and belief (Barnes & Dove 2015), which helps to highlight contextual knowledge of cultural realities. They also mediate and hear the local disputes relating to the civil law of the village. 192211). Climate change in Nepal and its impact on Himalayan glaciers. The Kings welfare support to the people, which is implemented through the Jigme Foundation, is mostly directed towards the health sector, daycare centers for children, and the promotion of education. And there were hundreds waiting to get there. United Asia Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01294636. The Loba people are working to preserve their way of life as globalization creeps in. The Loba are primarily farmers, shepherds, or merchants. The former King of Mustang, Jigme Dorje Palba Bista, died in 2016 in Kathmandu, and his son runs a hotel in Lo. Stratification, polyandry, and family structure in Central Tibet. Furthermore, due to the out-migration of the Lamas and other people, increased dependency on the market and changing livelihood options of the younger generation are also observable in the Loba community. Other than the game they hunt, they consume maize or millet flourdumplings, rice or buckwheat. 7086). They had practiced polyandry marriage until the recent past. Two Buddhist sects, the Kargyupa and the Sakyapa, are dominant in upper Mustang. The purpose of such institutions is wide-ranged across the communities, from economic, social, cultural, religious, political, and educational to environmental. Since the opening of the place for outsiders, cave settlement has been the point of attraction to tourists. originally lived in Gongbu, but later moved to Baden Banga, Milin Village, As it rattled along dusty dirt tracks with the Kali Gandaki hurtling down the slopes dangerously to our right, we had a full 14 hours to rue our decision to exchange the trek for this roller-coaster ride. Dhongba households do have certain community obligations such as maintaining Gomba (monastery) (support rituals with food, labor, materials, and fuels), organizing community festivals like Yartung, Tenchi Chiram (Tiji) rituals, and supporting the royal palace as required. The continuity and changes, and the turn systems are the major mechanisms adopted by the Loba to cope with changing socio-economic, and environmental conditions. LHOBA CULTURE - YouTube Nowadays, weak and poor people from anywhere in Nepal can send their children to Gomba in Lo-manthang. The payment of the chheba becomes higher if someone lets the animal to the crop-field during the night, which can reach as high as NPR 50,000 to 100,000, which is quite a high amount of money.