The Balti are the descendants of an amalagam of Tibetan, Indo-Aryan and Mon people, whose population of 400,000 is found in the Pakistani-controlled Baltistan (called Baltiyul by locals) and Kargil and Leh districts of Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir. Their language, the Balti, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family and is a sub-dialect of Ladakhi. Shown in green is the Kashmiri region under Pakistani control. ... Balti can refer to: Bălţi - a city and county in Moldavia Balti dynasty - a branch of the ancient Visigoths Balti language - a language spoken in Baltistan in Kashmir Balti - Muslims of Tibetan origin from Baltistan Balti - a style of food devised in Birmingham in England Balti - an eating... Shia Islam or Shi`ism (from the Arabic word شيعة, short for the historic phrase shi`at `Ali شيعة علي, meaning the supporters of Ali) is the second-largest denomination of the religion of Islam. ... A Tibetan pilgrim The Tibetans speak the Tibetan language natively and form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), although in anthropological terms they include more than one ethnic group. ... The Tibetan people are a people living in Tibet and some surrounding areas. ... The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, thus belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. ... Baltistan is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Hemis Monastery in the 1870s Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ... Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in what is now part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan. ... The Tibeto-Burman linguistic subfamily of the proposed Sino-Tibetan language family is spoken in various central and south Asian countries: Myanmar (Burmese language), Tibet (Tibetan language), northern Thailand (Mong language), Nepal, Bhutan, India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Ladakh region of...

Script

Brahmi was used for written Balti between the 5th to 6th century. However, with the introduction of the Tibetan script under king Khri Getsung-Brtan in the 727 AD, Balti literature flourished. It remained in use until the 16th century, when the Persian script replaced the Balti script. Brāhmī refers to the pre-modern members of the Brahmic family of scripts, attested from the 3rd century BC. The best known and earliest dated inscriptions in Brahmi are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka. ... Om Mani Padme Hum, the primary mantra of Tibetan Buddhism written in the Tibetan script, on a rock outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. ...

In contemporary Baltiyul, youth like Senge Thsering, Bakir Posingpa and Hassan Shesrab are trying to reintroduce Tibetan/Ladakhi script so that the richness of the Balti language could be promoted and restored. Today one can see many signboards on shops and offices in Tibetan script, a project started by Senge Thsering in year 2000. Hassan Shesrab, a local college professor teaches Balti Yige script after college hours in his house.

Baltistan Cultural Foundation is an organization trying level best to promote the indigenous script Yige. A primer has been produced by BCF that will be introduced in private schools. Plans have been made to send Balti teachers to Nepal to learn Tibetan script that could be then taught in local Balti schools. Friends are requested to send funds to BCF in order to support the vital financial arrangements required in this regard

Baltis of Kargil have also initiated school projects where Yige (Tibetan) script is taught at primary level to local students. Muslims of Kargil and Baltistan have started showing enthusiasm in reviving the indigenous Tibetan script.

History

Tibetan Khampa, Indo-Aryan and Mon tribes came to Baltistan (called Baltiyul by locals) prior to civilisation, and these groups eventually settled down, creating the Balti people. It was believed that the Balti people came under the Sphere of influence from the kingdom of Zhang Zhung. Baltistan is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... A sphere of influence is a metaphorical region of political influences surrounding a country or a region of economic influence around an urban area. ... Zhang Zhung culture is a culture of western and northwestern Tibet which pre-dated Tibetan Buddhism and is best known as the source of the Bön religion. ...

Baltistan came under the control of the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. Under Tibetan cultural influence, the Bön and Animist Baltis began to adopt Tibetan Buddhism from Indian Buddhism. Religious artefacts such as the Gompas and Chörtens were erected, and Lamas played an important role in the lives of the Baltis. Baltistan is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... A statue of Emperor Srong-rtsan Sgam-po in his meditation cave at Yerpa Songtsen Gampo (སྲོང་བཙན་སྒམ་པོ་ Wylie: Srong-btsan Sgam-po) (604–650 CE) was the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet. ... Bön has typically been described as the shamanistic religion in Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century. ... Tibetan Buddhism — formerly (and incorrectly) also called Lamaism, after their religious gurus known as lamas — is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... A fresco from the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra, India, once a gathering places for Buddhist monks. ...

Islam was first introduced to the Balti people in the 16th century with the conversion of the Balti prince Gyalbu Rinchen, although mass conversions did not take place until the reign of the ninth rMaqpon King Gotacho Senge. It was not until the reign of the 15th rMaqpon king Ali Sher Khan Anchan did the Balti people look forward to expand their territory and fostering relationships with the Mughal emperors. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

With the decline of power of Tibet during the 11th century, the Balti people came under the control of the Rmakpon and the Shagari families in the 12th century, and fostered a close relationship with Ladakh in the east. Same linguistic and cultural characteristics of Baltiyul and Ladakh helped forging an administrative unit that existed until 1948 when Baltistan was annexed by Pakistan. The Dogra Maharajas of Jammu kept the administrative unit intact and converted it into a province called Ladakh Wazarat (a province composed of Baltistan, central Ladakh, Purik, Zanskar and Changthang areas). Skardo, capital of Baltiyul became the winter capital of province while Leh, capital of Central Ladakh became the summer capital. The province was divided into three districts namely Skardo, Leh and Kargil. Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: Xīzàng or 藏区 Zàngqū [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Hemis Monastery in the 1870s Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ...

Culture

Centuries of Tibetan, Islamic and Indian influence have shaped the Balti culture into its modern form. Islam plays an important role in Balti culture, and this can be seen in the daily prayers of the Balti Muslim men, who would kneel down on a mat and pray towards Mecca. This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. ...

Tibetan infuence can be seen in its architecture, where houses with flat roof painted white and sloping inwards are built, and the most notable artefacts of the Balti/Ladakhi architecture include Kharpoche in Skardo, Khapulo Khar in Khapulo, Chakchan and Shigar Khanqah and Baltit fort of Hunza. Like the Ladakhi Muslim architectures, older mosques show a mix of Iranian and Tibetan architecture, although strong Iranian and modern influences can be seen in the newer mosques.

Little remains of the pre-Islamic Balti culture, which was largely supplaced by the dominant Punjabi and Iranian culture, and it can be evidenced in the near-extinction of traditional Balti festivals such as Mephang, Mindok Ltadmo and Srup Lha. Folk literature such as those of Lha Kesar and works of Ali Sher Khan Anchan prevail among the Balti literature, which has experienced a revival in recent years.

Although climatic conditions are harsh and inhospitable, the village people of Baltistan are among the most friendly and hospitable of mountain peoples in Pakistan. Evolved out of 106 years of slavery under the Dogra rulers and innumerable decades under local despotic Rajas, the predominant population of today’s Baltistan is religiously and ethnically homogenous.

Baltistan is proud of her thousands of years of rich civilization. Her architecture, costumes, cuisines, festivals, dances, language, script, epics, hence everything makes her unique among her neighbors, especially within the contemporary Northern Areas. The local culture is a blend of that of Ladakhi and Islamic rituals, identical to that of Indian Ladakhi Muslims. The residents of Baltistan, since partition to this day, have remained essentially people of Baltistan’s soil. They are devout Muslims, and in effect including two generations borne since the annexation of Baltistan to Pakistan have never distanced themselves from the cultural and linguistic ties what ninety percent of the Baltis regard as Ladakhi cultural and linguistic heritage.

Of late, modern Balti scholars such as Syed Abbas Kazmi and Mohammad Senge Tshering Hasnain have contributed greatly to the re-discovery of the Balti culture. Plans to excavate ancient monastery and preservation of the Buddha rock are planned, as the Balti goes through a process of merging their culture with those of their brethren in Ladakh.

Recently a book (Balti Tamlo) has been produced by Ghulam Hassan Hasni that contains 900 Balti/Ladakhi proverbs, idioms and expressions. Further, writers like Hassan Lobsang has written books on local Bon traditions and pre-Buddhist Baltiyul.

Lifestyle

Sandwiched between the Karakoram, the Himalayan and Ladakh mountain ranges, Baltistan region is highly valued for her strategic geo-political location. Her trade routes in the past have served as economic lifelines for the inhabitants of this region, who bartered goods while visiting East Turkistan (Sinkiang), China, Central Asia, the Indian Sub-continent, Central Tibet and beyond. Today, the region is sandwiched between three nuclear powers of Asia: China in the north, India in the east and south, and Pakistan in west.

Baltistan comprises of highest mountains and longest glaciers (outside the polar regions) in the world. Further, the rivers and streams have formed numerous valleys over the course of time, which are inhabited and cultivated by the residents. Innumerable rivers and rivulets including Shyok, Siachen, Saltoro, Suru, Shingo and Shigar rivers, augment mighty Indus, which after bisecting through Baltistan enters Gilgit. Glacial lakes are abundant in Baltistan and are of high touristic value. Baltistan possesses approximately fifty peaks with height above 20,000 feet from sea level. Mighty K-2 - the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 meters height – is situated here, overlooking the Shigar valley. The glaciers - the longest in the world outside the Polar Regions, reaching to the length of 90 kilometers – surround Baltistan in the north and west directions, separating her from China and Gilgit.

Baltistan has four seasons; a short spring, summer and autumn with a longer winter. As winters approach, temperatures drop to –25 degrees Celsius in the residential villages and towns, and life virtually ‘freezes’ for the local inhabitants. Rainfall is less than 300 millimeters per annum as the region falls outside the monsoon zone. Vegetation is scarce in Baltistan and found only in areas fed by streams and rivulets. The Deosai plains, around 5,400 square kilometers of sheer plateau at an elevation of 14,000 feet from sea level, is a refuge for the most endangered wildlife species both flora and fauna, including magnificent snow leopard.

Skardo, the urban capital of Baltistan, is located at 7,400 feet above sea level. Formerly the capital of Rajas of Skardo, it is the widest valley in the whole of Karakoram mountain belt, where the longest airplane runway at such an elevation is situated.

Several historical trade routes under utilization by Baltis for thousands of years open towards Leh, Kargil, Srinagar, Simla, Manali, Yarkand (to China through Karakoram Pass), and Tibet. However since the war between Pakistan and India in 1971, the local population hasn’t been able to access the trading regions in the east and north, which has deteriorated the local economy badly.

Subsequent political events in Pakistan and a harsh policy adopted by the oppressive regimes have minimized the chances of any infrastructure development. Baltistan, through all these times in last 58 years has remained one of the poverty stricken areas in Pakistan. Today, subsidized supplies trickle in from Pakistan as the only source of vital goods when the region is cut off from rest of the country for months due to avalanches and land slides affecting the only road linking Baltistan to rest of Pakistan, which effects the local economy. This road was built in the 1982 and until then, the only source of transportation to Baltistan, which is three times bigger in area compared to the Kashmir Valley, was by air, and dependent on good weather. The literacy ratio is very low, approximately 20 percent for males and 03 percent for females. In valleys like Basha, Braldo etc. female literacy is almost non-existent. The health facilities are inadequate, and joblessness has compelled many to leave the region through these years.

Like the Ladakhis, the Balti are agriculturalists. However, being a mountainous region, availability of cultivable land is scarce. Subsistence farming and animal husbandry are the main sources of livelihood for the Baltis. They grow wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat and raise goats and sheep for wool, and yaks for hair, meat, milk and skin. These animals are also traded for cash. Horticulture also forms a significant source of income for the Baltis. However, there is a shortage of cultivable land in this hilly country, at two acres of land per household available for cultivation. The food and fodder security issues compel the villagers to store ration for both humans and animals, which is then utilized during the long winters. Other occupations include unskilled and semi-skilled labor. The economic graph is never steady as during the six or seven months of long winter, economic activities virtually cease to exist and people leave for Pakistan to seek job opportunities.

Balti staple cusine includes Cha-phe (Tsampa), Ladakhi salt tea (Balti Cha), Marzan (cooked dough and yak butter); Thsodma (greens) and Chuli-Chhu (apricot juice). Cereals are planted in late spring and at lands with elevations not above 2,500 m, particularly along the Indus (Sengge Chhu) and Shyok river. For months, Baltiyul is cut off from rest of Pakistan as the winter snow could be so heavy that it could cut off several regions from the rest of the world.

During the years when it is relatively calm and peaceful, a modest number of tourists both local and international visit Baltistan, complementing much needed financial support. The region lacks major industry. As permanent sources of job opportunities lack, thousands of people have left the region either temporarily or on permanent basis to other parts of Pakistan and Middle East. In case roads towards east open re-linking Baltiyul with Ladakh and Kashmir, local economy can improve and thousands of divided families of Ladakh and Baltistan can reunite. Per capita income which is one fourth of national Pakistani average (US$ 120) may also increase as trade opportunities and tourism will catch pace.

Religion

History of Islam in Baltistan starts with arrival of Ameer Kabeer Syed Ali Hamadani (A legendary Sufi Saint of the Muslim History) during 15th Century A.D. He was followed by other Sufi legends afterwards, such as Shah Syed Muhammad Noorbaksh. Soon the whole region converted to Norbakshi order of Islamic Sufism. The core massage of Sufi Noorbakshism are: complete elimination of all evil desires and immoralities of human nature from one’s Self; total submission of one’s wills before Allah - the Creator of all beings (by following the Holy Quran and Sunnah) and finally love to the whole mankind. During the start of 19th century, however, the population began converting to other Islamic schools of thought such as Shias, Sunnis and Ismailies. Today, the Baltis are; Shia' denomination (60%), Sufi Noorbakshi (33%), Sunni sect (6%) and others 1%. The Balti, who converted to Islam from Lamaism in the 16th century, regard congregation in the Mosques and Khankah as an important religious ritual. The Khankahs are a kind of typical training school of Sufis which was introduced by the early Sufi saints arrived in the region. The Sufi students salik gain spiritual purity (tazkiah) through these trainings (meditations and contemplations) under well-practiced spiritual guides, who have already attained certain degree of spirituality. Mosques in Baltistan are mainly built in the Tibet a style, though several mosques constructed have wood-finish and decorations of Iranian origin which can also be seen in Ladakh and Kargil. On every Friday, the men folk would generally attend the prayers sometime a little after noon. All Muslims will fast in the day during the month of the Ramadan, and a celebration will be held at the end of the celebration. Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islām is described as a dÄ«n, meaning way of life and/or guidance. Six articles of belief There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims: 1. ... Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism after their religious gurus known as lamas), is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: XÄ«zàng or 藏区 ZàngqÅ« [the two names are used with different connotations; see Names section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Hemis Monastery in the 1870s Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ... Kargil was a part of Gilgit-Baltistan before 1947, but now is a town in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. ...

Small pockets of Bön and Tibetan Buddhism believers that amount up to 3,000 are found in Kharmang valley of Baltistan and in West Kargil. East Ladakh (Leh district and Zanskar) are predominantly Buddhist. Bön has typically been described as the shamanistic religion in Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century. ... Tibetan Buddhism — formerly (and incorrectly) also called Lamaism, after their religious gurus known as lamas — is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ... Baltistan is a region to the north of Kashmir, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... Kargil was a part of Gilgit-Baltistan before 1947, but now is a town in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. ...

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balti_language

• Ladakhi Muslim

External links

• Photos of the Balti people
• Skardu Valley

http://groups.msn.com/JulayBaltiyul

Search Ladakhis, Ladakh, Purik, Zanskar, West Ladakh