Dropka or Brokpa is a small community of people of the ancient Indo-Aryan Dardic race living in parts of Indian and Pakistani controlled areas. On the Indian side, these people mostly live in Jammu and Kashmir region and on the Pakistani side, they live in Gilgit-Baltistan province. According to majority Historians, the Dropka tribe is the only authentic descendants of the Indo-Aryan tribes.
Image Source: Google.com
The total population of Dropka community ranges from 3000 to 4000 and is considered one of the rare tribes in the world. The Dropka tribe uses to speak a local variant of Shina language called Minaro and is preserved through songs instead of written conventions.
Origin
There are two main theories about the origin of the Dropka tribe.
• Theory 1: The majority of historians are of the view that most of the tribes in the Indian-subcontinent arrived from other areas or the indigenous tribes went through different phases to adopt different cultures but Dropka people remained steadfast in resisting any such influence. According to most of the historians, Dropka people are the only authentic descendants of Indo-Aryan tribes family.
• Theory 2: Some of the historians and even some of the Dropka people are of the view that this tribe is the descendant of the soldiers of the Alexandar the Great’s army.
Religion
The majority of Drokpa people adhere to the religion of Buddha, however, their religious practices are quite different from the traditional Buddhism. In contrast to the traditional Buddhism, the Drokpa tribe believes that gods and humans used to live together in a union but their bond got broken down due to the selfishness and arrogance of humans. They believe that one day gods and humans will co-exist next to each other again in the future if humans reach the level of unselfishness that gods require. The members of the Drokpa tribe wear flowers on their head to please their Buddhist deities and gods.
Some of the Drokpa people also follow the Shia branch of Islam.
Code of conduct
- No-bathing belief
The Drokpa tribe believes that bathing can wash away all the spiritual gifts that their gods have bestowed upon them. Hence they prefer not to take a bath to keep those spiritual blessings intact.
- Public kissing
In contrast to other communities in the area, the Drokpa people are never shy about kissing in public even without marriage relationship. The governments of both the countries have put a ban on their public kissing because people of the area considered it uncivilized.
- Wife swapping
Wife swapping is also a very controversial tradition in the Drokpa community. They used to do it in public but the governments have restricted them from doing so. The government has ordered them to celebrate such ceremonies inside their houses or community halls. This step was taken after people complained about their highly-offensive practices in public.
- Sharing wife with brothers to prevent inheritance from splitting
In the Drokpa community, the elder brother mostly shares his wife with the younger brothers to prevent the inheritance from splitting.
Music
Music is the not only part of their culture but also of religion. The members of the tribe often sing in their ceremonies for different purposes. One of such ceremonies is the commemoration of the separation of gods and humans. On the occasion, people of tribe gather and sing, eat and dance together.
Clothes
The Drokpa females wear special dresses of woolen adorned with jewelry and shells etc. The women also wear flowers on their heads to please gods.
Image Source: Google.com
The males also wear a woolen dress but with a trouser and waistcoat to protect themselves from cold.
Ceremonies
- Bonano ceremony
In this ceremony, the women and men dance in rows and kiss each other for three successive nights.
- Commemoration of separation of gods and humans
This ceremony is the commemoration of the separation of humans from gods. On this day, people of the tribe dance, sing and eat together.
Tribal traits
- Hard working
The tribe is very hard working and their major profession is farming.
- Friendly people
The tribe is very friendly to foreigners and everyone can participate in their ceremonies.
- Mountainous people
This tribe lives in mountains and the members are highly adjusted to mountainous life.
- Concept of superiority
The members of Drokpa tribe believe that they are superior to other races.
Food
The tribe mostly grow fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches including dry fruits such as walnuts, almond as a source of income. These fruits are also eaten as a part of their daily diet. The tribe also eats vegetables such as Potato and tomato along with crops such as maize and wheat. Meat is also eaten but highly depends on the economic background of the family. All the members of the tribe have greater access to the meat during special days.
Dairy and poultry products are not consumed due to religious reasons.
My previous posts are:
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/tribalogy-part-1-pashtun-tribe
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/tribalogy-part-2-kalash-tribe
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/tribalogy-part-3-himba-tribe
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/unique-tribes-of-the-world-tribalogy-4-bai-tribe
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/unique-tribes-of-the-world-tribalogy-part-05-maasai-tribe
https://steemit.com/life/@mmasim/unique-tribes-of-the-world-tribalogy-06-asaro-mudmen-tribe-of-africa