Brokpa

The Brokpa (), sometimes referred to as Minaro, are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India around the villages of Dha and Hanu. Some of the community are also located across the Line of Control in Baltistan in the villages around Ganokh. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Brokskat. The Brokpa are mostly Vajrayana Buddhist while some are Muslim. According to the British Raj commentators, the name 'Brogpa' was given by the Baltis to the Dardic people living among them. The term means "highlander". The reason for this is that the Brogpa tended to occupy the higher pasture lands in the valleys. Frederic Drew states, "Wherever the Dards are in contact with Baltis or with Bhots, these others call them (...) Brokpa or Blokpa." As the Tibetan language pronunciation varies by region, the same name is pronounced by Ladakhis as Drokpa or Dokpa. Over time, the term "Brokpa" fell out of use in Baltistan and the Drass area, in favour of ethnic labels such as "Dards" and "Shins". Only the Brokpa of the lower Indus valley in Ladakh Dah Hanu region continue to retain the name, and their language is called Brokskat. They use the endonym Minaro. The Brokpa speak an Indo-Aryan language called Brokskat, which is a variety of the Shina language currently spoken in the Gilgit region. (During the British Raj, it became common to refer to the people of the Gilgit region as "Dards" using ancient nomenclature. The Brokpa are thus "Dards" living in the midst of Tibetic Ladakhi and Balti people.) While the two languages share similar phonological developments, Brokskat converged with Purgi to the extent of being mutually intelligible at the present time. The Brokpa might have expanded from the Gilgit region upstream along the Indus valley until reaching their current habitat, viz., the lower Indus valley of Ladakh next to the border with Baltistan. The time frame of this expansion or dispersion is uncertain, but their chiefs are believed to have ruled at Khalatse until the 12th century, where the remnants of their forts can still be found.