Ladakh Culture

The Synthesized Culture of Ladakh
A Quick look on the Lifestyle of Ladakh
Ladakh - the land with inviting people is a land with Buddhism being the way of life in Ladakh. Ladkah is dominated by Buddhists with a minor percentage of Hindu, Muslims, Christians. It is evident in its every corner. Ladakh is dotted with ancient Buddhist rock engravings all over the region, even in areas like Dras and the lower Suru Valley which today are inhabited by an exclusively Muslim population. There are pockets of Muslim population further east, in Padum (Zanskar), in Nubra Valley and in and around Leh. Many villagers in Ladakh are crowned with a gompa or monastery which may be anything from a attractive complex of temples, prayer halls and monks dwellings, to a tiny hermitage housing a single image and home to solitary lama. Islam in Ladakh too came from the west. A peaceful Shia sect spearheaded by missionaries penetrated the land with the early conversion of the sub-rulers of Dras, Kargil and the Suru Valley.

Looks of People
The appearance of the people of Ladakh is quiet contrasting then the people of rest of the country. The faces and physique of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear, are more akin to those of Tibet and Central Asia than of India. The original population may have been Dards, an Indo-Aryan race from down the Indus. But immigration from Tibet, perhaps a 1000 years or so ago, largely affected the culture of the Dards and destroyed their racial characteristics. In eastern and central Ladakh, today's population are mostly of Tibetan origin. Going towards west, in and around Kargil, there is much in the people's appearance that suggests a mixed origin. The exception to this generalization are the Afghans, a community of Muslims in Leh, the descendants of marriages between local women and Kashmiri or Central Asian merchants.

The Culture of Work
The behaviour of the people is affected by their religion, specifically among the women. Among the Buddhists, as also the Muslims of the Leh area, women not only work in the house and field, but also are engaged in business and interact freely with men outside their own relations. In Kargil and its surrounding regions on the other hand, it is only since last few years that women are coming out from semi-seclusion and taking jobs other than traditional ones like farming and house -keeping.

Monastic and other religious festivals, many of which fall in winter, provide the excuse for cheerful gatherings. Summer pastimes all around the region are archery and polo. Among the Buddhists, these often develop into open-air festal parties accompanied by dance and song.