Phuntog Tundup (aged 71), of the Chuyinkpa Family, Photoksar Village

 

Phuntog Tundup, a lifelong resident of Photoksar, recalls the oral histories passed down by his elders. According to him, the earliest settlers of Photoksar were Brokpas. However, in ancient times, an unusually heavy snowfall devastated the region, destroying crops and making life unsustainable. As a result, the Brokpa settlers are said to have abandoned the village of Photoksar.

Tundup spent most of his life as a Barzee—a traditional herder responsible for tending to the livestock of fellow villagers in the high-altitude pastures. In return for this service, he was required to pay a Shey (fee), typically four battis (measures) of butter for every one demo (female yak or cow) he tended. Whatever remained—be it butter or produce—was his to keep.

Around the age of twenty, Tundup began travelling to Leh, carrying with him butter and churpi for sale. From the modest income he earned in the Leh market, he would purchase essentials such as tea, salt, and spices. He distinctly remembers his elders sourcing salt from the Changthang region, which he describes as being far tastier and more desirable than the salt later distributed through government ration shops.

Wool from local livestock was often insufficient for the needs of the Photoksar villagers. As a result, they would purchase additional wool from Changpa traders who brought it from the Changthang plateau and sold it in Leh. According to Tundup, Changthang wool was of exceptional quality, available in shades of white, black, and beige. He recalls paying approximately ₹250 per kilogram for the best grade wool.

Apart from his herding duties, Tundup was also skilled in various traditional Ladakhi crafts. Using the wool collected during his time in the mountains, he produced tsali, tsogtul, shoes, and rebo. He also crafted traditional baskets known as tsepo. Unlike the people of Hanupata, who typically used chipkyang for their baskets, Tundup preferred Langmey, a sturdier plant he considered more durable.

He also recalls that in earlier times, his elders prepared and sold charcoal at a site known as Ashkuta Rong. During those years, Balti traders would make annual visits to Photoksar, often purchasing livestock from local residents.

Of historical interest is Tundup’s reference to Photoksar’s past reputation as a source of rare iron in Ladakh. He speaks of a bao (cave) in the nearby hamlet of Machu Pharka, where iron smelting was once practiced. Another smelting site is located in Ashkuta, where iron was similarly extracted and forged. The iron from these sites was used to manufacture tsogtse and khem.

With Sonam Norpel, 78, of the Malaps Family, Hanupata.

According to Sonam Norpel, aged 78, of the Malaps family in Hanupata village, the origins of the village trace back to an accidental discovery by his ancestors. He believes that the early settlers of Hanupata came from the Changthang region. This belief is supported by the presence of the village’s guardian deity, Kajukongta, who is also venerated in parts of Changthang, especially in Shachukul. The first family to settle in Hanupata was the Khangchenpa, followed by the Zingzhukpa and Yokmapa families—each of whom are believed to have migrated from Changthang. Today, the villagers maintain phaspun (ritual kinship ties) with relatives across Zanskar, Changthang, and Leh.

In earlier times, Sonam Norpel’s family had three primary sources of salt:

1. Gifts from Relatives in Lamayuru

The main source was salt gifted by members of the Shutupa family in Lamayuru. The elder of that family used to travel to Tibet specifically to procure salt, which was then shared with kin.

2. Shamma Traders from Takmachik and Tingmosgang

Another source was through occasional visits by Shamma traders from villages like  Takmachik and Tingmosgang, who typically arrived in the ninth month. These traders sourced salt either directly from Tibet or indirectly from Changpa traders who frequented the salt markets at Sakti and Chemrey.

There were two kinds of Shamma traders: those who had been to Sakti and those who hadn’t. The latter group only traded in apricots. Besides salt and apricots, Shamma traders were also known to travel further into Zanskar and Lingshed, where they purchased livestock.In Hanupata, the money used to purchase salt and goods often came from the sale of livestock to buyers from Chiktan. Sonam recalls that in his father’s time, a yak would sell for Rs 300—a price that today has risen to around Rs 1,00,000.

3. Local Purchase by Sirilupa Elder

The third source was a local elder from the Sirilupa family in Hanupata, who would personally travel to Sakti to buy salt and bring it back to the village.

Wool was also a traded necessity. While the village produced some wool, it was not sufficient for all needs. Local wool was used primarily for the warp, whereas the softer, high-quality wool from Changthang—purchased in Leh—was used for the weft in weaving.

Trade and Travel Routes

The primary direction of trade and travel for Hanupata villagers was towards Lamayuru and Wanla. Journeys towards Lingshed were rare and usually undertaken for pilgrimage purposes. The most frequented route passed through the Gyapola pass to Wanla, and from there either to Lamayuru or Khaltse. The main reason for visiting Lamayuru was to access the government ration shop.

During the summer, villagers from Photoksar would also use this route, as the usual Rong path would be rendered impassable due to swollen waters.

Another important source of income for Sonam’s family came from weaving traditional baskets known as Tsepo. There were two main varieties:

• Tsepo made from Sed

Collected in the autumn from nearby hills, Sed was soaked in water over the winter and then used for weaving in spring. These baskets were durable and thus more expensive.

• Tsepo made from Chipkyang

Cheaper and less long-lasting, baskets made from Chipkyang sold at a lower price.

As a young man, Sonam would carry about 12 Tsepo baskets to sell in the Tia and Tingmosgang area, fetching roughly Rs 2.50 each. Today, a Sed basket sells for around Rs 100, while the more delicately woven Chipkyang variant fetches up to Rs 800.

At Digar with Ama Phunstog Dolma le, age 84.

Phunstog Dolma was born into the affluent Amchi family of Labab, a small hamlet situated along the traditional route to Khyungru and Digar. Labab is a small settlement, home to just two families.

Dolma  recalls that during her youth, the broader region experienced widespread poverty, and many households frequently ran short of food supplies. Unlike the nearby villages of Tangyar and Khema, where wheat cultivation was not possible due to a harsher, colder climate, Labab’s relatively temperate conditions made it suitable for growing wheat, barley, and peas.

Her family, among the wealthiest in the area was especially known for loaning grain to households from nearby settlements. Every spring, families would arrive to borrow grain, which they would repay following the autumn harvest. The prevailing interest rate at the time was five battis (approximately 10 kilograms) for every four battis borrowed, a customary practice rooted in trust and reciprocity.

Dolma vividly recalls that around the age of 15, Changpa traders would descend from the Nibukla Pass, stopping at Tangyar with their Changluks ( sheep) pack animals laden with salt and wool. After trading these goods in Nubra, the Changpas would return with wheat, which they could not cultivate in their high-altitude pastures.

At Labab, Dolma remembers her mother storing salt in large, earthen containers. This clean, reddish salt was prized for its flavour and primarily used in the preparation of butter tea. The two resident families of Labab wove their own woolen garments: local wool was used to spin the spun (warp), while the finer wool purchased from the Changpas was reserved for weaving the gyu (weft), producing warmer and more refined clothing.

At Digar with Aba Rinchen Gyalpo-le, aged 95

 

Rinchen Gyalpo of the Kulpa family in Digar has lived a long and eventful life as both zamindar and trader. For much of his life, he cultivated barley, peas, and mustard. But he also engaged in the seasonal trade of salt and wool with Nubra, sourcing his goods from the Changpa nomads who visited Tangyar.

The Changpas arrived in Tangyar carrying salt, wool, butter, cheese, and dried meat. In return, they bartered for barley. The standard exchange rate, as Rinchen recalls, was one batti (roughly 2 kilograms) of salt for one and a half battis of barley. The Tangyar market was a lively scene, drawing not only villagers but also traders from Nubra and Baltistan, many of whom travelled with doltoks, heavy stone pots,strapped to their backs.

During the summer months, Rinchen Gyalpo would buy salt and wool from the Changpas and carry it to Nubra to trade for wheat. While the Nubrapas who came to Tangyar offered three battis of wheat for a single batti of wool, Rinchen could often double his return by selling directly in Nubra,fetching up to 6 battis, and occasionally even 24 kilograms, depending on market demand.

His journeys took him to distant villages such as Panamik, Chamshen, and Yarma. Travel was made mostly on horseback or with the help of dzos and yaks. Donkeys, were a rare sight in those days.

Gyalpo was around 30 when he first began trading as a supplementary source of income. He continued to do so periodically until his final trading trip, which took place shortly before the 1971 war with Pakistan. It has now been more than fifty years, he says, since the Changpa caravans last visited these routes.

For additional household shopping,especially during the summer and around Losar Rinchen would undertake overnight journeys to Leh via the Digar La pass. There, he would sell his barley in the bustling chang market at Naushehar, where women from various households sat selling chang (local barley wine). He fondly recounts : the women sellers would compete for barley, offering cups of chang to the sellers.

“By the time a person reached the end of the market,” he’d be drunk from sipping chang from every seller"

At Sumdo, Rupsho : With Aba Dorjey Tsetup le , Now 86

Dorjey Tsetup is a Tibetan refugee and a former professional gold miner, known in Tibet as a Thokpa. He has lived in India since 1959, after fleeing Tibet, abandoning his ancestral profession as a gold miner.

In Tibet, Dorjey worked in a goldfield located in his native village of Mugnak. The site was widely known as Mugnak Thok: the Mugnak Goldfield. According to him, the hamlet of Mugnak lay approximately two days by horseback from Rudok.

Gold mining at Mugnak was carried out solely by the local villagers. Each family had its own assigned pit from which gold-bearing soil was extracted. A miner would be securely tied to a rope and carefully lowered into these vertical shafts, often more than 20 feet deep.

Inside, the miner would use animal horns to dig out chunks of earth, which were then pulled up by family members stationed at the surface.

This demanding work continued year-round. During the harsh winters, when the soil became frozen and unyielding, miners employed a traditional method to soften it: they would burn large quantities of dried animal dung at the bottom of the pit overnight. The fire’s heat would thaw the earth by morning, allowing the digging to resume. Since the interiors of these pits remained dark even in broad daylight, miners relied on lamps fueled by animal fat for illumination underground.

Dorjey recalls regularly descending into these pits on behalf of his family. Once the soil reached the surface, it was crushed into finer granules using animal horns. The loosened earth was then washed to separate out the gold. Water for this process had to be fetched from a faraway river known as Changding Tso, and was transported in bags made from sheepskin. The washing itself took place in wooden trays called Jhongba, traditionally used for gold panning.

Despite the strenuous labour involved, the amount of gold recovered was typically modest. The gold was never exchanged for cash. Instead, it was bartered with local Chukpo: wealthy livestock owners in Rudok, in return for basic necessities such as meat, butter, or cheese.