At Rongo, Rupsho, with Aba Chamchot Tashi le, 79, and Ama Urgain Dolma le.

 

According to Aba Tashi, in earlier times, Pashmina did not hold the high value it commands today. Any small amount of Pashmina available was traditionally offered to the monasteries. A monk, known as a Leesee, would visit Rongo in the fourth or fifth month, specifically tasked with counting the Pashmina goats. An equivalent number of rounded Pashmina balls would then be offered to him. It was much later that Pashmina began to gain its current worth. The annual visit of the Leesee monk to Rongo, and this tradition, ceased approximately 30 years ago.

Historically, villages in the vicinity shared a deeply symbiotic relationship with the Hemis monastery. Pasturelands in the region were specifically designated and named according to the animals reared for the monasteries in the region:

• Raque: for the monastery's goats.

• Maque: for rearing female sheep.

• Deque: for Demo (a type of cow-yak hybrid) and Yak.

• Kharluk: for Khalba (male sheep).

• Barzee: located just beyond the Hanle monastery, for cows.

• Chips se Goba was the term for the person or place responsible for caring for the horses.

When Tashi was around 14, his uncle would embark on salt-sourcing journeys to Mindun Tsaka, located beyond Demchok. They would travel with sheep, not horses, taking the well-trodden road from Dumtsele. These expeditions typically occurred in the eighth or ninth month of the year. After acquiring the salt, they would rest for about two weeks before heading to villages near Leh, such as Leh itself, Martho, and Stok, to trade the salt for barley.

The same villagers also made annual trips to Himachal Pradesh, this time to sell wool in exchange for rice. Tashi distinctly remembers one such journey in 1962 when he accompanied his uncle. Their route took them towards Chumur, a day's journey, then to Tega Zong, and finally across the snow-covered Parangla Pass. They would cross Parangla in the middle of the night to avoid avalanches.

The journey from Chumur to Spiti took five days, passing through Sergatha, Takchuthang, Tarakurkur, and Lakartsey. In Spiti, they traded their sheared wool for a different variety of barley, which Tashi called Sua. Rice was sourced from areas further beyond Spiti within Himachal Pradesh. For these arduous trips, they exclusively used male sheep, known as Khalba, numbering about 30. Four men would accompany them, opting for Khalba over goats due to their wool-bearing capacity and superior sturdiness for carrying loads over long distances.

Lato, Rupsho.

 

Aba Sonam Angdu, 77, and his wife Tsering Langzey, 80, reside in Loma, a hamlet renowned for its bridge over the Indus, which tourists cross en route to Hanle. Sonam Angdu spent most of his youth working as a Lukzee- a person primarily responsible for tending to the sheep and goats. He recalls that around the age of 16, he would frequently travel to Leh with his father to trade sheep wool. They would load approximately 200 male sheep (Khalba) and male goats (Rabo) with empty saddlebags, known as lugals. These expeditions involved three to four men, with one Lukzee  Upon reaching villages like Sakti, Chemrey, and Martselang, his father would begin selling wool, sheared on-site, in exchange for barley and wheat, which would then fill the empty lugals.

He remembers his father undertaking long journeys towards the east of Demchok to source salt for resale in Ladakh. After access to these sources was lost due to geopolitical reasons, around 1959, his father and other people in the region began crossing the Polokongka La to source salt from Tsokar Lake in the Samad Rakchan region, towards Kharnak. He recalls that villagers from the Samad Rakchan settlements around the lake had stationed guards to prevent unauthorized salt collection.

Sonam Angdu visited Spiti in Himachal Pradesh three times. While other informants in nearby Rupshu villages stated that the journey from Chumur to Spiti took four or five days, Sonam Angdu's return journey took approximately two months, likely due to his role as a lukzee rather than a trader. After traveling for a few days towards Chumur, the last settlement before reaching Spiti, the shepherds would often rest there for several days to allow the sheep to recuperate, a practice known as Changma in the local language. 

He remembers traveling to Spiti during winters with the sheep. During these times, he often preferred to travel at night, especially when crossing glaciers, as these glaciers were prone to avalanches. The risk of avalanches was reduced at night when the ice held better due to the cold. He remembers how a member of the team would travel in front of the animals to find the route through the snow and the mountains, and the hundreds of sheep and goats would follow in a single line. After crossing the Parangla and reaching Spiti, he remembers witnessing a local market where wool, wheat, and rice were exchanged. This market was frequented by traders from Karja and nearby villages. 

He worked like this until the age of 25. Later, when he wanted to join the Indian Army, his father did not let him do so as he wanted him to stay close to them.Life was tough, and despite the trade, villagers faced problems. During these times, they would seek assistance from the Hemis Chakzot, who would loan them grains that were repaid the following year in the form of wool, Pashmina, or livestock.

At Chumur with Ama Tsetan Angmole, 82-year-old.

For centuries, the people of Rupsho, including those from Chumur, Hanle, Korzok, Loma, Rongo and other villages have embraced a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. Interestingly, despite its geographical distance from Korzok, Chumur shares a unique administrative bond, falling under the purview of Korzok's single headman, known as the Goba in Ladakhi.

I met Ama Tsetan when she was camped with her goats and sheep in Tarla, a spot on the way to Chumur. She and other villagers from Chumur had been there for four months and were soon heading back home with their herds, timing their return to match that of Korzok residents who had been camped nearby.

Ama Tsetan vividly recalled that before 1959, her father and other men from Chumur would journey to regions beyond Demchok to source salt for trading. Life was undeniably tough, marked by severe food scarcity. This hardship necessitated two annual trips to the salt lakes, one in summer and another in autumn.

According to Ama Tsetan and other sources, once back the men quickly venture into either Zanskar or Spiti in Himachal Pradesh to trade this salt along with wool.

The men from Rupsho had established specific routes for their trading expeditions:

To Zanskar: They would cross the Polokonga Pass, connect with the present-day Leh-Manali route, and enter Zanskar near the Lingti River. From there, they'd disperse into the Lungnak and Stod regions of Zanskar to trade their salt and wool for barley.

To Spiti: This route took them through the Parangla Pass, a journey of four to five days from Chumur.

Their visits to Spiti served different purposes depending on the season:

Summer visits coincided with the sheep and goat shearing season. During these trips, they primarily sold wool and a limited amount of salt, with the animals often shorn right there in Spiti.

Autumn visits were dedicated to trading salt, and importantly, to selling sheep for meat.

Ama Tsetan shared that barley was the typical item received in barter for their goods. This was crucial for survival, as the extreme cold in Chumur made crop cultivation incredibly challenging.