Balti (people)
The ethnically mixed Balti (also: Bhautta) are a population group of Indo-Aryan descent. They inhabit the Baltistan region in Indian and Pakistani Kashmir .
Life and habitat
The Balti speak Balti , a Tibetan language similar to Eastern Tibetan in Kham Province . The people are divided into several clans, each of which can be traced back to a common ancestor. The Balti are mountain farmers who grow barley and fruit. They also work as porters for mountaineering expeditions and do other contract work. Some Baltis lead a nomadic life and come as far as Leh on their wanderings in order to do business there.
religion
The Balti were followers of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion. From the 14th century they became followers of Islam and belonged to the Shiite twelve . When the Nurbachschi sect, which is closely related to Sufism , was persecuted in Kashmir in the 16th century , their followers fled to Baltistan in the Shigar and Shyok valleys and brought their faith there. The Sufis of the Nurbachschi sect see themselves as mystics who have taken influences from Buddhism and Bon into their religion. They were persecuted by both the Sunnis and the Shiites .
In 1971 the area around Turtuk , which previously belonged to Pakistan, was conquered by India. About 2000 Baltis lived here, 10% of them Wahabis , 50% Nurbachschis, the rest predominantly Sunnis with a few Shiites among them. The Baltis in the area of Skardu (capital of Baltistan, in Pakistan) were mostly Shiites or Ismailis , followers of the Aga Khan . These national and religious differences resulted in intense tension within the Balti people. There were several Pakistani but no Indian radio stations broadcasting in the Baltic language.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Balti at langwhich.com. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ↑ a b c Jutta Mattausch: Ladakh and Zanskar , Reise Know-How Verlag Peter Rump GmbH, 1996, ISBN 3-89416-176-0 , p. 160
- ↑ a b c Balti at baltistan.eus. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ↑ A 'battle' in the snowy heights at thehindu.com. Retrieved December 9, 2018.