Burig
Encyclopedia
The Burig, or Purik, are another group of Tibetan
Muslim
s with small Dardic
admixture, who live south of the Balti
in Ladakh
. Most of them live in Ladakh and Baltistan
, especially in Kargil
, although significant numbers reside in Leh.
Because they inhabit the higher reaches of the arid Himalayas
, they depend on glacial runoff for irrigatation their crops. Barley, wheat, and millet are grown where water is sufficient, notably along small rivers. The hot summer temperatures also allow for a wide variety of fruits to be raised.
Unlike the Dards and the Shina
, the Burig are not nomads. They transfer their livestock from one grazing ground to another upon the arrival of autumn. During the summer months, they drive the cattle to alpine pastures, and all households own at least one female dzo
, which is a cross between a cow and a yak
. These animals produce milk.
Most of them are Shia Muslims by religion, although significant Sunni Muslims and a small minority of Buddhists and Bön followers reside in isolated areas. Like the Balti, they speak an archaic Tibetan dialect very closely related to both Balti
and Ladakhi
and mutually intelligible with both.
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s with small Dardic
Dard people
The Dards are a group of people defined by linguistic similarities, and not common ethnicity, predominantly found in Eastern Afghanistan, in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and in the Northern Areas and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan...
admixture, who live south of the Balti
Balti people
The Balti are an ethnic group of Tibetan descent with some Dardic admixture located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Ladakh, a region in Jammu & Kashmir, India; as well as scattered in Pakistan's major urban centres of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The Balti language belongs to the...
in Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
. Most of them live in Ladakh and Baltistan
Baltistan
Baltistan , also known as بلتیول བལིུལ་ in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit-Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains...
, especially in Kargil
Kargil District
Kargil is a district of Ladakh, Kashmir, India. Kargil lies near the Line of Control facing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Baltistan to the west, and Kashmir valley to the south. Zanskar is part of Kargil district along with Suru, Wakha and Dras valleys...
, although significant numbers reside in Leh.
Because they inhabit the higher reaches of the arid Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, they depend on glacial runoff for irrigatation their crops. Barley, wheat, and millet are grown where water is sufficient, notably along small rivers. The hot summer temperatures also allow for a wide variety of fruits to be raised.
Unlike the Dards and the Shina
Shina people
The Shina are the Dardic people originating in southern Gilgit Baltistan and western part of Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, as well as Dras Valley and Gurais/ Kishenganga Valley region in northern Kashmir of India. They also live in some parts of Pakistani Kashmir....
, the Burig are not nomads. They transfer their livestock from one grazing ground to another upon the arrival of autumn. During the summer months, they drive the cattle to alpine pastures, and all households own at least one female dzo
Dzo
A dzo is a hybrid of yak and domestic cattle. The word dzo technically refers to a male hybrid, while a female is known as a dzomo or zhom. Alternative Romanizations of the Tibetan names include zho and zo. In Mongolian it is called khainag...
, which is a cross between a cow and a yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
. These animals produce milk.
Most of them are Shia Muslims by religion, although significant Sunni Muslims and a small minority of Buddhists and Bön followers reside in isolated areas. Like the Balti, they speak an archaic Tibetan dialect very closely related to both Balti
Balti language
Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh. Baltistan, before 1948, was part of Ladakh province. The Balti language is a dialect of the Ladakhi language, a form of Tibetan. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi proper and Burig...
and Ladakhi
Ladakhi language
The Ladakhi language , now also called Bhoti, and by linguists more generally called Western Archaic Tibetan when the Balti and Burig or Purig or Purki dialects are included, is the predominant language in the Ladakh region of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, and is also spoken in Baltistan...
and mutually intelligible with both.