Layap
Encyclopedia
The Layap are an indigenous people
inhabiting the high mountains of northwest Bhutan
in the village of Laya
, in the Gasa District
, at an altitude of 3850 metres (12,631.2 ft), just below the Tsendagang peak. Layaps also live in northern Thimphu
(Lingzhi Gewog
) and Punakha District
s. Layaps are sometimes called Bjop (Dzongkha: འབྱོགཔ་; "nomad") by the Bhutanese, a term some consider condescending. Their population in 2003 stood at 1,100. Ethnically related to the Tibetans
, they speak Layakha, a Tibeto-Burman language. Layaps refer to their homeland as Be-yul – "the hidden land."
). The women, on the other hand, wear black woolen jackets, which reach right down to the ankles. A blue pattern band may also be found at the bottom of their long sleeves. They also adorn themselves with silver jewelry and beads.
The most distinctive feature of the Layap women's dress is their conical hat
. Made out of darkened bamboo strips, the conical hat ends with a sharp point to the sky, a cross similar to the Christian cross inverted to an upside down position.
. According to legend, Laya village is the spot where Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder of Bhutan, first entered the country.
Particularly unique among the Layap is the extensive tradition of "living defilements" (Dzongkha: soen drep), whereby a ritually impure person is ostracized from social activities. The Layap shun "living defilements" in order not to anger deities, and to avoid physical maladies and livestock plagues. Among ritually impure acts are birth, divorce, and death, including the death of a horse.
Traditionally, the Layap lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, who rearing yak
s and dzo
s, although in recent times small ponies may also be found in the area. Owing to the cold weather at this altitude, few crops can be planted, except for some grasses. Layaps also traditionally pick cordyceps
, valuable traditionally medicinal and magical fungi native to the region. With Bhutan's increased environmental protection, Layaps and rural farmers face more challenges protecting their livestock from natural predators, particularly leopard
s. Layap people also participate in the heavy labor to drain Thorthormi, a glacial lake
prone to GLOF flooding. Flooding is a particularly serious threat to the Layap way of life, heavily dependent on livestock and sparse water resources.
Until the 1980s, the Layap lived in near-complete isolation from the world, except for occasional visits to Thimphu
or Punakha
, which was a five day walk. Since the new millennium, Laya has been visited by tourists from all over the world. One can see beautifully-painted houses fitted with solar panels, and the construction of new schools for the impoverished children. Most villagers are now able to abandon the village in the winter and return in the springtime. Many Layaps now live in permanent settlements complete with modern amenities – from toilets to mobile phones and televisions – thanks to disposable incomes from business and trade. Increasingly, Layap children are attending Bhutanese schools.
Though somewhat modernized, Layaps and other tribal peoples of Bhutan remain a curiosity to the majority of the native population, many of whom lead much more modernized lives. The government encourages pride among Bhutan's tribal groups, and cites them as an example of humans successfully living in harmony with nature.
In traditional Layap culture, casual sex is commonplace and accepted among both males and females, unmarried and married. As a consequence, Layap communities face enormous exposure to syphilis
, gonorrhoea, and hepatitis B. Although condom
s were somewhat available, almost no Layaps reported safer sex practices through 2009, a trend the government hopes to buffet.
, practiced to keep families and property together, although the custom now in decline. The Layap also have a tradition of child marriage
, with brides as young as 10 years old. Layap women speaking to media anticipate the increase in schooling among their daughters will result in a decline in child marriages. Many Layap women find healthcare
difficult to access during pregnancy due to isolated settlements and nomadic lifestyles. Among the foremost concerns for Layap women is prenatal care.
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
inhabiting the high mountains of northwest Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
in the village of Laya
Laya, Bhutan
Laya, Bhutan is a town in Laya Gewog in Gasa District in northwestern Bhutan. It is inhabited by the indegenous Layap people....
, in the Gasa District
Gasa District
Gasa District or Gasa Dzongkhag is one of the 20 dzongkhags comprising Bhutan. Its capital is Gasa Dzong near Gasa. It is located in the far north of the county and spans the Middle and High Himalayas. The dominant language of the district is Dzongkha, the national language...
, at an altitude of 3850 metres (12,631.2 ft), just below the Tsendagang peak. Layaps also live in northern Thimphu
Thimphu District
Thimphu District is a dzongkhag of Bhutan. Thimphu is also the capital of Bhutan and the largest city in the whole kingdom.-Languages:...
(Lingzhi Gewog
Lingzhi Gewog
Lingzhi Gewog is a gewog of Thimphu District, Bhutan. Lingzhi Gewog, along with Naro and Soe Gewogs, is part of Lingzhi Dungkhag.-References:...
) and Punakha District
Punakha District
Punakha District is one of the 20 dzongkhags comprising Bhutan. It is bordered by Thimphu, Gasa, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts...
s. Layaps are sometimes called Bjop (Dzongkha: འབྱོགཔ་; "nomad") by the Bhutanese, a term some consider condescending. Their population in 2003 stood at 1,100. Ethnically related to the Tibetans
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...
, they speak Layakha, a Tibeto-Burman language. Layaps refer to their homeland as Be-yul – "the hidden land."
Dress
The dress of the Layap is similar to the Tibetan costume, except for a few differences. While men wear the Bhutanese costume, which consists of a silk or linen garment that is typically colored saffron and red (cf. ghoGho
The gho is the traditional and national dress for men in Bhutan. Introduced in the 17th century by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel to give the Bhutanese a more distinctive identity, it is a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt known as the kera...
). The women, on the other hand, wear black woolen jackets, which reach right down to the ankles. A blue pattern band may also be found at the bottom of their long sleeves. They also adorn themselves with silver jewelry and beads.
The most distinctive feature of the Layap women's dress is their conical hat
Pointed hat
Pointed hats have been a distinctive item of headgear of a wide range of cultures throughout history. Though often suggesting an ancient Indo-European tradition, they were also traditionally worn by women of Lapland, the Japanese, the Mi'kmaq people of Atlantic Canada, and the Huastecs of Veracruz...
. Made out of darkened bamboo strips, the conical hat ends with a sharp point to the sky, a cross similar to the Christian cross inverted to an upside down position.
Religion
Owing to Tibetan influence, the Layap practice a mixture of Bön and Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. According to legend, Laya village is the spot where Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder of Bhutan, first entered the country.
Particularly unique among the Layap is the extensive tradition of "living defilements" (Dzongkha: soen drep), whereby a ritually impure person is ostracized from social activities. The Layap shun "living defilements" in order not to anger deities, and to avoid physical maladies and livestock plagues. Among ritually impure acts are birth, divorce, and death, including the death of a horse.
Lifestyle
Located near the Tibetan border, the Layap have traditionally engaged in trade. Nowadays that includes the smuggling of bootleg Chinese blankets and plastic goods which are embargoed by the Bhutanese government, but in much demand by Bhutanese villagers.Traditionally, the Layap lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, who rearing 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...
s and 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...
s, although in recent times small ponies may also be found in the area. Owing to the cold weather at this altitude, few crops can be planted, except for some grasses. Layaps also traditionally pick cordyceps
Cordyceps
Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 described species. All Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, mainly on insects and other arthropods ; a few are parasitic on other fungi. The best known species of the genus is Cordyceps sinensis, first recorded as yartsa gunbu in...
, valuable traditionally medicinal and magical fungi native to the region. With Bhutan's increased environmental protection, Layaps and rural farmers face more challenges protecting their livestock from natural predators, particularly leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s. Layap people also participate in the heavy labor to drain Thorthormi, a glacial lake
Glaciers of Bhutan
The glaciers of Bhutan, which covered about 10 percent of the total surface area in the 1980s, are an important renewable source of water for Bhutan's rivers. Fed by fresh snow each winter and slow melting in the summer, the glaciers bring millions of litres of fresh water to Bhutan and downriver...
prone to GLOF flooding. Flooding is a particularly serious threat to the Layap way of life, heavily dependent on livestock and sparse water resources.
Until the 1980s, the Layap lived in near-complete isolation from the world, except for occasional visits to Thimphu
Thimphu
Thimphu also spelt Thimpu, is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The city became the capital of Bhutan in 1961...
or Punakha
Punakha
thumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...
, which was a five day walk. Since the new millennium, Laya has been visited by tourists from all over the world. One can see beautifully-painted houses fitted with solar panels, and the construction of new schools for the impoverished children. Most villagers are now able to abandon the village in the winter and return in the springtime. Many Layaps now live in permanent settlements complete with modern amenities – from toilets to mobile phones and televisions – thanks to disposable incomes from business and trade. Increasingly, Layap children are attending Bhutanese schools.
Though somewhat modernized, Layaps and other tribal peoples of Bhutan remain a curiosity to the majority of the native population, many of whom lead much more modernized lives. The government encourages pride among Bhutan's tribal groups, and cites them as an example of humans successfully living in harmony with nature.
In traditional Layap culture, casual sex is commonplace and accepted among both males and females, unmarried and married. As a consequence, Layap communities face enormous exposure to syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, gonorrhoea, and hepatitis B. Although condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s were somewhat available, almost no Layaps reported safer sex practices through 2009, a trend the government hopes to buffet.
Marriage and family
The Layap are known for their tradition of polyandryPolyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
, practiced to keep families and property together, although the custom now in decline. The Layap also have a tradition of child marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
, with brides as young as 10 years old. Layap women speaking to media anticipate the increase in schooling among their daughters will result in a decline in child marriages. Many Layap women find healthcare
Health in Bhutan
Health in Bhutan is one of the government's highest priorities in its scheme of development and modernization. Health and related issues are overseen by the Ministry of Health, itself represented on the executive Lhengye Zhungtshog by the Minister of Health...
difficult to access during pregnancy due to isolated settlements and nomadic lifestyles. Among the foremost concerns for Layap women is prenatal care.