BALTISTANS TIBETAN LINKS...........................................part 2 By M. Hasnain The present Balti or Tibetan language prevailed in Baltiyul following the arrival of the Tibetan tribes from eastern and northern Tibet. Professor Jampal Gyathso, a Khampa Tibetan scholar who is an authority on the famous King Gesar folk tales, believes that among the first Tibetan settlers to arrive in Baltiyul, the majority was Khampas. His assumption is based on the fact that the Balti dialect has the linguistic characteristics of the Tibetan language and resembles closely the Amdo/ Khams dialect. The geographical location of Baltiyul and its proximity to Tibet made it easier for Tibetans to settle and spread their political, cultural and religious influence in this region. While it is not known precisely when the Tibetan herdsmen and nomads appeared in Baltiyul and in the surrounding areas, historical records show that this region remained part of the Tibetan Kingdom for a very long period of time. Indeed, prolonged cultural and religious connections with Tibet earned Baltiyul the nickname ‘Little Tibet’. According to the Tang Annals, Srungthsan Gampo (ca 617-650), the 33rd king of the Yarlungpa Dynasty, while expanding the Tibetan Empire, annexed the present day Baltiyul and Gilgit that once belonged to the Palolas during the fifth century AD. The Yarlungpas adopted Buddhism as the state religion and Tibetan became the court language. G.T. Vigne (1844) writes that in those days, Tibet extended east and west from Lhasa to Gilgit for a distance of 1200 miles . After the collapse of the Tibetan monarchy in Lhasa in the middle of the 9th century, a branch of the royal Tibetan Dynasty took refuge in West Tibet and established the State, which was known as Zhang-Zhung. Subsequently, Baltiyul and Ladakh went through an intensive Tibetanization process. It is most likely that during this era, Tibetan culture, language and religious traditions reached their zenith. Fosco Maraini corroborates this in his book as follows: …In the second half of the first millennium after Christ (between 500 – 1000 AD), Baltiyul passed under central Tibetan rule. This era must have been a long and important one, bringing an appreciably superior civilisation to a backward people... (Maraini 1961, in: Afridi 1988:28) During this period, the traditional five major sciences of arts and crafts, medicine, logic, philosophies and linguistics were introduced into this region. The five major branches of language that include poetry, astrology, writing style, drama and synonyms were developed. In addition, books were written on religion, secular histories and biographies.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:08:48 +0000
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