Jad (ISO-639-3 code: jda)

The people and The Language

Many tribal communities live in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Jad is one of them. In official records, as well as in much popular discourse, they are called Bhotiya. The Bhotiyas are one of the major subgroups of the Central Himalayan region. Historically, the community belongs to the Nilang and Jadong valley and used to live at the bank of Jad Ganga in Uttarakhand near the border of Tibet. After the war between India and China in 1962, they shifted to Bagori and Dunda villages near Harsil in the Uttarkashi district. It is interesting to note that they live in Bagori only in the summer season, which is from May to September, and migrate in the winter season to Dunda near Uttarkashi town from September to April. A few of them also go to a place called Chorpani near Rishikesh in the winter season to protect their goats and sheep from snow and to find food for them. Here, they also trade their woolen goods with locals. In the winter season, only a few people stay back in Bagori village to guard their houses. The census of India does not count them separately because their total population is less than 10 thousand. According to Breton, as mentioned in the Ethnologue, in 1977, their population was 300. Mr. Bhawan Singh Rana, who is Sarpanch (Pradhan) of Bagori village, informed us that there are around 1000 voters in his village, and the population of the community is around 2000 in 350 families. The name of their language is also known as Jad/JaaR, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family. JaaR, Jadh, Rongpa, Rongma, Rongba, and Bhotia are alternate names used for the tribe as well as the language. According to UNESCO’s report, ninety-seven Indian languages are considered endangered, and Jad (ISO code-jda) is one of them. Presently, the language is influenced by the other dominant languages in the area. It does not have a script, and people well-versed in its oral literature have died. They have lost the songs that were sung at weddings and other special occasions. At home, though, the older people speak the Jad language among themselves without mixing, but the younger generation uses a highly mixed variety. During conversations, the effect of Garhwali and Hindi can be heard easily among the younger generation.

Religion and Occupation

The Jads were followers of Tibetan Buddhism, but Hindu influence can be seen easily, and now they practice rituals of both religions. The Jads celebrate the Buddhist New Year Losar and hang prayer flags on the top of their houses, and at the same time, they profess faith in many Hindu deities and rituals and insist that they are ethnically distinct from Tibetans. Every year in the month of April, Ringali Devi of Dunda is worshipped. After this ritual, the Jads start moving towards their summer habitation at Bagori. In ancient times, Buddhist Lamas were employed to conduct religious ceremonies and medical treatment. However, they have now started celebrating various Hindu and Buddhist festivals. Jad people marry within their community and with the Jad people of Chamoli, Garhwal, and Himachal.

The community is divided into two groups; one of them considers itself more enlightened and higher, and they do not marry in the other group. Though all of them are scheduled tribes, it was noticed that the higher group members call the other group scheduled tribes. At the time of death, Jad people call the Buddhist priest (male /female), who decides the time and day of the funeral. Based on the Buddhist Calendar (Panchang), a funeral can fall after two to three days, so till then, they keep the dead body at home only. On the third day of the death, all the village children are invited to eat food; on the seventh day, every villager is invited to eat. After that, the ashes of the dead are thrown in the river Ganga. The primary source of livelihood for the Jads is animal husbandry. Earlier, they used to raise Yak, but presently, a few families have Yak. Presently, most of them rear sheep and goats and procure wool from sheep. Jad women are very proficient in knitting. One can see them regularly involved in knitting. Other occupations include agriculture and allied activities like- trade, business, unskilled and semi-skilled labor, and government service. In Bagori, some people also have apple orchards.

The present work

The preparation of a trilingual Jad-English-Hindi dictionary, Grammar, and ethnolinguistic report is in progress.

Jad Resources

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