Upper Mustang is the restricted northern part of Nepal’s Mustang district. It consist of seven village development Committees (Nepal’s smallest democratic units) with 31 settlements.
The restricted area Includes the historic kingdom of Lo Tsho Dyun which translates as ‘Seven Districts of Lo’ in the local Tibetan dialect (Loke) . The area of Bahragaon, meaning ‘Twelve Villages’ in Nepali, extends from south of Ghiling to North of Jomsom and also falls largely inside Upper Mustang. Tibetan dialect (Pheke) prevails here, too. However, the people of Tangbe, Chhuksang, Tetang, Tsaile and Ghyaker instead speak Seke, a language closely related to Thakali.
The Buddhist society of Upper Mustang is divided into groups comparable to the castes of Hindu culture. The occupational castes, regarded as the lowest , comprise the Ghara, Shemba and Emeta (Blacksmiths, butchers and musicians respectively). The highland nomads, called Dropka , take an outsider’s position of slightly higher status . The middle class consists of The Phalwa, who now often prefer to call themselves Gurung . The Kudek, who have adopted the Nepali name Bista for their clan, make up the nobility and family of Lo Tsho Dyun.
Culture and history info
Livestock is the important source of cash income . In the villages, cattle is kept for milk , meat , and fuel . Large herds of goat and sheep are driven south for sale at the end of the summer. Dzopa(a crossbreed of Yak and Cow) plough the fields . Horses and mules carry people and loads. On The pasture lands at the rim of the Tibetan Plateau , nomad families tend goats, sheep and yaks all year along.
In the dry climate, agriculture is impossible without irrigation. Women ,men and children work together on the fields . Barley , buckwheat, peas, and potatoes are the crops that ripen here , and the seasons are marked by festivals.
A household usually sopans several generation, and children are cared for by everyone . Marriageof the woman with two or more brothers, to avoid the splitting of the familyy’s farmland, is still in practice . A husband may take a second wife if the first one proves infetiile. But like all traditionsal ways, these are changing too, under the influence of Outside culture and values .
