This is a socio-historical portrait of a small compact Tibetan population residing in the area near the Nepal border known as Dingri. The work covers the period of their history from the latter part of the last century up to 1959. It begins with a brief glance at a single period in their early history which was marked by the appearance of the Dingri religious heroes, Pha Dampa Sangyas and Milarepa, both of whom are reported to have visited Dingri in the 12th century. Detailed ethnography is combined with a review of recent Dingri history to give a picture of a dynamic prospering community on the main trade route between central Tibet and Nepal: a heterogeneous settlement of agriculturalists, traders, labourers and ritualists. After a rather detailed discussion of the Dingriwa's position as migrants into Dingri from other parts of Tibet and a review of their geography and economy, I devote a lengthy chapter to their social organization in terms of stratification and economy, followed by another chapter dealing with the modest but ubiquitous ritual communites known as Ser khyim pa. From there, I move to a re-examination of Tibetan notions of residence and descent, positing the household as the primary unit of Dingri society. The next chapter - on marriage and family life - deals further with the paramountcy of the household, providing _detailed quantification of marriage patterns in terms of other sociological variables. The non-kin type of social units such as friendship groups, neighbourhood and villages are the subject of the final chapter. There, I illustrate the processes of reciprocation, co-operation and administration that bind these people into a culture.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:511392 |
| Date | January 1975 |
| Creators | Aziz, B. N. |
| Publisher | SOAS, University of London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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