Dah Hanu | |
|---|---|
Twin Villages | |
  Dah Hanu Location in Ladakh, India  Dah Hanu Dah Hanu (India) | |
| Coordinates: 34°36′N 76°30′E / 34.60°N 76.50°E | |
| Country | India |
| Union Territory | Ladakh |
| District | Leh |
| Tehsil | Khalsi[1] |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,816 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Dah (also known as Dha) and Hanu are two villages of the Brokpa of the Leh District of the Indian union territory of Ladakh.[2][3] Until 2010, these were the only two villages where tourists were allowed to visit out of a number of Brokpa villages.
The two villages situated in the Dha Hanu valley, also known as Aryan valley, about 163 km northwest of Leh in Ladakh. Being at a lower altitude, Dha and Hanu is warmer than Leh, allowing for the cultivation of wine-grapes and cherries as well as apricots and walnuts.[4]
The Brokpa people of Dah Hanu are nominally Buddhist but also worship their own animist pantheon of gods. They converted to Buddhism in the mid-nineteenth century.[5] They have an Indo-European appearance in contrast to the predominant Tibeto-Mongol inhabitants of most of Ladakh.[4] According to popular belief, the Brokpas were part of the army of Alexander the Great and came to the region over two thousand years ago[6][7]
"Some households still practice polyandry...it is the groom who pays the bride price. Women have rights of divorce."[8]
- ^ "Villages | District Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh | India". Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
- ^ "In Pictures: The last Aryans". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
They live in the villages of Dha and Hanu (commonly called as Dhahanu).
- ^ Jina, Prem Singh (2009). Cultural Heritage of Ladakh Himalaya. Gyan Publishing House. pp. 53–176. ISBN 978-81-7835-745-4.
- ^ a b "Dha Hanu route intro". www.himalayabybike.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ Nicolaus, Peter (2015). "Residues of Ancient Beliefs among the Shin in the Gilgit-Division and Western Ladakh". Iran & the Caucasus. 19 (3): 201–264. doi:10.1163/1573384X-20150302. ISSN 1609-8498. JSTOR 43899199.
- ^ "Dha-Hanu in Ladakh | Dha-Hanu Tour | Dha-Hanu Map | Dha-Hanu Weather | Dha-Hanu Photos | Travel.india.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "In Pictures: The last Aryans". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum". www.tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2004. Retrieved 27 September 2015.