 A Monpa man and woman in traditional attire | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 75,000[citation needed] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India (Arunachal Pradesh) | 60,545 (2011 census)[1] |
 China (Tibet) | 10,561 (2010 census)[2] |
 Bhutan | 3,000[citation needed] |
| Languages | |
| East Bodish languages, Tshangla language, Kho-Bwa languages | |
| Religion | |
| Tibetan Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetan, Sherdukpen, Sharchops, Memba, Limbu | |
| Monpa people | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan name | |||||
| Tibetan | མོན་པ་ | ||||
| |||||
The Monpa [a] (Tibetan: མོན་པ་, Wylie: mon pa, THL: mön pa (Standard Tibetan: མོན་པ་;, Chinese: 门巴族) are a major people of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India[3] and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Most Monpas live in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of 50,000, centered in the districts of Tawang and West Kameng. As of 2020 there were 11,143 Monpa people living in Le/ Lebo/ Lebugou/ Lebugou township of Cona/ Tsona Tsona City in the southern Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are known as Menba (simplified Chinese: 门巴族; traditional Chinese: 門巴族; pinyin: Ménbāzú). Of the 45,000 Monpas who live in Arunachal Pradesh, about 20,000 of them live in Tawang district, where they constitute about 97% of the district's population, and almost all of the remainder can be found in the West Kameng district, where they form about 77% of the district's population. A small number of them may be found in bordering areas of East Kameng[4] and Bhutan (2,500).
They also share very close affinity with the Sharchops of Bhutan. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family, but it is significantly different from the Eastern Tibetan dialect. It is written with the Tibetan script.
The Monpa are sub-divided into six sub-groups because of their variations in their language. They are namely:
- Tawang Monpa
- Dirang Monpa
- Lish Monpa
- Bhut Monpa
- Kalaktang Monpa
- Panchen Monpa
The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependent on animals like sheep, cow, yak, goats and horses. There is a village called Le in Tibet, China where Monpa people are also found. The term Monpa is a generic term in China, unlike in India where it refers to a specific tribal group. People of Medog ( Pemako) in China are also called Monpa in China. Therefore, there must be careful study of the Monpa term and its use. The term Monpa is a very generic term and it includes people from all over trans himalayan region and unlike the modern term used to refer to the tribe of Monpa, of Tawang and West Kameng district. The Monpa people in Tibet live in Lebugou, Cona county.
- ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "国家统计局：《2010年第六次人口普查数据》". Archived from the original on 25 May 2013.
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Dist_File/datasheet-1201.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Winds of Change: Arunachalee in Tradition and Transition by Raju Barthakur
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