Introduction
The Shang-Shung people are called West Himalayish people by linguists and is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan people. This article explores their mysterious origin.Homeland
The Shang-Shung's homeland is in western Tibet province and also the Himalayan mountains (colored green) of Ladakh, Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand in Northwest India.
Original homeland
Proto-Shang-Shung migrated in a westward direction from Gansu province towards western Tibet via Karakorum pass and established the Northern Neolithic of Kashmir around 2500-1700 BC which means they are the first natives there.
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| Migration path |
They live a nomadic life with their sheep by living in the Himalayan mountains during the summer and Himalayan foothills during the winter.
The arrival of the Indo-Aryans from Central Asia at the Himalayan foothills in northwestern India around 1500-1000 BC, restricted the movement of the Shang-Shung people to live up in the Himalayan mountains during the summer and also cold winter.
Earliest kingdom
Their earliest kingdom Zhang Zhung/Shang Shung was founded by Shenrab Miwo which lasted from 500 BC to 643 AD.At around 5000 meter, Zhang Zhung kingdom represent the highest elevation civilization to ever exist. Zhang Zhung's westernmost border extended to ancient Ladakh.
Today, the ancient Ladakh region are split into two smaller regions which are modern-day Baltistan and Ladakh Union Territory.
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| Kingdom of Zhang Zhung |
Their capital was in Khyung-Lung west of Mount Kailash. A palace called Silver Palace of Garuda was built in their capital city in the upper Sutlej River Valley.
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| Ruins of the palace (left) |
Religion
Mount Kailash is the sacred mountain for the Bon religion which was founded by Tönpa Shenrab who was born near the mountain. The mountain is called Gangren Boqin by the Tibetan people. Lake Manasarovar which lies next to Mount Kailash is also considered holy.
The Shang-Shung people practise the Bon religion which is a very ancient form of Buddhism that is different from the orthodox form of Tibetan Buddhism. The followers of this religion are called Bon-po.
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| Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar |
The Menri Monastery which is the current center of Bon religion was rebuilt on the Himalayan mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India.
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| Menri Monastery |
Annexation by Tibetan kingdom
Zhang Zhung kingdom under the Lig dynasty was annexed by their eastern neighbor i.e. Tibet kingdom in 644 AD.
After the annexation, some of the survivors gradually adopted the Tibetan language and also Tibetan Buddhism.
However, some Shang-Shung people fled to other regions to preserve their language and religion to become the various Shang-Shung subgroups today.
Written script
The Shang Shung language was the sacred language of the Bon religion and its unique writing script is called Martsug. Some of the writings were found in the Dunhuang caves in Gansu province.
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| Shang Shung and Tibetan scripts comparison |
The Shang Shung language which is classified as part of West Himalayish languages, is partially preserved by the other subgroups i.e. Rongpo and Almora people living in north-western India.
Shang-Shung subgroups
Shang-Shung people are divided into two main branches; most of these subgroups are found in the Himalayan mountains of north-western India. They are also found in Zanda and Burang counties in China's Ngari Prefecture which borders India's Uttarakhand Pradesh.
Eastern branch:
- Central: Rongpo, Sunnami, Bunan
- Almora: Chaudangsi, Byangsi, Darma, Rangkas, Dhuleli
Western branch
- Kinnaur: Kanashi, Kinnauri, Chitkhuli, Jangrami, Shumcho
- Lahaul: Tinan, Manchad aka Pattani
Closest ethnic relative
After the collapse of Tibetan Tubo kingdom in 842 AD, Nyima-Gon, one of the Tibetan princes, migrated westward to form a separate Tibetan kingdom named the Ladakh dynasty.
The Tibetan Ladakh dynasty ruled from 950 AD to 1834 AD in ancient Ladakh. Skardu city in Baltistan was its winter capital whereas Leh city in modern-day Ladakh was its summer capital.
The ethnic Changpa people living in Ladakh today are the ethnic Tibetans who migrated to Ladakh during the Tibetan Ladakh dynasty in the 10th century AD.
The Ladakhi language spoken in Ladakh and Balti language spoken in Baltistan both descended from the same proto-Western Tibetan language spoken in the 10th century AD, which split from the Central Tibetan language spoken in Lhasa during the 10th century AD.
Invasion by Indo-Aryan people
The Ladakh and Baltistan regions were first invaded by the Indo-Aryan Sikh Empire, a Punjabi people living in Indus Valley, between 1834 AD-1842 AD.
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| Sikh empire before invasion of Ladakh |
A few years later in 1846 AD, British India defeated the Sikh Empire where the invaded Shang Shung regions remained part of Indo-Aryan India until today.
The Changpa people demanded a separate state from Kashmir-Jammu state after experiencing racial discrimination from the Indo-Aryan people living in the same state. They were finally granted a separate state i.e. Union Territory of Ladakh by India in 2019 AD.
Conclusion
The Shang-Shung people are the natives of western Tibet and also the Himalayan mountains of north-western India. They are a part of the North-western Sino-Tibetan people.Their Bon religion and civilization predated the Tibetan Buddhism and culture on the Tibetan plateau.
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| Ancient Shang-Shung dance in Zanda county, Tibet |
Related links
Ethnic origin of Tibetan- Zhangzhung and its next of kin in the Himalayas. By George Van Driem.
- The linguistic prehistory of the western Himalayas. By Manuel Widmer. Proceedings of the 51st Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages (Sept 2018).
- The Indo-Aryan languages. By Colin Masica. Cambridge University Press (1991).
- A concise history of the Bon religion. By Dunzhu Lajie (頓珠拉傑), 2012, Tibet Academy of Social Sciences.
- Locating Ladakhi history. By John Bray. Ladakhi Histories: Local and Regional Perspectives 2005.
- https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/history/2rjm9.html
- How British ambiguity about frontier between India and China paved way for a post-colonial conflict. https://scroll.in/article/965502/how-british-ambiguity-about-frontier-between-india-and-china-paved-way-for-a-post-colonial-conflict
Last updated: 9 Apr 2021
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