Note from author: This piece has been written using a mix of academic sources, popular writing, and field-based insights, reflecting the currently sparse and scattered nature of available information on Monpa pastoralism. I welcome comments, corrections, and additions—especially where supported by compelling evidence or lived experience.
Monpa is considered one of the twenty plus major tribes of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India (the official number cited is usually 26, but this is up for debate). The word Monpa means “Mon people”, with Mon translating to the “south of Tibet”, which historically comprised parts of modern-day Tibet, Eastern Bhutan and Northeastern India. In some discussions of Tibetan history, it has been brought up that Mon means “dark” in the Tibetan language and that the region may have been named as such because of the previous prevalence of Bön animistic practices there, and a perception of these practices as being socio-spiritually backward, and hence dark, by the dominant Tibetan Buddhists (read more here). According to the last nationwide census of India in 2011, the population of Monpas in Arunachal Pradesh is 37,714, with a majority of them living in West Kameng and Tawang districts. Both these districts share the international border with Bhutan, and Tawang additionally shares a border with Tibet (under Chinese administration today). Bhutan and China both officially recognize Monpa as an independent ethnic group of their respective nations.
Brokpa home villages and Bordering areas. Source: Google Maps. 2025.
Most Monpas today follow Tibetan Buddhism, which is a form of Buddhism that has co-opted local Bön animism and shamanic practices, and blurred distinctions between them (read more here). However, Monpa is far from being a homogeneous group. Besides the larger Monpa tribe, the district-wise Scheduled Tribe data of Arunachal Pradesh from the 2011 Census also includes different linguistic and regional Monpa groups, such as But Monpa, Dirang Monpa, Lish Monpa, Panchen Monpa, and Tawang Monpa. However, the categorization of some of these groups (such as But and Lish) as Monpa to begin with is contested by some linguistic scholars who point out their clear distinction from Monpa (read more here). Another differentiation that exists within the Monpa identity in Arunachal Pradesh that the Census pays less attention to is on the basis of occupation, as seen in the case of Brokpas. While some scholars attribute pastoralism in Arunachal Pradesh to the entire Monpa tribe, most recognise Brokpas to be the specific pastoralist subgroup of the Monpa tribe. In Tibetan, brok means pasture, and pa means person (usually male)/people, and hence Brokpa quite literally translates to “pasture man/person/people”. Such a name can be attributed to the central occupation of most Brokpas, which involves their seasonal migration to high-altitude pastures in order to graze their livestock.
For Brokpas, livestock primarily comprises yaks and hybrid-yaks, and Brokpa livelihood is tied to these animals. The hybrid-yaks are usually cross-breeds between yak and hill-cattle, and called dzo (male) and dzomo (female). Yak and dzomo milk are used by Brokpas to make mar (yak butter, also referred to as ghee), and churpi (yak cheese). There is a huge local demand for these dairy products, and they are often easily sold locally to friends and family. Although yak meat is officially banned today, it is a part of the traditional Monpa diet and still eaten by many people. Yak skin (leather) is used to make bags to store different things, especially ghee and chhurpi, while Brokpas are on the move. Different forms of wool are also derived from pure-bred yaks and used to make woollens for winter, tents for shelter during migration, etc. Additionally, yaks and dzos are sturdy animals that are used by Brokpas to transport heavy goods from one place to another during migration. Brokpas today are usually men, although women of some households equally partake in pastoralism. Women of other pastoral households support Brokpas in other ways, especially during their annual seasonal migration to high-altitude pastures.
Image source: Deepika Chhetri, CfP. 2025
Image source: Deepika Chhetri, CfP. 2025.
According to a 2015 study by Tsewang Dorjee of Rajiv Gandhi University in Itanagar, some of the places where Brokpas have their home villages in West Kameng district are Lhagyala Gompa area, Nyukmadung, Mandala Phudung, Senge, Lubrang and Chander. Similarly in Tawang, Zemithang sub-district, Jang sub-district, Thingbu, Mago and Luguthang are areas where Brokpas have their homes. While some of these villages are only inhabited by Brokpas, many have more mixed populations, with agriculturalists (called Unpa/Ungpa by some Monpas, especially in West Kameng) also residing there. Historically, Brokpas were part of an extensive barter system with Unpas, that involved the exchange of chhurpi, butter and other livestock-related products with grains and vegetables grown by the Unpas. Customary grazing taxes for rights to pasture were paid by Brokpas in the form of livestock-produce. Until 1951, these taxes were collected by the Tibetan administration, through Tsorgans (village heads) at the village level and eventually transported to Lhasa by the administrative head (Governor) locally known as Dzongpons (read more here). Today this tax is paid at the village level to the Tsorgan and redistributed among the landowning households - Krey-ma. Although the Monpa barter system has shrunk in the current time with a preference for cash as payment for produce, in some places paying taxes in butter and churpi as well as bartering of these products is still observed.
Map of some Brokpa home villages. Source: Google Maps. 2025.
As mentioned earlier, Brokpas practice seasonal migration in accordance with their livestock’s requirements. During winter months (which usually occurs from October to March) of every year, when there is typically very heavy snowfall in the high pastures of West Kameng and Tawang districts, Brokpas stay with their cattle in their permanent villages, which are at altitudes of approximately 2750-3200m (9022-10498 ft). In this time, their livestock graze on pastures closer to their home settlements and also provide them with hay and feed consisting of grains like barley, maize and millets that they buy or exchange with agriculturalists.
Yaks are climate-sensitive animals that require temperatures below 10-15°C for survival and as summers set in around May-June, Brokpas migrate with them and their other livestock to high-altitude pastures for grazing. This practice of migration according to the altitudinal climate is known as transhumance. While most Brokpas’ summer migration decisions (in terms of date of departure and route taken) are taken at an independent household level, in certain places this decision may be taken collectively amongst many Brokpas, in accordance with the Buddhist calendar and under the guidance of figures like the village headman. These routes and often pastures as well are usually hereditary or allotted. The high-altitude summer pastures typically range from 3600-4300 m (12000-14000 ft) and the journey to them from home villages can happen over a few weeks to a few months. During this migratory period, pastoralists stay in temporary sheds made of wood and stone. A mapping survey of the current migratory routes of Monpa pastoralists by the Centre for Pastoralism team in 2024 revealed that Brokpas may stay in transitory shelters for anywhere between a day to three months, and graze their animals on the surrounding pastures. Further, there was a clear indication in this survey that the routes of Brokpas from West Kameng are usually longer than those of Tawang Brokpas, as the former are at a lower altitude and may migrate inter-district to Tawang pastures. Tawang Brokpas on the other hand can largely migrate only within Tawang.
Brokpas usually spend about 3-4 months at the highest pastures in a migratory route, and continue milking their livestock and making butter and churpi during this period. These products are usually sent down to the villages with some household members to be sold in their home villages. Brokpas whose summer shelters are closer to roads often get visitors - both relatives and regular customers - who directly procure these items. When winter begins to set in around October with the first sign of snowfall, Brokpas begin their migration downward with their herds back to their home villages. Pure-bred yak herders often stay longer given yaks’ capacity to tolerate the cold and graze pastures covered in snow.
Image source: Deepika Chhetri, CfP. 2025.
Over time, and especially in the decades since independence, there have been many changes occurring with regards to Monpa pastoralism. These changes can be attributed to a combination of factors - political, economic and ecological in nature. For instance, before the Indo-China war of 1962, the border regions between India and Tibet were largely flexible in terms of movement, and Brokpas from present-day Arunachal Pradesh would have access to many more pure yaks in Tibet for breeding and maintaining the gene pool of their yaks. Today, there are strict restrictions on movement across this Border which prevents Brokpas from accessing yaks in Tibet for breeding (read more here). There have also been infrastructural developments in terms of road connectivity and electrification, and an increase in state facilities and presence in terms of education, agricultural support, and militarisation. Such facilities have altered Brokpa lifestyles by making the younger generation of Brokpas pursue higher education and other forms of livelihood, distancing them from the skill required to continue pastoralism. Additionally climate change has made migration for grazing more erratic, making pastoralists’ lives more precarious.
However, as the traditional diet of all Monpas significantly features yak and churpi even today and these remain an important part of festivities like Losar (the Tibetan Buddhist new year), there is enough demand for pastoralism to remain profitable in spite of high annual mortality of animals, increasing costs for fodder and feed, etc. In fact, there is more demand than can be supplied locally, and some of this demand is increasingly fulfilled by the supply of these products from Bhutan. Such demand makes limited dairy based pastoralism lucrative enough for Brokpas to continue keeping a stronghold in their traditional occupation while altering some of their practices and tapping into supplementary income sources. One altered practice of many Brokpas is changing the composition of their herds by adding more Yak hybrids (Dzo and Dzomo) and less pure Yaks because the former yield higher milk output; while an example of a supplementary income source of Brokpas is doing labour for state infrastructure bodies like the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
While there is evidence that adapting traditional practices to the changing conditions of modernity has sustained Brokpa pastoralism so far in one way or another, it remains to be seen what form Brokpa pastoralism will take in the coming years, and how it will continue with growing developmental projects, changing aspirations of families and youth, and lack of state support.
Image source: Deepika Chhetri, CfP. 2025.
This is an occasional blog post written by a member of Centre for Pastoralism (CfP). The views, analysis, and arguments expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of either Sahjeevan or CfP.
