Himachal Pradesh Snow capped mountains, lush green forest, unrestrained rivers and streams and breathtaking valleys, truly Himachal Pradesh is the scenic beauty of India, the heaven on earth for the nature lovers and for the adventure enthusiasts. Undoubtedly it’s a hub of tourism because of varied cultures and mesmerizing weather. Our Resort in Dharamshala also showcases the lifestyle, culture ,heritage and traditions of Himachal pradesh.

Though there are endless destinations to explore all around the state , Yet, Tribes of Himachal Pradesh attract most of the tourists with their own rich unique lifestyle, cultural heritage , music, dance, dresses and even their ethnicity . Himachal Pradesh has a varied tribal system. There are distinct tribal communities residing in the different parts of Himachal Pradesh, every tribal community has its own traditions and customs. The tribes of Himachal Pradesh have successfully adapted themselves to the modern social norms along with preserving their tradition.

Some of the major tribes of Himachal Pradesh are Kinnauris, Gaddis, Gujjars and Lahaulies. Let’s briefly understand the major tribes to make your next trip to Himachal Pradesh more exciting and Interesting

Kinnauri Tribes

Kinnaur Valley is one of the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh, the uniqueness of this particular place is, it is in the backdrop of Kinner Kailash mountain . Kinnaur is a landscape with bigger hills, lush green valleys, gushing Baspa, Sutlej, Spiti rivers, orchards and Winery. The tribes of this place are known as Kinnauri tribes, also called Kinor, and are of Mongoloid origin.

According to legends, this tribal community is the successors of Kinners of the great epic Mahabharata, wherein other groups believe that Kirats are the ancestors of this Kinnauri Tribes. Kinnauri Tribes live in joint family structure, the significant convention of this tribal community is their wedding. Polyandry is legal in this tribal group, As per their tradition, all the brothers in the family will have only one wife, they call this marriage as Pandava marriage

The primary occupation of Kinnauri tribe is Sheep rearing but they also engage themselves in horticulture and agriculture. These Kinnuari tribes were also accustomed to having the herd of cattles in their abode. Weaving is mainly practiced by women in this community and their well crafted baskets and utensils have got demand throughout the nation,

Kinnauri tribes are renowned as depicted in all their elements of culture and tradition. The clear witness of their cultural excellence is their unique dance, singing, festivals and languages. The language spoken by this group is known as Kinnuari language. In addition, by the influence of Indian subcontinental tribes, Kinnuaras have developed the skill of speaking fluent Hindi, few among them also speak Bhoti.

Juthey, Chilta, Dughti, Saachaa are a few traditional dishes and Angoori is a special drink of this community which is usually consumed during special occasions and festivals. Kinnauri tribes’ dresses are exclusively popular all over the nation, Dohru, Stall, and Bushehri topi are among the much liked items. The beautiful bulky silver ornaments are special ornaments worn by the community women. In the traditional wedding , Kinnauri brides wear heavy layers of gold and silver ornaments and a handmade garland made from dry fruits and they wear a hand woven dress which has a bright embroidery hand woven shawl covering the shoulder.

Gaddi Tribes

Gaddi tribes are the prominent tribes of Himachal Pradesh with a population of 45% out of the tribal population. This particular tribe is found on both sides of the Dhauladhar range of the state. Most Gaddi tribes reside in the Brahmur regions, Chamba District, in the Ravi River higher belts and as well as in valleys of Budhil River. The Gaddis hail from varied castes – Brahmin, Rajputs, Khatri, Rana and Thakur. Gaddi tribes got their name from the place they lived in i.e, Gadheran. Gaddis are a semi-nomadic, semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral tribe. Gaddi shepherds are seen around our Resort in Dharamshala.

Men in the community take care of migratory flocks of sheep, plough and sow wherein Women engage themselves in weaving. These tribes are renowned for their honesty, friendly disposition and peaceful life-style. These people are inclined towards religion and have spiritualism, both Hindu and Islamic religion are followed but majority of part of the community follow Hinduism, part of which they adore Shiva. Gaddis makes round and round circles as they dance to the music and drums.

The distinct feature of the Gaddi tribes is their dressing style, Men wear Chola, Turban or Safa and Dora while the women wear Launchri. Women dresses are remarkably attractive one piece multicolor dresses which are handspun at home. Speaking about the jewelry, women ornaments made of precious stones, little mirrors and peacock feathers . The common ornament worn by both men and women is the gold earring.

Gaddi tribes followed polygamy in the old days but now as they stepping towards educational society , they are accepting the concept of monogamy. The local dialect of Gaddi tribes include Gaddi and Takri, they also Hindi fluently and now they use Devagiri for script. Baishakhi, Sair , Patroru Sagrand, Lohri and Shivratri are the festivals celebrated among this community.

Gujjar Tribes

Gujjar Tribes are the tribes who are most likely to be found in the western regions of Himachal Pradesh, Chamba and Kangra. Their population is also spread in Jammu Kashmir, Punjab and Western Rajasthan. The origin of Gujjar tribes is unclear but there are two different beliefs about their origin, one group of people says that during the invasion of Hunas, the Gujjar tribes moved to North India while another set of people says that Gujjar Tribes are the Successors of Tribes. These people follow both Hindu and Islamic religion and their cultural exuberance is depicted in many aspects like dancing, singing, customs and traditions. But they have the dread of trained artisans in the handicrafts.

Gujjars are semi-nomadic tribes and their main occupation is herding goats, sheep and buffaloes. Some Semi-nomadic tribes migrate to higher regions of Himalayas with their cattles during the summer and will travel back to plains with the onset of winter season. The Banhara Gujjars reside in “Kullas’ ‘ made out of grass while Bakerwals live in the temporary Doharas and in Tamboos while the settled group of Gujjars live in “Kothas’

The tribal community speaks a language named Gujjari or Gojri, this language belongs to the Rajasthani language group. With the influence of interaction with modern society, these tribes have got the fluency in other languages like Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Pashto, Pahari languages i.e, Kangri and Dogri. Speaking about the wedding, still the tribes follow the custom of early marriages, where girls are married at an age of 14 to 15 years and boys are married at age of 17 to 18 years.

The men in the community wear turbans on the head, long and loose Kurtas with Salwars, they overcoats called Basket, they wear shawls called “ Chaddar” around their shoulders to protect themselves from cold during winter. Women wear Kurtas having collars and cuffs with Salwar. Women also put Chaddhar around their head known as “ Neelak”. The women also wear ornaments made of silver.

Lahaula Tribes

Lahaula Tribes/Lahauli Tribes are one more major tribal community of Himachal Pradesh , they are based in the Lahaul and Spiti District. These tribes are found in Lahaul Valley,Pattan, Chamba-Lahaul and also in the lower valleys of Mayar. The origin of this community is said to be from aboriginal Munda tribes and Tibetans. The word Lahaule means the inhabitants of Lahaul. The language of the Lahuale tribal community actually has alternative names like Manchati, Manchad, Patni, Chamba, Chamba Lahuli, Lahuli, Swangla, Changsapa Boli are the alternative names of their language.

Community has branched out into different castes like Brahmins, Thakurs, Lohars and Dagis. These tribes also had the tradition of polyandry but now as the influence of modernization and people being educated in the community has slowly started accepting Monogamy. They are allowed to marry in the same clan . Similar to other tribal communities of Himachal Pradesh, these tribes are also inclined towards Cultural beliefs and customs. Their dance forms, music, fairs and festivals are the clear evidence about these traditional and Cultural excellence.

Though the primary occupation of these people is agrarian, some people also do trading where they export wheat, barely, Kuth(It’s a herb of Kolcutta). The Lahaulies are renowned for growing seed potatoes

The varied Lifestyle, culture, food, traditions and customs of tribes of Himachal Pradesh adds to the heritage of the State. The government of India has set up distinct commissions in order to understand socio-economical, educational and political status of the downtrodden tribal community so that the community could be given required assistance for the progress and development.