The Dolpo- pa or Dolpa settlements are
concentrated in the remote and fascinating region which is
confined by the Dhaulagiri Himalaya in the south and east; the
Sisne and Kanjiroba mountain in the west and Tibet on the north.
They generally settle at altitudes of 3660 m ( Approx. 12000 ft.)
to 4070m ( 14000 ft. approx.) They are probably the highest
settlements in the world. These mongoloid featured people are
Tibetan speaking. Most of them are illiterate , but they are not
very poor. They derive their subsistence from agriculture and
cattle breeding. The transactions are still done on barter basis.
Dolpo society is divided into a number of exogamous clans. Each of
the clans has a totem animal which they worship. The particular
totem animal is never slaughtered by the clan member. Marriages
are very relaxed in general. Pre- marital and extra- marital sex
union are not prejudiced. All the brothers in a family marry a
common wife. Marriages can be of any type; by arrangement ,
capture or elopement.
Dresses and Ornaments :- They wear bakhhu
( a heavy warm outer covering to knee - high). Dolpo women wear
colorful aprons with a pair of trousers underneath. The ornaments
include brass headdress of rectangular shape and other brass
ornaments.
Religion :- The Dolpo people are
Buddhist, but the Bon- po sect of Buddhism also co-exists. They
dispose off the dead in different ways. Some throw the corpse into
the river while others cut the flesh into pieces and feed them to
the vultures.