Changpa in India

The Changpa have only been reported in India
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.

Introduction / History

In 1989 the Changpa were granted official status in India as a scheduled tribe. Before then they were considered a sub-group of the Ladakhi, but their customs, language and ethnicity are different from those of the Ladakhi. They are also distinct from the Zangskari people, with whom the Changpa barter to obtain grain.

The Changpa language is closely related to Ladakhi, and most Changpa have no problem understanding Ladakhi when they travel outside their remote valleys for trade.

Primarily located along the southern border area between Tibet and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Changpa people live east and south-east of the city of Leh. The area inhabited by the Changpa in Jammu and Kashmir is extremely cold. Living at an average altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 metres (13,000 to 16,000 ft.) above sea level, the Changpa homeland is ravaged by snowstorms during the long winter months.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Most Changpa people are pastoralists. They raise sheep and goats, and they are particularly noted for the cashmere wool they produce. The Changpa can be identified by their conical yak-skin tents called reboo. The Changpa who live nomadic lives are known as Phalpa, while those who have settled down in fixed locations are called Fangpa. The ruling aristocracy is known as the Nono.

The diet of the Changpa people consists of barley and the meat of yak and wild horses. They also eat dried cheese and meat boiled with barley flour and seasoned with chilies.


What Are Their Beliefs?

All Changpa families profess Tibetan Buddhism as their religion. It has a central place in their culture. Each tent invariably accommodates the family deity, Donaq, and a picture of their spiritual head, the Dalai Lama. They worship their family deity on the fifteenth day of the seventh Buddhist month. The Bon heritage is quite conspicuous in the Changpa religion despite the efforts of the Buddhists to erase it. Another source states, "Buddhism rests quite lightly on them, as they have more faith in their traditional beliefs and practices. In this form of primitive religion, a carryover from the early bon religion, the lha (spirits) and lhu (serpents) are considered very important. The world of lhas and lhus is believed to be complex and fearful. For every unwelcome event, be it harsh weather, or death, one of the lhas or lhus is responsible. The supreme lha is known as Changmen, who is believed to control about 360 lhas in the Changthang area.


What Are Their Needs?

The Changpa could surely be ranked among the most unreached people groups in the world. Because of their remarkably isolated existence, very few have ever been exposed to the gospel, which has failed to penetrate this remote part of the world.


Prayer Points

Pray for the authority of Christ to bind hindering spiritual forces to lead them from darkness to light.

Pray for signs and wonders among them and for great breakthroughs with a rapid multiplication of disciples and house churches.

Pray for bold workers who are driven by the love of the Holy Spirit to go to them.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Changpa in India.


References

Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Changpa
People Name in Country Changpa
Alternate Names Byangskat; Cangpa; Cham; Champa Lakadhi; Champa Lakakhi; Changs-skat; Changtang; Changthang; Fangpa; Phalpa; Rong; Rupshu; Stotpa; Thangtang Lakakhi; चंगपा
Population this Country 3,200
Population all Countries 3,200
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
People ID 17870
ROP3 Code 113346
ROP25 Code 301664
ROP25 Name Champa / Changpa (ST)
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Primarily located along the southern border area between Tibet and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, more than 5,000 Champa people live east and southeast of the city of Leh.   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
Total States on file 2
Largest States
Ladakh
2,900
Jammu and Kashmir
300
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Primarily located along the southern border area between Tibet and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, more than 5,000 Champa people live east and southeast of the city of Leh..   Source:  Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004
Total States 2
  Ladakh 2,900
  Jammu and Kashmir 300
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Buddhism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
88.99 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
0.19 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
1.16 %
Islam
9.58 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.08 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Changthang (3,200 speakers)
Language Code cna   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Unknown
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Changthang (3,200 speakers)
Language Code cna   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Changthang

Primary Language:  Changthang

Bible Translation Status:  Translation Started

Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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