Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The people of Kongpo in eastern Tibet have a distinctive traditional dress that features a
round hat with an upturned rim of golden brocade for men (known as a gyasha ) and a
pretty pillbox hat with winged edges for women. Men and women wear brown woollen tu-
nics, belted around the waist. The former kingdom of Kongpo has for centuries been vili-
fied by central Tibetan rulers as a land of incest and poison, whose inhabitants would
routinely drug unsuspecting strangers to steal their souls.
There are pockets of other minority groups, such as the Lhopa (Lhoba) and Monpa in
the southeast of Tibet, but these make up less than 1% of the total population and only
very remote pockets remain. A more visible ethnic group are the Hui Muslims. Tibet's ori-
ginal Muslim inhabitants were largely traders or butchers (a profession that most
Buddhists abhor), although the majority of recent migrants are traders and restaurant own-
ers from southern Gānsù province. Tibetans are also closely related to the Qiang people of
northern Sìchuān, the Sherpas of Nepal and the Ladakhis of India.
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