Drokpas or Dokpas as their name suggests is a Tibetan word meaning 'nomad' or 'high pastoral people'. Drokpa are nomadic mountain people who occupy the higher pasture lands in the valleys of Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. Drokpa mainly depends upon herding yaks and sheep in the high-altitude grasslands. Since Drokpa share symbiotic relations with yaks for their sustenance herding remained a part of life for them in the Himalayas of north Sikkim. Thus, Drokpas are known for their unique culture and way of life.
Despite the challenge faced by the Drokpas in extremely rough conditions at altitudes ranging from nearly 15,000ft, their unique dietary practices stand as the central focus of the paper. Drokpa's diet includes not only products made from animals but also locally grown vegetables and crops such as barley and potatoes. Their main food items comprise tsampa (roasted barley flour), rice, yak meat, potatoes and other animal-made products. For cooking, Drokpas depend on dung cakes as wood. Since they herd above their treeline. The unique food culture explores the Drokpa's means of living the good life in the extremely harsh weather of north Sikkim.
Today, the sizeable Drokpa populations of north Sikkim who are retaining their traditions are exposed towards the rapid pace of development in the era of modernization. Environmental changes led to a declining yak population. Only a few remaining Drokpas of north Sikkim retain their ancestral traditional knowledge system including food habits which have cultural and ecological value for the future.
International Journal of History
