Mêdog County

Namcha Barwa (1954)

Medog County is located in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region and at the lower branch of Yarlung Tsangpo River. Medog County covers an area of 30,553 km² (11,797 sq mi).

The average altitude of the county is 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level.་Metok county is also called Pemakö. Pemakö is located in the average altitude ranging from 1,000–3,500 metres (3,300–11,500 ft) above seas level. It covers 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi) stretching from south of Kongpo and Powo (Bomê) through the lower Yarlung Tsangpo River upto Arunachal Pradesh, surrounded by high mountains: the tallest is Namcha Barwa at 7,782 metres (25,531 ft)). Pemako has lush vegetation and many species of wild animals. Unlike other parts of Tibet, it receives plenty of rain, and has diverse biomes: there are subalpine coniferous forests in the north and temperate coniferous forest in the south in the low-lying area of the Yarlung Tsangpo gorges.

Names of traditional villages are shown on this map, Pemako region stretches down from Poyul/Powo (Bomê) to the north east and Kongpo to the north west

River Tsangpo (Tsangchu) which originates from Lake Manasarovar in Western Tibet flows through 1,500 km (930 mi) eastward when it reaches Mt Namcha Barwa, its bend making a U shape turn to penetrate into lower Himalayan ranges, thus carving one of the deepest Canyon in the world. Water dropping above 3,000 meters near Phe, about 300 metres at the end of the gorge. The river is called Tsangchu a famous river in Pemakoe, like kyichu in lhasa.

Tibet as whole was ruled by small princely rulers, sometime called Pon-, Dzongpon and by some monastery. Pemako was no exception. It came under the rule of Powo (Bomê) king who ruled whole area of which defines Pemakoe (Now Medog). During Powo rule Pemako people had good relations with the Tibetan people, they jointly fought against Tani (Adis) and Mishmis who regularly disturbed the pilgrimage. Hardly any people lived in Pemako before Tsangla migrants settled in the region, currently Pemakopas makes up the majority of the population. As we always talk about Greater Tibet or Bhoet Chenpo at one time in Tibetan History all area of Drukyul, Dremong yul, Lha-dhak yul and Mon-yul were under the great king of Tibet, half ancestor of Pemako peoples the Tsangla group immigrated internally to the land of hidden valley to escape aggression in their original homeland. Tsanglha did not move anywhere outside of there home but move within their homeland. When first Tsangla people arrived in Pemako region they found that the land was unused, they settled in the lower Yarlung valley, surrounded by Kongpopas in the northwest and Pobas in the northeast and Lopas in the south, Tsangla adopted many customs from them but still retained their original language which they still speak at home. By 1931 Tibetan national government was able to dismantled Powo kingdom and region come under direct rule of central Tibetan Government, Lhasa. Pemako region came into the jurisdiction of Tibetan central Government. Ganden Phodrang (Tibet govt) had its governor stationed in Metok Dzong who look after the territory and established communications between Lhasa and region of Pemako. Hence tax to be paid to Tibet Lhasa govt which was compulsory for all the people living in the region in the form of cash or kind. Region of pemako was divided among different monastery and different aristocratic family. Some region of Pemako pay tax to Sera monastery in form of grains, chillis, bamboo poles for prayer flags (Dharchen), products made of cane, medicinal herbs such as yertsa-goonbu, mushroom and animal skin. Some regions of Pemako was under Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche as monastic entitlement of nyingma lineage. Head of the Tsang la requested powo for help fight against abor, but there was no evidence of powo ruled on Pemakoe and was unfamiliar in pemakoe. Some books referred pemakoe was ruled by powo is an contradiction of the claim.

Mêdog used to be the last county without permanent road access in Tibet, due to the landscape of several high-elevation mountain ranges. A first, simple road was built in 1970s, yet it was usually blocked by ice and snow on the mountains in the winter, making it only accessible seasonally. In December 2010, the Chinese government announced a project to renovate the road into a permanent highway from Bomê to Mêdog County,[2] including excavation of a new tunnel under the mountain range. The renovation was completed in 2013.

Before the completion of the highway, transportation in Mêdog primarily relied on foot. Hiking to Mêdog is also a popular activity among tourists, although Mêdog hiking is generally considered highly exhausting and risky. A primary route of accessing Mêdog begins in Bomê County, which inspired the route of the current permanent highway. Another important route for traveling to Mêdog on foot starts in Paizhen(派镇, a township in Mainling County) and travels all the way along the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon to Mêdog township, which is a route particularly popular among backpackers.

Farming is the main industry in Medog County. It is abundant with paddy, soybean, cotton and gingeli, etc. Hairy deerhorn, gastrodia tuber, muskiness, and hedgehog hydnum, etc. are special products of the area.

Medog county has a population of 10,963 according to 2010 census,[1] and most people who live in the county are of Tshangla, Khamba people and Lhoba ethnic group. The most renowned part of Medog is known as Pemako. Its inhabitants speak a form of Tshangla (仓洛; Cāngluò) related to that spoken in eastern Bhutan. They practice the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Population according to 2009 in Various villages:

Medog/Metog Town (墨脱镇) with a total population of 1,878

Baibung/Bepung Township (背崩乡) with a total population of 2,138

Dexing/Deshing Township (德兴乡) with a total population of 1,549

Damu/Tamu Township (达木乡) with a total population of 729

Phomshen Township (旁辛乡) with a total population of 1,266

Gyalhasa Township (加热萨乡) with a total population of 812

Gandain Township (甘登乡) with a total population of 647

Gedang Township (格当乡) with a total population of 680[3]

Medog county is surely not a homogeneous society, different ethnic people lived here from many centuries, people like Tshangla, Kongpowas, Poba Tibetans, Khampa and Lopa(Adi, mishis etc.) live here but Tshangla speakers make up the majority about 60% of the total population of 10,000–12,000, remaining are Khampas, kongpowas and Lopas. People in Pemakod called themselves Pemakopa Pa refers to people in Tibetan language, (According to 2001 census in Metok county (Dzong) there are about 10,000 people ). In exile Pemakopa people spread through the world, but mainly concentrated in Tibetan Settlement of Miao choephelling, Tezu Dhargyeling, Tuting and area, Orissa-Jerang camp, Tibetan Women Centre – Rajpur, Clementown[4], Delhi area,[5] approximately 100 individual in Europe . In North America approximately 130 individual in United States and approximately 980 individual in Canada.

Frank Kingdon-Ward was the first Westerner to describe the area in his 1925 book, Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges. In his 1994 "Tibet Handbook", Hong Kong-born Victor Chan describes the extremely difficult trek from Pemakö Chung to the beyul Gonpo Ne, one of the remotest spots on earth. A modern journey by Ian Baker and his National Geographic-sponsored team to Pemakö received book-length treatment in his 1994 The Heart of the World.

Since 1904 the year Kabgye Dudjom Rinpoche was born in Pemako, people from all over Tibet especially from Khams, Golok and Utsang, descended in Pemako and settled near their Lama. Gradually intermarriage between the first settler and second wave settler produce what is today Pemakopa spread around the world. Descendant of Pemakopa are hard working, strong, smart and intelligent people. Descendant of Pemakopa are spread across the Globe in this times. Today Pemakopa has unique cultural identity and dialect that can be compared to any other region and dialect of Tibet. Tsangla is collequial of Pemakoe. Eastern Bhutaness sharing same language in the form of text, therefore, Tsangla has text no longer use in Pemakoe.

Ever since Pemako was first opened to outside world thousands of people from different walks of life settled in the region, among them, earliest were the Tshangla people from Eastern Bhutan who fled their homeland and took refuge there. Among the first clans of Tshangla people were the Ngatsangpas (Snga Tsang pa) who paved ways for others to join them in their plight for a promised land free from sufferings. The exodus of Tshangla community continued from beginning of the 18th century right until the early 20th century. Political and religious turmoil in Tibet forced many Tibetans to join Tshangla people in Pemako a land where religious serenity pledge through many revered Lamas who had been to this land, prophesied by Guru Rinpoche in the mid-8th century to be a land of final call where devotees would be flocking at the time of religious persecutions, the last sanctuary for Buddhism, with the time Pemako's popularity grew more and more, with the popularity many Tibetan people particularly from Kham followed their Lamas and settled alongside Tshangla populace. Over the period of time Tibetans and Tshangla migrants amalgamated to form an homogeneous group called Pemako pas ( Pad-ma dkod pa). The process of infusion gave birth to a new Tshangla dialect called Pemako dialect. People who reside in Pemako enclave are of mixed blood originated from early Tshangla settlers and different Tibetan tribes, Standard Tibetan is spoken in Pemako with many other Tibetic languages such Khampa language, Kongpo dialect, Poba Language etc., Tshangla language is often called Pemako Dialect and it's the lingua franca of the region

The Padma-kod dialect of Tshangla (Tibetan: པདྨ་བཀོད་ཚངས་ལ་སྐད་, Wylie: Padma-kod Tsangla skad, also Padma kod skad) is the predominant language in the Pemako region of Tibet and an adjoining contiguous area south of McMahon line in Arunachal Pradesh in India. Though Tshangla is not a Tibetan language, it shares many similarities with Classical Tibetan, particularly in its vocabulary. Many Tibetan loanwords are used in Pemako, due to centuries of close contact with various Tibetan tribes in the Pemako area. The Pemako dialect has undergone tremendous changes due to its isolation and Tibetan influence. Unique Tsanglha dialect of is in danger of extinction due to demographic changes and migration in Tsanglha speaking region in Tibet Autonomous Region, Eastern Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh. Dominant culture ( eastern and western ) that came in contact with Tsanglha is altering and influence the ability of this dialect to survive.

Tsangla or Pemakopa is one of the many dialects of Tibet. Tsangla is widely spoken and understood by many non-Tsangla speakers in the area. As Tibetans, people of Pemako also speak Shuong Ke or the official Tibetan national language. The Pemakopa people also speak other dialects of Tibet, such as khampa, Kongpo and Zayul ke. Today inside Tibet pemakopa people are also well versed in Mandarin Chinese. As a majority are Pemakopas, spoken Tsangla is well established. If we talk about Tsangla language it is a branch of Tibeto-Burman bodish language which is mutually intelligible with those Tsangla in Eastern Bhutan. The dialect has evolved into a new dialect as intermarriage between the first wave of settler and second wave of settler that came from kham, golok and ustang after the birth of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche in Pemako. Contemporary pemakopa dialect is, a distinct, one of many and rich regional dialect of Tibet. Tsangla or Pemakopa dialect doesn't have tones unlike Shoung Ke or Tibetan National language, but Tsangla language in Pemako has high and low sound, which is absence in other Tsangla speaking people of neighboring countries. Pemakopa dialect numerical denomination up to 20 and higher number are counted in Shoung Ke or Tibetan National language. Globally Tsangla language is spoken by about 140,000–160,000 people.

Majority of people in Pemako follow Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma means old translation in Tibetan language, some follow indigenous Bon tradition as well, Lhoba people in Pemako practice combination of animism and Buddhism.

• The official website of Mêdog Government