The Gaddi Herdsmen of Himachal.
Bhunter, Himachal, India.
Dogs bark, horns blare and vehicles of all sizes come to a temporary standstill as Gaddi herdsmen guide a herd of goats with whistles, sounds and wooden shafts through the narrow entrance of the town of Bhuntar in the Autumn of 2017. The herd is accompanied by large sheepdogs, which lumber along at an easy pace, unbothered by onlookers or their barking local cousins.
The scene is a normal sight across these parts of the Himalayas. Where goats continue to be valued for their meat and hair, particularly of the Capra Hircus variety, from which comes the high-quality Pashmina wool – with the Changthangi providing the best in the Himalayas.
A breed of goats that begets its name from the nomadic Changpa people who are of Tibetan origin and whose ancestral land is the Tibetan plateau of Changthang. This breed is also known as the Ladaki or Cashmere goats.
Raised in large numbers in an arid desert-like environment. The goat’s undercoat, veiled by its top layer of long woolly hair, is endowed with the natural qualities for Pashmina wool. Responsible for which is its evolutionary adaption to high altitude and extreme weather conditions – which can range from -5 in winters to 30 degrees Celsius in summers.
The herd in the photo, however, comprises of a variety known as the Himalayan Gaddi goats – named after the Gaddi community of semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural people who dwell in the region of Chamba and Kullu, and whose ancestral occupation since time immemorial, among other means of earning a livelihood, has been herding.
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Like their ancestors, the men of this community continue to spend a good part of the year walking their herds from distant villages located atop mountain tops to grazing pastures or markets – except now a firm metal road makes life a whole lot easier.
The goats they raise and herd, are much in demand for their meat and wool among the local populace -inspite of not being of the same breed as the Chanthangi.
