The Mempa of the South of the Tibet

There is Mempa the name of to a series of peoples who live in the south part of the Tibet. Mempa is a Tibetan name, which "The people of Menyu" mean, since in fact they live in Tibet, in the Menyu district. The different ethnic groups included under this denomination, call themselves themselves of different ways.

The proper name Mempa one can in the publications of different forms. Like Menba, which is the transliteration in pinyin of his Chinese name. In fact in Castilian the sound "ba" is "pa", and since before the "p" it is obligatory to put a "m", we name them here Mempa. Also there is seen his name written like Monba, Mompa, or Monpa, since the "e" of the Chinese has a sound that approaches the "o" of the Castilian.

His population reached 9.000 persons in the census of the year 2000.

His existence is known in these grounds at least from the VIIth century, since in the first dynastic chronicles of the Tibetan kings, they are already mentioned.

They live in the south part of the Himalayas, with abundant rains. They devote themselves to the agriculture and the cattle. The hunting earlier was an important part of his diet, but every time it is minor. They were using both the arch, and shotguns or pitfalls. They were hunting especially in summer and winter. His most typical hunting is that of the wild bull, which needs the cooperation of a group of hunters.

For the Chinese of the dynasties Yuan and Ming they were known like Bozhulexin. In the XVIIth century, under fifth Dalai Lama, the Dawang temple is constructed in his grounds. His integration in the lowest step of the Tibetan hierarchy, is already effective in these years. Sixth Dalai Lama, this monk to his sorrow that has gone on to the posterity for his love songs, was of the ethnic group Mompa.

The language belongs to the family but Tibetan, group tibeto Burmese.

It has two well differentiated dialects, de facto the persons who speak each of them cannot understand each other.

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