The Lishpa Monpa people inhabit hilly terrain near the Dirang administrative centre in the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. 'They are distributed in three villages—Lish, Lish Gompache and Lish Gompalok. Their habitat is surrounded by dense pine forests. It has a cool and salubrious climate with moderate to heavy rainfall.' Their main village of Lish is located just three kilometres (two mi.) away from Dirang town.
The Lishpa Monpa, who actually call themselves 'Kishpi' in their own language, are considered the most different of all the Monpa groups in India. One source states, 'The Lishpas differ from the rest of the Monpas with regard to language, origin and culture.' Their distinctiveness is no doubt due to the fact that they claim to have come from Tibet, before migrating down into today's India. Other Monpa groups say they migrated from Bhutan and areas to the west.
The renowned contemporary linguist George van Driem has said, 'Lishpa is a small group whose language, on the basis of available reports, belongs to the Kho-Bwa cluster. However, the Lishpa pass themselves off as "Monpa", a title to which the Lishpa are arguably entitled in view of the vague meaning of the term "Mon" and the large number of groups in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and adjacent portions of Tibet who are designated by it. However, the Lishpa are linguistically quite distinct from the large East Bodish population group in Kameng District which goes primarily by the name of "Monpa" and amongst whom the Lishpa settlements are dispersed.'
The 1971 census in India recorded 100 per cent of Lishpa Monpa people as Buddhists. The 1981 census returned 99.94 per cent of them as followers of Buddhism, in addition to one individual who declared he or she was a Hindu. It's possible that individual may have ticked the wrong box on the census questionnaire!
Despite this almost complete profession of Buddhism, the Lishpa Monpas practise a curious mixture of traditional Tibetan Buddhism combined with shamanism and witchcraft. One source notes, 'The Lishpa profess a form of Lamaistic Buddhism, which has been mixed up with some local beliefs and practices. The lama imparts religious teaching among them. The Lishpa practice witchcraft and sorcery and are engaged in curing diseases.' Another publication states, 'Their shamanistic priests are called frimpa. A witch-doctor or shaman is called bonpu. Besides Lord Buddha and his different incarnations, the Lishpas have a traditional community deity known as Phu or Lishpu (the hill deity). The Lishpas also send their sons to different monasteries in India to acquire a training in Lamaism. '
There has never been a single known Christian among the Lishpa Monpa. Outreach to them has proven difficult. The Monpa are bound in extreme spiritual darkness. Prospective missionaries to them should be trained in spiritual warfare. A group of Naga evangelists who moved to Arunachal Pradesh to reach the Monpa in 2001 faced tremendous demonic opposition and intimidation.
Scripture Prayers for the Monpa Lish in India.
Profile Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
People Name General | Monpa Lish |
People Name in Country | Monpa Lish |
Natural Name | Lish Monpa |
Population this Country | 2,600 |
Population all Countries | 2,600 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | Kishpi; Kishpi Monpa; Lish; Lish Monpa; Lishpa; Lishpa Monpa; Monba; मोनपा, लिश |
People ID | 17374 |
ROP3 Code | 112766 |
Country | India | ||
Region | Asia, South | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | They inhabit hilly terrain near the Dirang administrative centre in the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. They are distributed in three villages, Lish, Lish Gompache and Lish Gompalok. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 | ||
Districts | Interactive map, listing and data download | ||
Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | They inhabit hilly terrain near the Dirang administrative centre in the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. They are distributed in three villages, Lish, Lish Gompache and Lish Gompalok.. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 |
Total States | 1 |
Arunachal Pradesh 2,600 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Lish (2,600 speakers) |
Language Code | lsh Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Unknown |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Lish (2,600 speakers) |
Language Code | lsh Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Lish |
Primary Language: Lish
Bible Translation Status: Translation Started
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
98.12 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
0.67 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.76 %
|
Islam |
0.18 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.09 %
|
Unknown |
0.18 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2022 Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |