Monpa people

The Monpa (Tibetan: མོན་པ་, Wylie: mon pa, THL: mön pa, Chinese: 门巴族) are a major people of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Most Monpas live in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of 50,000, centered in the districts of Tawang and West Kameng. Of Monpas who live in Arunachal Pradesh, about 20,000 live in Tawang district, where they constitute about 97% of the district's population, and almost all of the remainder can be found in the West Kameng district, where they form about 77% of the district's population. A small number of them may be found in bordering areas of East Kameng and Bhutan (2,500). Monpas also share very close affinity with the Sharchops of Bhutan. The Monpa are sub-divided into six sub-groups based on the variations in their language.

The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependent on animals like sheep, cow, yak, goats and horses.

The term Monpa is a generic term in China, unlike in India where it refers to a specific tribal group: Monpa in China is a very generic term that includes people from trans-himalayan region and unlike the modern term used to refer to the tribe of Monpa of Tawang and West Kameng districts in India. Therefore, there must be careful study of the Monpa term and its use. The Monpa people in Tibet live in Lebugou, Cona county. There is a village called Le in Tibet, China where Monpa people are found. As of 2020 there were 11,143 Monpa people living in Le / Lebo / Lebugou / Lebugou township of Cona / Tsona City in the south of Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are known as Menba (simplified Chinese: 门巴族; traditional Chinese: 門巴族; pinyin: Ménbāzú). People of Medog (Pemako) in China are also called Monpa in China.

Monpa's language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family, but it is significantly different from the Eastern Tibetan dialect. It is written with the Tibetan script.