The Balti Language
by: P. N. Pushp and K. Warikoo
and Cultural Foundation
- by Syed Muhamad Abbas Kazmi
Baltistan, actually a complex of beautiful valleys, is situated amid
the famous ranges of Himalaya and Karakoram, straddling the river Indus, between
Ladakh and Gilgit. Some of the highest peaks of the world - Chogo-ri (K-2),
Mashabrum (K-1) and Gashabrum group of peaks besides beautiful glaciers like
Sia-chen, Baltoro, Biafo and Chogo-lungma are situated in this region. The
dimensions of Baltistan have been fluctuating over the course of history. It is
currently smaller than ever before, with an area of 17,000 square kms. and an
estimated population of 4,00,000. Baltistan consists of six major valleys like
Skardo, Rongdo, Shigar, Khaplo, Kharmang and Gultari. Baltistan presents a
beautiful contrast of high peaks, deep gorges, straddling glaciers, vast
deserts, sandy plains, turquoise blue lakes, colourful panorama, lush green
oases and villages.
Writers and historians of different nations have given different names to
this region. The first historical reference appearing in Ptolemy's - BYALTAE-
dates back to the 2nd century BC. The Chinese have named it Palolo, Palilo and
Palor. Arabian historians such as Al-Beruni render it Balorthe Arabic version of
the Chinese name, which was later Persianised as Baloristan. As the area is
geographically located on the Tibetan plateau and for centuries remained a part
of the Tibetan Empire, the majority of population being ethnically and
linguistically of Tibetan origin, Indian historians have thus named it Little
Tibet. The people themselves refer to their homeland as Balti-yul (Land of
Baltis) which suggests a link with Ptolemy's BYALTAE. Baltistan is the Persian
rendering of Balti-yul.
The first reference about the area (Baltistan) occurs in the Epic of King
Gesar (Kesar), but in a fragmentary shape. Reliable historical records date from
the last days of Palolashahi rulers of Baltistan (Palolo) who, according to some
rock-inscriptions, ruled the area of Ladakh and Gilgit too from the 5th century
to 727 AD. In 727 AD the Tibetan king Khri-Lde-gtsug-bRtan invaded Baltistan and
in 737 AD the Tibetans conquered Brushal (modern Gilgit) annexing these to their
empire. These areas remained provinces of the Tibetan empire till the death of
the last king of Tibet Glang-Darma around 880/900 AD, when the foremost western
provinces, Baltistan and Brushal became independent. Since then till the 12th
century AD, Baltistan remained under several petty chiefs under the overlordship
of the Shagari-tribe of Skardo. In 12/13th century AD, a young fugitive namely
Ibrahim Shah, migrated to Baltistan from Iran via Kashmir, managed to obtain
power in Skardo and founded the Maqpon Dynasty which subsequently ruled the area
for twenty-four succeeding generations. During the reign of ninth Maqpon ruler
namely Ghota-Cho-Senge, one Saint Syed Ali Hamadani introduced Islam to the
region. In 1531 AD Sultan Saeed Khan, the ruler of Kashgar invaded Ladakh and
Baltistan. Ali Sher Khan Anchan the most powerful king, fifteenth in the kings
of the Maqpon Dynasty, conquered Ladakh and Western Tibet up to Purang in the
east and Gilgit and Chitral in the west during his reign (1590-1625 AD).
Similarly his grandson Shah Murad conquered all these areas for the second
time between 1655-1680 AD. For about two hundred years all these areas remained
tributaries to the Maqpon kings of Baltistan. A comparatively new, more graceful
culture and tradition of fine-arts flourished during this era. The Maqpon kings
were great patrons and admirers of the new culture and society. In 1779 AD the
Afghans of Kashmir invaded Skardo but could not sustain their control any
longer. In 1840 AD the Dogras of Jammu conquered Baltistan and annexed it to
their State, but in 1947-48 AD the area was annexed to Pakistan. However,
Pakistan has maintained its status as the disputed area of Kashmir.
Language and Its Origin
The population of Baltistan is a heterogeneous mixture of ethnic groups.
Tibetans form the principal ethnic group in the area accounting for 60 per cent
of the population.
The language spoken by the entire population of Baltistan is called -BALTI-
which is an archaic dialect of Tibetan language. At present Balti has been
heavily influenced by Burushaski, Turkish and Urdu and affected by Muslim
literature in Persian. With the result.it has deviated from the original Tibetan
The language spoken in Baltistan, generally known as BALTI is originally a
Tibetan dialect. According to Professor Jampal Gyathso, a Chinese Scholar and
expert in Epic of king Gesar and a Khampa (Tibetan) by origin, the present Balti
has all the linguistic characteristics and roots from Tibetan language.
According to his initial survey Balti resembles more the Kham dialect than other
Tibetan dialects of U and Thsang and Amdo etc. He further suggests that either
the first Tibetan settlers of Baltistan could be the Khambas or at least
majority of the settlers were Khambas. The people of Baltistan, dubbed as -mini
Tibet-, are related to the Tibetans and their language is a branch of the
Tibetan language and retains many features of archaic Tibetan pronounciation.
Reverand H.A. JASCKE too has defined Balti as one of the western most-Tibetan
dialect. In his Tibetan-English Dictionary (First Indian Reprint Delhi
19751980) he defines it as "Bal (Balti), the most westerly of the districts
in which the Tibetan language is spoken". Many other scholars also are of
the view that Balti is a Tibetan dialect and not a separate language from the
Like other Tibetan dialects, Balti had no script of its own till the Tibetans
managed to create a script for their language and simultaneously introduced the
same by the Tibetan Lamas and other learned people. In 727 AD when King Khri
Lde-gTsug-Brtan conquered Baltistan and annexed it to his State, the Tibetan
script was formally introduced as official script through their offices,
religious books and rockinscriptions. The famous (Mandala) carving and the
Tibetan inscription on a rock in village Manthal near Skardo town, which dates
back to early 8th century AD is one of the best examples of these efforts. Till
that time there was no difference between the Tibetan dialects of Lhasa or
central Tibet and Baltistan; therefore, the Baltis faced no problem in
reciprocal communication and usage. It is worth mentioning here that before the
invasion of Tibetans, in 727 AD, the official language of Palolashahis and the
clergy too was "Brahmi", which was brought into the area after the 4th
legendary Buddhist Conference in jalandhar. We still find many rock-inscriptions
(5th & 6th centuries) in the Brahmi script. However, the Tibetans spread
their script with all their zest and zeal. This (Tibetan) script remained in use
for the Balti till the 16th century AD when a strong opposition routed it away
from the area and instead, the Mullahs persuaded the Balti masses to use the
Persian script for Balti, but they never endeavoured to form fully corresponding
Persian letters for Balti. Moreover, when the Maqpon Dynasty rose to its climax
in the 16th century AD and they developed a strong political and cultural
relationship with the Moghuls of India, they used Persian instead of Balti
language for their offices and subsequently the Balti language including its
script lost the strongest patron. The Dogras of Jammu conquered Baltistan in
1840 AD and annexed it to their State. Since Pakistan took it over in 1948 AD,
Urdu has flooded over all the local dialects /languages including Balti. In the
modem times Balti has no names /vocabulary for dozens of newly invented and
introduced things, therefore, Urdu and English names/ words are being used in
The present Balti language or Balti form of Tibetan language is spoken in the
whole of Baltistan and it is said that Purki-dialect of Purig and Suru-Kartse
valleys come in to the Balti group linguistically. However, at the moment nearly
0.04 million people living in Baltistan and about 0.01 million Baltis who live
in different cities of Pakistan and working abroad speak Balti.
The Balti language has always been at a disadvantage. As mentioned earlier it
had to change the script from the original to an artificial one (Persian) which
never corresponded with the letters and requirements of the Balti with the
result that it lost its standard and Tibetan originality. Its folk-literature is
not yet available in written-shape; but continues to be orally transmitted. On
the contrary the Balti has been quite promising in the sense of literature in
category, aptitude and profundity. It is worth mention here that, despite all
handicaps the Balti language has retained may honorific words like all the
Tibetan dialects and many other languages. Below are a few examples:
||Sleep (go to)
Though Balti has remained under adverse conditions, even then it has proved
to be a very fertile language capable of creating several categories/ kinds of
folk and classical literature. We do not find any prose except Proverbs (in
hundreds) and some Epics and Sagas (of King Kesar/Gesar, Rgyalucho-Lo-bZang and
Rgyalu-Srasbu and some others), all in oral tradition. All other literature is
in verse. The Balti literature has adopted numerous Persian styles of verse and
vocables also wluch have amplified the beauty and melody of its poetry.
The Balti Literature may be categorised as under
A Brief Introduction to Balti Verse
1. Rgya-glu: It can be categorised as a classical one in the
folk-verses for its meaning or deepness. It contains romantic songs, elegies,
advice, complaints and historical events etc.
Some Prominant Bales Poets
2. Rtse-glu: It a light type of poetry sung while dancing. In these
songs different topics and events of life, families and their social or
cultural conditions/ status and jokes etc. are narrated /explained.
3. Yurmi-glu: It is the song which is sung by the women-folk while
working or weeding in the fields. In such sons women recollect their
child-hood, love and longing for her parents, pleasant or unpleasant
experience or feelings about her husband or other relatives.
4. Ridagsi-glu: These are the songs composed in praise of
mountain-goats (of all sort). Some songs admire the beauty of wild-life, some
depict motherhood in these animals for their kids and in some the poets lament
the extinction of goats and sheep.
5. Bar-glu: It can be described as the medieval stage between the Rgya-glu
and the modern poetry (glu) and it is also called Deewan. This type of
poetry also covers romantic and other general events.
6. Glu: It can be described as the mGul-glu as it has only
romantic feelings and flavour.
7. Hamd: It is the form of verses in praise of God.
8. Qaseeda: These are verses in praise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) and the (12) Imams, their family members (peace be upon
them) according to Shiait faith of Islam.
9. Marsia: Versed elegy commemorating the great martyrdom of Holy Imam
Hussain (the grandson of Muhammad (PBUH), the 3rd Imam) in Karbala and other
10. Noha: These are versed elegies sung with rhythm while the (Shiaite)
mourners beat their chests. This category is also peculiarly attributed to the
martyrs of Karbala and other family members of Holy Prophet (PBUH).
11. Bahr-e-Taweel: These verses are in long metre and consist of
several stanzas of 9 to 14 lines. In this poetry, generally, the mortality of
our life and other similar topics are discussed in a mystic way.
12. Goshwara: It is like the Persian or Urdu "Masnavi"
Narrative couplets. In this usually the dignity and illustrious personalities
and deeds of the Holy Prophet (Muhammad PBUH) and the Holy Imams (PBUT) are
narrated with fervour.
13. Ghazal: These are the odes of love and romance exactly on the
principles of Persian and Urdu Ghazal and Nazm.
14. Sa-get-pi-glu: These are the songs praising or encouraging the
farmers and agriculturists in modern time.
15. Milli-naghma: These are like Urdu Milli-naghmas.
We know very little about the Balti poets of ancient times except one person,
"Al-bDe", but neither is his exact period known nor do we know his
personal details. However, from the essence of his poetry and the language he
has used we infer that he belonged to the time when Islam through Persian
language and poetry had not yet affected the Abalti language and Poetry. We find
only the Ridagsi-glu from him. Since the fall of Baltistan in 1840 AD, we find
several high-calibre poets who have treated different subjects and categories.
Some of them are as under :
1. Muhib (Prince Hussain Ali Khan). He was the youngest son of the last
independent ruler of Baltistan-Ahmad Shah Maqpon who was deposed and was
deported to Jammu by the Dogras with his father while he passed away in Tral,
District Pulwama, Kashmir. He wrote poetry in the Marsia form and is
considered to be the Anees of Baltistan.
Affinities with other Languages
2. Zakir (Prince Muhammad Ali Khan). He was the grandson of king Ahmad Shah
Maqpon, son of Prince Lutf Ali Khan (Aashiq) and nephew of "Muhid".
He was born. in Tral and expired there in exile. He was a poet of Qaseeda.
3. Baba Johar. He was from Haldia, a village of the Khaplo valley. His date of
birth is not known, but he was alive in 1890 AD. He was a "Darwesh"
following the Imamia Nurbakhslua traditions of Shiaite Faith. His field of
poetry was Bahre-e-Taweel.
4. Syed Abbas of Shigar. He was born in 1846 AD in the Shigar valley of
Baltistan. He was an excellent poet of the Qaseeda and the Goshwara.
5. Akhond Khuda Yar. His specific field of poetry was Bahr-e-Taweel and his
verses on the Pologame comparing it with struggle in our life and its
consequences is very famous.
6. Wahid (Muhammad Ali Khan). He was a very popular poet of the Ghazal and was
successful dramatist writing for the Radio. He expired in Islamabad in 1985
7. Saba (Muhammad Ali Shah). He was born in Shigar (Baltistan) on 31st July
1924 and belongs to the former ruling family of Shigar valley-the Amacha. He
is the most popular and respected poet of present time. His field of poetry is
Ghazal and Qaseeda.
8. Hasni (Ghulam Hassan). A promising young poet of Balti as well as Urdu he
is adept in every field of poetry, but his speciality is the Ghazal.
9. Hakeem (M. Hassan). He also is a very promising poet, famous for his
archaic and classical touches.
All the languages and dialects of the mountain region in the north of
Pakistan including Burushaski and Shina belong to the Indian or Persian group of
languages, but the Balti is the only language which belongs to the
"Tibeto-Burman" branch of "Sino-Tibetan" group of languages.
Basically it has nothing in common with them except some words absorbed later
on, owing to interaction of masses. Apparently, Balti is, at the moment, cut off
from its sister-languages of Ladakh but has 80-90 per cent of nouns, pronouns,
verbs and other literary and gramatical character in common except those few
which made their place in Balti afterwards. We can, however, term Balti and
Bodhi of Ladakh as separate dialects, but not separate languages.
The major problem of the Balti language is that it had to disconnect the
relationship with its radical centre, Tibet, owing to political divisions and
strong religious differences since last 500 years and even from its immediate
neighbour Ladakh for the last 50 years. It has been left at the mercy of other
languages and literatures which are stronger in quantity and vocabulary. The
other major problem is the abandoning of its original script-Tibetan and during
the last 500 years it has not been able to adopt a suitable script so far. This
critical and adverse situation knocked away Balti from its original stream or
natural track and left as an astray animal. At the moment neither the Baltis
have the awareness to revive their original script nor there is any institution
which could restore it and persuade the people to use it again. And the third
problem is those Persian and Urdu letters which do not exist in Tibetan which
have become now un-avoidable in some cases. There is an urgent need to establish
a Forum to, at least, carry out initial efforts to revive its original status.
The following similarities between Balti and Ladakhi call for attention:
||Cross of Yak & Cow.
||Star (large & bright)
A few sentences:
|Diring ngima tronmo yod
||Diring ngima tonmo yod
||The day/sun is warm to-day.
|Ringmo thaqpa gnis khyong
||Ringmo thagpa gnis khyong
||Bring two long ropes.
|Ra lug kun tshwa kher
||Ra lug kun tshwa kher
||Take the goats & sheep for grazing.
|Zgo karkong kun ma phes
||Zgo karkong kun ma phes
||Don't open the doors and ventilators.
|Kushu chuli yod na zo
||Kushu chuli yod na zo
||If there is (some) apple & appricot eat (it).
|Ragi phali yod na khyong
||Ralgri phali yod na khyong
||If there is (any) sword & shield (please bring
Influence of other languges on Balti
As mentioned above, Balti language has absorbed several Burushaski, Shina and
Kashmiri words, but simultaneously Balti has also left an impact on Burushaski
and Shina. Following are a few examples of such words used by each other:
||Wooden cabin for storage.
||Hey (calling some-one).
||Body of a man /trunk of a tree.
||A (small) stick to beat animal and children.
||A dumb & deaf person.
||Rice (cooked & uncooked).
||A camp (site, house etc).
||A meal before dawn (by Muslims in Fasting month).
||Toilet with bath.
||A special vessel for washing hands.
||Mat (made of millet straw).
||Village headman (official)
||A promise /certainity.
1. Chogo-ri is a Tibetan word which means the big/high mount
and is called Karakoram-2 (K-2). It is the 2nd highest peak in the world with
a height of 8611 mtrs.
2. Mashabrum or Karakoram-1 (K-1), is 7821 mtrs.
3. Gashabrum group i.e. G-1 (Hidden peak) 8068, G-2 8035, G-3
7952 and G-4 7925 mtrs.
4. Siachen is a Tibetan word which means a (place) having many
wildroses. It is 75 kms. long and 5 to 10 kms. wide.
5. Baltoro is situated in the heart of the Karakoram and is
called the Throne-room of Mountain
Gods. This glacier is 58 kms. long and most of the highest
peaks of Karakoram are situated around it.
6. Biafo is also a beautiful glacier having a length of the 69
kms and the world's famous "Snow-lake" is situated at the head of
7. Chogo-lungma is a beautiful glacier 30 kms. in length. It
means a big valley.
8. King Gesar Epic is pronounced by Baltis as Kesar. This epic
is also very popular in Baltistan as in other Tibetan areas.
9. Palolashahi is a Chinese epithet to the rulers of Palclo
areas i.e. Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgi(4/5th Century to 727 A.D.). It seems to
be a combination of Chinese Palolo or Palor and Persian Shahi. Local name of
this ruling dynasty is not known.
10. These rock inscriptions are found in the Gilgit area.
11. He was the first Tibetan king who invaded Balti or Palolo
area in 727 A.D. and conquered it.
12. According to the Tibetan-English Dictionary of reverened
Jascke, Brushel is the "name of a countrv to the west of Tibet, bordering
on Persia". It is the ancient and original name of the present Gilgit
13. The last and the famous Bon king of Tibet.
14. Shagari means "white-skinned" in Balti. These
were the descendants of those Greeks who migrated to the Karakoram from
Bactria after the death of Alexander the Great. They are one of th, prominant
ethnic group in Baltistan.
15. According to Hashmatullah Khan the compiler of "Tareekli-a
Jammu etc." Ibrahim Shah was a fugitive prince of Egypt. He and his elder
brother (with some other companions) managed to escape and arrived in Kashmir
and having an opportunity got the throne of Kashmir, but very soon they had to
take refuge in the mountains and Ibrahim Shah arrived in Skardo and thereafter
marrying the Shagari princess he founded the Maqpon dynasty. According to
Hashmatullah, Ibrahim Shah arrived in Skardo at the end of 12th or in the
beginning of 13th Century A.D. At that time the Fatimids (Caliphs) were ruling
in Egypt but we do not get any historical evidence that any prince(s) of
Fatimids took refuge towards India or Kashmir and they got the throne of
Kashmir even for a couple of days.
16. Its correct pronounciation is Maqpa which means a
son-in-law in Balti/Tibetan. Founder of the dynasty, Ibrahim Shah married the
only daughter of the old Shagari ruler of Skardo and was called Maqpa. After
the death of the old chief Maqpa, Ibrahim Shah became the ruler and thus
Maqpon dynasty started.
17. Well known as "Amir Kabir", he was the first
Muslim preacher who ever visited the Karakoram and spread Islam.
18. He was the son of Ghazi Mir-14th ruler of Maqpon dynasty.
According to local traditions Ghazi Mir died when Ali Sher Khan was a child
and he (Ali Sher Khan) had to flee to India where he succeeded in attracting
the attention of Akbar the Great. Akbar deputed him with his army on some
military operation. Thus Ali Sher Khan learnt sufficient war tactics and with
the help of Akbar he got back his hereditary state of Skardo. With his
extra-ordinary capability and intelligence he expanded his State from Western
Tibet to Chitral. He was married to a Moghul princess "Gul Khatoon."
One of his daughter was married with Prince Saleem (later Emperor Jahangir).
In addition to his very successful military adventures, he was an engineer
king of high calibre. We still have several remains of forts, channels,
gardens and protecting-walls
19. In the reign of Maqpon Sultan Murad (1745-1780 A.D.) the
Afghan Governor of Kashmir, Haji Karim Dad Khan deputed an army in 1779 A.D.
under the command of Murtaza Khan who defeated Sultan Murad and received big
amount in kind and cash and later returned to Kashmir.
20. Gulab Singh the ruler of Jammu under the command of Wazir
Zorawar Singh invaded Baltistan in 1840 A.D. and with the help of Ali Sher
Khan-the Raja of Kharmang valley, the Dogras arrested Maqpon Ahmad Shah the
Ruler of Little Tibet (Baltistan) and deported him to Jammu. This was the end
of Maqpon rulers.
21. To have a better idea of the ethnic groups of Baltistan
please consult my research article "The ethnic groups of Baltistan"
read in the International Seminar on the Anthropology of Tibet and the
Himalaya-Sept. 1990 at the Ethnographic Muslum of the University of Zurich.
22. Professor Jampel with other two Chinese Scholars visited
Skardo in Nov. 1994.
23. Maqpon kings from Ali Sher Khan Anchen to Shah Murad had
very close political relationship with the Mughal emperors, Akbar, Jahangir
24. Three years ago Yusuf Hussainabadi (Skardo) has written a
booklet on Balti language and has tried to produce the Persian letters with
some signs for Balti but it has also proved unsuccessful.
25. At the time of fall of Skardo he was only 9 years old. He
was also made a captive and taken to Ladakh-Toghla-Khar-Ladakh-Jammu with his
26. He was the 24th and the last king of Maqpon Dynasty. He
was enthroned in 1800 A.D. and dethroned in 1840 A.D. At the time of his
arrest he was 65 years old.
27. He was the first Balti who ever translated the English
Bible (Matthew) into Balti (written in Persian script) for the Missionaries in
Baltistan in 1930s.
1. Abbas Kazmi. 1984. Balti Lok Geet Published by National
Institute of Folk Heritage, Islamabad.
2.-do- 1982.Yato, a Balti Folk song published in Boloristan
the annual Magazine of Govt. Degree College, Gilgit.
3.-do- 1987."Kesar Dastan" an introductory paper on
the Epic of King Kesar/Gesar found in Baltistan published in Quarterly
Adabiyat of Academy of Letters, Islamabad.
4.-do- 1994. "Hazrat Muhib ki Marsia-nigari"
published in Adabiyat,Islamabad.
5.A.H. Dani 1989. Islamic Architecture. Published by National
Hijra Council, Islamabad.
6. Bielmeier R. 1988. The reconstruction of the stop series
and the verbal system in Tibetan-a paper published in "Languages and
History in the east Asia", Kyoto.
7. -do 1982. Problems of Tibetan dialectology & language
history with special reference to the SKYID-GRON dialect-a research paper for
Seminars fur Sprach and Kultuwissenschaft, Universitat Bonn.
8. -do- 1985. A survey of the development of western and
southern Tibetan dialects. Published in Soundings in Tibetan Civilization
edited by B.N. Aziz, New Delhi.
9. H.A. Jaschke 1881. Tibetan English Dictionary (Indian
10.Haji. Q. Beg 1980. Tareekh Ahd Ateeq Riyasat Hunza.
11. Bielmeier R. 1988. On Tone in Tibetan-a research paper for
4th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies-Munich 1985.
12. Kacho Sikandar. 1987. Qadeem Ladakh.
13. Muhammad Hassan. 1992. Tareekh Adabiyat Baltistan.
14. Muhammad Yusuf Hussainabadi. 1984. Baltistan par ek nazar,
15. Muhammad Yusuf Hussainabadi 1990. Balti Zaban, Skardo.
16. Jettmar Karl. 1980. (Reprint). Bolor & Dardistan.
Published by N.I.F.H. Islamabad.
17. Mahmood Azad. 1970. Tareekh Kashmir. Published by
18.Muhammad Q. Naseem. 1994. Baltistan-Tareekh-o-Siasat.
Published by Progressive Publishers, Lahore.
19. Michiyo Hoshi. 1978. Zanskar Vocabulary, Published by
Institute for the Study of Languages and culture of Asia & Africa, Tokyo.
20. Norbu Chophel. 1985. New English Tibetan Dictionary, New
21.Tashi-Tshering. 1988. English Tibetan Chinese Dictionary,
22. Read, F.C. 1939. Balti Grammar, London.
23. Roerich, G.N. 1978. (Revised) Text book of colloquial
24.Molvi Hashmatullah Khan. 1968 (Reprint). Tareekh Jammu,
25.Rohit Vohra. 1987. An old route across Karakoram Mountain
U.S.1. Journal, India.
26.Molvi Hashmatuallh Khan. A manuscript/file written and
signed by the author and preserved in Revenue Record Room, Skardo.