Balti people

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Ladakh, India<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |Regions with significant populations}} | data7 = Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan
Ladakh, India<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | header8 = | data9 =

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(Predominantly Shia Islam,<ref name="Bakshi1997">Template:Cite book</ref> small minorities of Noorbakshia Sufi Islam and Sunni Islam in Pakistan and India<ref name="censusindia.gov.in">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) |Religion}} | data64 = File:Star and Crescent.svg Islam
(Predominantly Shia Islam,<ref name="Bakshi1997">Template:Cite book</ref> small minorities of Noorbakshia Sufi Islam and Sunni Islam in Pakistan and India<ref name="censusindia.gov.in">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) | header65 = {{#if:Tibetans, Khachis, Purigpas, Ladakhis, Dardic |Related ethnic groups}} | data66 = {{#if:Tibetans, Khachis, Purigpas, Ladakhis, Dardic |Tibetans, Khachis, Purigpas, Ladakhis, Dardic Template:Main other }}

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The Baltis are a Tibetic ethnic group who are native to the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit−Baltistan and the Indian-administered territory of Ladakh, predominantly in the Kargil district with smaller concentrations present in the Leh district. Outside of the Kashmir region, Baltis are scattered throughout Pakistan, with the majority of the diaspora inhabiting prominent urban centres such as Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Origin

The origin of the name Balti is unknown.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first written mention of the Balti people occurs in the 2nd century BCE by the Alexandrian astronomer and geographer Ptolemy, who refers to the region as Byaltae.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Balti people themselves refer to their native land as Balti-yul (Template:Translation); the modern name of Baltistan is the Persian rendering of this name.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Language

The Balti language belongs to the Tibetic language family. Read (1934) considers it to be a dialect of Ladakhi,<ref>Balti Grammar, by A. F. C. Read. London: The Royal Asiatic society, 1934.</ref> while Nicolas Tournadre (2005) instead considers it to be a sister language of Ladakhi.<ref>* N. Tournadre (2005) "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes." Lalies, 2005, n°25, p. 7–56 [1]</ref> The Balti language remains highly archaic and conservative, closer to Classical Tibetan than other Tibetan languages.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Religion

The Baltis still retain many cultural traits of pre-Islamic Bön and Tibetan Buddhist rituals within their society, making them a unique demographic group in Pakistan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bön and Tibetan Buddhism were the dominant religions practiced by the Balti people until the arrival of Islam in Baltistan around the 14th century CE, predominantly through Sufi missionaries such as Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani. The Noorbakshia Sufi sect further propagated the Islamic faith in the region, and most of the Balti had converted to Islam by the end of the 17th century.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Around 60% of Baltis are Shia Muslims, while some 30% practice Noorbakshia Sufi Islam, and 10% are Sunni Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1" />

See also

• Gilgit−Baltistan
  • Baltistan
• Balti language
• Mayfung
• Three Cups of Tea, a book about an American humanitarian involved in building schools in Baltistan (as part of a larger AfPak campaign)