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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

VIII. The Genealogies of the Balti Chiefs

Cunningham visited Ladakh and the neighbouring countries in 1846 and 1847,
a short time after Ladakh and Baltistan had lost their independence. On his journey
he collected the various pedigrees of the dethroned Balti chiefs. He does not tell us
from what source they were drawn, but it is very probable that these lists of names
were read to him from the historical books of the Baltis, which are written in the native
alphabet of Baltistan. Possibly the historical books did not contain anything but lists
of names. In my article 'Ten ancient historical songs from Western Tibet' (Ind.
Ant., 1909, pp. 57 sqq.), I remarked that all the lines of Balti chiefs were in all probability
descended from one common ancestor. I stated that the present pedigrees of the Balti
chiefs all date from Muhammadan times, and contain only partly reliable matter.
With a view to a trustworthy point of chronology a note in the La-dvaqs-rgyal-rabs may
prove useful. It is there stated that 'Alī-Mīr-Sher-Khān, who was apparently master of
all Baltistan, invaded Ladakh. This 'Alī-Mīr-Sher-Khān is generally called only by one
or two of his names, and can be traced in all the Balti pedigrees, which were collected
by Cunningham. On p. 30, where the dukes (dmag-dpon) of Kha-pu-lu are given, we
find as No. 58 a Sultan-Mir-Khan. On p. 31, among the dukes of Kye-ris, as No. 3,
there occurs a Raja Ali-Mir-Sher. On p. 32, among the dukes of Parkuda, we find an
Ali-Sher-Khan as No. 4. On p. 33, among the dukes of Shigar (Si-dkar), as No. 15, an
Ali-Mir is found. On p. 35, among the dukes of Sbal-ti-Skar-rdo, as No. 1, the name
Ali-Sher may be read. On p. 37, among the dukes of Roṅ-mdo, the name Ali-Sher
occurs as No. 1. Thus we see that the same duke is found in the genealogies eight, nine,
or ten generations before the year 1830 A.D. Only in the case of Shigar (Si-dkar)
are there thirteen names before 1830. Here a younger brother may have occasionally
followed an elder brother. My belief is that all the present lines of Balti chiefs are
descended from 'Alī-Mīr-Sher-Khān, who was master of the country from c. 1570–1600 A.D.,
and that there is no certainty about the names preceding him. Now I see that
Cunningham was told practically the same thing by the natives themselves. He says
on p. 28, 'The chiefs of Khapolor (Kha-pu-lu) and Keris, who both trace their
families up from Bewān-cho, declare that all the chiefs of these countries are descended
from Bikam, the tenth generation from Bewān-cho.' Now it does not make much
difference whether we take Bikam or 'Alī-Mīr-Sher-Khān as the founder of the lines of
Balti chiefs; for Bikam is 'Alī-Mīr-Sher-Khān's great-grandfather, according to the
Kha-pu-lu pedigree.

The following is Cunningham's list (Ladak, p. 29) of Gyalpos (kings) of Khapolor
(Kha-pu-lu) :—