Hill tribe (Duran)

Elderly Hua people in traditional dress.

Hill tribe (Namkha: རི་འབུར Riburpa "hill people") is a term used to designate the various ethnic groups of Duran who primarily inhabit the upper reaches of the Beishan Mountains and North Duranian Highlands, and is sometimes extended to the related peoples who inhabit northern Shangea and other surrounding nations. Comparable with the term Vanavasi in neighbouring Satria, the various ethnic groups which fall under the umbrella of the hill tribe label are diverse and share few concrete relations, being composed of a range of different language groups and families. Instead, they are associated due to their similar lifestyles based upon slash-and-burn agriculture, pastoralism, and resistance to central authority under the Nampa dominated valley states. These characteristics are shared with other upland peoples who inhabit the South Coian Massif, which has formed a key aspect of the Kussuria theory, which posits a shared resistance to central state control as the shaping factor in such societies

In Duran, the term has an official political dimension as scheduled hill tribes are granted special protections under the Dratsung system. This system arose as a compromise between autonomist militias and the Chenpodrang government, and allows tribes to maintain their own local customs and governance with state assistance. The system allows for hill tribes to decide on the nature of development aid and infrastructure in their communities, so that it does not infringe on local beliefs. Despite this accord, there have been numerous incidents of forced land siezure and cultural erasure by the Duranian government, which has resulted in political turmoil and low level insurgency. Hill tribes remain behind urbanised populations in most metrics of living standards, and complain of less access to education and healthcare.

Official recognition of the label "Hill Tribe"

The term "Hill Tribe" is considered to be a politically neutral way of refering to the peoples of upland Duran, as it is purely descriptive as opposed to historical terms which often carry a pejorative connotation. The older term used in the Namkha language is Jagö (Namkha: བྱ་རྒོད), which is derived from the term for "vulture". This word is perceived as derogatory by most hill peoples, and came about due to the perception that the hill tribes were scavengers who lived in the mountains. ANother term now deemed offensive is the Shangean 苗 Miao, which has sometimes been translated as "Barbarian". This term was used to denote hill tribes during the Shangean Occupation of Duran and is still used in the Shangean language.

Under the Dratsung system, any ethnic group is able to apply for official designation as a Hill Tribe. Their application is examined by the Commission for National Minorities, and judged according to three criterion: A clearly demarcated and unique group identity, a common language or dialect, and a breadth of shared and unique cultural practices. These criterion are often considered too broad, and mean that many subgroups within wider linguistic or cultural groups are not separately recognised. For example, despite historical and cultural uniqueness from the valley Nampa, the Yagpa people were only recognised as a Hill Tribe in 2008 because their language is the same as the valley Nampa. As a Hill Tribe must be officially recognised by the government in order to be granted the same autonomy and federal aid, the recognition of tribes is highly political and has been used as a tool of repression against hill tribes.

Issues faced by hill tribes

Tensions with government

Main article: Hill tribes insurgency in Duran

Fighters of the Nuosu National Front, one of the larger Hill Tribe militias active.

Due to their treatment at the hands of the Nampa-dominated central government, many of the hill tribes have engaged in combat or political activism which has called for greater autonomy or even independence for their communities. There are numerous records of historical revolts by hill tribes, with the Nuosu Rebellion in the sixteenth century being most well known due to its scale and brutality. In the late nineteenth century, the government of Zhabrung Rinchen Namgyal' campaigns of modernisation caused major tensions and violence, as they sought to sedentarise many hill tribes to facilitate their inclusion into the Duranian state. Such efforts continued under the Heavenly Shangean Empire, leading to the beginning of a series of insurrections which have continued to the modern day. Despite the institution of the Dratsung system, political tension has remained constant between Chenpodrang and the hill tribes. This has been the result of limited recognition of tribal groups in some areas, land siezure employed against tribal groups, and disproportionate counterinsurgency tactics which have targetted civilians.

In the modern period these tensions have primarily played out through non-violent action such as protests and advocacy, with armed struggle diminishing in scale. Notable events have included the 2006 Day of Acknowledgement protests, a series of protests across Duran organised by the Alliance of Duranian Hill Tribespeople, United Democratic Party and several smaller tribal association which campained for greater recognition of hill tribes' languages and culture. As a result, the government declared August 16 to be Hill People's Day, a national holiday, and pledged to improve on many of the areas outlined. Several groups are still active in low level insurgencies, the largest being the Nuosu National Front, with this confict claiming several lives each year.