The domestic yak is believed to have originated from its wild ancestor, the wild yak, as early as two million years ago on the Tibetan plateau. The word yak comes from the Tibetan word gyag, which refers to the male yak. Yak-rearing regions in India include Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, with a few numbers reported in West Bengal. Yaks in India are mostly reared traditionally under the transhumance system by the nomadic tribes who are mostly Buddhists in their religious orientation. Like in Ladakh, where it is reared by the Changpa, a semi-nomadic tribe, in Sikkim, it is reared by the Aho, Bho and Bhutia tribes, who are predominantly Buddhists. In Himachal Pradesh, the Buddhist tribes in Spiti are engaged in yak rearing, whereas in Kinnaur and Chamba districts, Hindus too are involved in rearing this bovine. Monpa, a Mongoloid Buddhist tribe, are involved in rearing Yak in Arunachal Pradesh. They have close relations with animals, like other tribes, but have a special bond with the yaks. As per the 20th Livestock Census 2019, Ladakh has the highest yak population (26,221), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (24,075), Sikkim (5,219), Himachal Pradesh (1,940) and West Bengal (61). Internationally, apart from India, yaks are found in China, Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal.

In this chapter, we examine the relations of yaks with the people who rear them, that is, the Brokpa, to understand the role this bovine plays in the lives of the herders of this tribe – socially, economically and culturally. The word brokpa combines two Monpa words, brok meaning pastoral land and pa meaning people living on the pasture.