Tibetans in Brusha:

New Data, New Information

Abstract

The kingdom of Po-lü, known from the Chinese Tang Dynasty Annals, is now identified with the Palola Shahi kings of Gilgit. In the early 8th century CE, the Chinese Annals record a distinction between Greater and Lesser Po-lü, which current scholarship now identifies as the Gilgit and Chilas region (Greater Po-lü) and the Yasin and Punyal region (Lesser Po-lü). However, to the Tibetans, Lesser Po-lü was known as Brusha, a toponym which is assumed to refer to the Burusho people. The Darkot Pass inscription and the seven inscription stones found near Gahkuch in Punyal attest to Tibetan presence in Brusha. This article presents a new Tibetan inscription and several accompanying chorten (stupa) rock carvings from the Yasin Valley, which is the first archaeological evidence of Tibetan presence in the settled area of Yasin. These new discoveries add to our understanding of Tibetan authority in Yasin and Punyal and of Tibetan presence and activity in the greater Gilgit region.