Dha Hanu

Dha and Hanu lie along the Indus in Ladakh, northern India, close to the Line of Control with Pakistan and the Batalik sector, where fighting took place during the 1999 Kargil War. The villages are home to the Brokpa, whose language, ritual traditions and ceremonial dress hold a distinct place in Ladakh’s cultural life.

The elaborate headdresses and ornaments carry a sense of belonging shaped by memory, community and place. Brokpa identity is often framed through claims about ancient origins, yet it is lived in the present—in shared customs, family ties and the continuing passage of knowledge between generations.

Here, a culture rooted in community and a landscape marked by military history exist side by side. The portraits hold the Brokpa in the present, beyond the stories told about their origins, within a region where daily life unfolds near a contested frontier.