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The increase of influence from popular culture has caused the Ladakh's cultural music to become more like modern music. Many of the elders in the civilization believe that the introduction of modern music is harmful to their culture.

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Wilting Flowers, Fading Songs: DOCUMENTING a vanishing culture from the Western Himalayas

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This is an example of our work on documenting the oral traditions of the small indo-aryan Brokpa tribe in Ladakh, India. We Started an INDIEGOGO campaign to fund our fieldwork this autumn - CHECK IT and help us SPREAD THE WORD about OUR CAUSE - http://igg.me/p/462207/twtr/3780732

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The Ladakh are a culture located in the Himalayas, north of India. They are and ancient culture that heavily practices Buddhism similar to that practiced in nearby tibet.

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One of the most prominent aspects of the Ladakh is their dances and songs. Most of their songs and dances praise their deities and tell stories. However, due to tourism, these dances are slowly being replaced by other forms of songs and dance.

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Joseph Houseal: The Vanishing Dances of Ladakh

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The living legacy of Buddhist dances with their origins nearly 800 years old, sets a very high standard of expectation for what the dance is supposed to do, both spiritually and physically.

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Tourist's effects on the Ladakh's civilization.

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Tourist's effects on the Ladakh's civilization.

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The quiet and peaceful aspects of the Ladakh have attracted many tourist to the small region in the Himalayas, with as many as 300,000 + predicted for 2017, many worry about preserving their culture.

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Nestled high up in the Indian Himalayas, Ladakh was first opened up to tourists only in 1974. That year, just 527 visitors made the trip; of these, only 27 were from India. But in recent years, with rising disposable incomes and a growing interest in travel, Indians are increasingly flocking to the region's high-altitude villages, encouraged by better accessibility and the proliferation of package tours.

In 2017, the number of tourist arrivals in Ladakh is expected to be 313,000, government estimates say. That's 10 times the figure for 2002.

It's not difficult to fathom why: Ladakh's windswept landscape and icy lakes are a world away from the noise and crowd of metropolises such as New Delhi and Mumbai. The region, which borders Tibet on the east, is home to thousands of ethnic Tibetans whose unique Buddhist culture permeates the small towns and villages. Ladakh also has a large Shia Muslim population.

And while the tourism boom has improved the lifestyle of Ladakh's 280,000 residents, it's also threatening the local culture and traditions. "Now we can eat better vegetables and wear better clothes," Tashi Phutit, an 81-year old wheat farmer and housewife, told Reuters. "The problem is people are becoming greedy."

Here are some images of the people and places in one of India's most beautiful corners, shot by Reuters photographer Cathal McNaughton:

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Ladakh's tourism boom is slowly changing the age-old way of life in a corner of the Indian Himalayas

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Nestled high up in the Indian Himalayas, Ladakh was first opened up to tourists only in 1974. That year, just 527 visitors made the trip; of these, only 27 were from India. But in recent years, with rising disposable incomes and a growing interest in travel, Indians are increasingly flocking to the region's high-altitude villages,...

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The Ladakh are a group of people that live in the himalayan mountains. They have practiced their culture for centuries in relative solitude, however, recent booms in tourism have caused their culture to be threatened.
1. Where do the Ladakh reside and what culture do they practice.
2. How has the spread of modern music affected their cultural music?
3. How has commodification affected their culture